Good Morning/Evening class and Mrs Bond

Marking time is a Television series based on a modern remake of Shakespeare’s
‘Romeo and Juliet’. It is set in the small Australian town of Brackley and reflects the racist underbelly of Australian society. Racism is a huge issue in the series and is portrayed through the script, characters and mise en scene. It shows how lack of education and a ‘small town mentality’ can lead to prejudice and rejection of other nationalities.
Boredom amongst youth in rural areas of Australia can lead to destructive and senseless behaviour, as shown in the series.
Many of the residents in Brackley are ignorant and uneducated about the refugees who live in their town. They stereotype and ostracize anyone who belongs to a different culture or religion. Hal is very different from his friends, and often stands up for other people when they are being picked on.
This is shown in the scene where Randas burka is stolen by two school boys.
Randa is very upset and holds her head like she is ashamed, because the burka is very important in her culture. Hal is enraged and wants to get it back for her which shows that he feels sorry for her. Even though it may seem like a joke to the boy it’s a traumatic experience for Randa because they have taken away something that represents her culture and is important to her.
The youth who live in Brackley talk about superficial things like celebrities rather than important issues that relate to them like refugees and politics, this shows that they have little understanding and no interest in these important subjects.
Racism in Australia is a big issue that can be traced back to the time of early settlement. It is a belief that a certain group of people are superior to another and can lead to exclusion of a race purely because they are different.
Racism is often formed by ignorance and confusion of a different culture.
There are a lot of people who don’t accept other races simply because they are different and believe that if they are going to live in this country they should adapt to the Australian culture.

There is a lot of denial about racism in Australia because Australians don’t like to think of themselves as unwelcoming people.
But it is an underlying issue that needs to be faced in order to solve the problem.

Brackley is an excellent representation of the ignorance and backward thinking that is often present in small towns. The people of Brackley are so quick