The Sapphires

The sapphires is a film based on a true story about four young aboriginal woman from Australia, who sang for the American troops in Vietnam during the war in the 60's. The real sapphires: The Sapphires is a film inspired by originally three girls. Laurel Robinson, Beverly Briggs, (who is the mother of screenwriter tony Briggs) and Naomi Mayers. The real sapphires performed in pubs, hotels army barracks, and uni's in Melbourne. The original sapphires were invited to Vietnam to perform for the troops, Briggs and Mayers declined, as they were opposed to the Vietnam war, so Robinson enlisted her sister Lois Peeler to come with her. People find belonging in many things. These things can be a place, a safe place of Belonging. The Sapphires find belonging through singing, the girls pursued belonging in Vietnam singing because they felt they did have belonging in Australia. "What's wrong with your life now'? Being treated like dogs by the gubs in town every single day. That's not the life I was born for. - I'm destined for fame." They grew up in Australia but they did not feel a sense of belonging. Australia in the 1960's was a place of racism towards aboriginal people simply because of their skin colour. The Sapphires experienced equality in Vietnam their skin colour did not matter, their singing was appreciated. Their safe place was singing. They found singing as a means of release. The representations of belonging in Peter Skrzynecki's "St. Patrick's college" and the representation of belonging in the sapphires are connected. The sapphires and the persona in Skryzynecki's poem both feel a sense of not belonging to the community. Skryzynecki persona does not feel belonging and struggles to find belonging at St. Patrick's college. Despite the fact he has been there for eight years and grew with the school he still feels like a 'foreign tourist' in Australia. I will also explore the representations of belonging in Australian poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal aboriginal poetry. Oodgeroo Noonuccal also has experienced racism