Ned Kelly Movie Analysis

One historical figure that has been of great interest to me lately is Ned Kelly - one of the best-known Australian heroes in history. For this reason, I have chosen to write about the film Ned Kelly (2003), starring Head Ledger. It tells the story of an Irish outlaw who spent 4 years in jail and came to the new world looking for a fresh start but found only oppression and injustice. This very much shows us the nature of the Australian society back then which started as a nation of convicts sent over from England. Exactly this is presented in the movie as the theme of crime is central to it. What is more, we learn that there was discrimination against the Irish, followed by injustice that the ordinary person struggled against. It was Net Kelly,

As I checked some reliable sources, I found out that between the years 1788 and 1868, approximately 161,700 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen 's land and Western Australia. Two-thirds were thieves from working class towns such as the Midlands and north of England; the majority of them being repeat offenders. Also, Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion. We find out that Ned Kelly 's father was a convict who was shipped out from Ireland to Australia. However, Ned Kelly, as we learn from his own words, was born in Australia and had never been to Ireland. Still, he was of Irish descendence. This is important to mention here, because in those times, if a family member was a criminal the authorities would be consequently suspicious of the whole family. We see in the film that exactly this was the case with Ned Kelly. There was discrimination against his whole family. What is more, being an Irish back then meant that you were restricted practice of Catholicism in Australia which once again shows how oppressed by the system those people were. Being an Irish convict was way worse then being just a convict. History shows that the Irish Australians, an ethnic group of Australian citizens of Irish descent, included mostly immigrants. They came to Australia from

As I have already mentioned, Ned Kelly is not considered as a thief, as a criminal by the ordinary people. Just the opposite - he becomes an Australian hero and this gives a new meaning to his character. In the film we see that he possesses many qulalities which show that he is a man who deserves respect. His rebellious nature, his strive for justice, his desire for freedom, his love for the people and the desire to help them is what makes him a hero. Being rebellious is in a way how Australians would want to see themselves if compared to a national hero. In addition to that, in the film we see that he fights in the name of love for others, in the name of true friendship. The importance of friendship that lasts even through the tough times is a central theme in "Ned Kelly". It is expressed in the most heart-breaking way in one of the last scenes where the gang stayed together till the end, not leaving one another. As I have already mentioned friendship and love are central to the film. And it is once again presented by Ned Kelly 's words: "They said i 'd lost what it meant to be human, maybe never had it in the first place, but wasn 't this about protecting the ones I loved? The ones who gave me food, and shelter, even the clothes on me back? And therefore wasn 't it