Red Dog Film
How does Red Dog Use The Distinctively Visual to Present Unique Australian Ideas of Mateship?
The film “Red Dog”, directed by Kriv Stenders, effectively uses the distinctly visual to present unique Australian ideas of mateship and the harshness of the Australian outback. It is though film techniques such as camera shots, sound, colour and lighting that creates the distinct images of the Australian identity.
A number of different factors combined create this great film demonstrating the typical Australian values. These include the setting, the comedic script, nostalgic elements, the love story and the pure ‘Australianness’ of the story and its characters. The film highlights the harshness of the Australian outback as well as the natural beauty of the region that serves as a scenic background for the close friendship in rural, working communities. However it is more than just a scenic backdrop, it is a landscape that portrays issues of very real threat of isolation, starvation and death in the vast dry rural landscape. In “Red Dog”, the danger of the outback is demonstrated by John Grant’s sudden death on the desert road.
In the opening sequence of the film, aerial shots are used to establish the setting and show the vastness of the landscape and the harshness of the environment. Many sound effects of bees, flies and crickets are heard by the audience as Thomas walks to the bar, to indicate that the area around is a dry arid landscape.
The film represents the hot, harsh Australian outback through the use of colour and lighting. In particular, the colour of the dust (rustic red or orange) is an iconic and distinctly Australian outback colour. It symbolises the relentless heat in the outback. The degree of intensity is the strong blocks of red that is established in this scene. The bright colours and lighting and high saturation (strong colours) shows how stark the environment or heat is as well as the brightness of the sun. The orange or red tinges highlight the heat. Throughout the whole film, these ‘warmer’ colours have been used to resemble Western Australia, one of the hottest, driest parts of Australia. The colours make the terrain look dry, hot, barren and somewhat isolated.
In Red Dog’s death scene, long shots are used to let the audience view the Australian outback terrain. This part of the scene opens up with an extreme long shot, highlighting the isolation that exists in the Pilbara and emphasises the vastness of this land. The film effectively provides a realistic portrayal of the harsh Australian outback through distinctly visual techniques such as camera shots, sound, colour and lighting.
The familiar Australian bush-story theme of mateship, loyalty and respect between man and dog, a traditional identity of Australian life, is conveyed in “Red Dog”. The director uses skilful camera and visual techniques to portray this stereotypical value of mateship. The director uses an anthropomorphic approach through the anthropomorphism in his representation of “Red Dog”.
This can be seen when the character Jack begins to explain Red Dog to Thomas and states “It’s not what he did but who he was”. This has the effect of privileging Red Dog as equal to Jack and everyone else. This also gives Red Dog an identity. He is not just some dog that they all loved, he had developed a personality and the townspeople understood Red Dog. Red Dog is a mate of the townspeople.
Red Dog is a story about mateship, especially in the isolation of this big harsh country. It is a story about a man and his dog, or a dog and his master, told through the lens of mateship. The Australian notion of mateship is highlighted when Joko suggests that they erect a statue to “somebody who lives and breathes desolation, somebody that has red dust stuck up their nose and in their eyes and in their ears and up their arses!
Mates who are loyal by nature no design… somebody that represents the Pilbara in all of us and I say that somebody, dammit, IS A DOG!” It is also depicted in the line “More than a man’s best friend. A mate to the entire community”. The unique Australian idea of mateship between dog and human is a key theme in Red Dog which is reflected using distinctively visual techniques.
Unique Australian ideas of mateship and the harshness of the Australian outback are presented through the use of the distinctly visual in Stenders’s film “Red Dog”. The director captures these Australian identities by using skilful camera and visual techniques, creating a film shaped with meaning and life.
