Essay on 'Whose Life', 'Through Australian Eyes'... (Perspective) (1 Viewer)

[Survivor39]

Essays on 'Whose Life', 'Through Australian Eyes'... (Perspective)

This was one of my practice essay from Perspective. Some of the content may be a help to you as Journey required the use of the same prescribed texts. I hope my essay will be able to show you how an essay is constructed, as well as to demonstrate how you can address the question asked.


Focus Question: Explain how the composers present different perspectives to reflect different experience?

Perspective is our attitude, outlook, the way we view events, ideas and issues in life. Our perspectives can be shaped and manipulated by our personal experience, as well as public knowledge encompassing the world. From the prescribed texts ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway?’ by Brian Clark, ‘Through Australian Eyes’ directed by William Fitzwater, ‘Sturt’s Dreaming’ from the stimulus booklet ‘Changing’, along with ‘My Chinese Identity’ by William Yang as a supplementary text, we can see how the composers of these texts have presented a diversity of perspectives to reflect different experiences from different individuals.

In ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway?’ Clark has formulated two distinctive characters – Ken Harrison and Dr. Emerson – to base his play centred around the issue of euthanasia. Ken Harrison, who is a patient, paralysed quadraplegically, makes a plea for the freedom to decide his own destiny. This becomes obvious as his perspective is presented strongly, and to a greater extent, reflecting his background, his former livelihood as a scultor, and his experience in life. The composer utilises powerful language and eloquent analogies to represent Ken’s feelings and viewpoint on his own future: “For me life is over, I want it recognised because I can’t do the things that I want to do, that means I can’t say the things that I want to say” which provided an explanation as to why he feels the need to end his undignified life; while making a comparison between the “vegetable” and his long-term paralysis as the key reason for his passionate fight for his artistic integrity, morality and freedom.

Dr Emerson on the other hand, disagrees with Ken. He strongly believes that life is precious and he must do everything in his power to preserve it. With thirty years of experience behind him as a physician, he exhibits his knowledge through the use of medical jargon such as “valium” and “dialysis”. He articulates that his “qualified opinion” and “objective decision” are more valid and superior and therefore, restricts Ken’s desire to decide his own fate as “he cannot know enough to challenge our clinical decision”. The composer employs fluent language for both characters to present their unique perspectives, which make this text one of the most powerful pieces of evidence to demonstrate that experience is reflected through the way composers present different viewpoints.

Another piece of evidence to demonstrate the way perspective represents experience is ‘Through Australian Eyes’. One of the episodes features the presenter Ellen, who travels to various parts of China, and provides an impersonal response to Beijing’s architecture even though her parents’ roots lie there. Her body language and speech are stilted; her voiceover is flat, indicating that Ellen is detached from China. The director has spliced and edited the documentary to not only highlights Ellen’s perspective, but to reflect her lack of experience of China.

Another presenter called Duska, goes to her parental origins to experience what life is like there. Her feelings and experience of Yugoslavia is shown through a series of panning shots across the countryside, revealing the beauty of the country Blatov which captivate Duska on her visit. Her emotive voiceover illustrates her positive response to this trip. The food, the music, the celebration, the tradition shown on camera tells all that is needed about the significance of Duska’s visit to her relatives. Again the director has utilises camera techniques such as panning to reveal Duska’s eye-opening experience.

The third episode featuring Angela is very similar to those of Ellen and Duska. Angela heads to Greece and finds herself experiencing farm life as well as what her father was like before his death. She vicariously brings her mother’s prejudice to Greece and this is shown through her voiceover which mentions the negative experience her mother had while she was a child. Nevertheless, this criticism soon changes and this is reflected when she announces she has left Greece “with her father’s experience”. The director is responsible for this documentary series successfully encapsulating each girl’s perspectives by unfolding their experiences in front of the camera.

Similar to the three girls who go to explore places that they had never been to, Charles Sturt attempts to search for an inland sea in continental Australia. His view, his confidence are reflected through his experience as a Captain. Stanza one illustrates this by labelling him as “Captain” and “efficient”, as well as “all set to launch”. In addition, two perspectives are also being expressed – his formal name “Captain Charles Sturt” and “Charlie dear”. On the one hand, his formal name symbolises his leadership, his power as a Captain, and his master plan to discover the inland sea; on the other hand, “Charlie dear” signifies his gentleness, his role as a kind and loving husband. From the juxtaposition of the possible sight of success in stanza one, to the realisation of failure in stanza two, Sturts’ viewpoint is deceived by the “false trigonometry of birds” and the “legendary ocean” which symbolises that the inland sea will never exist. The composer of “Sturt’s Dreaming” emphasises how limited experience can make a powerful influence on what we see, and how we see things.

