Days Like These
Martin Leroy Adams | Australia 2007 | 5 min
With Days Like These Martin Leroy puts the viewer into the shoes of Dan, a young Aboriginal man trying to find work. As we follow him through the day we get a feeling of what it means to be black and to cope with disappointments and social stereotyping.
Filmed in Sydney and Redfern, Days Like These is a compelling snapshot of urban Aboriginal life and its daily challenges.
Director Martin Leroy Adams says about his film: “This film is to highlight the struggles Aboriginal people face due to institutional racism and how that can result in a lack of opportunities. Many Australians don’t believe they are racist, but many still hold true to their racial stereotypes of other cultures.
“Unfortunately for Aboriginal people, many perceive us in a bad light - lazy, criminalist, drunk or just plain untrustworthy. How’s a brother gonna get ahead when everyone is putting him down? How are you supposed to get out of a gutter when everyone else thinks you belong down there?
“Despite these continued struggles, we as a people have survived and will continue to push forward for our place in the world. Dan represents that strength and how we are still here today despite the bullets, the round-ups and the diseases. Our ancestors were survivors - undefeatable strong black men and women. Today we still put up with the shit and continue the struggle. Dan is a champion, a fighter, a strong black man.” [1]
Still from the film 'Days Like These'. The backdrop is Redfern's The Block area.
