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A review by archytas
Top End Girl by Miranda Tapsell
3.0
"I wrote this book so that I don’t have to repeat myself time and time again. The way women of colour continue to be portrayed in the media is pure laziness by the people who write about them."
I discovered Tapsell through her and Nakkiah Lui's podcast "Pretty for an Aboriginal", which remains one of the best podcasts I've listened to, although Debutante is pretty amazing too. So I wasn't surprised when Tapsell and Lui's episode of Get Krackin' turned into the most compulsive episode of Australian television in years. When Tapsell looks at the camera, pauses and then channels a depth of terrible sorrowful fury into the words "I am angry" - well, it's unforgettable. Top End Wedding channels the same passion through a much lighter genre, as you'd expect in a book about making a rom-com. The tone here is chatty, funny and warm - but confident and clear in discussing Australia's racism and its impact. It is going to draw new audiences in to discussing racism in Australia, as well as the strength of Indigenous communities. The book is often very funny, especially when Tapsell has her spouse to banter with, when the cute and funny ratchets up very high.
The book's pacing is fairly unvaried, but it never comes across as put on. for me, the most engaging parts were probably the most difficult to write - Tapsell's time at NIDA and at school, where she articulates the soul destruction of racism.
The integrity here is strong - Tapsell's strength comes from her confidence to be who she is - a rom-com loving woman who wants to write and produce the sexism (and racism) out of them, an actor who wants to talk proudly of her achievements, someone who likes that she is cute, and doesn't want that to hide what she has, and can, endure.
"Learning of the staunch Indigenous filmmakers from around the world has reminded me to be persistent when I have something to say. Will that annoy some people? Who gives a fuck. As I write these words, this country is burning. So, we have to fight for the country we want—it’s either that or be burned to death. It was Madeline McGrady who said, ‘I was using my camera as a tool against the system. To let my mob know—this is the way they treat us.’"
I discovered Tapsell through her and Nakkiah Lui's podcast "Pretty for an Aboriginal", which remains one of the best podcasts I've listened to, although Debutante is pretty amazing too. So I wasn't surprised when Tapsell and Lui's episode of Get Krackin' turned into the most compulsive episode of Australian television in years. When Tapsell looks at the camera, pauses and then channels a depth of terrible sorrowful fury into the words "I am angry" - well, it's unforgettable. Top End Wedding channels the same passion through a much lighter genre, as you'd expect in a book about making a rom-com. The tone here is chatty, funny and warm - but confident and clear in discussing Australia's racism and its impact. It is going to draw new audiences in to discussing racism in Australia, as well as the strength of Indigenous communities. The book is often very funny, especially when Tapsell has her spouse to banter with, when the cute and funny ratchets up very high.
The book's pacing is fairly unvaried, but it never comes across as put on. for me, the most engaging parts were probably the most difficult to write - Tapsell's time at NIDA and at school, where she articulates the soul destruction of racism.
The integrity here is strong - Tapsell's strength comes from her confidence to be who she is - a rom-com loving woman who wants to write and produce the sexism (and racism) out of them, an actor who wants to talk proudly of her achievements, someone who likes that she is cute, and doesn't want that to hide what she has, and can, endure.
"Learning of the staunch Indigenous filmmakers from around the world has reminded me to be persistent when I have something to say. Will that annoy some people? Who gives a fuck. As I write these words, this country is burning. So, we have to fight for the country we want—it’s either that or be burned to death. It was Madeline McGrady who said, ‘I was using my camera as a tool against the system. To let my mob know—this is the way they treat us.’"