INTRODUCTION
SYNOPSIS
OVERVIEW
PARTICIPANTS
DISCOVERY REFERENCES
TECHNIQUES
QUOTES
QUESTIONS /WORKSHEETS
INTRODUCTION
Synopsis
“Go Back to Where You Came From”, hosted by Dr David Corlett,
invites participants to challenge their preconceived notions about
refugees and asylum seekers by embarking on a confronting 25-day
adventure, tracing in reverse the journeys taken by refugees now
settled in Australia. Six ‘ordinary Australians’ take up the challenge.
Having no idea of what is in store for them and without money,
phones or ID the six are divided and billeted out with former
refugees now living in Australia. The Masudi family from Burundi
and the Democratic Republic of Congo and a group of immigrants
from Iraq who share a modest flat, welcome the participants into
their homes and openly answer questions about why they are now
living in Australia and how they got here.
OVERVIEW
Go Back to Where You Came From follows six ordinary
Australians – Raye, Darren, Gleny, Adam, Roderick and
Raquel – who come to the table with different perspectives:
THE PARTICIPANTS
Raye Colbey (lives opposite Inverbrackie detention centre, South Australia).
Raye started her journey with bitter hatred towards asylum seekers however by
the end, she had bonded so deeply with the family of African refugees who had
taken her in at the beginning of the series that one of their sons stayed as a guest
in her home. Her entire journey, in fact, was punctuated with tears of sympathy,
empathy and
Racquel Moore (Anglo Westie from Western Sydney).
Racquel was aware she was kind of racist, expressed support for Pauline
Hanson, and admitted to not liking Africans. In Malaysia, she was alarmed
when she saw women with “teatowels” on their heads.
Despite dragging her feet most of the way, by the end of the series, she had
learned to see the humanity in Africans, and in refugees.
Gleny Rae (happy leftie, parttime teacher and singer).
Gleny’s “character arc” was expected to be the smallest, given she went into it
with the view that Australia should be accepting more asylum seekers, and was
even willing to take some people into her own home. Her experiences did affect
her deeply, though, and deepened her appreciation of what she has here in
Australia.
Prior to this, Adam, 26, had lived in Cronulla his whole life and travelled
through Asia and Europe, working in Greece as a lifeguard last winter. He was a
zero tolerance kind of bloke but by the end of the series, his views had changed
significantly His trip to a detention centre in episode 1 offered him the first real
insight into the psychology of being the Other, the asylum seeker
Darren Hassan (Adelaide man with military background, member of the Liberal
Party, practicing Christian).
Roderick, 29, had never been overseas before this series. His biggest fear was
being perceived as a giant lefty. His concern about asylum seekers arriving by
boat and the ensuing debate was that the focus should be on the issues that drive
them here in the first place.
His views had not significantly altered by the end of the series, although he did
insist the experiences of the journey had affected him.
DISCOVERY REFERENCES
now discovers that refugees’ lives are really hard, and she
the hardship that refugees had in their lives. For example, Maisara told
the participants about her hard life that she, as a refugee, even after she
TECHNIQUES
the filming process. As for the visual elements, the director uses
from different angles. This makes the audience able to feel more
used are close up, extreme close up and wide shot. In addition, the
throughout the film. This is done to create some tension for the viewers
so the audiences are able to feel more emotions and attracted to the
film. For example, there’s one scene in the refugee camp where Raquel,
Raye and Roderick stayed. Through the scene, it can be seen that the
atmosphere in the camp was really tense because people there are
suffering. To make it feel more realistic, the director adds some gong
tense music was also used in the film. The techniques used by the
director has make the audience to be able to feel the emotions of the
film.
Camera Angles
There are many close up camera shots and interviews. An
example of this is when Raye and Raquel are talking to
Bahati Masudi’s wife about the troubles and horrors
she witnessed in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
including the rape of her two sisters. By using close up
camera shots, the producers and camera people give us
a clear view of her emotions and sad facial expressions.
There are many close up camera shots and interviews.
