State of shock

Australia, 1989

Film
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Alwyn Peter is an Aboriginal man who, with his people, was removed in 1963 at the age of six from his home at Mapoon, North Queensland. The land was to be used for a bauxite mine that never eventuated. Their homes were burnt and their possessions were destroyed. Alwyn’s story is a story of a community riven by alcohol-driven violence and marked by self-mutilation. It is also a story of resilience, particularly on the part of the women. Beyond prejudices or well intentioned rhetoric, David Bradbury depicts a community experiencing systematic annihilation by its own hand as dispossession and loss of identity conspire with alcohol abuse to create a murder rate of genocidal proportions.

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Credits

producer/director

David Bradbury

Duration

00:55:00:00

Production places
Australia
Production dates
1989

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/79598--state-of-shock-a/ |title=State of shock |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=7 November 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}