ipl-logo

The Australian Film The Black Balloon By Elissa Down

1230 Words5 Pages

Temple Grandin can be quoted saying this in respond to whether she wishes she was not autistic “If I could snap my fingers and be non-autistic, I would not. Autism is part of what I am.” The Australian film “The Black Balloon” directed and written by Elissa Down, effectively portrays a family struggling with marginalisation and discrimination in a suburban Australia context. As Down clearly suggests to the viewer that it is the result of the actions performed by disabled 17 year old Charlie Mollison (Luke Ford), who is diagnosed with autism and ADHD. In addition, she has successfully done this by utilizing his younger brother Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) as the focal point. As the film explores the effect of his brother’s disability on Thomas’s …show more content…

Some may critique its ability to portray the family’s struggles, however, these reasons are obsolete and can be discredited by using points that outweigh them. These aforementioned points include: the effective representation of non-verbal critical opinions towards the family, the use of harassment directed at the family, effective use of symbolism to represent their marginalisation.

Down effectively presents to the viewer not just the verbal opinions, but also the non-verbal opinions of the general public towards the family. This effectively portrays the marginalisation of the family as it can tell the viewer how usually the other characters and extras feel negatively towards them. In addition, with the inclusion of somewhat transparent, non-verbal expression of opinion via facial expressions, etc. it can make it less one dimensional and realistic, whilst still showing the family’s marginalisation. An example of this includes the scene at the checkout of a local grocery store that includes Charlie, Simon and Thomas; in which Simon has insufficient funds for his groceries, thus has to put items back. Consequently, Charlie has a …show more content…

An example of this includes the scene in which Thomas is at swimming practice presumably part of a program at his school, and he is the only one wearing board shorts. Down and Baker effectively utilise a low medium-shot that highlights the contrast between Thomas and the other boys in regards to swimwear, which can be interpreted as symbolism that states that Thomas does not fit in and is marginalised. Some may interpret this differently, and may suggest it does not symbolise anything. However the use of similar symbolism is scattered throughout the film, including an obvious scene at the beginning of the film that utilises different coloured balloons as a metaphor for difference that highly suggests others are intentional. In conclusion, the use of symbolism is used in such a manner it seems intentional, and is commonly used to state the difference between family members and that of the rest of the

Show More
Related

  • Image Analysis In Bechdel's Fun Home

    432 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think your analysis of one panel in the Fun Home suggests that this single image present an especial family relationship that each member of this family only cares about his or her own interest. They also don’t try to form a family connection, and such characterizations come from the parents’ atypical dynamic. Your paper really stands out in every sense. I enjoy your overall claim that these people are all self-interested that they overlook the need to interact and connect their family as a whole because they are so center to their own desires. You point out that as Bechdel depicts, one circle only contains one person in shadow and the distances between each people are so notable that naturally hamper these people from connecting with each

    Read More

  • Count Us In Analysis

    1632 Words  | 7 Pages

    This harmful case is not a mainstay of such narratives, though, as can be seen through an analysis of how a much more nuanced overcoming narrative is established in Kingsley and Levitz’s Count Us In. While Count Us In also operates through the guise of an overcoming narrative, Kingsley and Levitz’s desire to establish their efficacy as members of society is what ultimately drives this construction. Of course, mediation is also present in this implementation, specifically in the social values that have been instilled in both Jason and Mitchell regarding a certain responsibility they have as individuals with Down syndrome.

    Read More

  • My Father Linda Hogan

    444 Words  | 2 Pages

    I define my family more like Robert Hayden than Linda Hogan; I define my family as my mother, my sister, my grandparents, and house where I grew up. Linda Hogan’s family was a nomadic tribe that moves from place to place, and she wrote about problem of perception of herself as a part of one race; Robert Hayden in his poem describe don’t understanding of parents’ love in a family; while I can describe my family issue as a misunderstanding the role of the father in the family because I grew up without the father. My mother got divorce when I was a child, and couple years late my father was killed. Like Hayden I can say about my house that I felt “fearing the chronic angers of that house” because my dad was alcoholic, and I saw a lot family violence

    Read More

  • Meet The Fockers Family Analysis

    775 Words  | 4 Pages

    Putting the two families together reveals how opposite each family system operates but by the end of the movie they have created a new rule to except each other’s

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Family Resemblances By Elizabeth F. Cohen

    396 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth F. Cohen’s article, “Family Resemblances”, seems to be written in response to Hursthouse’s “Good and Bad Family”. In it, Cohen argues against Hursthouse’s conception of a good family, for which Hursthouse believes a good family is one whose members love and support one another. However, Cohen argues that family is something more complex than what Hursthouse has believed to be. In “Family Resemblances”, Cohen shows that Hursthouse’s view on how to be a good family is much too simple.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Pet Sematary And It By Stephen King

    777 Words  | 4 Pages

    The family unit is typically seen as a group of people who are strong, and who stick by one another; however, when horrendous things happen to people inside of the family, what impact can that have on them? The well-known horror author, Stephen King, answers this question in many of his books. King is known for having the ability to inflict fear on his readers; making them afraid of things which lurk in the dark or under the bed. However, in his books Pet Sematary and IT, he doesn’t just attempt to scare his readers with a menacing ghost, but rather he hits closer to home by attack the beloved family unit by showing his readers the things that happen when a family is presented with unimaginable horrors. King tears the family to pieces when they cannot bear to deal with their problems, and forces either the adults or the children to deal with the supernatural beings that are the cause of the horror with the hopes of bringing the family back together.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of President Nixon

    1135 Words  | 5 Pages

    made a mistake. President Nixon would be the first American President to actually lose a war. Despite his actions against our government, John Kerry went on to be an elected Senator from the State of Massachusetts in 1996. His well-publicized history of being a radical supporter of the Vietnamese communists and possibly guilty of war crimes had no effect on the voters.

