'Wake in Fright' a heavenly film theory

'Wake in Fright' is a window into the absurdities of Australian culture. I reflected on my own experiences of the dangerous drinking culture and the peer pressure and shame associated. Perhaps the aptest quote of the film is when John Grant, the main character says to an aggressive stranger who's just given him a lift,

"What's the matter with you people, huh? Sponge on you, burn your house down, murder your wife, rape your child, that's all right. But you don't have a drink, a flaming bloody drink with you, and it's a criminal offence, it's the end of the bloody world!"

Here is a theory about the imagery used in this film and what it could represent. While this theory is rather basic, it raises interesting ideas about the context of place.

1: The town of Tiboona is limbo, the place between heaven and hell

John Grant is a "slave to the department of education" as he has been on mandatory teacher placement in a rural town that is quite literally in "the middle of nowhere." The train that arrives at the tiny one platform station in Tiboona is his only ticket out of this dead-end place. Trains are often used as symbols of transition in film and in this case. The train is the vessel that allows you to cross the threshold to either heaven or hell. Limbo is a crossroads where nothing much happens and Tiboona is certainly that kind of place. Limbo is often defined as "a zone which exists between two definite places". These two definite places are Yabba and Sydney.

The school children John teaches evaporate into thin air when they leave his classroom (the building to the right of the train tracks in the above image). As if the day resets everyday and these are not real children at all, just objects in Grant's personal simulation of the mediocre "middle place." The pub owner in Tiboona is a kind of gatekeeper for Grant. Grant treats this place as his temporary captor always daydreaming of his way out to Sydney, or as I'm going to put it 'heaven.' Grant always knew he was going to move on from Tiboona but the journey takes an unexpected turn.

2. Grant's fantasy of Sydney resembles that of heaven

Grant imagines Sydney as this kind of bright utopia and it is the only thing keeping him sane during his placement. He is trying to take the train across the threshold into this perfect place with his angelic girlfriend, Robyn. A goddess if we ever did see one. Everything is bright and beautiful like most depictions of heaven. This is juxtaposed with the Yabba which is grotty and full of harsh light. It feels unattainable like Grant will never quite reach it and perhaps he doesn't belong in this perfect world. He never makes it because he becomes trapped in hell.

3. And of course the Yabba is hell, need I say more?

The above image perfectly encompasses the Yabba. It's grimy and grainy, nothing like the images of Sydney. This image appears demonic and the crosses on the coins look like anti-christ crosses. Doc as a character is certainly the devil as he embodies many of the sins greed (two-up), gluttony (excessive alcohol consumption) lust (indulgent sexual encounters), sloth (doing a whole lot of nothing), pride (he can't be shot down or criticised) and so on. Grant is influenced by the Yabba and Doc to partake in the grotesque lifestyle with very little persuasion as if Doc has a powerful hold over Grant. Doc associates with a band of vicious goons like a group of demons.

Doc stands with Grant in one of the final scenes at the train station about to send Grant back to Tiboona. As if Doc is allowing Grant to leave the seemingly inescapable Yabba. Grant tries to leave before without telling Doc and ends of wandering the desert before inadvertently returning to Yabba when he tries to hitchhike to Sydney. After attempting to take his own life, Grant experiences a mental and physical reset as if the damage done over the last few days is taken away. The cycle restarts when Doc releases him from hell because he doesn't quite fit there either and so Grant returns to limbo and back to where it began.