Many prominent Australian films reflect the unique qualities of the nation’s identity.  Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 film ‘Strictly Ballroom’, explores the topic of multiculturalism and identity in Australia.  The narrative focuses on Scott, a talented ballroom dancer and his family in search of a new partner to ensure his win at the Pan Pacific Latin Dance Grand Prix.  Scott’s family own the local dance studio and try to partner him with their ideal candidate, however his desire to dance his own steps leads him to find Fran, an awkward, beginner ballroom dancer from a Spanish migrant family.

Fran and her family represent European immigrants in Australia.  Fran does not feel like she fits in with the rest of the dance school, which is very white Australian and avoids revealing her Spanish heritage, for example not mentioning her last name.  Her Spanish family is shown in the film as the multigenerational live-in owners of a working-class milk bar.  Although Fran’s family are used to depict ethnic Australia, it has been criticised that a Spanish family is not common and may avoid any real conflicts of multiculturalism by using a nationality that is easier for white Australians to accept (Bennett, p. 67).  Fran struggles to identify, overlooked and outcast at the dancing studio and restricted by her traditional family, stuck in between these two identities.

Scott is a contrast to Fran, popular and a talented dancer from a successful suburban Australian family, stereotyped by the hills-hoist washing line on the roof of their dance studio.  On the surface Scott and Fran seem very different, however they both feel the pressure and tradition placed on them by their families, a key takeaway of the film and its characters is the common values shared between different cultures within the same country.  Although the film brings us to this realisation, the white Australian culture is still dominant, as it is ultimately Scott’s decision to dance with Fran and using her style, presenting him as the hero who helps her (Bennett, p. 69).  Overall the film aims to represent Australian identity as multicultural by exploring the similarities and differences between different cultures.

Reference:

Bennett, J. 2007, ‘Head On: multicultural representations of Australian identity in 1990s national cinema’. Studies in Australasian Cinema, 1(1), 61–78. https://doi.org/10.1386/sac.1.1.61_1