Abstract:
A global behemoth, the film industry largely maintains a monopoly on the cultural production in the mainstream. In doing so, the industry’s stereotypes of Indigenous peoples and their stories acts as a culturally hegemonic force against accurate portrayals and understandings of Indigenous communities across the globe. This dissertation argues for the creation of a virtual Irreconcilable Space of Aboriginality (Garneau 2012) that both counters this influence and creates a world of Indigenous filmmaking institutions. Using both Te Rua (1991) and Waru (2017) as exemplars, a potential theory of Indigenous screenwriting is crafted to act as the first stage in the construction of a virtual Irreconcilable Space of Aboriginality.