How ironic that as Nelson Mandela was buried and venerated, another form of the system he fought against was alive and well in Australia. That Australian governments believe they can manipulate and discriminate against Aboriginal communities in a manner that has been described in the UN as 'permissively racist' is astonishing in the 21st century. John Pilger, when discussing the impact and relevance of Utopia stated: In the Northern Territory, government representatives were advised to defend the existing policies against any concerns raised by the community due to the film. In Western Australia, the Police Minister was sent to a screening of Utopia by the state government, and the State Premier held discussions with Aboriginal leaders on some of the issues highlighted in the film. Pilger informs viewers that unlike the US, Canada and New Zealand, no treaty was ever negotiated between the indigenous peoples of Australia and the colonists and that the abandonment of the mining tax in 2010 lost an estimated $60 billion in revenue, which he argues was more than enough to fund land rights and to end all Aboriginal poverty. Utopia highlights that Aboriginal Australians in Australia are currently imprisoned at 10 times the rate that South Africa imprisoned black people under apartheid, rates of rheumatic heart disease and trachoma among Aboriginal Australians are some of the highest in the world and suicide rates are increasing, especially among youths. The film also features a visit to Rottnest Island, Western Australia, where an area that was used as a prison for Aboriginal people until 1931, has now been converted into a luxury hotel where tourists are not even informed of the island's brutal history. The film goes on to explore some of the issues currently afflicting Australia such as failed health policies, Aboriginal deaths in police custody, mining companies failing to share the wealth they have acquired with the first Australians and the disputed allegations made by the media and government that there were pedophile rings, petrol warlords and sex slaves in Aboriginal communities and the resulting 2007 intervention. The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, who happens to be in Utopia at the same time as Pilger, ponders why one of the world's richest countries cannot solve the problem of Aboriginal poverty and states that the inequity and injustice could be fixed if the will to do so existed. After almost three decades, Pilger discovers that Aboriginal families are still living in extremely overcrowded and poorly sanitized asbestos shacks, and are plagued by easily curable diseases. The film begins with Pilger's journey to Utopia to observe the changes that have occurred in Aboriginal Australia between 1985, when he featured the poverty in the documentary The Secret Country and the time of filming, 2013. The title is derived from the Aboriginal homeland community of Utopia, Northern Territory, one of the poorest and most desolate areas in Australia. We believe a music festival should be seamless, effortless, and timeless.Utopia is a 2013 documentary film written, produced and presented by John Pilger and directed by Pilger and Alan Lowery, that explores the experiences of Aboriginal Australians in modern Australia. We believe you should be able to bring your own beer and cook your own food. You should never have to feel crowded or wait unreasonably long in a line. The experience should be accessible to all ages, and enjoyed with your whole family. At such a fest you can play a round of disc golf, attend a workshop or yoga class, or go on a bike ride before you see the first set. There should be performances where the whole audience is absolutely attentive, engaged, and phoneless. There should be no music overlap - music bleed or hard choices between bands. We see fences getting in the way of a good time. They should be able to see the stage from camp, or be isolated from the crowd. They should be able to be in front of the stage, or have plenty of room to dance. Participants should feel free to be and express their truest selves, and contribute to the experience. It should be a place where individuals and communities grow and learn. We think it should be more meaningful than just watching a show. A place where you find and meet more friends than strangers. One set in beautiful, natural surroundings where the positive energy from the land is palpable. The UTOPiAn ManiFESTo We believe an ideal music festival should be experience-centered.
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