In “My Chinese Identity”, the composer William Yang writes about his life as someone who was completely unaware of his Chinese identity while living in a western society. His westernised view is characterised by his experience growing up in Australia. He states that he “learned European and Australian history at school” and is “mad about American movies and worshipped the Hollywood stars”. Through real life experience in China in search of reassurance and security, William finds the Chinese culture “rich” and “defined”. This journey of self-discovery had made him understand more about his background and realises that this aspect of his life should be “something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of”. ‘My Chinese Identity’ utilises perspective to reinforce and emphasise a person’s altering experience.

In conclusion, the composers’ inputs on how an individual perceive events, ideas and issues is a powerful and symbolic tool to reflect ones’ experience in life. The texts studied constitute techniques such as language like the instance of the vehement argument of Ken and Dr Emerson in ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway’, to the extent of camera shots in ‘Through Australian Eyes’. We therefore can conclude that different perspective is capable of reflecting different experience.

 

[Survivor39]

Practice Question

‘Our view of the world is shaped by our perspective.’

Discuss the truth of this statement. Give evidence from your two prescribed texts, one text from the Stimulus Changing, and other texts of your own choosing.

Perspective has become an integral part of the Area of Study in ESL; it is a perpetual, yet powerful force that determines how we view events, ideas and issues that are encompassing the world. The set text ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway?’ by Brain Clark, explicitly presented contrasting characters in the play; thus the perspective on the issue of euthanasia is being viewed differently. ‘Through Australian Eyes’ is a documentary series that became an eye-opening experience for the 3 girls who travelled separately to China, Yugoslavia and Greece where they opens up their immediate world and were exposed to a markedly different worldview. ‘Sturt’s Dreaming’ enclosed in the Stimulus Booklet convincingly supported the interrelationship between perspective and worldview. In addition to ‘My Chinese Identity’ by William Yang as a supplementary text, these texts formed an obvious base in arguing the statement ‘Our view of the world is shaped by our perspective.’

‘Whose Life Is It Anyway?’ poses two convincing viewpoints on the issue of euthanasia between a patient named Ken and Dr Emerson. On the one hand, Ken felt there is no point in living since his accident has cost his ability to perform everyday tasks. He is paralysed so severely that he requires medical machines and constant nursing. To regain freedom and follow his morals, he must end his undignified life by stopping all further treatments. On the other hand, Dr Emerson considered his “qualify opinion” and “subjective” decision more valid and superior. He trivialised Ken’s desire to decide his fate by stating “he can’t know enough to challenge our clinical decision”. Two powerful viewpoints battled out for a desirable outcome with Ken’ stating: ‘If I cannot be a man, I do not wish to be a medical achievement’, as a stark contrast to Dr Emerson’s wishing to keep Ken alive as his first priority. Two different positions, two different experiences and two different worldviews were drawn into the same case to give us a sense that there is always another side to the story, that is how perspective can shape our view of the world as highlighted evidently in this text.

The second prescribed text ‘Through Australian Eyes’ provided a framework for Ellen from China, Duska from Yugoslavia, and Angela from Greece to develop a better understanding about themselves, their culture and their identity. Ellen made a discovery about her culture, and her self-identity as she travelled to different parts of China. In Lo Jao, where her mother’s roots lie, she saw her mother’s village, the hardworking Chinese, the clan house, which encapsulated the answer she had been sought for so long – her culture and her identity. She realised on departure, that “leaving Lo Jao was like living family behind”. In addition, the introduction of her Chinese name “Poon Wei Lan” during the trip signifies and reinforces her identity as a Chinese. Her view of the world had expanded because she became more aware of her Chinese origins, and in doing so, she developed a more in-depth perspective of China.

In the case of Duska, arriving at Yugoslavia has allowed her to experience what life is like in Blatov the country, in contrast to the life of Split, the city. In Blatov, she experienced the beauty of the country through the landscape; the food, the music, and the enthusiasm of Duska’s relatives tells all that is needed about the age and traditions of the country life. However, she realised that the “hard” farming life was inappropriate for her. Because of this eye-opening experience, Duska’s worldview changed, but more importantly, she discovered a new perspective of Yugoslavia that ultimately led to this change.

