Gregor Jordan’s film, Ned Kelly, is a mixture of Australian history and mythology. Ned Kelly is the tale of a young man fighting for his rights as an Irish Australian. It is based off of a true story and he is looked at today as a legend. Kelly grew up in a hardworking family in the Australian outback. After a false accusations of stealing a horse he is sent to prison for three years. It comes to no surprise that after being imprisoned for so long, Kelly comes out with a bitter opinion of the British authority. To further stir up his emotions, shortly after he emerges from jail he is falsely accused of injuring a police officer named Fitzpatrick. And so begins the journey of Kelly and his gang (three other Irish Australians) as outlaws roaming through the Australian countryside. While on the run his mother is imprisoned and his family is harassed. This is when his hatred for the British authorities really shows. Kelly becomes a full out bushranger, robbing banks and killing “coppers” (what they call police), sometimes without reason. He pledged he would avenge his family and fight for justice against the British authorities that were so unrightfully corrupt. Some people look at Ned Kelly purely as a merciless killer, but to many he is the sympathetic portrayal of one of Australia’s most famous and mythologized antiheros.
As Jane Freebury states in her article titled, “Screening Australia:Gallipoli – a study of nationalism on film”, “Films set in the past usually have some point to make about the present, and serve an ideological purpose”. As mentioned above, Ned Kelly is known as a folk hero from the past. His story is recurrently told because the identities invested in Kelly (bravery, sacrifice, masculinity) fuse with those of Australians to help form Australians national identification. Not only is Kelly important in Australia’s past, but also the fact of how crooked the British authorities were plays a major role in Australia history. Fitzpatrick is a prime example of dishonesty in the system. He lies about having a warrant, falsely accuses Kelly of trying to kill him, and nearly molests Kelly’s sister, Kate. I believe this history is an important part of the film because Kelly’s story made a huge influence on many of the Australian people, and many say it may have instigated the beginning of Australia’s political movement.
Over the past few weeks of this course I have learned that myths have helped to formulate Australia’s national identity. There are many scenes in this film that represent Australian mythology; for example, the idea of Ned Kelly’s metal armour. In the final scene Kelly emerges from the inn solo and takes on hundreds of bullets being shot at him. However, not one bullet pierced through him. The characteristics that Kelly shows in this scene and in others throughout the movie remind me of the Anzac myth as well. Kelly can be looked at as a “soldier” in this “war” possessing the characteristics of endurance, courage, and ingenuity that the soldiers had at Gallipoli (Rattigan, 3). What I also find interesting is the glorification of outlaws. Kelly is robbing banks and breaking the law and yet, he’s a good guy. If he’s killing to avenge his family and all those who have dealt with the unjust British, does that make it okay?
Ned Kelly not only exposes some of the darker sides of Australian history but it also is a great representation of Australian mythology and culture. Historically, it does a great job of exposing the hardships that Irish Australians faced in the late 1800’s. While culturally, it does a great job of representing the anti-heroic bushmen and outlaws of Australian legend.
Sources:
Freebury, Jane. “Screening Australia: Gallipoli – A study of Nationalism of Film.” Media Information Australia
Rattigan, Neil. “Gallipoli 1981”. Images of Australian 100 Films of The New Australian Cinema. 1991.
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