Belonging_Speech

SLIDE 1 Good morning staff and students. Belonging is the ability to feel acceptance and understanding within your personal, cultural and social environment. The concept of belonging varies between people because of their background and beliefs. My visuals show how we can find a strong sense of belonging through connections to people and places. The visuals also illustrate how barriers can prevent belonging and create a need to belong in a new place with new people. These ideas are also featured in my chosen texts, ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ a film by Baz Lurhman and ‘My Island Home,’ a song written by Neil Murray about an Aboriginal man called George. SLIDE 2 In the film ‘Strictly Ballroom’, Fran has a strong connection to her Spanish culture, which can be seen in her passion for traditional dance and through her close relationship with her family. Fran’s strong connection to family and dance is obvious when Scott arrives at her house during a family gathering. Fran’s family is supportive of her dancing and this is seen when Fran’s father helps her and Scott practice for the dancing competition. The contrast between her world, which is authentic and real as opposed to Scott’s fake and materialistic world in ballroom dancing, emphasises her strong sense of belonging and acceptance. This sense of acceptance is represented in the visual of the burning fire. Fire symbolises the warmth and security that Fran feels from her family and culture. SLIDE 3 Like Fran, George has a strong connection with his culture and this is based on the bond that he has with his home in the sea. The lyrics, “six years I’ve been in the desert and every night I dream of the sea.” describes George’s longing to be by the sea. The song, ‘My Island Home,’ which is written in the first person is powerful in that we are given insight into George’s lost sense of belonging. The repetition of the words “my island home,” creates empathy and allows the audience to realise just how essential belonging is to life. The lyrics, “Will this place ever satisfy me'” are written on my visual and they express George’s lack of understanding and identity in this foreign desert land. The images of the turtle and the goanna represent the conflict in George’s world. The image of the goanna is dull, whereas the turtle is clearly defined, suggesting clarity of his connection to the sea. George isn’t able to physically connect with the sea because he has a new life and family in the desert. The cage that the turtle is in represents the barriers that have been imposed on him. SLIDE 4 There are also barriers in the film, ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ which hinder Scott’s opportunity to belong to people and places, thereby creating a need to find a new place and people. The barriers in the film are the expectations of Scott, from his mother and Barry Fife, the Dancing Federation president, to dance the steps of the Federation and become a successful ballroom dancer. Scott feels as if he doesn’t belong because he wants to express himself and therefore chooses to ignore the rules of the Dancing Federation. In the film Scott strips down to his white singlet and black pants to symbolise his need to rid himself of mainstream ballroom dancing. The words, “You can dance any steps you like, doesn’t mean you’ll win” are quoted by Barry Fife in the film and written on the visual in bold capital letters over a faint image of dancing shoes. These words suggest the power that expectations can have over an individual’s freedom to express their identity and allow them to find their true sense of belonging. Due to these barriers, Scott yearned to find a new place and people to belong to. He found this through his relationship with Fran and her family because they encouraged him to be himself. SLIDE 5 The final visual shows an image of Fran and Scott dancing in the last scene of the film. Although they are dancing in a Federation competition, Scott and Fran challenge the rules by rising above competitive dancing to find a new place together where they are able to freely express themselves. Belonging to people or places allows individuals to feel acceptance and fulfilment in a world where they have a greater understanding of their identity. As seen in both texts, barriers can make it difficult to connect with people and places, which can sometimes make it impossible to feel a true sense of belonging. I believe that it is possible to overcome these barriers if one has the desire to express their true identity and find a connection with people and places where they truly belong. Belonging to people and places is a great thing and if you can demonstrate the same persistence as Scott and Fran did in Strictly Ballroom, you too may find your ‘home.’