Jessica Karmokar 11EXT1

Personalities generate compelling and unique insights. In your answer compare the ways two
personalities have been represented.
In the two documentaries 'First Australians' and 'Who Do You Think You Are' we are given detailed
unique and compelling insights into the personalities of Eddie Mabo and Christine Anu. They are
both represented as family centred individuals who have a strong interest in their culture and
ancestry. Eddie Mabo in particular was an inspirational figure who has a long-lasting impression on
future generations because of his conscience for the indigenous people of his land whereas Christine
Anu is portrayed as a confused person in search of answers about her culture and ancestral past.

Eddie Mabo is still an inspirational figure in the world. He paved the way for Australians with his
determination for a better future. His willpower and focus gave the Indigenous community of
Australia a strong and determined voice in hope for a change within the attitude of racism towards
them. The use of a narrator who reads Eddie Mabos diary creates an authenticity in his feelings
towards his ambitions and dreams. He was also indirectly linked to the well-known figure of Martin
Luther King in the start as the documentary where they provided a clip of Martin Luther Kings
famous speech as he fought for the rights of African-American Civil Rights, showing that Eddie Mabo
was similarly inspiring revolution in Australia.
While the representation of Eddie Mabo gives us clarity of indigenous people and their fight to
reclaim their land, Christine Anus documentary gives us an insight on importance of religion and
how it shaped the values and morals of her community and brought people together. Through her
trips around the world we learn about when Christianity was introduced to her community, how her
ancestor was a missionary and how religion provided a refuge for the people in her community. She
is revealed to be a strong and opinionated as she hoped that her side of the family wouldnt adapt to
the White Mans way of life.

At the heart of Eddie Mabo was his family, they were what drove him to be the person who inspired
a generation. We are compelled to believed Eddie Mabo's story because he had a strong impact
upon the formation of all his family members, despite his dedicated life in fighting for land rights; he
was also devoted to his family. This is seen in the interviews with his family members as
commentators. We are able to view their facial expressions and view their praise towards him. For
example, Eddie Mabo's daughter crying as she talks of his death saying "everything he had done was
for everybody and that "even through his illness he was taking care of everybody". This shows that
he was a significant figure in his family life and had made a lasting impact on their lives.

Similarly one of Christine Anu's main focuses was to reconnect with her ancestral past and
rediscover her cultural connections. When the photo of her grandfather, Kuse, is shown to her and
she is told that he was an agent of change, we see that she gets very emotional and starts walking
away. There are shots of her viewing the archival footage and one of the techniques used
throughout this documentary is that through her process of discovery about her community and
culture, its also our process of discovery and we learn what shes discovering at the same time.

The detailed and compelling insights we are given of Eddie Mabo and Christine Anu let us come to
the conclusion that Eddie Mabo is represented as a leader of his people, a person who is selfless,
resilient, inspirational and community-minded whereas Christine Anu is represented as a person
who seems to be incomplete because of her lack of knowledge in her ancestral history. In her search
for answers she seems to become more aware of her sense of self and be more confident with her
children.