An example of this is when Raye and Raquel are talking
to Bahati Masudi’s wife about the troubles and horrors
she witnessed in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
including the rape of her two sisters. By using close up
camera shots, the producers and camera people give us
a clear view of her emotions and sad facial expressions.
Documentary
The medium of documentary has effectively allowed uvision
of the refugees’ experiences during their journey as
well as the reactions of people not involved like the
participants. This has effectively helped understanding
of the desperation of the refugees to come and live in
a country like Australia .
Flashbacks
The participants are interviewed about their current
thoughts on refugees. Throughout the series, there are
flashbacks to these initial interviews to show the change in
people’s beliefs and for others the reaffirming of them
Voice over Narration
• The person who narrates a film or programme sometimes uses a
“voice over” sound track to speak the words which accompany the
pictures,
Effect: The narrator leads the audience through the
information/facts/topics of the documentary and provide insight for
persuasion.
Graphics
Connotation
Observers connate that it must be very serious if people are
taking the enormous risk of going on an overcrowded,
leaky, unseaworthy and definitely unsafe boat.
Visual techniques
cross cutting eg. Contrasting Darren and Adam's reactions to the
raid.
Pathetic fallacy when Adam visited Villawood
Close ups of characters during moments of discovery; signifies
importance of discovery
Sound techniques
music
The cuts from shots of Kakuma to Jordan shows that the refugee
journey cannot be generalised.
QUOTES
Darren was staunchly against “boat people”, arguing that they are not refugees,
but economic migrants.
“Instead of harbouring them, we should just put them straight on a plane and
send them back. Don’t worry about giving them a feed or shower.”
“They get given everything; all they do is complain; we’re rolling out the red
carpet with a glass of champagne at the end of it.”
QUESTIONS /WORKSHEETS
Archival
footage
Talking heads
Hand held
camera
Voiceover
narration
Re-enactments
Statistics and
facts
Interviews
Real people
Border Patrol
1. How is the mood shifted at the start of this section to make it
engaging for the responder? Consider camera angles, sound effect and
exposition.
2. Why, do you think, this brief section of border control has been
included in the series? What effect does the information about funding
being provided by Australian tax payers have on the audience?
3.
Midnight Raid
1. Discuss the use of various film techniques used in this sequence.
Consider the use of hand held cameras, soundtrack, editing and direct
interviews that are used throughout. What effect do these techniques
have on the audience?
2. The participants respond in various ways to the raids. Discuss the
significance of the below quotes (considering intent, tone and
perspective), and the effect of their words on the audience.
• Roderick: “I hope they’re bad, bad people … it’s going to be harder to
watch if they’re really nice people getting turfed out of their place.”
• Raquel: “They should be doing this in Australia. This is good.”
• Raye: “I don’t know how I feel, it’s pretty sad. I’m certainly not
relishing in it.”
• Darren: “This is unbelievable. I had no idea that it was going to be this
full on.”
• Gleny: “It’s a very tense situation. I’m just churning inside.”
• Adam: “Far out, It’s just a big reality hit.”
3. How does Raye and Raquel’s dialogue during this scene highlight the
dichotomy of public opinions about the criminality of refugees and
asylum seekers?
4. At the end of this part of the episode, the participants debrief with Dr
David Corlett. There is a clear divide between those who have shifted
their perspectives, and those who are yet to discover a new way of
thinking. Explain the position of each participant in regards to their
perspective on refugees and asylum seekers. How has their perspective
changed from the beginning, and have other participants influenced
them in any way?
Kenya
1. As Roderick, Raquel and Raye travel to the Kakuma refugee camp,
they have different responses to the potential danger of the situation.
Describe these responses.
2. How is Raquel’s statement: “I’m not no refugee.” Ironic? Consider
both the syntax, and the nature of the experiment. What does this say
about the nature of self discovery?
3.The Voice Over provides the following detail: “It is now 16 days since
the Australian’s have had any contact with friends and family at home.
The refugee experiment is taking them further and further from their
comfort zone.” What could be suggested about the way thatRaye,
Raquel and Roderick are handling this situation, especially in regards
to discovery
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