The Australian Dream  ★★★½

YOU know the cliche…it’s been done to death by tabloid television.

‘The story every family (or insert mother, woman, Australian, parent, etc) must see.’

Well, in the case of the feature documentary The Australian Dream it’s actually true.

This is the story of Australian Rules footballer Adam Goodes’ terrible treatment by sections of the public that caused him to walk away from the game he loved.

This is the film that many people claim they aren’t interested in seeing because they don’t like Goodes as a person, regardless of his colour.

But I think this is the film many people don’t want to see because they don’t want to be reminded how racist and intolerant Australians can be.

Goodes was already a champion of the game, a a two-time premiership player and dual Brownlow medallist, when he took to the field for the Sydney Swans against Collingwood at the MCG on the 24th of May in 2013.

During the game he called out a young girl for calling him ‘an ape’ and she was ejected from the ground. But it was Goodes’ stand against racism that provoked outrage and division.

Rightly or wrongly he was criticised for his action, but the public reaction produced severe racism that exposed crevices in the nation’s psyche. When Goodes was named Australian of the Year a year later and used his position to continue calling out racism the reactions became even worse.

Less than a year later, following constant public abuse, Goodes walked away from the game for good.

The Australian Dream doesn’t just ask how this could happen; it travels back into our history to find a reason that many of us will find uneasy and confronting.

It’s a film every Australian should see.