Tessa Arnold, the Hokies Abroad marketing intern, writes:

Before you travel to Australia, take 94 minutes of your time to watch the powerful film, Rabbit-Proof Fence. Based on a true story, this movie is set in Western Australia in the year 1931 and focuses on shameful history in Australia where “half-caste” Aboriginal children were taken by force from their families and tribes to camps and taught to be servants.

The film tells the story of three Aboriginal girls, Molly Kelley, her sister Daisy and their cousin Gracie. It shows their escape from confinement in a government camp for half-castes, and their return home across the vast Australian Outback. It is a simple story of indomitable courage, told with honest emotion. Abducted by police in 1931 from their families at Jigalong, an Aboriginal settlement on the edge of the Little Sandy Desert in northwest Australia, the three girls are sent to the Moore River Native Settlement near Perth. Here the children must endure wretched conditions. Herded into mass dormitories, they are not allowed to speak their native language, are subject to strict discipline, and, if they break the rules, are put into solitary confinement for 14 days.

Followed by the Aborigine tracker, Moodoo, the girls make their escape. Using a “rabbit-proof fence” as a navigation tool, they walk 1,500 miles across the parched Outback to return to Jigalong. The rabbit-proof fence was a strip of barbed-wire netting that cut across half of the continent and was designed to protect farmer’s crops by keeping the rabbits away. The girls walked for months on end often without food or drink, not always sure of the direction they are going, using all their ingenuity and intelligence along the way just to survive. Overall, Rabbit-Proof Fence is mostly a combination of an adventure and a suspense film. Set in the breathtaking Australian wilderness, magnificent cinematography goes without saying. The suspense is realistic and comparatively subtle.

I watched this film immediately upon returning to the United States from my North Queensland program in summer 2011 after several recommendations of it from faculty. Although the movie is not set in North Queensland; it depicts the dishonorable history of the Stolen Generations in such a strong way that will really help you understand some of the background of Aboriginal culture and people that you will meet, if you study on the program. The impact of the Stolen Generations has passed on to the families, who suffered the loss of their children; and to the next generation—whose parents were part of the Stolen Generations.

Again, I advise everyone to watch this emotional yet powerful film. Do not be fearful in watching it just because it focuses on history that most shy away from. Instead, grab your popcorn, a comfortable seat, and maybe some tissues and enjoy this remarkable film as a learning experience!