Well Girls Belonging

Girls, the nature of belonging is complex and abstract and so a true sense of belonging can be found in different circumstances for different people. Many individuals find the strongest sense of belonging through intrinsic factors such as relationships, rather than through extrinsic factors such as social status or nationality. This is due to the fact that by nature relationships fulfil the human need for social interaction and enrich the lives of the persons involved. | After looking at as you like it compared to the sbs documentary once upon a time in Cabramatta, at first I know you girls would be thinking these two texts are worlds apart. And yes, they are, but what they do have in common is that they both explore the notion of belonging
through the importance of relationships and how to find where one truly belongs when all extrinsic factors must be removed | As you like it is a Shakespearean pastoral comedy, with a strong Elizabethan romance element, targeted at an Elizabethan audience. It explores the concept of belonging through most of the characters. by the end of the text it’s made pretty obvious that belonging and relationships are inextricably linked, whether it be through; brother to brother, master to servant, lover to beloved or friend to friend. | So girls, is it be fair to say that in order to find a sense of belonging you must first have strong and fulfilling relationships? Yes It would be. So HOW do the characters in as you like it find a sense of belonging? and how does Shakespeare USE the text to emphasise this? | Well the play begins with the antithesis of love and hate.
This introduces the complex concept of belonging framed by filial conflict. This Sibling rivalry between Orlando and Oliver caused by issues of jealousy and inheritance questions the practice of primogeniture. Orlando’s social rejection is reinforced through use of animal imagery equating his status with an “ox” helping the audience explore notions of belonging. | However by the end of the play, we see Orlando has found a stronger sense of belonging. And how has he done this? Well girls, like I said, in order to find a sense of belonging you must first have strong and fulfilling relationships. The wedding scene in Act 5 helps explore communal membership empowering at both a personal and collective level. It’s the ultimate consummation of belonging for not just Orlando but all characters.
| As Hymen “joins her hand with his”. Rosalind’s connection with Duke Senior encourages familial bond contrasting the anti-social behaviour between Orlando and Oliver in the opening and of course Pathetic fallacy has been employed to represent the change in seasons as a change in the perception of belonging. | So girls just to make it clear, even though once upon a time in Cabramatta is a contemporary documentary aimed to retell the untold story of the Vietnamese refugees of Australia as opposed to an Elizabethan pastoral comedy made for entertainment purposes, the concept of belonging transcends through this contextual barrier. | Ladies, when analysing once upon a time in Cabramatta there are three questions we need to ask, 1: where do the Vietnamese people find a sense of belonging?
2; is the sense of belonging within the individual stronger when influenced through intrinsic or extrinsic factors? And 3: how does director, Bernadine Lim reflect this message in the documentary? We can all agree, that belonging is found all throughout the series, whether it is a sense of belonging within a gang, culture, family or a community | But we need to take into account that the sense of belonging found by the Vietnamese people is divided into two categories. a: A true sense of belonging and b: A fractured or disillusioned sense of belonging. Lim has clearly presented the fact that in order to gain a true sense of belonging, all extrinsic constraints being in this case cultural barriers - language, ignorance to laws and distrust, must be removed and therefore a positive sense of belonging can be achieved.
| Whereas a fractured or disillusioned sense of belonging often found within gangs leads to further political and social problems within a community and thus a strong sense of belonging is unable to be found. | In the first scene, we are presented with an establishing shot of Cabramatta train station showing us the settings of the story, framing the train station are heavy dark grey clouds; these clouds symbolise dismay and unrest within the community, this negative vibe is further supported with the diegetic sound of traffic and car horns. | The camera slowly zooms into the forefront of the station and we see a train arrive this train, that is later referred to as the ‘8.04 junkie express’ which is reflective of a journey we are about to be taken on. So girls, within the first 2 minutes of the episode we are exposed to a community which seems inhospitable to a sense of belonging and in fact is reflecting of a fractured sense of belonging. | This notion of a fractured sense of belonging is further supported throughout the series when we are introduced to Tony Hoang, a Vietnamese born who came out to Australia with his family and encountered many of the social issues, including feelings of exclusion from his family and community and so he sought belonging within a gang. | While tony reflects on his past experiences he is shown by an extreme close up with half of his face being shadowed, the close-up has been used to establish a level of intimacy with tony and the viewer while the shadows are reflective of regret tony feels for choices he had made in the past and in turn the feelings of exclusion he felt. | However in the last scene of the last episode we are presented with a long shot of Cabramatta train station which had been used as a motif throughout the series. Lots of people are getting off the trains, and a vibrant sense of community can be felt. Non diegetic traditional Vietnamese music is playing and it is apparent Vietnamese people have found their place within modern multicultural Australia as they had fought as a community to remove the cultural barriers and find their voice. | And so girls, whether you’re a refugee finding your voice in a new country or finding love in a forest, it is only when we can be free from external constraints that we can truly belong. | |