David Dalaithngu
December 1, 2021 3:12 AM   Subscribe

David Dalaithngu, acclaimed Australian actor, died on November 29 at the age of 68.

He was from the Mandhalpingu clan of the Yolŋu people, and was raised in the traditional ways in Arnhem Land. He was an actor, dancer, singer and painter.

He rose to fame as a child star with his first film Walkabout in 1971. He went on to perform roles in a range of films including Mad Dog Morgan, Storm Boy, The Last Wave, Crocodile Dundee, The Tracker, Rabbit Proof Fence, Ten Canoes and Charlie's Company, to name a few.

For those concerned, permission has been granted for his name and image to be used after his death, in accordance with his wishes. [Note: post has been edited to remove the name where it appeared -LM]

Once-in-a-generation’ actor David Dalaithngu dies

Actor David [...] Dalaithngu dies aged 68

Tributes pour in for pioneering indigenous actor David [...] who died aged 68 after battle with lung cancer
posted by greenhornet (24 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by pangolin party at 3:58 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by jquinby at 4:13 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by aeshnid at 4:51 AM on December 1, 2021


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Rabbit Proof Fence just came up in conversation a couple of days ago.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:53 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by riruro at 5:00 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by Kattullus at 5:18 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by myotahapea at 5:25 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by lalochezia at 5:44 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by LobsterMitten at 6:22 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by JoeXIII007 at 6:32 AM on December 1, 2021


Thank you for the post. One thing I was curious about was how the media was handling Aboriginal cultural practices about naming the dead. Here's some guidelines for journalists and one of the linked articles explains in some detail.
Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person. David Dalaithngu’s image has been reproduced with his family’s consent. His family has requested he be referred to as Dalaithngu and the name he was more commonly known by not be used.
I'm not calling out the post here, just trying to understand a culture I know very little about. Some of the other Australian media articles have a content warning but then use the excluded name.

Here's a link to the trailer for the autobiographical documentary he made in the last few years. Ironically the name of the film is "My Name is X", with the name that his family asked not be used after his death.
posted by Nelson at 6:35 AM on December 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


One thing I was curious about was how the media was handling Aboriginal cultural practices about naming the dead.

One thing to be clear about is that Indigenous Australian culture is not a monolith - this instance is specifically about Yolŋu customs and the deceased's wishes, as interpreted and communicated by Dalaithngu's family. With that said, different media outlets have different policies on Indigenous Australian bereavement practices, and handle it with different levels of care and sensitivity. From most to least: SBS/NITV and ABC scrupulously avoid anything other than David Dalaithngu. The Age/SMH uses David Dalaithngu but still mentions the name in film titles, but judging by the URL, this may be a post publication change. Murdoch outlets have an image warning, but use the full name, claiming permission has been granted to do so, although Sky News doesn't even bother to mention that.
posted by zamboni at 7:56 AM on December 1, 2021 [6 favorites]


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posted by riverlife at 8:40 AM on December 1, 2021


Mod note: We can edit this post if there's clarity about the right name to use - greenhornet you say permission was given to use the full name, can you contact us?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:46 AM on December 1, 2021


The "Permission has been granted for his name and image to be used after his death, in accordance with his wishes" in this post is a quote from the Murdoch press article, dated November 30, 2021 - 6:25AM. Later articles from more sensitive outlets seem to use language like 'He will be buried with ceremony on his Country by his family, who have advised that his image (and a modified version of his name) may be used in accordance with his wishes.'

I think some of the confusion is that in certain bereavement practices, you don't use a name or image at all, and the family's permission was communicating that it was acceptable to use images and the alternate name, which some journalists interpreted as blanket permission to use the whole name.
posted by zamboni at 9:06 AM on December 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


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posted by Going To Maine at 9:54 AM on December 1, 2021


Mod note: After giving it some time, I've gone ahead and just made the edits - greenhornet you can contact us if you'd like to discuss.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:00 AM on December 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


. for the man, and also thank you for bringing my attention to these post-death naming preferences which I (from US) had never heard of.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:13 AM on December 1, 2021


I am so sorry to hear this, he was one of the reasons I developed an interest in Australian film and television and did my big media studies project on it when I was in school (no small feat back then from the US, let me tell you). He was so young. And thank you for the information about post-death naming practices; I had not known about that previously.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:08 AM on December 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


A truly excellent actor and a major loss for cinema.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:38 AM on December 1, 2021


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posted by pompomtom at 8:56 PM on December 1, 2021


I remember when Baz Luhrmann was making Australia - one of the more underrated films of the past twenty years, by the way, it's a sweeping romantic epic like they don't make any more that mostly works really well - he said one of his musts was getting Dalaithngu to be in it.
posted by mightygodking at 11:48 PM on December 1, 2021


IMHO he was the best actor Australia has ever produced. He did subtle better than anybody.
posted by Pouteria at 5:05 PM on December 2, 2021 [1 favorite]


Follow up, via the ABC Indigenous Affairs Editor:
After a determination by the Yolngu community, the family of late actor David Gulpilil give permission for him to be referred to by his full name. "David wanted people to know his name, remember his work, and know his immense legacy to Australian cinema and Australian culture." “The Yolŋu Community & kin of the late David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu wish to thank the nation for their respectful adherence to the request that he be referred to as David Dalaithngu for the immediate period following his passing.”
posted by zamboni at 9:07 AM on December 3, 2021 [4 favorites]


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