15th August 2017

Significant Connections

“I’m prepared for the worst. But hope for the best”-Benjamin Disraeli.

Being able to survive you need to hold a lot of aspects, different people hold different aspects of survival. ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ directed by Phillip Noyce, ‘The Vow’ directed by Michael Sucsy, ‘Touching The Void’ directed by Joe Simpson and ‘Soul Surfer’ directed by Sean McNamara all these texts and films hold aspects of survival starting from ‘Thinking ahead and in advance’ to ‘Not giving up’. Everyone goes through their own survival, it’s just how you manage the survival is how far you will get.

The nature of survival that was shown in ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ directed by Phillip Noyce. The first aspect of survival that was shown is thinking ahead and in advance. This was shown when sisters Molly, Daisy and their cousin Gracie were taken to Moore River, after being taken away from their home and family at Jigalong. Molly decides she wants to leave and that they are going to leave and walk back to their Mum, Molly interprets that it is going to rain so this is the perfect time to go as the rain will cover up their footsteps. The viewer sees a long shot of the girls sneaking out away from Moore river and a bell went off for all the girls to go into church. But Molly, Gracie and Daisy are sneaking out and leaving back home. This shows that Molly is able to interpret what is about to happen and is always thinking ahead, this is setting her in survival mode as she is prepared for what might challenge her.

Another aspect of survival was shown in the film “Rabbit Proof Fence” was that you need to be committed. This was shown many times throughout the film as Gracie is always doubting Molly and her decisions. This was particularly shown when Gracie decides to leave Molly and Daisy to go to the train stop, to catch the train to go where her Mum is. The viewer sees a mid shot with eye level angle, and hears a deep drastic wind howling, this could be because they knew this was a wrong decision. 

Another film that showed the nature of survival was shown in ‘ The Vow’ directed by Michael Sucsy. The first aspect of survival that was shown was having a good mindset. This was shown a lot after Paige Collins (Rachel McAdams) and Leo Collins (Channing Tatum) got in the car accident and Paige had gotten diagnosed with brain damage. Having a good mindset helped Leo out a lot and helped him survive, this is because it was very hard to stay motivated to continue his journey of being with his very beloved girlfriend Paige. The viewer hears a lot of anger and discomfort in tone of Paige and Leo complaining and arguing about what they are going to do from now on. The viewer sees a high angle shot of their background and the stress Leo is going through. The way Leo handles this situation is remarkable and shows the viewer what life can give you if you have a good mindset.

A second aspect of survival that was shown in the film ‘The Vow’ directed by Michael Sucsy was being able to protect one another. Leo is always in situations where he is constantly protecting Paige and always there for her. When Paige was struggling with remembering what her normal day-to-day routine was, Leo was always protecting her and reminding her of the things she used to do and helping her out in the best possible way. When Paige was lost or felt like she was out-of-place Leo was there to protect her. The viewer hears and feels the pain that both Leo and Paige are going through when Paige is crying hysterically, and just saying “my head is sore, can you please just leave me alone,” while the viewers see a mid angle shot of Leo just trying his best to make things better for Paige.

‘Protecting one another’ and  ‘Being committed’ can be related as you have to be committed to protect one another, because as soon as you lose hope and give up you are not able to protect anyone else, as well as yourself.

The nature of survival was also shown in the text ‘Touching The Void’ written by Joe Simpson. The first aspect of survival that was shown in the text was making quick decisions. This was  shown when Simon cut the rope when Joe was hanging down from Simon, he made the right decision of doing this because Simon was slipping and if he didn’t they both would have died. By making this quick decision helped for survival and if it was left any later the survival story would have changed dramatically. The text states that Simon said “I couldn’t hold the weight much longer.” This shows us that Simon didn’t give up he just made a fast decision to survive. This shows us that you can have all your trust in someone else’s hands and their decisions become your greatest mystery.

Another aspect of survival that was shown in the film ‘Touching The Void’ written by Joe Simpson was bravery. The bravery that they both had to make it out alive helped them to survive. Survival consists of a lot of bravery and if a person does not hold a lot of bravery then when a tough situation occurs then it will be very hard to get out of that situation alive.

The nature of survival was shown in ‘Soul Surfer’ directed by ‘Sean McNamara’. The first aspect of survival that was shown is to not give up. This was shown when Bethany Hamilton a surfer with passion lost her arm in a shark attack. But this did not make her lose hope, she did not give up and she was back out on the surf practicing and practicing with only one arm after she had healed and gained courage again. Bethany reminds herself to “take it day by day” and she says “I have to believe something good will come from this.” Showing a long shot with a high angle of Benany carving the waves now with only one arm and being one of the best surfers in the world. This shows that when you stick with your passion and not give up, even when obstacles arise you can accomplish what you aim for.

In the film ‘Soul Surfer’ directed by ‘Sean McNamara’ another aspect of survival was sticking to what you love. When Bethany Hamilton had her accident, that did not stop her from doing what she desired and what she lived for. If you love doing something and some obstacle gets in your way that causes for survival, if you really loved it then it wouldn’t stop you from fighting past the obstacle of survival to regain the love and passion you had. This was shown in a high birds angle shot of her getting back out on the surf, trying her hardest and to her full potential to gain the strength back.

‘Making quick decisions’ and ‘Not giving up’ can be related because if you make a decision you can’t give up on this decision or it would turn out negatively.

A story of someone’s survival becomes a lifestyle for the next person. Every survival story is an inspiration in a different way for everyone. The way people handle their survival situations is by their own unique decisions, which can influence the next person that’s uptaking an adventure. All the characters in the text/films above are different and unique and they all take risks in different ways to survive. The main aspect that related to every text/film above is ‘Not giving up’ this is the start of being able to survive.  

Join the conversation! 1 Comment

  1. Bridget, in the first week of Term 4, you will be given a lesson to finalise your “Significant Connections” assessment. Key areas to strengthen:
    1) What do you mean by this opening? I’m not sure that your meaning is clear: “Being able to survive you need to hold a lot of aspects, if you don’t hold the aspects of survival you can’t survive.”
    2) Re-read the final sentences of each point and make sure that what you are saying about the nature of survival is clear and specific- remember the marker of your essay may not have read or viewed the text. Many of your final judgements seem incomplete here.
    3) You do need at least two specific examples to support your points in each text’s paragraph.
    – Please speak with me if you have questions about the structure of this assessment.
    – Well done for the work that you have completed thus far.

    Reply

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