Film Review Assignment
Comparing Afghanistan and Australia
For this assignment, I watched two documentaries that give a look into the lives of people from my case study countries, Afghanistan and Australia. The first film, Midnight Traveler (2019), follows an Afghan family as they try to escape the Taliban. The second film, The Australian Dream (2019), tells the story of Adam Goodes, an Indigenous Australian football player, and his fight against racism. Both films highlight how political and social issues affect individuals, but in very different ways because of each country’s government and history.
Summary of Midnight Traveler
Midnight Traveler is about Afghan filmmaker Hassan Fazili and his family as they flee Afghanistan to escape threats from the Taliban. The whole film is shot on cell phones, making it feel very personal and raw. The family faces a lot of hardship dangerous border crossings, living in overcrowded refugee camps, and never knowing if they’ll be safe. The film shows how hard and stressful it is to be a refugee, but also how determined the family is to survive and find a better life.
This film helps explain what happens when a country’s government fails to protect its people. In Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban and the breakdown of the state’s ability to provide safety drive people like Hassan and his family to leave. The documentary connects with ideas we’ve talked about in class, like how weak states create crises that force people to flee their countries. Watching this film made me understand how hard life can be when the government isn’t able to keep its citizens safe. It gave me a more personal perspective on the refugee experience than I could get from just reading about it.
Summary of The Australian Dream
The Australian Dream tells the story of Adam Goodes, a famous Australian footballer, and the racism he faced throughout his career. The film dives into his background as an Indigenous Australian and shows how his experiences with racism in the media and on the field reflect the bigger problem of racial inequality in Australia. When Goodes stood up against racism, his actions sparked a nationwide debate about racism and reconciliation in Australia.
This documentary shows that even in a stable democracy like Australia, racism is still a big problem. While Australia has a democratic government, it hasn’t always done enough to protect the rights of Indigenous people. In class, we’ve learned that democracies are supposed to make sure everyone is treated equally, but this film shows that even democracies can struggle with social issues like racism. Watching the film helped me realize that just having a democracy doesn’t automatically mean everyone is treated fairl it’s the government’s policies and the actions of those in power that really make a difference.
Comparison of the Two Films
Midnight Traveler and The Australian Dream are about very different situations, they both show how politics can shape the lives of individuals based on their identity. In Midnight Traveler, the family’s Afghan identity in a country torn apart by the Taliban’s rule makes them vulnerable and forces them to leave. The film helps explain how authoritarian governments, like the Taliban’s, can create dangerous conditions that push people to flee their home country.
In The Australian Dream, Adam Goodes’ identity as an Indigenous Australian leads to him being targeted by racism in a country that is otherwise stable and democratic. While Australia’s government claims to be democratic, the film shows how political identity and the country’s history of colonialism still cause racial inequality today. Goodes’ experience shows that even in a democracy, some groups may still be excluded or discriminated against.
Both films explore how the governments and political systems in their countries influence how people experience life. In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s rule causes people to flee, while in Australia, the political history of marginalizing Indigenous people keeps racism alive. These films show how, in both weak and strong states, politics can shape the lives of individuals in ways that may seem unfair, depending on their identity.
Insights Gained about Comparative Politics
These documentaries helped me understand how politics affect people’s everyday lives. Midnight Traveler showed me what happens when a country’s government is weak or unstable. It explains how a broken government and lack of safety push people to leave their homes and look for a safer place to live. This connects to what we’ve learned in class about weak states and the global refugee crisis.
The Australian Dream made me think about how democracies, like Australia, can still struggle with deep-rooted social issues, even though they claim to be fair and equal. It challenged my understanding of democracy because I used to think that having a democracy automatically meant everyone was treated equally. But this film shows how Australia’s history of colonization and its political systems still affect the rights and opportunities of Indigenous people today. The documentary made me realize that just having democratic institutions doesn’t always lead to equality—it takes more work to fix these systemic problems.
Self-Evaluation
If I were to grade myself on this assignment, I would give it 9 out of 10 points. I think the review does a good job of summarizing the films and linking them to key political themes we’ve discussed in class. The comparison between the two films is clear, and I’ve thought about how the political systems in Afghanistan and Australia shape the experiences of the people in the documentaries. To improve, I could have brought in more specific references from our readings or class discussions, but overall, I think this review shows how the films helped me better understand the topics we’ve been studying in comparative politics.
Best
MUHAMMAD KHAN
Films links
