The castle concepts table PDF

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Summary

The Castle Notes...

Description

Position in the film Changing gender roles

Example

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Cultural assimilation

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The patriarchal family structure is first introduced at the beginning of the film where Sal is introduced Displayed throughout the film When Dale is narrating the pool room The Bonnie Doon scene where each couple are When describing Darryl and Tracy’s relationship in the beginning low angle shot makes Tracy look more confident and empowered Close up shot of Tracys ‘tertiary education’ backgrounded by Tracy in her gown The contrast between sal and Tracy and the boys in bonnie doon with crickets and then loud music during the bonnie doon scene The positioning of Tracy holding the punching bag up for con

Australian attitudes towards cultures are displayed in the beginning as Darryl makes a casually racist joke at the wedding When the neighbours are having a meeting about saving their houses, Farouk makes a genuine statement Close up shot of the figurines on the wedding cake → one of con doing the popular Thai kickboxing The diegetic narration What is it with wogs and cash

Technique

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positioned by her husband's side. repeated joke of, “What do you call that darl.’ initially is viewed as a humorous remark A close-up shot of a frame

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- which becomes suspenseful as the diegetic laughing track pauses when the camera shot is on Con’s Greek parents.  “Now I’m Arab, and all people think Arab have bombs.” Dark lighting provokes viewers to understand the darker tones of the satire “It was the first time anyone in the family had travelled further than Alice springs   

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Sal, therefore, looks smaller, reflecting her submissive nature towards Darryl in the marital relationship, which highlights to the audience Darryl's patriarchal position as head of the family, as. signifies Darryl’s lack of understanding towards cooking, but on further inspection it portrays how Sal is only good for domestic duties, reflecting the values of women for the time. 

Representing that for the time ‘new Australians’ were different and the target of ridicule as a result of not embracing Australian values and traditions, creating difficulty for migrants to understand the politically incorrect humour for the time.  As it reflects Australia’s collective treatment towards different cultures and the habitual nature of both blatant and casual racism. Further identified, as a result of the ignorance and

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Egalitarianis m - upper class vs lower class

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Recurring motif of the Mabo decision “I’m really starting to understand how the aborigines feel”--> when Darryl is talking to sal about moving

When Darryl interacts with a municipality worker to get his house back → over the shoulder shot makes viewers feel as if they are in the office behind Darryl experiencing was he is seeing When Darryl refuses extra money from the Airlink group Dennis Donato his lawyer explains Low angle shot of the municipal office Non-diegetic music after he leaves municipal office → working-class dog music and Australian. The slow-moving low angle shot of the courtroom shows the importance of not only the building but the people inside. → the high angle and low angle shots show how both Darryl and the judge see each other and the physical sense of looking down on another person Flicking from Dennis struggling to dispute the case with the Barlow lawyer laughing Close up shot of Dennis and the judge on the same level to show fairness within the courtroom “Three weeks later dad and dennis went to the high court in candberra” → intense music to

miscommunication displayed through Darryls’ further dialogue of, “You’re a bloody ripper Farouk!” As Darryl unintentionally brushes off the situation due to a misunderstanding of the undertones of truth and seriousness to Farouk's comment.

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“Will you stop pretending to be on my side?” The workers' facial expressions change from sympathetic to annoyed. Darryl, they write the rules, they own the game. An allegory of the ‘game’ symbolises the game of life.

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alluding to how upper-class citizens are removed from being able to understand the struggle of lower class systems and the limited opportunities lower socio-economic members have to speak out about injustice, reflecting a hindered image of an egalitarian society. This allows upper-class groups to put up walls of pomposity and material acceptance to dissociate themselves from working-class families. Which elucidates towards how if an individual/collective group have enough wealth in Australian society, it creates a disruption of an egalitarian society through corruption and greed that Rob Sitch has characterised to be most of the upper class’s identity.

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Importance of family

signify the importance of the court paired with the low angle shot of the building, with the building in the background and Darryl lawrence and dennis in the foreground. Contrat between the number of lawyers on the opposition → signifies how there is a savage attitude of the wealthy Positioning of the judges, although hire up act as the fairness of society and how rather than valuing the fight against the wealthy and poor communities, fairness between legal justice is of more importance The cut scene to breaking news, shows how Australians value fairness when it comes to “Darryl vs Galiath”

During the fathers day present giving the scene the medium shot shows the togetherness and cramming of the family together -

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Close up shot of the family in the price is right During Tracy’s wedding scene - Dale and Darryl are backgrounded and positioned to the side of Tracy and Con showing the importance of both new and old family bonds Contrast between high and low points of family with a cut scene to wayne in the prison cell, dark lighting and a closeup shot of wayne's face A quick shot of each item in the pool room shows its tangible and intangible importance

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Present giving - shirt with kangaroos and he is the centre - the gifts being not desirable shows that it’s not money its the sentimentality behind that - the essence of his fight, its what he has put into the home that is important

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Mate ship and loyalty

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Low angle shot when watching hey hey it's saturday → then close up of dale showing his emotions change with the narration mentioning Wayne → slow pan from Wayne to the family photo with nondiegetic guitar music Sal and Darryl embracing as romantic non-diegetic music plays Wayne shadowed with prison bars looking up at the family photo → with dale narrating about him → cucoloris Ripping the fence off the mansions “Gaz - put them gates around the back” → shows attitude not status “Wherever they go ill love, as long as it has them in it.” → Wayne in the jail Close up panning shot of all the photo frames in the pool room as Darryl is packing away everything Far away shot from outside the window shows the home fosters the connections of the community Very final sht of the family photo in front of the house. Following camera of Darryl as he runs to Jack’s house after receiving the compulsory kick out notice The note Dennis slides over to Lawrence “fucking brilliant” shows how casual they are together Frame of Mr hammil in the pool room at bonnie doon → the acknowledgement that it

is your actions not wealth that Australians value Humour

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Beginning when talking about the house “location, location, location” but is ironic as it pans to the airport. → followed by auditory noise of the plane Not knowing the price of luggage even though they live right by the airport “And this is my back yard” with the diagetic noise of an aeroplane and shot of an aeroplane They bought mum a genuine rolex for $15 from some guy on the beach → close up of sal marvelling at the watch Who ordered medium rare → zoom in on charcoaled steak

