A cultural affair to remember: nostalgia, whiteness and migration in Love's Brother

Abstract

Caught in what one reviewer described as an 'Italo-Australian Brigadoon' (Hall), Love's Brother is largely removed from the socio-political context in which it is set and also that in which it was made. By placing Love's Brother back into this context, this chapter analyses the film's problematic representation of Australia's migrant past and its relationship to current issues regarding migration, memory, race and ethnicity. It focuses upon the political implications of nostalgia in imagining migrant narratives of the past, arguing that this reveals more about current attitudes to migrants and migration. Specifically, it examines how the film 'white-washes' elements of Italian Australian history in order to reflect the ethnic group's current standing in broader Australian society, as well as the possibilities and problems this may hold for newer migrant and refugee communities in contemporary Australia