Let’s Dance: Bowie Down Under
Audrey Napanangka Martin
Let’s Dance: Bowie Down Under by Rubika Shah
AUS/GBR 2014, Generation
In 1983 David Bowie finds the perfect location for a music video: a simple motel in rural Australia. It is a place where time seems to stand still. Old people prop up the bar, drinking their beer in silence. Newcomers are eyed with suspicion, especially if their skin is a different colour. But two young Aboriginals dominate the dusty dance floor.
Bowie sends the young lovers on a tour of Australia that is rich in images. Everywhere they are confronted with unbearable conditions. This was once their land, but in spite of this they belong nowhere, and circumstances are reminiscent of slavery.
This film tells the story of the famous music video for David Bowie’s song, ‘Let’s Dance'. Bowie made use of his fame and the coolly danceable rhythms of ‘Let’s Dance’ to produce a video that makes a statement about the situation for minorities. The documentary also provides an image of the times, for these were the early years of MTV. The video soon became famous the world over – and ‘Let’s Dance’ was to become one of Bowie’s greatest hits.
Bowie sends the young lovers on a tour of Australia that is rich in images. Everywhere they are confronted with unbearable conditions. This was once their land, but in spite of this they belong nowhere, and circumstances are reminiscent of slavery.
This film tells the story of the famous music video for David Bowie’s song, ‘Let’s Dance'. Bowie made use of his fame and the coolly danceable rhythms of ‘Let’s Dance’ to produce a video that makes a statement about the situation for minorities. The documentary also provides an image of the times, for these were the early years of MTV. The video soon became famous the world over – and ‘Let’s Dance’ was to become one of Bowie’s greatest hits.