The text of Jasper Jones, is set in the rural town of Corrigan in the 1960s. The themes of racism, scapegoating and gender roles, have ultimately been moulded by xenophobia and prejudiced views against other races and nationalities. Which are based on conceptualised perspectives that are established by the corrupt and poor justice system. The story however, challenges conventions of adolescent literature through removing behavioural certainties and black and white moral boundaries. ‘In doing so, Silvey seeks to articulate universal ideas and concerns through a contextualised Australian lens, bringing Jasper Jones to life within the metanarrative of human experience’ (Brown, 2012). Through this portrayal of themes the second stimulus Jindabyne shares many similarities in relation to key connections and significant actions that are felt throughout the plot, and developed through similar themes. The film, set in the south-east of New South Wales close to the Snowy Mountains offers tremendous Aboriginal significance that ties into the plot, and traditional beliefs and Aboriginal theories that the various events and themes connect to. In the two stimulus’s individuals such as Jasper in Jasper Jones and Susan in Jindabyne are represented in a way that isn’t stereotypical but yet provides a true sense of the harsh reality that was and still is faced predominately by the Indigenous community. The various similarities between the two Australian texts are to be explored to understand the key relationships, and the contrasting treatment of the Indigenous communities in both time periods, and how the themes of scapegoating and landscape has depicted key messages to ultimately challenge audience perspective.
In Jasper Jones the theme of racism has been found to be a significant aspect of the townspeople’s identity. Despite the conflict that can be seen and the anger fuelled hatred that develops throughout the plot, the townspeople in some circumstances reconcile their differences in attitudes. This is seen with Jasper because he is a good football player. As a result Jasper earns a grudging respect from his community, however, off the field the respect is fragile, and symbolises a mere real mitigation of racism. “He’s the rotten model that parents hold aloft as a warning”(Chapter 1). This image of Jasper and disobedient apparent history that parents set into their children was a depiction of the inequality and prejudiced views that were developed during the 1960s. The effects of the poor justice system is felt by the outcasts, stripping the dignity off of many people, and not just Jasper but the Lu family as well. The relationship the townspeople have with the foreigners such as the Lu’s and outcasts such as Jasper is one of a bullying nature. The Lu family is attacked, townspeople taking out their prejudice hate against them with a gang mentality, an explosion of the townspeople’s hatred towards anyone other than themselves. The character Warwick Trent is the embodiment of everything Charlie hates about his hometown and creates expectation. He is close-minded, competitive, athletic, and masculine. He isn’t kind, charismatic nor is he helpful, and despite having characteristics that are considered to be ‘Australian’, such as ‘athletic’, Silvey uses this to challenge the audience to view everyone with an equal approach. In the film Jindabyne, the theme of political and social identity has been replaced by ‘racial conflict’. The dead woman in the film, Susan is an Indigenous Australian. This is a departure from the original text that the film is based on, “So Much Water So Close to Home” by Raymond Carver, where the victim was a white American. The theme of landscape, and it's metaphorical importance that ties into the film’s context is also a crucial element that is used to express symbolism with the characters. The men’s behaviour revealed the complete ignorance of the beliefs and customs presented by the Indigenous community that lived on the outskirts of the town. Lawrence’s use of imagery in the film aims to explore the various nuances of feelings, perfectly form the idea of difficult and often fragile human relationships. The visual weight and metaphorical arrow that is formed by the reflection of the Curiosity Rocks, hint to the viewers of the film to look further beneath the surface of the lake, and what hides beneath. Landscape is a key theme, which offers a metaphor that applies to the community. The various aspects which are covered over, or hidden within people’s relationships in the plot. Caylin Calandria still suffers from unresolved grief over the death of her mother, that is also shared by her grandmother. There is also unresolved tension in Claire and Stewart’s marriage, which has stemmed from Claire’s postnatal depression. The references to man’s exploitation of the land is a key aesthetic feature of man’s power, and ability to control. Billy repeatedly speaks of his interest of the electrical power lines, which directly associates with Gregory, an electrician by trade, and how this ideology of man’s power, as if gained by electricity can cause harm to the innocent, much like electricity can cause death or murder in the plot of Jindabyne. Lawrence uses this perspective too ‘suggest a sense of unease in the featureless expanse of country’ (p122, Oxford), and challenging the audience to connect the similarities between two completely different concepts, however, still sharing many similarities in this context. Individuals amongst the Australian community are often represented as hidden, and reserved with many unresolved conflicts. Through this the metaphor of the submerged township implied by Lawrence, suggests that efforts should be made in order to acknowledge the various difficulties and tensions in the community. Therefore the audience can consider how society views the characters based on their situations and experiences, to look further beneath their skin layer, which is the metaphorical symbolism that aids in tying the plot.
In the two plots, both Craig Silvey and Ray Lawrence have represented individuals and relationships for the audience to correlate the similarities in both. In Jindabyne Gregory is never caught, and Laura Wishart’s case goes unsolved. The relationships that are represented indicate a strong sense of guilt and revenge, where in either plots the justice system fail to solve for both. This portrays to the audience that racism in the 1960s setting of Jasper Jones, is still carried on into the 2000s of Jindabyne, and segregating the races in terms of importance in the justice system in the film of Jindabyne represent a strong sense of bigotry and inequality. Both creators have formed a strong sense of remorse, through Stewart regretting his actions in Jindabyne, evident in his symbolic new chapter in life seen when he quit drinking, this change in what was habitual, an indication of a mid-life crisis, the audience can sympathise through his actions. Craig Silvey also uses the aesthetic feature of imagery in the plot, where the word ‘sorry’ is carved in the tree by Eliza. This feeling of guilt that is generated by Eliza is intended to distinguish between one’s true determination to find answers and the nefarious and unethical justice system that chose to scapegoat, rather then bring closure to what was ultimately cause by ‘their own’, Laura’s own father.
The audience of the two texts have been challenged by the author and director to develop an opinion based on the plethora of racism and scapegoating that is evident in the two seperate plots. The similarities between the two Australian texts is captured through the vivid aesthetic features and metaphorical imagery that is utilised to contrast the various levels of treatment of the Indigenous communities and captivate readers to challenge the understanding of the characters true identities.