High Ground from Australia

"High Ground" is set in the northern territories of Australia in the 1930's.  Colonists forcing the aboriginals to bend using guns and horses. 

In the beginning we see a young Gutjuk witnessing the brutal killing of his immediate aboriginal family.  He is rescued by a missionary.   Several years later he is enlisted to hunt down his own uncle who has broken the colonial law.  By other aboriginals he is labelled a missionary aboriginal.  The story demonstrates much brutality and in the end we are left that like in America the indigenous were subdued with violence and self righteous superior technology.  

The story is fictional, but It is claimed that it is based on reality.  It is similar to some westerns, but it is better labeled a northern.

It will impact you, even if you are used to American westerns.  Aside from the brutal violence between the colonizers and the aborigines, it also displays spectacular cinematography and some aboriginal music.  The cast and crew are outstanding.  Here are some of the contributors.

Stephen Johnson was the director. and an executive producer.  He has 10 directing credits, 3 for producing and one for script and continuity.  

Chris Anastassiades wrote the script.  He has 29 writing credits, 5 for Scripting and Continuity and one for acting.

Andrew Commis was the cinematographer.  He has 29 cinematography credits and 5 for camera and electrical including "The Rocket" (2013).

Jill Bilcock was an editor.  She has 40 editing credits, 3 for the editorial department and six for producing including "Moulin Rouge" (2001), "Elizabeth:  The Golden Age" (2007), "The Young Victoria" (2009), "The Dressmaker" (2015) and "A Cry in the Dark" (2022).

Anousna Zarkesh was the casting director.  She has 99 casting credits plus 24 casting department credits.  She specializes in diversity and local indigenous talent.

Jacob Junior Nayinggul plays Gutjuk caught between the colonial and aboriginal cultures.  He has 3 acting credits.

Carene Pistorius plays a missionary who speaks the local aborigine language.  She graduated from the Auckland Univesity having studied animation and illustration.  She has 18 acting credits including "The Light between Oceans" (2016).

Cullen Mulvey plays Eddie, a half caste who works with the colonial military, but is not trusted by everyone.  He was born in New Zealand and actually is part Maori.  He has 46 credits for acting and one for stunts including "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012) and "Ford vs. Ferrari" (2019).

Simon Baker played Travis, a sniper and is also one of the executive producers.    Simon was a high level surfer and water polo player.  In America he won a Prime Time Emmy award for leading actor.  He has 48 acting credits plus 4 for producing including "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006) and "The Margin Call" (2011).

Jack Thompson played a senior colonial officer and was also an executive producer.  He was famous for a nude photo in magazine.  He also was in an open sexual relationship with two sisters for about 15 years.  He has won an acting award at the Cannes Festival in 1980.  He has 116 acting credits and 3 for producing including "Breaker Morant" (1980), "The Man from Snowy River" (1982) and "The Great Gatsby" (2013).

Around the globe nations that are modernized have been able to exploit those peoples who have been more dependent on nature.  I am like most North Americans in although I am not aware of any violent action against indigenous, but in effect I live on stolen land while also benefiting from the resources that have been extracted by many of my ancestors.  We all need to learn from and respect our neighbors and thereby better improve how we all fit in.

 This film was taken by PVR from the APTN tv network.   If you can find it,  it is worth the effort unless violence really upsets you.

FARSIGHTED

We make dozens of decisions every day, but some decisions are too complex to be resolved without study.   There are many books that advise http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/08/decisions-are-path-to-success.html  Johnson delves into what he calls "complex decisions," the ones that can change our lives and deserve careful deliberation.

As he recommends stories as a path to understanding Johnson tells us a few examples.  The decision process to kill Osama bin Ladin was very complex and serious.  The Abbotabad  decision benefited from previous mistakes.  We are taken back to a mysterious bit of information that only indicated that an important person might live at a compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan.  Although it was early speculated that this might be where bin Ladin was holed up, the danger of being wrong was critical. At each step of the process multiple opinions are sought and teased out with many choices being eliminated.

Loss aversion is a greater fear than greed for gain and needs to be guarded against.  At some point in a complex decision we try to calculate the risks of something not working out as anticipated.

Uncertainties are certain to be found in complex decisions or as Donald Rumsfeld would say, there are unknown unknowns.  One way of dealing with them is to cast a wide net involving other contributors.  As much as practical scenarios can be constructed.  Simulations might also be tried such as the Pentagon rehearsing possible attacks on Abbotabad that modified their plans.

You might recall there was no buildup to the announcement of a successful mission.  They had also taken into account some of the consequences of the assassination.  They had booked an alternative supply route to Afghanistan a year in advance.  They had taken precautions to minimize the martyrdom of bin Ladin.

Charles Darwin was contemplating marriage, but had many concerns about what he would have to give up.  We know that he adopted a version of what has come to be known as the Benjamin Franklin method.  Other than him actually marrying we don't know his conclusion to the decision.  Later he faced another decision when his daughter Annie was threatened with a little understood disease.  Unfortunately the options were not well studied and she died forcing changes in both his and wife's lives.  He became less religious and open about it while he his wife found comfort in her religion.

Returning to Darwin to illustrate other points.  What surprised me the most was that the decision to publish his theory of Evolution took very long.  He wanted the fame that he expected, but not the notoriety that would ensue and not only create intense religious hostility, but upset his wife.  His wife eventually accepted her husband's lack of religiosity, but in the end Darwin was forced to publish his theory as a rival threatened to publish his similar theory first.

Another set of decisions came from reading novels in particular "Middlemarch." George Eliot wrote "Middlemarch that contains decisions with factors that clash with one another.  Towards the end Johnson refers to the life of George Eliot who was born Mary Ann Evans.   Unlike Darwin who tried to decide between marrying or not marrying George Eliot chose a third option which was to live together with her partner outside marriage.  Her decision involved her writing career and her political ideals.  An earlier blog dealt with the importance of using stories to persuade people to make a decision:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/06/tell-to-win-offers-winning-formula.html

Throughout the many examples in the book, Johnson maintains that diversity of viewpoints is critical, obviously such as including both genders, age range, a variety of ethnic, experiences, etc.  A single viewpoint is often unable to see a full range of choices.  He criticizes gerrymandering as it groups people with a predominant ideological perspective. 

My take on Premier Doug Ford's decision to cut the number of Toronto city councilors.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/07/move-over-donald-trump.html 

Johnson suggests three complex issues that deserve careful analysis before making a decision: long term;  contact with extra terrestrial beings, immortality and artificial intelligence.  For some people the downsides are minor but in reality there are serious consequences to making a wrong  choice.  Scientists are now cautioning us against trying to contact beings from outside our planet as they would likely have superior technology and perhaps unkindly intentions.  Other scientists are concerned about artificial intelligence overcoming humans.  Immortality seems like a natural goal,that no longer seems impossible, but  it has difficult to assess consequences.

Of course for many of us we need a little help in making some decisions.  Sometimes we need a little help or we would like to "nudge" someone off the fence.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/01/can-nudge-help-you-make-better-decisions.html

In the acknowledgements he admits that he starting taking notes almost ten years before publication.  A lot of decisions along the way.  Everyone is compelled to make important decisions--what career path to pursue, who to marry, to find a purpose in life.   

Another blog post with advice on decisions:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/12/an-antidote-to-chaos-series-of-rules.html