Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Greetings from Wollongong (1982)

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clip The mall

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Debbie and Gina (Tina Waller and Lorraine Palamara) hang out at the mall. Not having money doesn’t stop them enjoying the merchandise but they are easy pickings for the store detective.

Curator’s notes

This sequence shows the humorous and creative side of not having work or money even when surrounded by consumerism. The girls get creative with make-up and clothes. Aware that the store detective is watching them they pretend to buy things until they get to the cashier then dump the lot. Getting called into the manager’s office for shoplifting is all part of the game. Filmmaker Esben Storm has a cameo appearance as the store manager.

Clearly Mary Callaghan knows the territory of this film. Her script and the performances consciously turn the tables on the stereotypes of unemployed youth as unmotivated and useless that littered the mainstream media of the time.