Rebel With a Cause (ATOM Study Guide)

NB: This study guide includes both a full guide as well as a condensed Grab and Go version.

Rebel With a Cause celebrates the complex emotional character, private intellect, and enduring philosophical actions of four outstanding First Nations’ trailblazers – Senator Neville Bonner, poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Magistrate Pat O’Shane and media icon Tiga Bayles – who put everything on the line for changes that rippled across the country and the world. Each rebel has shouldered blows in order to bring lasting change to their communities and all of Australia.

Each episode is an intimate story about an everyday character whose unstoppable fire in the belly compels them to undertake an unparalleled journey into places of established power to influence change. Their passion propelled them onto a rollercoaster of political life through art, legislation, the media and activism.

The series uncovers what it takes to be a rebel with a cause, through exploring a collection of inspirational ideals that these rebels have personally lived by – ‘Don’t hate, educate’, ‘I’m going out with my gloves on’, ‘I’m a token for no man’, and ‘Are you going to be an honourable ancestor?’ Rebel With a Cause sheds new light on Australia’s political history. Intertwining interviews with colleagues, family and friends, with archive material never before seen by the public.

Curriculum Links:

Rebel With a Cause can be linked to the following subject areas Years 9–12 (and above) in the Australian Curriculum:

• HASS (History, Civics and Citizenship)
• Modern History
• English
• Media Studies

It is also relevant to the general capabilities of intercultural understanding and personal/social capability, as well as cross-curriculum priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.