David Gulpilil, Aboriginal humour and Australian cinema

Abstract

David Gulpilil is an iconic presence in Australian cinema from Roeg's Walkabout in the 1970s through Luhrmann's Australia (2008), and more recently, Catriona McKenzie's Satellite Boy (2011) and Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country (2013). Much is made of him as a ubiquitous signifier of Australian cinema and his talent as an actor, but little attention has been paid to his own important project to engage in intercultural and intracultural dialogues with Australian film-makers. This is a central consideration in understanding both his oeuvre, and his contribution to Australian national cinema over more than 30 years. This article examines how Gulpilil has engaged in a dialogue with Australian auteurs that has communicated Aboriginal identity, culture and tradition. It argues that his communication of Aboriginal knowledge and cultural belief systems (discussed as an ‘Indigenous dialogics’) is his major contribution to Australian national cinema and culture. This article also examines the way in which Aboriginal humour underpins many of these exchanges.