Hoons

Pillar 1: Constitutional Arrangements

Media description: A scene from the movie Broken Hill shows teens driving recklessly through a town and damaging public and private property.

MEDIA CONTEXT
Many movies and television programs show incidents and behaviour that would not be considered safe, advisable or legal in a normal setting. Broken Hill is no exception, though its action scenes are relatively mild compared with blockbuster adventure movies. Even so, Broken Hill contains a number of scenes that required stunt people, particularly where the script called for elements of hooning and vandalism. Kat (Alexa Vega) convinces Tommy McAlpine (Luke Arnold) that they were just out to have “a little good, clean fun,” thereby luring him into a sequence of events that include unsafe driving, vandalism and capture by police which catapults them into a magistrate’s court. Later they end up in gaol (jail), but that is for a different reason.

MEDIA CRITIQUE
As portrayed on screen in the movie Broken Hill, watermelons are stolen, shop windows are smashed, motor bikes are trashed and a police vehicle’s windscreen is broken; driving laws are ignored, and so is safety. Those actions, while unlawful and not very smart, appear to have direct consequences. Is the film realistic about the behaviour of some teenagers in a small town? Is this small town behaviour? Is that a stereotype, or just an example of some people’s behaviour? Is the movie realistic about the consequences i.e. magistrates court and a sentence of community service? Was the magistrate’s court as shown a realistic setting for what would have actually happened in NSW? In real life is such a judicial setting likely in any other state or territory? What safety measures were used by the filmmakers? Were they appropriate or were they ‘over the top’?

ANALYSIS & REVIEW

1. Find out what the anti-hoon and vandal laws are in your state.
2. What penalties are associated with the laws?
3. Kat’s statement, “a little good clean fun” or “I’m not hurting anyone” may be a common notion among people the world over. How do the public’s rights and the vandals’ rights conflict in this particular case?

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION & AUSTRALIA TODAY
The rule of law is enshrined in the Australian Constitution. This includes provision for lawmaking bodies, courts, judicial officers, policing, etc. — the system of law and order. Do we need laws to govern behaviour or should people govern their own behaviour? Is Australia a law-abiding society? How do you know? Is it relevant to compare Australia’s laws and Australian’s behaviour to other countries and other people?

PERSONAL APPLICATION
Is there a law that you tend to ignore or dismiss, such as speeding, driving without a licence, driving without a seatbelt, riding without a helmet, drink driving, or other personal behaviour, that you could evaluate and improve?

AUSCIVICS FILM & TV SERIES LINKED TO SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Learning areas and/or outcomes for each state and territory for the questions and issues above have been identified in the following links: