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Aborigines

High Ground: Gaining a Broader Perspective

May 15, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Directed by Stephen Johnson, High Ground follows Travis (Simon Baker), a policeman in northern Australia tasked with supporting a local missionary amongst the Indigenous peoples. Once a sniper in WWI, Travis is meant to maintain control of the operation from above with his bird’s-eye view of the situation. Then, when the operation results in a massacre of an Aboriginal tribe, Travis leaves in disgust. However, years later, Travis is forced back into action as he and mission-raised Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), the only known massacre survivor, must work together to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior intent on gaining revenge for their attack years earlier.

Drenched in the intensity of the dry heat of the Outback, High Ground undergirds its storytelling with a bubbling rage. Delving into painful historical practices such as racial injustice and conquest, Johnson pulls few punches regarding the harsh realities of the time. As a result, this is a film that wants to be felt. Unfortunately, despite the complexities of the issues at hand, the script leaves much of the cast little space to build their characters. As a result, High Ground feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, even though it both entertains and challenges.

Though the characters around them may be lacking, High Ground features some wonderful performances from leads Baker and newcomer Nayinggul. As battle-weary Travis, Baker plays his character with a dark edge that never allows him to become too safe for the viewer. Although we follow the film primarily through his perspective, Baker manages to give his character enough nuance for him to never fully take on the name of ‘hero’. (In fact, it could be argued that we only see him as a hero because those around him are so villainous in their motivations and actions.) Even so, it is Nayinggul who ultimately steals the film. For a first-time actor, Nayinggul shows incredible maturity in his performance as he brings out the soul of his young character who wishes to reconnect to his roots and family. As the film’s anchor, the complex relationship between these two actors keeps High Ground compelling, even in its lesser moments.

Ultimately, High Ground is a film about power and control. As the settlers attempt to broaden their territory, their reckless actions reveal their intent to conquer, rather than to partner with the Indigenous peoples. (“You don’t share land,” Moran groans.) Though, while it may begin with the theme of dominating the land, it quickly becomes apparent that this is much more about the power to dominate the people that make it their home. From the opening sequence, Ground establishes that the goal of the white population is to expand their culture and ideas at the expense of tribal cultures. Led by the military and a (largely ineffectual) priest, the primary interest of these settlers is to mould their surroundings into their own image. (Incidentally, this battle for cultural dominance becomes a key character arc for Gutjuk, who struggles to reconcile his indigenous roots with the values of the people who raised him.)

With this in mind, the film also uses Travis to shine a light on the relationship between control and perspective. From his perch as a sniper, Travis sees everything. However, that also makes him distant from it as well. By remaining so far away from the battle, Travis claims less responsibility for its outcome. In doing so, he can show his disdain for the actions of the settlers without ever fully disowning them either. Whereas he argues that his distance gives him control over a situation, it also provides him the chance to ‘wash his hands’ of its outcome as well. 

Having said this, his range of view also allows him to see all that’s going on during the skirmish. While he has the opportunity to disavow his involvement, so too does he recognize when wrongdoing is happening and he wants no part of that. As he grows closer to Gutjuk, Travis becomes more deeply invested in the events taking place around him and his perspectives begin to shift. Though his mind is entrenched in a European way of thinking, he starts to see the value of lifestyles other than his own.

With some fascinating conversations surrounding the arrogance of colonialism, there is a lot to like about High Ground. Although it lacks character development from anyone other than its protagonists, the film fully understands what it wants to achieve and does so effectively.

High Ground is available on VOD on Friday, May 14th, 2021.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Aborigines, Australia, High Ground, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Outback, Simon Baker, Stephen Johnson

How It All Began: The Story of God (Ep. 4)

April 24, 2016 by J. Alan Sharrer 1 Comment

Past Articles in This Series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

The Creation of AdamIn the beginning . . . how did the heavens and the earth come to be?  It’s a question we’ve all invariably considered at some point in our lives. Morgan Freeman has been puzzled by creation since he was a kid attending church in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi.  What else is out there? If God was the architect of everything, who (or what) created him? Or was chance a major aspect of the whole thing?

The fourth episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (National Geographic, Sunday at 9P/8C) brings the subject of creation to the forefront of discussion. And just like the preceding episodes, Freeman’s curiosity leads him to a worldwide search to find an answer (if one exists). He learns some interesting things along the way that are worth tuning in for.

For most people in the Western Hemisphere, creation is synonymous with Adam, Eve, and a garden in Eden. The two lived there peacefully, enjoying the place—all until the day they chose to disobey the one rule God gave them—eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:15-17).  Then they were thrown out by God and forced to work the land in order to survive. Freeman adds, “It’s hard to believe we all come from one man and one woman . . .  but we do.” Freeman has an intriguing discussion with researcher Jodi Magnuss where she mentions a legend about Adam and his dead bones. Supposedly, he was buried right above where Jesus was crucified.  When his blood seeped into the ground, it met the bones and Adam was resurrected. She then has a quick Hebrew lesson with Freeman involving the words adam (man), dam (blood), and adamah (land).

The episode continues with Freeman visiting Gobleki Tepe, an ancient city in Turkey, Egypt, Australia, India, and Guatemala to learn stories of how other faiths describe creation as occurring. Some involve twins and corn (Mayans). Some involve star babies and dreaming (Aborigines). Some are close to the Christian view (Islam), And others just focus on cycles of creation without getting into any details (Hindu).

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)

There is a scientific look at the creation story as well—but the question of the Big Bang is proposed to some high ranking individuals in the Vatican. Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo (seen in the picture above) tells Freeman the Big Bang is not creation because “we don’t know what was before” it happened. But the story is compatible with the normal biblical account of creation because, according to Georges Lemaître, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Science, God is outside of space and time.  Creation is an everlasting act, according to Lemaître, one of the first to propose the Big Bang Theory.  I was surprised there wasn’t a quick discussion about whether the account in Genesis 1 took six literal days or simply six equal measures of time, as I’m sure there’s a scholar out there who could provide some perspective on the subject.

It was made abundantly clear throughout the episode that, regardless of belief, there is a standard that someone bigger than us had a hand in the creation of the planet we live on and the universe we look at on a clear evening. Something had to happen – and we’re a direct result of it. It provides us with a sense of encouragement and perhaps purpose. As Gandalf wisely noted in the Lord of the Rings, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

May we make the most of it.

Filed Under: Reviews, Television Tagged With: Aborigines, Adam, Big Bang, Creation, Eden, Egypt, Eve, Gandalf, Genesis 1, Georges Lemaître, Gobleki Tepe, Hindu, India, Jesus, Jodi Magnuss, Lord of the Rings, Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Mayas, Morgan Freeman, Muslim, National Geographic Channel, The Story of God

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