From the Kanyini forum

I once grew up in remote north western area of Australia and saw many indigenous people run their lives down by alcohol which basically made some places a no go zone.

 

 For a long time I was very angry and agreed with most comments I heard that most indigenous peoples of Australia need to snap out of it and clean their act up.

 

 Though after viewing kanyini I have changed my view and feel a little disgusted for my thoughts and not raising the bar myself.

 

 If I were a person who was spat on and treated in the horrible way our government has done I too would be broken and just suck on a flagon or two.

 

 Well... to put it nicely I went home depressed and had a few drinks as I felt completely horrible to be Australian. Johnny has got to go... (had to add that last bit as I dislike our current indigenous policy).

 

 metalsoup

 Junior Member

 

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 Overall the film itself was a compelling documentary, which was anchored singularly by Bob - who is a monumentally inspirational human being. I have rarely heard such passion and sense spoken with honest humility in my life. He is quite possibly our Australian Nelson Mandela.

 

 As a recent Australian - emigrated from England a decade ago - Bob made me realise just how wrong our 'Anglo' culture has been historically to Australian culture. But whilst I suddenly felt an urge to say "sorry" for the wrongs perpetrated by our colonial ancestors this urge was balanced by a new found respect for how very right Bob's clearly expressed Indigenous perspective on our current situation is. Bob telling us of our need to reconnect with our selves, of our need to reconnect with our families and with our friends, of our need to reconnect with our culture and of our need to reconnect with our environment; Bob telling us that we need to rediscover our Kanyini - our interconnectedness - how true.

 

 Draw a line through what's broken now: our changing climate, our fractured communities and our greedy society, our politics of selfishness and our damaged, increasingly polluted world. The line that joins these hurts is a painful lack of kanyini. Bob has experienced more hurt than I or anyone I know. His courage and conviction stand as a beacon of hope to me. I think it's time we all got some kanyini.

 

 howsoup

 Junior Member

 

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 I saw "Kanyini" with a friend last night, having arrived home from India less than a week ago. Overseas travel always gives me new perspective and makes me think deeply about my home in Australia - so perhaps this was perfect timing for me to see the film.

 

 I thought the way the narrative approach taken to explaining the modern dilemma facing all Australians about indigenous Australians was excellent. It drew various threads together in a way that I hadn't heard before and gave me a new insight. I think it has also armed me for discussions or arguments that I may confront with other people.

 

 I understood basic issues of land "ownership" and the travesty of the stolen generations before seeing the film. The one thing I have struggled to understand is how the wounds inflicted on past generations of Aborigines could be felt so keenly by this generation. I have Irish heritage but I don't hate the British for putting my ancestors in a position where they had to send their children to Australia so they wouldn't starve to death. "Kanyini" gave me some insight into that.

 

 As a documentary film I loved the visuals and music that were chosen to support Bob's words. How could you not understand the spirituality and connection to such a beautiful place? How could you fail to take responsibility as a custodian? The archival images of children playing together were lovely.

 

 One criticism I have of the piece as a film - I found it a bit repetitive towards the end. I felt like I was hearing things that had already been covered earlier in the film.

 

 I was most moved by the story of children being removed from their families.

 

 I was in despair at the pictures of petrol and paint sniffing.

 

 I agree that the traditional way seemed like a beautiful way to live.

 

 Thanks for the opportunity to see and comment on the film.

 

 littleedlo

 Junior Member

 

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 Hi. I  took along a friend to see this movie and she cried at the end of it, i felt like crying but seeing as she was i coudn't really......but more than an immediate impact i have come away with new hope and more respect for the indigenous people of Australia. I feel like i finally 'get them' in terms of where they were and where they are now. I feel the enormity of our impact on them and i will think differently from now on. I am actually looking around now to see what things i can do, get involved in.... Our Government is really shit and we can't rely on them, they won't even say sorry. I actually don't know if the sorry would change a lot but it would mean a change of attitude from up top. What can we do?

 

 I've bought a book on indigenous culture. I'm going to fly to Ayers rock and see if I can visit Mutujulu (need to check the spelling!) and maybe even see if I can meet Bob. I've written to my MP - Liberal so not expecting a reply because they just don't care at all. I'm going to use the word kanyini in place of interconnectedness. I have told my colleagues to go and see Kanyini.

 

 Yep a long way to go indeed but having lived in New Zealand we can live with a more mutual respect of our indigenous culture. John Howard is certainly the greatest problem - after all, he's the one who's carefully crafted our most selfish years and made us such a materialistic, greed-driven culture. He's not going to support the adoption of kanyini thinking - he cares only for money and his place in history and history will be unkind to a man so lacking in cultural vision.

