So, from this we can see that O'Shea was aware of and concerned by New Zealand's image of a multiracial society living in harmony, and although Broken Barrier did not put forth any solutions to New Zealand's social problems it did bring them to the fore of the New Zealand conscience, an outcome that he must have been hoping to achieve through the film.
Some might argue that John O'Shea and Roger Miriams were not aware about the feelings Broken Barrier would provoke amongst their film goers, for they would have been cautious of upsetting anyone, least it keep them away from the theaters. However New Zealand is a peculiar country in that New Zealanders seem to have a fascination with the darker side of life in our country and someone like O'Shea, who seemed to have his finger firmly on the nation's pulse, would have realized this before he started filming.
For example, Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors (1994) became the biggest grossing New Zealand film of all time, even out grossing such Hollywood blockbusters as Jurassic Parkand yet showed explicit scenes involving domestic violence and child rape. Even our safe driving campaign ads are amongst some of the most graphic in the world and probably would not even air in other countries such as America due to their graphic nature. New Zealanders have a fascination with things that expose those issues which many know are there but would feel happy if they were simply swept under the carpet and forgotten.
As stated, when Broken Barrier was released it was the first feature film produced in this country since 1925's Rewi's Last Stand, and New Zealanders were finally ready to see a home made production shown on their screens, as proved in the box office takings of the film upon its release.Unfortunately the film upset viewersbecause of how it dealt with the issue of race relations and covert racism in this country differently to how they were commonly perceived at the time.
However John O'Shea and Roger Mirams, the directors of the film were fully aware that this would be the likely outcome before the film even hit the screens in cinemas throughout New Zealand, and in the case of John O'Shea, saw the film as a medium in which he could convey "an examination of cultural difference and interracial intolerance," (Martin et al, 52) in New Zealand.
