In 2010, a poll taken from over 1000 people named Darryl Kerrigan of The Castle as the favourite Australian movie character with 23% of the votes (Hayes, 2010). The accolades kept flowing for the 1997 film, with over a third of those interviewed thinking The Castle best represents the real Australian culture (Hayes, 2010). These results raise an interesting question. How does a film taken in 11 days with a budget of half a million dollars capture the hearts of more Australians than a Hollywood blockbuster? What is it about Darryl and his family, and the story of the Kerrigans that Australians can relate to? One possibility is that there are a wealth of crucial ideas in the Castle which relate to our Australian identity.
The first of these ideas is the way that unconsciously, Australians will support an
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What are the values of an Australian? There is, of course, the values of mateship, drilled into us for the 100 years following the Gallipoli campaign. In a way, the ANZACs and the neighbourhood of Highview Crescent are similar. Both were fighting a battle they had little chance of winning, the ANZACs because of the lower ground and worse defences and numbers, the Kerrigans because of their lack of resources, being only able to afford to use a solicitor for local matters in the federal court. Although the results panned out very differently, the sense of mateship is the same, shown by
"The dependence of Jack and Farouk on Darryl and the positive portrayal of Darryl’s understanding relationship with his neighbours." (N.A, N.D)
In other words, the way that Darryl offers Jack a place while he tries to find a permanent place to live in. The ANZACs were fighting together for their country, their home. The community of Highview Crescent was fighting for their homes and castles. It is this link between people that Australians