Beyond the Wonderland of Whiteness: The Blak Wave of Indigenous Women Shaping Race on Screen

Abstract

This chapter draws on critical race and whiteness studies to speak explicitly to the racial homogeneity on Australian screens and the dominance of white representation. It situates issues of race representation and dialogues on diversity in film and media industry contexts within discourses on whiteness and its relation to history and sociality. The chapter moves then to look beyond the white ‘wonderland’, highlighting creative counterpoints in the work of Indigenous women filmmakers. It also argues that the films of Indigenous women film makers, such as Rachel Perkins and Leah Purcell, exemplify both a decolonising poetics and central positioning of Indigenous women's stories that shift the..