    Read More

  • What Eating Gilbert Grape Analysis

    1415 Words  | 6 Pages

    Furthermore, public acknowledgment of people with a disability is either ignored or spotlighted so significantly that the person feels like they stand out in the crowd unnecessarily. DiCaprio’s character, Arnie who has autism portrays stereotypical behavioural traits of a person with the disability. Throughout the film, it can be analysed that Arnie constantly fidgets with his hands, cannot sit still and has difficulty following basic instructions which can all be examined as stereotypical characteristics of a person with autism. Obviously Hallstrom had a bias and stereotypically view on the behaviour of those with autism as Arnie behaved like a child, no clear independence as his brother, Gilbert had to wash him and put him to bed every night. Socially, Arnie was in need of constant supervision as he had a tendency to perform acts that were previously recognised as inappropriate.

    Read More

  • Lee Herrick What Is This Thing Called Family Analysis

    117 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the essay “What Is This Thing Called Family”, Lee Herrick reflects his life as a Korean adoptee raised by a Caucasian couple in America. He suffered a difficult life when he was a child because of the differences of his physical attributes from his sister and parents. Through the essay, Herrick has a chance to express his ideas about family and what family means to him. Everyone has something called a family but whether the definition of the family of each person is the same or not is debatable. I also have my own idea about family which I think is similar to Herrick’s opinions in the essay.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Mean Girls

    1839 Words  | 8 Pages

    “Ex boyfriends are just like off limits to friends. I mean that’s just like the rule of feminism” (15:15). This famous saying said by Gretchen Wieners from Mean girls is widely known and most of the time ridiculed by people. Mean Girls is a movie that portrays the stereotypical American high school life. The movie has a main focus on the girls of high school, rather then on the boys.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Family Roles In Ovid's Metamorphoses

    1351 Words  | 6 Pages

    In a family there are many different roles; there's the role of the mother, the father, the child, the grandparents, then there’s the brothers and sisters. Every single one of those roles has different responsibilities. The father, according to most of society, is supposed to be the breadwinner for the family. However, nowadays the mother is actually quite capable of being the breadwinner just as much of as the father. As they work to show their children what it is to be an adult they are teaching them as well on how to be an active member of society.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Film Dadi's Family

    1657 Words  | 7 Pages

    The film "Dadi 's family" is about a family in Northern India. In the movie, we are introduced to a family that consists of a big extended family living in one household. This film explores the idea of family and the roles that women play in Dadi’s household. In the film, we are introduced to six roles that are performed in the day to day household. The six roles exposed in this film are the roles of women as a daughter, mothers, mothers-in-laws, daughters-in-laws, sister-in-laws, and sisters.

    Read More

  • The Six Roles In The Film Dadi's Family

    1678 Words  | 7 Pages

    The film "Dadi 's family" is about a family in Northern India. In the movie we are introduced to a family that consists of a big extended family living one one household. This film explores the idea of family and the roles that women play in the households. In the film we are introduced to six roles that are performed in the day to day household. The six roles exposed in the film would be the roles of daughter, mothers, mothers-in-laws, daughters-in-laws, sister-in-laws, and sisters.

    Read More

  • Traditional Family Myth Essay

    1356 Words  | 6 Pages

    SXU – 1003 – Understanding Society In what way can ‘traditional family’ be viewed as a myth Evidently, as decades have advanced, changing societies in and around the World have had impacts on the way we perceive the dynamics of family social life. Over the last couple of centuries, the overall impact on has lead us into thinking that significant changes could be due to the Global influences such as the World Wars, a changing demographic picture and the Industrial Revolution that driven us to the way we live not just in the UK, but also around the World.

    Read More

  • A Chair For My Mother Analysis

    824 Words  | 4 Pages

    Out of all the people in the world who works hard, keeps every household together also the one who deserves more and beyond would of course be our mothers. As I introduce this particular book you will come to realize that a mother is an important spotlight in this book. Vera B. Williams is a phenomenal author and illustrator in the picture book A Chair for My Mother. Williams achieved a Caldecott Metal award for her great work. The characters in A Chair for My Mother are a daughter, a mother and a grandmother who save up coins for the mother that deserves all and more to get her a nice comfy yet the perfect beautiful chair in replace of her old chair that burned in their previous home.

    Read More

More about The Australian Film The Black Balloon By Elissa Down

Open Document