The third girl, named Angela was given the opportunity to visit Greece where her parents were brought up. The trip has not only permitted her to gain a new perspective on what kind of person her father was which she knew a little about, but she was able to erase the prejudice that she brought vicariously, as a consequence of her mother’s influence, which was based on the negative childhood experience of her mother in Greece. Angela’s new exposure to Greece provided a different point of view about what Greece is all about. She believed she left with her father’s point of view, and more significantly, she symbolised this trip as a journey in which she “learned more in 2 weeks than in whole of her life”. Evidently,
‘Through Australian Eyes’ is a documentary that altered ones perspective, which in terms shape how we see our world.

Another example to argue a person’s view is affected by their experiences is through ‘Sturt’s Dreaming’. The text outlined a keen explorer who attempts to search for an inland sea in continental Australia. However, with a limited understanding of Australia geographically, his view is also limited as a result. Stanza one illustrated Charles Sturt as a confident and keen man, and this is identified through labelling him as “Captain” and “efficient”, followed by “all set to launch”. We can obviously see two perspectives were also being expressed – his formal name “Captain Charles Sturt” and “Charlie dear”. On the one hand, his formal name symbolised his leadership, his power as a Captain, and his master plan to discover the inland sea; on the other hand, “Charlie dear” represented his role as a kind and loving husband. The second stanza accumulated a sense of disappointment as the voyage of exploration became the realisation of failure, this is reflected in the word choice of “false trigonometry of birds” and “legendary ocean” because it will never exist. “Sturt’s Dreaming” emphasis how people’s view of the world can be shaped by their perspectives, and to some extent, their limited experience can also make a powerful influence to what we see, and how we see things.


In ‘My Chinese Identity’, William Yang the composer identifies himself as being an Australian, even though he looked Asian and was a third generation Chinese. His mother chooses the Australian society in which to bring him up, resulting in his westernised view on life; William stated: “I learned European and Australian history at school”, as well as “drooled over good looking Caucasians” to highlight his westernised lifestyle and attitudes. Despite all these, when people asked him about his identity, he got embarrassed and recognised the fact that he needed to explore China in search of reassurance and security. Through real life experience, he found the Chinese culture “rich” and “defined”. He understood more about his origins, and this journey of self-discovery has made him to understand that this aspect of his life should be “something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of”. ‘My Chinese Identity’ is a text that offered a message that the meaning of self-identity is important in reinforcing our perspective – who we are, and how we view events, ideas and issues in life.

In conclusion, we now profoundly know that ‘our view of the world is shaped by our perspective’. Through text analysis, we ultimately saw how different perspectives on different things can contribute to our unique viewpoints of the world and how our world should be.

 

[Survivor39]

Notes on 'Through Australian Eyes'


The set text ‘Through Australian Eyes’ is a series of documentary films designed to reflect the changing perspective of the composer and presenter. Documentary films are non-fiction, they attempt to convey factual information about people, living things, and events of interest to the responders. Although many may think what you see is what you get, the ‘truth’ the responders see are base on the purpose as well as the target audience for that particular production. In the documentary ‘China’, Ellen the presenter was introduced as a 17 years-old girl trying to find her cultural identity as she explores China, where her roots lie.

The opening scene was shot at the Moomba Festival where it opens a context for the responders. From there and the voiceover provided by Ellen, we realised Ellen was an Australian born Chinese. She mentioned that she was not sure of her identity, just as she was not sure of her perspective or viewpoint on China. However her trip to China will open ‘a window of opportunity’ for her to discover exactly what she requested for – finding where her roots lie. We could see the way her perspective change from her attitude and the places she visited in different part of China.

Although she was a Chinese, Ellen do not felt a connection with the Architectures in Peking, she uses the word ‘Peking’ instead of Beijing because she didn’t know much about China. She provided statistics to the responders in Tienaman Square, but again felt no connection. Ellen’s voice in the voiceover was flat, her body language as well as her speech was stilted which indicates she was detached from China, it could be her personality, but definitely reflecting the highly scripted nature of a documentary. Nevertheless, her attitude suggested that she was interested in what she’s seeing and experiencing. In Canton, Ellen mentioned she didn’t feel completely Chinese; in Australia she didn’t feel completely Australian. This ambiguity was solved when she arrived in Lo Jao, it was a turning point of her identity, the answer she had sought for so long lies at the place where her mother comes from. Ellen confirmed her self-identity when she visited the clan house. Moreover she confirmed her cultural identity when she explored this traditional country town. The introduction of her real name in the concert symbolises her true identity she had founded in Lo Jao.

