Thomson of Arnhem Land 2000
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Producer n/a
Directed by John Moore
VHS, color, 55 min.
College
Anthropology
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Kathleen Loomis, Coordinator of Systems and Technology, SUNY College at FredoniaAnthropologist Donald Thomson spent his life studying Australia’s Aboriginal people, and became an advocate for Aboriginal rights. By explaining to the public the Aborigines complex society and culture, he hoped that he could keep their culture from being destroyed.
Thompson failed in his efforts to save the Aborigines of Arnhem Land in Northern Australia. Their fight for rights would continue past his death in 1970. But he left a legacy of their culture in his collection of over 10,000 photographs and 7,000 artifacts. This film is about the two years he spent with the Aborigines in the 1930’s and his consequent efforts toward attaining their rights to the Arnhem preserve.
The film is wonderfully done. The filmmaker tells Thomson’s story by interviewing Thomson’s wife and the Aboriginal friends he made during his time working in Arnhem Land. Interwoven with the interviews are Thomson’s remarkable photographs and artifacts of the lives of the native peoples of Australia. The viewer gets a picture of a great anthropologist, along with a better understanding of the native peoples of Australia.
This film would be an asset to any general college anthropology collection. Highly recommended.