 

 noodle

 Junior Member

 

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 It makes me angry then it makes me sad, then it makes me want to do something about it.

 

 I thought the film was a great way to tell a story we all probably know but have not understood before. Bob is truly an exceptional man with a great deal of wisdom.

 

 It had amazing footage of aboriginals in it back from early settlement that were stunning. They looked like cool dudes. No footage i have ever seen has given me such an appreciation for what it would have been like back then.

 

 It feels like more and more we are seeing that everything is connected. I saw David Suzuki the other night and he was talking about how he had studies lots interesting indigenous cultures around the world and that he thinks that the way they lived and cared for their world/environment is something we can all learn more from. It feels like we have a lot to learn from aboriginals that we have not appreciated before. I have hope that we will get there.

 

 filmfan

 Junior Member

 

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 How good was Bob? It was a shame he spoke for the entire aboriginal people. I think it could have been more balanced. Bob was speaking of his experience as an Uluru native. I think he needed a couple of other representatives from other tribes to tell their story to give the film a bit of balance. Over all, a lot of powerful points were raised and it it is a hard pill of history to swallow.

 

 craighughes

 Junior Member

 

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 In the way that "An Inconvenient Truth" is a film that everyone should see to understand the gravity of the global warming situation, "Kanyini" is also a film that all Australians should see to gain an understanding of the suffering and the dislocation that indigenous Australians have been through. I thought Bob Randall's call for black and white Australians to understand each other's worlds was powerful and achievable and I hope there is enough good will on both sides to make that happen. As a film device I found Bob's use of "you" when talking about white Australia as in "you have done this to us, you have caused this" really confronting and it has stayed with me since leaving the cinema. Did I really do this? Yes, I was/am part of a culture that has perpetrated wrongs on another culture and we must work together to address those wrongs so that we can all benefit from living in this wonderful country.

 

 Bob is a lovely man, softly spoken, articulate and obviously has a big heart and a tragic story. Well done to the filmmaker for giving him the space to tell his story in an unhurried and gentle manner! I am recommending the film to all my friends and colleagues!

 

 hotsoup

 Junior Member

 

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 This movie is so in your face, it is so straightforward that you find no hidden message in it. I think it gives the audience a chance to see what the story is like on the other side of the fence in a no-nonsense kinda way. It leaves it up to you, whether you want to accept it or not, that is how they feel.

 

 Seems like a voice of frustration at the beginning and sounds pretty one-sided, but in the end, it turns out to be such a gentle appeal for the two worlds to collide in a manner befitting one of unity.

 

 Very thought provoking too about how Bob read the Bible and found that certain things seem hypocritical.

 

 Recommended viewing.

 

 WillZ

 Junior Member

 

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 I thought the film was fantastic. I found it to be an extremely powerful film, which was very emotionally evocative. I thought it was excellent in the way it took the viewer on a journey from past to present in exploring the lives and culture of Indigenous Australians and in so doing examining the plight and problems that Aboriginal people are faced with today. The narrator, Bob, is a captivating presence in the film and he was the perfect individual to convey the message that this film endeavours to express.

 

 Throughout the film i felt a number of different emotions including a deep sadness, anger, shame and guilt but I liked how ultimately the film acted as a message of hope and possibility for better relations in the future between white and black Australians. I really connected with the idea that to move forward, as a society we have to totally accept our history honestly and then learn from each other - it can no longer be one sided and about integrating one culture into the other. It has to be a merge of two cultures in order to gain that sense of respect and peace that has so far eluded us.

 

 Overall, i wasn't sure what to expect from Kanyini but I was pleasantly surprised and incredibly moved by the film.

 

 sanders

 Junior Member

 

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 The movie had a big impact on me... I knew very little about the history of the Aborigines before the film, I am not Australian. It is shame that this issue has not received more attention from people. Like Bob mentions at the end of the movie, everyone needs to start working together, and teach each other about both the cultures and way of life. The aboriginal way of life is a very important part of history and needs to be taught in schools at an early age. I thought this film was a wonderful way to address this important issue.

 

 Souply

 Junior Member

 

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 Great film – opened my eyes to a lot I had no idea about. I’m usually more of a ‘movies as escapism’, time for me not to think rather than the heavier educational type of film, but Kanyini has totally changed that. It was moving, educational, eye opening and in ways inspirational. Bob was an amazing guy. For him to have lived through all that and still be smiling about it and kind of joking was very grounding. The images of where he lived and where he now lives actually made me cry!