In summary, on the one hand, even though Ellen presented an impersonal response to the experience in China, she took a journey of self-discovery, growth and maturity. On the other hand, the composer showed this change in perspective through the music, editing and camera techniques.

The sense of loss in Ellen’s mind and how she comes about solving this confusion was not the only the case. Erin Kite tells her story in her Personal Interest Project stated that she want to find out “for people of Chinese descent, how does lack of experience with Chinese culture affect their perception of their identity.” She also feels a sense of loss, like Ellen, from not knowing about her Chinese culture. After she completed her project as a part of the Society and Culture course, she realised “it is a comfort to know that I am not the only person who feels alienated from Chinese society… and that other people of my generation also feel a loss through not knowing about their Chinese heritage”. She concluded by saying “It really means they feel more Australian than Chinese; they belong to an individualist society and not a collectivist one.” This sets up an analogy to Ellen’s story and the way they both ended.

“Leaving Lo Jao was like leaving a family behind.” Ellen ultimately feels a sense of nostalgia, a sense of desire to go back once again to see her beautiful homeland that she had forgotten for so long. People can change, and so too can perspective. ‘Seeing is believing’, it is those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that changes how we feel, how we act, and how we view events, ideas and issues in life, that is, perspective.




The following episode in ‘Through Australian Eyes’ was ‘Yugoslavia’ in which the introduction of the documentary was the same. The implication was the same – changing perspective in the presenter and composer, however the context changes from China an Asian country, to Yugoslavia a European country. Duska the presenter was once again introduced to us as an Australian born girl whose roots lie somewhere she has never been before.

Duska described Yugoslavia as “I don’t really know what it is like because I’ve never been there”. She asked many rhetorical questions about her homeland such as “will it be very different from the life I grown up with in Australia?” this showed that she was very excited and keen to experience the trip to Yugoslavia and more importantly, this tell us she does not recognise many aspects of her culture, history and identity.

After arriving in Yugoslavia, the first thing she discovered was the close contact of relatives. In Blatov the country, she met many of her father’s relatives and was surprised at how emotional her uncle’s welcoming speech was. In the time she had in Blatov Duska stayed in the traditional house. She saw how beautiful the landscape was, the food, the music, the lifestyle, the tradition encapsulating the heritage that her uncle Ivan had kept alive. The juxtaposition from Blatov to Split took Duska to the city where her mother’s family was. The city which allowed globalisation to run wild forms a reflection of Duska’s life in Melbourne. This contrast between Blatov and Split was very clear.

Two different perspectives were taking Duska one step closer to the finding of her identity. The Blatov on the one hand, the stone field – underpin generations of work, the old kitchen – symbolises the traditional lifestyle and cultural preservation of Yugoslavia. On the other hand, the modern kitchen, the soccer stadium, the industry represents modernisation in Yugoslavia. Duska found what she requested for when she put on the traditional wear from her grandmother’s. She knew instantly the hard life in the country wasn’t for her. In the contrary, Uncle Ivan believes that life in Australia is too complex for him, and rather kept their simple, traditional life in Blatov.

Duska found her identity, at the same time, she recognised her cultural heritage which lead to the change in perspective. She took a photo of her uncle, hoping that would freeze time so that her uncle would continue to preserve the traditional ancestral culture, unlike that of the disappearing historic stone field.

 

[nic0428]

wooo.this is useful
thank you so much

 

[Survivor39]

No problem nic0428.

 

[choc-chip]

how is that helpful?

i've got no clues at all....

 

[regret108000]

oh yeah, good notes...m.. chewing it...

 

[se7en up]

u are soooo nice.. i love u soooo much ....=^.^=

u are soooo nice.. i love u soooo much ....=^.^=

 

[Tingaling]

Survivor39

you are soo nice.. thanks alot for the notes !!!

 

[stuffuhsc]

nice essay. I've heard that there are not many school doing 'whose life is it anyway' which school did u go to?

 

[blapp]

OMG!!!!
u r so so so so nice ....
thx a lot ....