Rabbit Proof Fence - The book vs. The Movie

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Rabbit Proof Fence - The book vs. The move!
English 7!Johan Palmfjord, DIG11!

Rabbit Proof Fence - The book vs. The movie!

Rabbit Proof Fence, originally a book written by Doris Pilkington but also a movie, is a true
story about three aboriginal sisters; Molly, Daisy and Gracie. It is set in the 1930s’
Australia, when the British settlers was trying to breed out the native aboriginal culture,
asserting it was for their own good. The sisters, among with many their age, are today
referred to as ”the stolen generation”. This is, just as the name hints, a whole generation
aboriginal children (or actually so-called half-castes, children of both a white and an
aboriginal parent) that was abducted from their families to settlements where they were
schooled and forced to adapt the white people’s culture.!
The book tells the story of how the sisters are transported from their home, Jigalong, in
northwest Australia to the settlement in the south where they are placed, how they escape
from it and walks back through the outback all the way back to Jigalong.!
At ?rst sight the book and the movie seems almost identical. However, one will ?nd some
major differences if you look in-depth. Firstly, the book gives a much more extensive
background story than the movie does. For example it describes how the aboriginal
families were forced to move their settlements, as the white settlers gradually took over
their domains by building fences, villages and farms. Since the aborigines had nowhere to
hunt they became more and more dependent on supplies from the white settlers. This is
not really mentioned in the ?lm.!
Also the capturing of the girls is more complicated in the book than in the movie. Molly and
Gracie were fetched in their settlement by a constable, while Daisy was a lot harder to ?nd.
None of them made any resistance against the constable in the book, unlike in the movie
where he had to lift them into his car. As the journey to their new settlement continues one
realises it is a lot more simpli?ed in the movie than in the book, where the travel is divided
into multiple stages. It should also be mentioned that several minor characters have been
removed, likely to give the main plot more space. An example is the camel the sisters rode
when they arrived at Jigalong in the end, as well as a girl that bond with the sisters during
their journey to the settlement.!
Regarding my personal thoughts, I believe the movie is meant to be entertaining while the
book gives a much more accurate history about ”the stolen generation”.!

Rabbit Proof Fence - The book vs. The move!
English 7!Johan Palmfjord, DIG11!
To summarise; the book is more of a historical narrative for those who care for a more
accurate description of what the aborigines have been through. Personally I don’t ?nd it
very entertaining, more like a history lesson, since the authors way of telling is not
perfectly in line with more conventional ways of telling stories. Nevertheless I would like to
emphasise that there is a big difference between interesting and entertaining. !
The movie, on the other hand, I do ?nd entertaining. They have changed a lot of details,
but kept the core of the story and, at least for me, it narrat...