[ninas]

i read the book - haven't yet seen the movie. did anyone else read the book?
i was kind of disappointed with it. i mean, the story is incredible, but the
book seemed to be very poorly written. it sounds like the movie might be
better than the book (a rarity!)

anyway, the end of the book tells of what happened to the 3 girls. if i
remember correctly, gracie did find her mother (who was living someplace
different than she originally thought), but also did go back to moore river
and i "think" worked there are a maid. i need to dig out my book and double
check.

also, i believe the book mentioned that the girls were taken as a result of
a law that was written to "help" the half-castes. so it's my understanding
that the whole program of taking these kids to be "reformed" was only
happening to the half-castes. i'll find the passage of the book where that
is mentioned and let you know.

nina


on 3/18/03 6:31 PM, Randy Van Vliet at bigdaddyrv@yahoo.com wrote:

> I was traveling last week, staying in a the Fairfield
> Inn at Newark airport (spooty 1-9!), and was scanning
> the pay movies and, much to my surprise, Rabbit Proof
> Fence was on.  This is not the typical hotel movie
> selection.  I knew the basic subject (the 'stolen
> generations') but I wasn't sure what to expect.
> 
> I was blown away!  The story is probably not too
> unusual from others except that these two girls made
> it, but the emotions and the insight into the era were
> outstanding.  I fell in love with those 3 girls almost
> from the moment we first meet them, not because they
> are cute (they are) but because of who they are and
> what they represent.  You can see character there as
> well as a very natural presence and they are very
> uncomplicated.  If these children were born under
> other circumstances or to other parents, they clearly
> would have bright futures ahead of them.
> 
> Kenneth Branagh did a great job, although I imagine he
> must have hated the role of the bigoted, racist, god
> complex-ed bureaucrat.  (the scene where he is giving
> the slide show to the group of women, it almost made
> mu stomach turn).  The "taking of the girls" scene
> broke my heart.  I was also very impressed with the
> treatment of the rural homesteaders.  The first White
> lady who gave them food, shoes and coats and the other
> ones who lent them aid.  It shows that not all
> Australians cared, or maybe even knew about, the
> "problem".  It reminded me of my time in Northern
> Canada where almost everyone will help our anyone who
> is in distress, particularly in the winter.  It shows
> a much more humanitarian side of people to lend mutual
> aid.  
> 
> Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, see it.  It's not
> a good date movie because it will make you think, but
> it certainly is worth an hour and a half of your time.
> 
> 
> If anyone knows more about the story, I have a few
> questions:
> 
> What happened to Gracie?  Did she just go back to
> Moore River and back into the pipeline?
> 
> Did they take only Half-Castes or did they take full
> aboriginals?
> 
> Was this just a WA thing, the removal of the
> Half-Castes, or did it happen all over Australia?
> 
> Were there many Half Caste boys involved, or did they
> not stay around the whatever the Australian term for
> Reservations is? 
> 
> What finally made them stop?
> 
> Any idea how many Half-Caste children there were?
> Were interracial marriages very common?
> 
> 
> Thanks for your help,
> 
> Randy
> 
> 
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