How Wayne Blair’s "The Sapphires" tells a story of collective and individual belonging

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Lexy Akillas

Abstract

Wayne Blair’s 2012, dramatic comedy The Sapphires is an Australian film that discusses a number of important issues for Indigenous people, including the concept of belonging. Blair explores how belonging can exist both within community groups and internally through self-identity. The bones of the film are based on the true story of Laurel Robinson and Lois Peeler, two Indigenous women who toured Vietnam as the original ‘Sapphires’ with a New Zealand Maori band (Herche 2013). Laurel Robinson’s son, Tony Briggs wrote the screenplay and the 2004 musical (of the same name) thus being able to add a sense of authenticity. The film opens up a side of Australian history that has previously been underrepresented but has a universal appeal through its representation of belonging.

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How to Cite
Akillas, L. (2020). How Wayne Blair’s "The Sapphires" tells a story of collective and individual belonging. NEW: Emerging Scholars in Australian Indigenous Studies, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5130/nesais.v5i1.1571
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