Hey all! So my trials are coming up sooner than expected, and i thuoght it was about time that i put in some effort to english ( the subject i hate the most yet im coming 2nd internally). In doing so, I've decided that I'm going to go about memorising 4 essays , and then going to adapt it to the question in the trials and HSC. HOWEVER, only one of my internal assessments ( we have one per module + trials) has been an essay, so im currently finding myself having to write 3 essays, and im quite lost on where to start, ESPECIALLLY for discovery, since theres so much that can be asked!
For Discovery, I've decided to use Tim Wintons
Neighbours, and I've written the following essay! I Understand that this section is a bit dead, since everyone is either on holidays or cramming for trials themselves, any Mods if you're reading this, I 100% will not freak out if no one replies so pleaseeee dont feel obliged!
Heres the essay:
Spoiler
Discoveries as a result of challenging experiences force individuals to empathise with others in difficult situations, and encourages them to see controversial topics such as multiculturalism, asylum seekers and refugees, from new perspectives. Discoveries that are challenging can be sudden and unexpected such as the discoveries in Go Back to Where You Came From or they can be discoveries with ongoing challenges through time, as portrayed in Tim Winton’s Neighbours. O’Mahoney’s Go Back To Where You Came From(GBTWYCF) follows six Australians who “Agree to challenge their preconceived notions about refugees and asylum seekers”. Due to the reality docudrama nature of the show, the composers deliberately position the participants to change their perceptions on the topics of multiculturalism, asylum seekers and refugees. These experiences provoke profound discovery in both the composer, the participants and the viewers , as they bear witness to the challenges that asylum seekers and refugees face. Tim Winton’s Neighbours also represents discoveries of a multicultural nature through emerging cross-cultural relationships.
The challenges and ordeals overcome by the couple provokes new understandings of their neighbours. At the beginning of the text the young couple are reluctant to engaging with their neighbours due to cultural differences, by the end of the text the discovery enables them to connect and enjoy the company of their neighbours. The discoveries in both texts have enhanced my understanding of the discoveries. They have strengthened my pro-refugee status, and allowed me to better understand the challenges that asylum seekers and refugees face.
Paragraph 1: Raye when Masara tells her about her plight as a refugee-
confronting discovery = raw emotions == change in perspective
Go Back To Where You Came From intentionally places individuals in situations to manipulate them to make discoveries about self and others. The constructed nature of the documentary television series ensures that participants will go through experiences that will evoke a strong response and/or discovery. It also served a dual purpose, to shape and challenge Australian society’s views, and influence the political debate on asylum seekers & refugees that was occurring in socio-political context of 2011. Discoveries can be sudden and unexpected, prompting raw emotions in response to challenging discoveries such as Raye Colby’s challenging discovery of Masara’s experiences as an asylum seeker. Her stance at the beginning of the documentary is anti-refugee, and has a biased perspective and angry tone as indicated through her emphasis of diction and pauses in speech “I don’t think they have the right to come out here and demand, DEMAND, all this freedom all this generosity that the Australian government just hands them on a golden platter”. due to the immigration centre in her own town. Raye’s subjectivities as a white Australian living in a small country town affect her views on refugees and asylum seekers, as shown during the indirect interviews at the beginning of the text. Along the course of the tv-documentary, she encounters many provoking moments, one being the “tragic memories” of the Masudi family. Both the audience and Raye experience a sudden and unexpected discovery as Masara shares the story of the death of her baby. A close up shot of Raye’s distraught facial expression coupled with non-diegetic soft piano music enables viewers to establish that Ray is emotionally effected by this discovery, which facilitates a change in her perspective on refugees. Raye’s emotional reaction is catalysed by her own encounters with pregnancy, her failures allows her to empathise with Masara. Raye’s emotional reaction enhanced my understanding of discovery, as it taught me that challenging emotional discoveries ensure new perspectives of the world. Both the audience and Raye’s sudden and unexpected discovery challenged her beliefs on refugees and forced her to empathise and encounter the topic from a different perspective, which was catalysed by her own experiences. Through engaging and empathising directly with immigrants, Raye is able to shift her nationalistic views due to the challenging discovery experienced.
