Intro
The Castle (1997), is the story of a Melbourne family living in close proximity to an airport, believing they are living the ‘Australian dream”, until the airport attempts to legally remove the Kerrigan family from their home and Darryl from his castle.
The language conventions in The Castle reflect cultural identity to its audience. The cultural identity displayed by the Kerrigans is dramatized through the use of language. The screenplays use colloquial language by the Kerrigan family to reflect the typical culture of the working class, though due to times satirical nature of this representation, ultimately shapes cultural identity for its audience.
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1. Pride
During the scene where Darryl receives his Father's Day gifts the audience is allowed a glimpse at their family bond through language as they crowd and huddle together on the sofa, this emphasizes the significance of pride in exchanging gifts. As Dale states “Even though none of us have a real lot of money we love giving each other presents”.
The gifts presented to Darryl are not necessarily expensive items, however for Darryl, the items hold more significance and sentimental value. Dale addresses the audience and proceeds to provide a wholesome description of the pool room, after which Sal gifts Darryl a German beer mug.
Darryl proceeds to give an overly grateful and overwhelming reaction “This is going straight to the pool room!”. The next shot leads the audience to the pool room in all its glory, signifying its importance to the Kerrigan family.
As the scene shifts the audience witnesses an extensive view of Darryl’s pool room and the collection of items that he considers the most significant to him. The varying camera angles including extreme close-ups and panning reveal the different treasures he possesses, those in which he finds most special only adding to his personal identity and culture.
Throughout this room, the audience can see numerous components of an individual's identity such as gifts, images, and certificates.
Dale once again states “All dads most prized possessions are in the pool room….so by him saying it was going straight to the pool room meant he thought it was special”. For Darryl, it shows his family's achievements and success in both their and his individual identity as his sense of pride is apparent.
Dale's language has a major impact on the representation of the scene as the techniques in his quotes help the audience define the pride Darryl has for the room and the possessions within.
His colloquial language such as “...so by him saying it was going straight to the pool meant he thought it was special” helps provide a clear understanding of the connection and pride the Kerrigans have with the pool room. Dale’s informal speech also assists the impact of his quotes as they become more meaningful and personal.
2. Perception
During the first scene of the film, the audience is introduced to the whole Kerrigan family, stated by Dale revealing their individual achievements and importance and declaring their place within the family.
“Our father is the backbone of the family”, metaphorically representing the part Darryl plays within the family. Dale's view of his father represents the gratitude both he and his family have for him and his crucial role in maintaining the family.
“If dads the backbone, mums the other bones, all of them” once again using Dales voice over while showing images to display her talents, as Darryl praises her for her skills and always encourages her hopes and dreams, the audience is given the ability to see the perceptions of them within the family playing a crucial part in their individual expression.
“Steve is also an ideas man, that's why Dad calls him the ideas man” Through this characterization of Steve using gentle humor we are told of his talent and his role in the collective family identity. As Dale describes Steve the audience grasps his perception of him, once again the regard Dale has for Steve even though his ideas may seem basic, the Kerrigans classify his ideas as knowledgeable. Once again creating positive perceptions of one another in the Kerrigan family to reflect on one's cultural identity.
The marriage of Tracey and Con in Darryl's speech is shown to give a glimpse at changing perspective as he states “Let's not beat around the bush” The Greeks have a reputation” quickly sees the change in tone as he adjusted his attitude because of Con’s love for Tracey, allowing to become aware of the families deep devotion to the love they all have. “We love you, we love you” displays through repetition the genuine emotion the Kerrigans have for Con and his love for Tracey. A panning shot that follows Darryl and Con’s appreciation shows the love between them.
Conclusion
The castle manifests a typical Australian family in the 90’s, through its language devices the film allows an audience to gain a strong understanding of cultural identity within the film. Its use of colloquial language, gentle humor, other language techniques, and supporting themes such as pride and perception aid the representation of cultural identity. The screenplay's depiction of the working class suggests an emphasis on their attitude towards family, whose attitudes and values differ from those of mainstream culture. This proposes the Kerrigan family holds great pride and a fairly positive perception of family values and culture.
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