 

 Coming from Britain i had no idea about what happened to the indigenous population in Australia. It made me really angry about how human beings can do that to each other, especially whilst preaching the bible and supposedly teaching them a better way. But don’t get me talking about religion and people forcing their god on people already happy with their way of life and their beliefs!

 

 Anyway, I think all Australians should see this film – it helps you understand what is happening to the indigenous population and helps you empathise rather than judge and criticize. Hopefully this film can get people really thinking about what can be done to help the current situation so we can all work together like Bob said!

 

 charliesoup

 Junior Member

 

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 This movie is great at showing how such a developed nation such as Australia can treat it's indigenous population so poorly.

 

 It conveys the message so well with all the old footage

 

 My girlfriend and i loved it. she, being a human rights lawyer, is now hell-bent on helping out Aborigines as best she can. The system that Bob suggested in the movie (teaching both aboriginal history/culture and also other 'white' systems) is exactly what we believe is needed and we plan on helping setting this up

 

 This movie truly was an eye opener

 

 I'd seen before how bad conditions were in the Tiwi islands, but they were nowhere near as bad as where Bob is from

 

 kiki

 Junior Member

 

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 I found Kanyini to be such a heartfelt movie that would not leave a dry eye in the house. I knew on some level of all the atrocities that had happened but after watching this film I learnt so much more of what happened, and after hearing it from Bob perspective I felt so ashamed and truly sorry for the wrong-doings done. I think this movie needs to be watched by all Australians especially the younger generations as we should never forget what happened. And as Bob said we need to accept the real truth not just the hidden truth before we can all move on TOGETHER. It was honestly one of the best movies I've seen all year! Thank you for the opportunity.

 

 emily_em5

 Junior Member  

 

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This film was

 

 * confronting

 * insightful

 * informative

 * cultural

 * sad

 * strong

 * and provocative

 

It was confrontational in the way that it presented the modern lifestyle of Aboriginals, how it's so unnatural for them to be living in those public areas, rather than in the outback, living off the land. It showed how unhappy they were of their lifestyle, and contrasted their ideal lifestyle to their actual lifestyle.  It was insightful in it's exploration of Uluru. How amazing that there is a place like that in Australia? When in Melbourne, full of buildings and streets, I forget that it's not just Africa and other poverished places dealing with disease and poverty... it's happening in the centre of our country!

 

 It was informative in its comparison between Aboriginals and prisoner's lifestyles - prisoners are doing well! And also informative that Aboriginals are strong willed and are passionate about their heritage.

 

 The culture of the Indigenous people was strong, travelling back in time to when their culture was more traditional, now it has been overruled by white peoples’ tendencies.

 

 It was sad, seeing how white people have really wrecked the lives of these people, invading their land and cutting all connections with the land and heritage that they had. It was sad that they couldn't do much about it. It was sad that I, a 17 year old felt guilty about their conditions when I have no contributed in any way. I felt for them.

 

 And it provoked me to care. Hopefully everyone does.

 

 Annamiek xox

 Junior Member

 

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 I had already heard of Bob Randall, his book 'Songman: Story of an Aboriginal Elder', and the concept of Kanyini as well as Bob's song 'My Brown Skin Baby They Take Him Away' as a result of my uni studies at Gnibi Indigenous College, Southern Cross University, Lismore (a big thank you to all the wonderful teachers and staff at Gnibi). Bob Randall is a beautiful storyteller and truly an inspirational man, as are so many Aboriginal Australians who are still so willing to share their culture and knowledge with the very same people who inflicted so much pain and trauma on them. I am constantly amazed that such a traumatised people can still be so generous in spirit. "Beautiful people living in a beautiful way" is how Bob described his people. We (non-Indigenous Australians) have much to learn about living in accordance with our beliefs - connecting our beliefs to our actions - rather than saying one thing and doing another - which is what we have been doing for too long! It is time for all Australians to start caring, sharing and respecting each other. If we all keep spreading the word - Kanyini - perhaps one day in the future we will truly be "One Mob" in this great land of ours.

 

 Clare

 Junior Member

 

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 Dear all,

 Around 20 years ago I was looking for a suitable name for my goat farm and home in the Flinders Ranges.

 I checked out my Pitjantjatjara dictionary and come up with 'kanyini'. I consulted people who might know better than me and was confirmed in my choice.

 It is so moving for me to find that Uncle Bob (whom I know) chose 'kanyini' for the film title.

 I didn't necessarily always live up to 'kanyini', but I tried to.

 I now have my own tribe/clan/family/moiety/skin in the Top End and try to apply kanyini as best I can.

 Regards,