Paragraph 2: Seasons representing how time is a catalyst for discovery, which forces individuals to see from new perspectives
In order to break down cultural barriers which prevent meaningful discoveries from taking place, time is required. Unlike GBTWYCF, discoveries that challenge individuals’ perspectives can take a significant amount of time and subsequently the resulting discovery is substantial. Winton uses the motif of seasons to illustrate the significance of time in facilitating discoveries: “Autumn merged into winter... they found themselves smiling back at the neighbours”. This symbolism also has a profound impact on the reader as they make the discovery that time can overcome cultural barriers that prevent meaningful discovery and connections. The motif of time is also shown through the repetition of acts of kindness “The Polish widower slid through the fence uninvited and rebuilt it for them.“ , “caused the neighbours to come to the fence and offer advice about spacing, hilling, mulching.” by the neighbours, which convince both the reader and the young couple to dismantle negative assumptions about the neighbours’ intelligence and behaviour. The young couple has trouble in seeing their neighbours outside the cultural stereotypes of low education (“he watched in disgust as the little boy next door urinated in the street”)due to language barriers and cultural differences: “Relations were uncomfortable for many months”. Winton’s repetition of the time motif coupled with the high modality present in “relations were unconfortable” emphasises the unexpected nature of the discovery when the young couple and the neighbours become friends, and illustrates the significance of time in discovery. Winton’s comment that time is a significant part in discovery has furthered my understanding of discovery by teaching me that the more time invested in a discovery, the more significant the discovery and the more significant the discovery is to the individual.. The suspicion of foreign cultures is deeply rooted within the young couple as they came from a neighbourhood where “good neighbours were seldom seen and never heard”, and discovering new perspectives of their neighbours is challenging due to the slow and time-consuming process.
Paragraph 3-dichotomy of attitudes before and after they lived in the suburb
An individuals ability to connect to others helps facilitate overcoming challenges in order to make profound discoveries. In his text Neighbours, Winton gradually allures to the magnitude of the young couple’s discovery though the repetition of time as a motif “It took six months for the newcomers to comprehend the fact that their neighbours were not murdering each other, merely talking.” The juxtaposition of the visual imagery of “murder” and “talking” highlights the difference in cultures between the young couple and further exemplify the significance of the young couples’ discovery and acceptance of their neighbours. Winton makes several comments about the neighbours opinions of each other to represent differences between the Macedonian and white Australian families: “ The young man sensed their disproval at his staying home to write his thesis while his wife worked”, “he watched in disgust as the little boy next door urinated in the street” “ The Macedonians raised eyebrows at the late hour at which the newcomers rose in the mornings”. However, towards the end of the text, the neighbours and the young couple have become good friends, “The Macedonian family waved and called out what sounded like their best wishes”. The dichotomy of views between demonstrate how the young couple had made the profound discovery that regardless of the cultural background and traditions of their neighbours, they are essentially good people, who go out of their way to make other peoples’ life better. In order to change perspectives on an individual, they must connect with the individual in order to understand them better. This is shown through both neighbours and the young couple connecting over time, leading to a discovery in the young couple’s attitude towards their neighbours.
In conclusion, challenging discoveries force individuals to see the world from new perspectives. O’Mahoney’s GBTWYCF intentionally manipulate characters and the audience to make significant discoveries on the controversial topics of refugees and asylum seekers. These discoveries have affected me personally as I, along with other viewers, have been exposed to the harsh realities of refugee life. An individuals ability to connect to others help facilitate overcoming challenges in order to make profound discoveries, and Winton taught me that in order to make profound discoveries about others I must first connect with them. Both Winton and O’Mahoney have reaffirmed my understanding of discovery as through both texts they prove that challenging discoveries force individuals to see the world from new perspectives.
Thanks everyone! Hope you have a great day
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Topic: AOS Discovery Essay + Some talk about Trials & HSC (Read 728 times)