Backbencher

The film "Heavenly Creatures" is a film based in a small New Zealand town and centers around a teenage girl. The film is directed by Peter Jackson, who won huge respect with the direction of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The movie begins by introducing us to a young girl who is a bit of an outcast and who is a bit odd. Then, a new girl arrives at her school and befriends her. The two begin hanging out all the time and are best friends very quickly. Their friendship quickly turns into more than a friendship, and they become girlfriends. Both of these young girls have very wild imaginations and their imaginations are a very big part of the movie. They invent a new "heaven" in which their favorite musicians and movie stars will live in. The parents of these young girls become concerned with the girls relationship, especially when they realize it has become sexual. They decide it is best for the girls to be seperated. This angers the girls, and they decide the best way to be together is to murder the main girls mom. After weeks of planning, the day comes and they kill her mother. Both went to jail for the murder, and the nation was stunned. This happened during the 1950's.
What I found very interesting about this movie was the girl who arrived at the school had come from England and had already been to many parts of the world. When she was younger she had gotten sick and had been sent to the Bahamas to heal in the warmer weather. Then her family moves from England to New Zealand as her father is offered a teaching position at a college there. After a couple years her father decides to move back to England, and when she becomes sick again, they want to send her to South Africa. It interests me that even in the 1950's, the Bahamas, New Zealand, and South Africa are all still considered part of the "Empire" and people in these countries still feel British. This correlates with what Professor Isern is teaching us about how New Zealander's still feel a very strong connection with Britain.