Gender Australia furthered female rights and gender roles in society, with a trend towards liberating domestic roles and challenging patriarchal family structures. Rob Sitch explores this through Sal, a two-dimensional character who fails to change or develop throughout the film and who is pigeonholed due to her gender-driven function in the home. This gender inequality is established at the beginning of the film during the introductions, where Sal is purposefully positioned by her husband's side, rendering her small, vulnerable and submissive, relying on the marital relationship to provide her with purpose and identity. Additionally, the recurring motif of the question “What do you call that darl?’ is initially perceived as a humorous remark, signifying Darryl’s lack of culinary, however on further inspection, it portrays how Sals’ knowledge only expands to domestic duties, reflecting the limited experiences offered to women at the time. Sitch's use of props through Sal’s attempt at pottery further pigeonholes her identity into the domestic arena. Her creation of ceramic cups, which in themselves are utilitarian objects for the home, are distinctly unaesthetic, symbolising sals’ lack of artistic vision and skills. Darryl’s indiscriminate compliments reinforce his satisfaction with the mediocrity of his wife's passions and imply her limited room for personal and professional growth. By contrast, Sal’s daughter Tracy represents a new generation and promises hope, change and modernism for the audience, as she ensures her voice is heard, rather than marginalised like her mother’s. This change in female roles is highlighted at the beginning of the film when Darryl looks at Tracy’s education certificate next to a photo of Tracy in her gown, symbolising reverence for young

women being highly educated in the future. Moreover, the contrast between Sal and Tracy’s female roles are further elucidated in the Bonnie Doon scene, which demonstrates the polarity of romantic partnerships through the flipping camera shots contrasting the close embrace shared between Sal and Darryl juxtaposed with Tracy and Don kickboxing, demonstrating an increasingly shared equality. Thus, whilst Rob Sitch could have dealt with gender roles in a cliched and comedic fashion, he uses the characterisations of Sal and Tracy to effectively illustrate to the audience the dynamic nature of changing female gender roles. Cultural/global influence Whilst traditionally, our national humour has relied on racist stereotyping and at times unintentional ignorance, Australia has become increasingly multicultural since the 1990s. In The Castle, Con’s character represents the assimilation of culture in micro relationships and the changing perception of globalisation in Australia. During Darryl’s casually racist joke a mid-shot on Con’s Greek parents coupled with a pause of the diegetic laughing track emphasises the ‘new Australians’ as outsiders who, according to the larrikin archetype Daryl represents, are different and the target of ridicule because they failed to embrace Australian values and traditions. Furthermore, the montage of Bonnie Doon played before Tracy and Con explain details of their trip to Thailand, connotes not only cultural contrast but showcases Darryl’s xenophobic values of elevating Australia over cultural exploration, through the additional dialogue, “I bet they haven’t got a place like this in Bangkok.” Reinforcing the image of Australians resisting cultural change and globalisation. Additionally, Australia’s racial stereotyping is further examined through the character of Farouk, who as the victim of torment, conveys how Australians contextually viewed Arabic individuals. During, Farouk’s ominous dialogue, “Now I’m Arab, and all people think Arab have bombs,” is coupled with dark lighting to provoke viewers to understand the weight of Sitch’s satire, reflecting Australia’s collective treatment towards different cultures and the habitual nature of both blatant and casual racism. This ignorance and miscommunication is further reiterated through Daryl’s colloquial dialogue, “You’re a bloody ripper Farouk!” which unintentionally undercuts the seriousness of the blatant racism that Farouk experiences. Therefore, Rob Sitch has effectively utilised edgy humour and stereotyping characterisations of Con and Farouk to reveal larger concepts of globalisation, cultural assimilation and migrant experiences.

Egalitarianism Values of egalitarianism are promoted through elevating one's motivations, actions and words rather than being determined by status and wealth. In The Castle Darryl's characterisation epitomises the underdog archetype as he champions his own cause in challenging authorities to maintain the ownership of his home. The scene in which Darryl disputes the compulsory acquisition of his house begins with a low angle establishing shot of the impenetrable, brick municipal office block, that extends beyond the frame, symbolically amplifying the overwhelming dominance of this institution against the individual. Once inside, Darryl’s situation is given

credence through the over the shoulder shot, which implies that the audience is supportive of his request for equality against the weight of mass corporations. Following the repetition of Darryl’s repeated monosyllabic dialogue “yeah”, his line “would you stop pretending to be on my side,” coupled with the administrator’s disgusted facial expression, highlights the relinquishing of facades and a more honest and frank approach to dealing with Darryl, whom she clearly perceives as her inferior. Sitch’s artistic decision to overlay the non-diegetic song ‘Take You Time’ by Paul Kelly, promotes his value of equality through the lyrics “This thing needs some working on…. I'm counting on you” positions the audience to barrack for with Darryl against this unfair adversity. Thus, although certain echelons of society may demonstrate prejudice, the promotion of egalitarian values is paramount in balancing the inequalities inherent between the individual and private corporations....