Any feedback for AOS essay pls (prescribed - Go back to where you came from)

[xSylaR30]

‘Discovery is a product of curiosity and careful planning.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement from your study?
In your response, refer to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

Inquisitiveness can lead to life changing discoveries, but unexpected discoveries can also occur as a result of being resistant to planning and curiosity. However, both types of discoveries have the potential to have a significant emotional and spiritual impact on the individual which can cause a change in perspective and alteration of previously held views. Ivan Mahoney’s “Go Back to Where You Came From” (Go Back) is a documentary about 6 curious volunteer participants with “strong opinions on refugees” undergoing a reverse journey of a refugee while Nadia Wheatley’s short story “Land/scape” presents the readers with a young protagonist named Ant who is on a camping trip with his father, with whom he initially feels disconnected from. Both texts explore different types of discoveries experienced by the characters and ultimately both show that the cause of discovery is not only limited to careful planning.

Discoveries can be instigated as a product of the curiosity of an individual. The 6 participants in Go Back choose to go through this difficult journey “without knowing what will happen” which signifies their interest in learning and experiencing new things despite not having the journey planned. This is evident in Gleny’s assertive statement “bring it on can’t wait to start”. This leads to their confronting and provocative discoveries of the harsh and life-threatening nature of the journey the “boat people” go through. Mahoney effectively utilises film techniques along with language devices to illustrate this. The use of handheld camera during the Malaysia raid scene coupled with the intense non-diegetic music provides a more realistic footage and adds to a sense of danger and risk. The multiple jump cuts to a speechless and visibly shaken Adam who is finding the raid too much to process as well as Darren’s use of colloquial language in “this is fucking unbelievable. I had no idea it was going to be this full on” reflects the confrontational nature of an unplanned discovery. This is further emphasised during the de-brief after the raid where Gleny states that it was a “a very traumatic experience … I still feel deeply affected by it” which also signifies that her and others were not prepared for such experiences. Therefore, Mahoney shows in Go Back that curiosity alone can be a catalyst to discovery and a lack of planning can further instigate it.

On the other hand, a lack of inquisitiveness as well as planning can also cause an unexpected discovery which can be of a great significance to the individual. Land/scape tells the story of the 15-year-old Ant who feels he and his father, Tony, share no connection as they have lived apart for 5 years. Ant thinking of the time wasted due to flight landing delays as a “short reprieve” to spending time with his father is an evidence of his feeling of disconnection to his father and his unwillingness to discover a connection they share. This feeling is justified in “Ant had to sit beneath [his dad’s and grandfather’s] names and achievements…had to blush with shame every time…” as Ant is nowhere near as academically gifted as the previous men in his family and also thinks he does not hold same views neither has any common characteristics with his father. Wheatley further emphasizes this disconnection through the use of pathetic fallacy in “Ant was standing uselessly in the rain, with the water running down the inside of his specs” when they are attempting to set up a tent where the stormy weather reflects their fragile and unstable relationship. Ant’s resistance to develop a connection only paves the way for an unexpected discovery when Ant sees Tony removing his contact lenses in response to which Ant “felt suddenly a little easier with the man, even though his bad eyesight meant there was something they shared in common”. This causes Ant to further remember his childhood memories with Tony as he realizes that he was restricting himself from rediscovering connections he shared with his father as showed in his epiphany “so he did take me on a holiday at least one before, ant realized. He took me camping. He saved my life.” Therefore, as Nadia Wheatley shows in Land/scape, that Discoveries can be instigated due to a lack of curiosity as well as careful planning.

However, despite the different catalysts of different discovery presented, both texts portray the impact of unexpected discoveries as life changing. All of the 6 participants describe their experience as physically and mentally draining which has led to their better understanding of refugees. The views of the participants towards refugees presented at the very beginning of the series are seen to be polar opposite of the views held at the end of their journey. Raye who initially stated, “I could have gone there with a gun and shot the lot of them” experiences an emotional discovery and asks the rhetorical question during the debriefing “Did I say that?” followed by “Now I’d probably go over and invite them in for tea…getting to know people personally is a whole new concept.” This conveys how the confronting nature of discovery converted her pure hatred into compassion for the refugees. On the other hand, Gleny, who supported refugees from the beginning, experiences an intellectual discovery in response to which she comments “I’ve been deeply affected by these stories, I don’t think my life will be the same” that helps her expand her understanding of the journey of refugees on boats. Similarly, Ant’s spiritual rediscovery of his connection with his father also has a major impact on his life. It helps them effectively communicate about Ant’s unwillingness to follow his father’s footsteps and instead enroll into an Arts school. It also helps Ant alter his views towards his father. Wheatley again uses pathetic fallacy to illustrate the life altering nature of discovery in “It was the first time he’d called his father [dad] for a long time. Outside, the wind suddenly dropped, as if the storm had blown itself out like a candle.” This change from a heavy storm to a pleasant weather is symbolic of their restored relationship. Therefore, both texts show that despite the type, discovery has the potential to cause a life changing impact.

In conclusion, the statement “Discovery is a product of curiosity and careful planning” is only true to a certain extent for Go Back and invalid for Nadia Wheatley’s Land/scape. Both texts convey the idea that the process of discovery doesn’t necessarily require a careful planning as it can be unexpected. However, discovery has a life changing potential despite what instigates it.