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The Fingleton Family In Russell Mulcahy's 'Swimming Upstream'

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The Fingleton Family In Russell Mulcahy's 'Swimming Upstream'
In Swimming Upstream directed by Russell Mulcahy the Fingleton family is portrayed as a dysfunctional family however this instills into the viewer the importance of family and values. Even though there are many chasms in the relationships of the Fingleton family there are still some relationships which keep each individual going. This love between some of the family members ensures the survival of each member of the family through the difficult period of each child growing up and maturing with a sadistic, abusive father.

The Fingleton family is very dynamic with each member having individual relationships with other members of the family. These relationships act as a rapport for Tony and Dora. Tony is unloved by his father to the extent that
…show more content…
Dora is a very strong individual and the source of some of this strength is from Billy. Billy is Doras support and source of strength and it is Billy who eventually stands up to Harold, saying it would give her the greatest pleasure the call the police to arrest Harold. Billy helps Dora and eventually helps her out of the wreck of a marriage she was in. In turn Dora is Tonys support to help him survive in the family. It was hard for Tony to survive as he was the one child overlooked. Harold Jnr has power over the other children they had to do what he wanted or else. John was Harolds favourite, Hes the one, and this left Tony by himself. However Tony persevered and created relationships to act as barriers between him and Harold and to act as a rapport when times were tough. His relationship as a child was strong and John would never do anything to hurt you (Tony). This friendship sustained him through his childhood and growing up and is symbolized with their handshake. Dora is also a rapport for Tony, and this is illustrated when Tony is in his place of solace Dora comes to comfort him and give him strength, Tony then returns this favour later in the film. Surviving in the dysfunctional Fingleton family was hard however individual relationships helped them

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