Servant or Slave is a documentary film which premiered in 2016.
The topic is the indigenous population of Australia – the first Australians, aka aboriginals - with special focus on two aspects of their history: the stolen generations and the stolen wages.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Steven McGregor
** Writer: Mitchell Stanley
** Co-writer: Hetti Perkins
** Narrator: Hetti Perkins
** Available on DVD and Amazon Prime Video
** Run time: 58 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film.
Here are the names of the participants:
# 1. First-hand accounts
Five aboriginal women offer their testimony. They are all members of the stolen generations: as children they were taken from their parents and placed in public or private institutions. Here are the names:
** Adelaide Wenberg
** Rita Wenberg
** Valerie Linow (born Wenberg)
** Violet West
** Rita Wright
# 2. Academic scholars
Three academic scholars offer their testimony. They have studied this issue for a long time. They have written books and articles about it. Here are the names:
** Professor Larissa Behrendt
** Dr Rosalind “Ros” Kidd
** Dr Fiona Skyring
I am not going to tell you what these witnesses have to say. Watch the film, if you want to know what it means when Australian people talk about the stolen generations and the stolen wages.
What do reviewers say about this film?
Here are some results:
On IMDb it has a rating of 83 per cent.
On Amazon there are at the moment 21 ratings of this product, 8 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.1 stars which corresponds to a rating of 82 percent.
If you ask me, both ratings are too low.
Why do I say this?
Because this film is a powerful document about an important issue.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
If you are interested in the question of human rights and justice for all, this film is definitely something for you.
It is a sad story about violations of human rights.
But in a way it is also positive and uplifting:
For many years, these five aboriginal women were silent. They did not talk about what happened to them. They did not complain about the abuse they had to suffer, because they knew that nobody would listen; and that nobody would care.
But things are beginning to change. These women have decided to speak out. They have decided to tell their story. They are no longer afraid to call for justice.
This dark chapter of Australian history is no longer ignored by academic scholars.
It is studied. It is covered in books and articles. And in documentary films such as Servant or Slave.
PS # 1. The following books are written by the three scholars who are interviewed in the film:
Home
by Larissa Behrendt
(Hardcover 2005)
(Paperback 2012)
The Way We Civilise:
Aboriginal Affairs – the untold story
by Rosalind “Ros” Kidd
(1997)
Justice: A History of the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia
by Fiona Skyring
(2011)
PS # 2. The following items are available online:
Luke Buckmaster, “Women of the stolen generations: I want my story out,” The Guardian, 28 November 2016
Cath McLeish, “Servant or Slave: Stunning new documentary exposes Australia’s stolen wages history,” New Matilda, 2 August 2016
PS # 3. To find more information about aboriginal history, you can google the following cases:
** The 1946 Pilbara strike
** The 1966 Wave Hill walk-out
(Also known as the Gurindji strike)
PS # 4. The Australian Wars is a documentary film in three parts which premiered on Australian television (SBS) in 2022. Director: Rachel Perkins.
The topic is a dark chapter of Australian history: the wars against the aboriginals (1788-1928); a chapter which has been described as the Great Australian Silence.
*****
The Way We Civilize
Aboriginal Affairs -
the untold story
By Rosalind Kidd
(1997)
*****
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