The film, which is at once almost a documentary and almost a piece of exploitative fiction on film by Tracey Moffatt entitled, “Nice Colored Girls” follows three young women who are Australian aborigines as they are pursued by a white man called The Captain. If one had the sound off while watching this film it would appear to be a recognizable scene of a man pursuing different women for him to enjoy. However, with the sound on it immediately becomes clear that the director of the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt is seeking to demonstrate how many of the interactions between Australian aboriginal women and white men have not changed since the initial period of colonization.
Although it is eventually revealed that the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt is not a documentary and is not simply a film depicting a real moment in time, one does get the sense that is a documentary at first taking place over the historical narration about first contact between Australian aborigines and white settlers. The film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt is far more about exploring the inner connectivity of history and an ending cycle of racist behavior that began at first contact and continues despite the modern buildings, cityscape, and new age. The plot of the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt is recognizable but without the director’s decision to interpose historical elements, particularly the narrative about colonization ; first contact and thoughts about aboriginal women, one might see this film as a simple narrative about a man trying to find women to bring him pleasure.
One of the main issues about the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt that can not be forgotten, aside from the excellent connection between history and modern action, is the way the film ends. Throughout the film one feels a powerful sense of wrong end of the doomed repetitious nature of black-white relationships even long after colonization. However, the fact that the director chose to end the film with the women walking away from the situation seemed like a contrived effort to include a happy ending, or a least one where the women were able to break the bonds of history. Even if it was a good ending and a delicate reminder that times have changed and women are able to walk away from such situations, almost the entire film is aimed at showing how relationships between black women and white men have not changed since colonization.
Because of this aspect of the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt, there is something cheap about the ending because although the women are walking away from that particular situation, there is obviously a much larger problem that exists– one that cannot simply be denied or walked away from. While it seems clear that this ending was meant to reveal something about the choices women have rather than a more bleak message about the curse of colonization, the fact that these same scenarios are being played out so many years after colonization speaks volumes about the fact that there is no ability to walk away in this situation repeats itself.
Despite my criticism of the ending of the film “Nice Colored Girls” by Tracey Moffatt, it was indeed a very powerful and complex series of modern versus colonial images and ideas. While it may seem trite to say, it is impossible to get over how brilliant this film is in the way it uses historical narrative overlaid upon common modern images to make a point about the inescapable it he of history. The frequent shots contrasting the cityscape in the outback are equally powerful and show that both are, in a sense, jungles– full of danger and uncertainty.
Other essays and articles in the Arts Archives related to this topic include : Summary and Analysis of the Short Film “True Stories” by Rachel Mira Perez • Summary, Analysis and Review of the Film “Reel Bad Arabs” •Review and Analysis of the Documentary Film “The Merchants of Cool” • Analysis and Review of the Documentary Film “Transgeneration”
