themes and ideas

colonialism

the hunter

island home

criticises european use of the natural world through colonialism- believes that australian landscape is better because it is not colonised in the same way

somewhat eurocentric position- views europe as the home of culture and the white australian consciousness

includes and praises indigenous perspectives

ignores the indigenous perspective completely

very eurocentric persperctive of the land as something to either be exploited or protected, in the pastoral sense, by the nurturing, overseeing white man, who must be removed from and superior to the land to fulfil this role

does criticise the colonial perspective but affirms a different perspective also rooted in eurocentricism and white supremacy over and ownership of the land

this is somewhat a eurocentric position in itself- the australian land was heavily and violently colonised, but winton seems to almost excuse this because he cannot see the direct effects and he has what he wants: space

both texts criticise but subconsciously/subtextually affirm colonial exploitation of the land

this occurs to a more significant degree in the hunter

capitalism

similar arguments to colonialism for the hunter and island home

okja

capitalism bad- human exploitation of the world for material gain bad

religion and morality

the land has a moral/spiritually guiding effect

gender

the hunter

aesthetics and beauty

film lends itself to affirming the aesthetic value of the land

the road affirms the aesthetic value of the land- and the value of aesthetics- by showcasing the distinct absense of it in this new world, and the consequences for humanity

the writing style is bleak and stripped back to add to the atmosphere of plainness

the only beautiful bit is when describing the wife, the son, or the final scene

strengthens the link between physical, environmental beauty and happiness + love

the final scene in the road contrasts the rest of it, finalising the postlapsarian context of the book

the dream scene is straight out of W.B. Yeats' poem, which references revelation

whole plot is a grail story

interplay between practicality and preservation

the hunter: both preservation and practicality are realised through violence

focuses on this theme, rewards preservation (ironically, this is only achieved through destruction and violence, demonstrating the inherently cruel consequences of human exploitation through colonialism, and the paradoxes of morality that arise when a contemporary audience attempts conservation in the face of current and historical exploitation)

still colonial, gendered perspective of white man as the preserver and pastoral caretaker of nature: a telling representation of how white, christian masculinity uses violence to exercise control, even if it's for a good cause, as it is in this case, and as the film so explicitly states

'rewarded' through david's individuation and journey from tool of violent, corporate greed to an emotionally developed man

island home: strongly emphasises preservation over practicality in terms of materials, but represents preservation as itself practical psychologically, spiritually and socially