Through the Window: The Trap of Curiosity in Rachel Perkins' 'Jasper Jones'

The screen adaptation of Craig Silvey's beloved novel – helmed by prolific filmmaker Rachel Perkins – portrays the parochialism and racial divisions of a small Western Australian town during the societally heated period that was late 1960s Australia. By telling its story from the perspective of its adolescent white protagonist, Jasper Jones channels the innocence and openness of youth; in doing so, however, it also inevitably glosses over harsher sociocultural realities, watering down the political commentary latent in its narrative, writes Ellen van Neerven.

Additional keywords:
Aboriginal, Indigenous, representation, blackness, race, racism, race relations, murder, abuse, authenticity, nostalgia, September, Peter Carstairs, The Sapphires, Wayne Blair, Blackfella Films, Mabo, Black Panther Woman, Othering.