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Romper Stomper (1992)

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clip White power education content clip 1

Original classification rating: R. This clip chosen to be M

Clip description

Hando (Russell Crowe) drinks milk after a wild all-night party. His friend (Stephen Hall) has to return to his naval base. Hando gives him a Nazi salute as he goes. Hando explains his belief in white supremacy, and his admiration for Adolf Hitler, to his new girlfriend, Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie), after their first night together.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

One of the reasons the film was controversial was the absolute magnetism of Russell Crowe in the leading role. This scene is calculated to both fascinate and enrage the senses, because Hando is both attractive and repugnant. These polarities – of attraction and repulsion – are at the centre of the film’s strategy. Gabe feels both about Hando, and her father, with whom she has had an incestuous relationship. The skinheads are attracted to each other and repelled by the Asian migrants moving into their suburb. Hando feels both towards Gabe, whom he soon treats abominably. Davey becomes confused because his attraction to Gabe interferes with the powerful bond he shares with Hando. The very idea that the skinhead ethos is powered by strong ties of loyalty (to each other, if no-one else) was anathema to some viewers – which somewhat misses the point the film was making. Once you deny one character’s humanity, even someone as ugly as Hando, you begin to make the same choices as he does.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows Hando (Russell Crowe) as he walks to the refrigerator on the morning after a party. He steps over a sleeping body on the floor of his warehouse home. His friend Flea (Stephen Hall) says goodbye from the doorway. Hando follows him out and they exchange a Nazi salute. Another friend, Davey (Daniel Pollock), is lying asleep on the stairs, and Hando moves him to a more comfortable position on the floor. The clip then cuts to a shot from the perspective of Hando’s new girlfriend Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie), lying on Hando’s bed and looking up at cuttings on the wall. Hando does chin-ups and speaks of his pride in his 'white history’ and 'white blood’.

Educational value points

  • These scenes demonstrate why Romper Stomper remains such a controversial film. On its release in 1992, critics were divided about whether it was a gritty social-realist film exposing the urban racial hatred that lies beneath multiculturalism, or Neo-Nazi propaganda. One of Australia’s best known film critics, David Stratton, said that it should never have been made, calling it ‘… A Clockwork Orange without the intellect … a disturbing, essentially misconceived pic’ (Variety, 1992), while others considered it almost Shakespearean in its familial intrigue and gripping drama.
  • Hando is a violent racist, but he is also depicted as a charismatic father-figure to his community of white supremacist outcasts. He is a leader and protector of others, as well as a bully, as the shots emphasising his physical dominance stress. This complexity of character challenges the audience, as it undermines the instinct to despise such a brutal character. Creating the capacity to empathise with Hando ensures that the audience cares about what happens to him and retains interest in the narrative.
  • This section of the film shows why Romper Stomper was considered an Australian film noir. Like other films in the noir genre, such as the Australian films Ghosts of the Civil Dead (1988) and Nirvana Street Murder (1990), it enters the underworld to concentrate on the lives of urban criminals and the dark side of human nature. It is moody and full of expressionistic blue lighting effects and an atmosphere of gloom. Hando is an ideologically flawed hero and Gabe’s role is similar to that of the traditional noir woman, as she threatens the cohesion and survival of a family through sexual relationships with the other characters.
  • Hando’s relationships with his friends demonstrates the skinheads’ sense of community. This led critics to view the film as presenting a minority group with the same needs for territory and support as the groups they target. The potentially sympathetic portrayal led to much of the outcry about the film’s release and to calls for it to be banned.
  • The clip showcases the work of director Geoffrey Wright. Wright is known for his ability to place the viewer within the action by using a hand-held camera, jump cuts, experimental lighting and unusual camera angles to establish his dynamic and affecting vision of reality. Wright’s other films include Metal Skin (1994) and Cherry Falls (2000), with which he made his American debut, as well as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (2006).
  • Russell Crowe’s intense performance in Romper Stomper helped to launch his film career. Reviewers applauded his acting even when they lambasted the film itself for inciting racism. Crowe went on to play other 'tough guys’ in LA Confidential (1997) and Gladiator (2000), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

A shirtless man covered in white-supremacist tattoos drinks milk from the fridge. His friend approaches.
Flea Nice party, mate. I’ve got to get the first bus back to base.
Hando You enjoy being cannon fodder for the system?
Flea It’s a job. Seeya, Hando.
Hando Hey, Flea…
Hando gives Flea the Nazi salute as he leaves, then helps another friend who’s passed out on the stairs.
Hando Stupid little bugger.

Hando and his new girlfriend talk – she lays in bed, he does chin-ups.
Gabe Why do you go in for all this stuff?
Hando Because I don’t want to be a white coolie in my own country. Because it’s not our country anymore. Because rich people and powerful people brought in boatloads of human trash. Cheap labour. Gooks, mainly. And there’s gonna be more. I want people to know that I’m proud of my white history and my white blood. One day it might be all I have.