The Fatal Shore
I have been exploring 'The Fatal Shore' and this is my documentary response, it is based on a ship of convicts escorted by officers to Australia from England because of minor to major crimes. My class were introduced to the theme 'loneliness' to discuss and evaluate what it meant to us. I concluded that I believed it was a state of mind and a way of being anti-social.
We created Still Images of the officers and convicts based on 'fear whispers', and to reflect on how loneliness is represented within. We represented loneliness in the still image, we chose to use this technique because it lets the audience analyse the scene allowing them to create there own judgement without the input of the actors. Leading to an opinion before we delve into our view, we showed the still image by all of us turning away our body from the audience, I had one of my hands over my ear to stop 'fear' from 'whispering' as we took the words literally. The other two people in my group were crouched as to 'hide from fear' as though they were being hunted by 'fear', my body was standing up with my proximity further back from the audience than the other two classmates. Our faces were all scrunched up and pained as we were all scared from 'fear' with our eyes lost, this was effective because it further portrays what the convicts would have been feeling and how they would have felt in the current situation.
'Fear whispers' was the quote we based our still image on and we discussed it thoroughly, some words that we connected with it is 'frightened' and 'death' as frightened is a descriptive word of fear and death is something you fear from happening. 'Whispers' was harder to analyse and develop ideas but the two that stood out was 'susurration' and 'tremble' susurration we connected with it as it is a word for whispering or rustling which outlines it more as it an odd word to discuss. Tremble was affiliated as some of us imagine a trembling person when fear and whispers are linked together which helps add impact and effectiveness as it shows our view. We further discussed the quote by giving our opinion on what it means to us I decided that it meant the convicts are full of fear and surrounded about of where they are going who they are with what they will have to do next and that officers are all above them and all they can hear is only whispering from above.
The next segment was 'The victim and the victimiser' where we did a role play so the audience knows how it develops between the victim and victimiser aiding them to create there own opinion via our explanation through the role play, in the context of the convicts being the victim and the officers being victimiser. The thought track we had helped showed the audience how the convict was feeling as it outlines the key thought through each of the characters, whilst the narration input contrasts by informing the audience telling them what is happening through a description. The facial expressions were of the officers giving disgusted looks and the convicts using there eyes to beg for mercy, it emphasised the feelings of the convicts not being able to take any more of the tortuous life they have had on the ship for the audience to feel sympathetic and have a better understanding of the convicts. The body language helped show who is more powerful meanwhile the gestures of the convicts begging and the officers with wide gestures to show they were in charge and more powerful, this helped to explain the situation which is the convicts being treated as another species by the guards as thought they aren't human, it allows to the audience to create an in depth opinion. It helped me learn each point of view for the convicts and the officer which was that the convicts were afraid and desperate for it to end whilst the officers were being cruel and vicious in order to make it a misery for the convicts, I would improve the dialogue and proximity from other characters to further develop ours
