Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 04:09:18 am

Author Topic: English-ModC People and Landscapes Essay  (Read 1447 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mada438

  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 793
  • Skiing, motorcycle and travel fanatic
  • Respect: +399
English-ModC People and Landscapes Essay
« on: June 19, 2018, 09:49:28 pm »
0
Hey guys!
Was wondering if anyone was up to giving me some feedback on my module C essay?

The act of representation enables a composer to reveal the intrinsic relationship between people and landscape, and thereby augment the audience’s understanding of how representation shapes personal and societal meaning. In Alain de Bottons multimodal text ‘The Art of Travel’ (AOT) and Forest Woodward’s short film ‘the important places’(TIP), both composers explore the way that individuals can experience an enriching yet complex relationship with the environment. Both texts examine the ways this connection can elicit multi-faceted experiences such as enlightenment and rejuvenation. Additionally, both de botton and Woodward elucidate how an individual’s perception and reaction towards their physical surroundings is influenced by artistic interpretations as well as the first-hand recounts of the people who previously traversed through that same landscape and thus all interactions with a seemingly ‘real’ landscape are moderated by the experiences of others

Firstly, individuals share a complex, bilateral relationship with the landscape which has the power to both humble and inspire. In ‘on anticipation’, de botton represents this multi-faceted relationship by juxtaposing how “this direct contact with the earth brought …freedom and expansiveness” with the complex realization that “our lives are not the measure of all things…of insignificance and frailty” wherein the dichotomy between the two reflections highlights the two –way relationship that individuals share with nature. De botton emphasizes the way that while nature has a positive impact on a person, this same impact can also be a complicated, humbling experience. This notion is furthered in ‘on country and city’ when de botton references the poetry of William Wordsworth to represent how nature has the power to inspire new thoughts as “the poet found himself moved to write about the beauty of sparrows” and finding “a need to express the joy he had experienced” where the uplifting word choice of “moved” and “need” represents the way in which the very prospect of being within nature has the power to compel and inspire individuals to new ideas and actions. Thus de Botton emphasises the ways in which landscapes have the power to rejuvenate and enrich individuals while also investigating the complicated connection that humanity shares with sublime landscapes and their power to humble us, elucidating the way in which landscapes arouse a host of emotions within those who spend time contemplating them.

While this intricate interaction does indeed elicit a variety of reactions within recipients the most enriching aspect is nature’s power to rejuvenate and stimulate new growth, thus leading to profound changes in an individual’s sense of self. In ‘the Important Places’ (TIP) Woodward Woodward’s father’s transition from an individual who had “stopped living” into someone who was “not just alive, but living again” once he returned to the Colorado River.  The juxtaposition between the mellow reflective music as the images of water flow at the beginning of the movie to the end of the film with the building tempo of the music accompanying both the sound of crashing waves and the colloquial humour accompanied within the phrase “holy s**t” emphasises the father’s transformation. Both experiences symbolize the father’s metaphorical journey from an elderly recluse back into a youthful adventurer following reunification with his “old friend” the Colorado River. Through this personification, Woodward represents the complexity of the deep affiliation shared between humanity and its environment by illustrating the link between the father’s renewed relationship with the physical landscape and consequently, his remembered youth as a complexly restorative experience.

Moreover, De Botton analyses the way in which an individual’s experience of the real is dominated by imagination and perception, and in turn shaped by the cultural and philosophical literature written by those who have travelled before us. De Botton’s examination of this notion begins in ‘on anticipation’ where he emphasizes how “it is easy to forget ourselves when we contemplate pictorial and verbal descriptions of places”. The author couples this observation with the black and white image of a beach in Barbados on the adjoining page. Its dull nature elicits feelings of mis-representation from the colourful original metaphorically illuminating the way that collective human thought mis-represents these imagined landscapes resulting in disappointment upon examination of the physical landscape. De Botton highlights the ways in which the imagined landscapes offered by tourism professionals evoke quintessential doses of hyperbolic ‘happiness’ as an incentive for travel, suggesting that not all travel literature leads to enriching discoveries. However, de Botton contrasts this proposed thought in ‘on art’ as he suggests “artists could paint a portion of our world and in consequence open the eyes of others to it”. Through his examination of Vincent Van Gogh, de Botton elucidates the ways in which artists can capture a part of a real landscape within an artwork to influence the way in which individuals experience the ‘real’ environment. Although de Botton speculates the complexity of humanity’s interpretation of the ‘real’, as all  ‘landscapes’ are experienced through the prism of a pre-conceived ideas and the abstract ‘cultural landscape’ shaped by literature and artwork. However, de Botton also suggests that such texts can in fact enrich our perspectives and “allow us to see certain aspects of the world more clearly”. By viewing landscapes through a different lens, individuals can experience a complicated enriching connection. 

In a similar vein, Woodward explores how  rather than literature, the experience of one individual can shape that of another and in turn, connect them through their shared interaction with a significant environment. In hoping to “learn more about himself”, Woodward attempts to understand his father through the metaphorical ‘time machine’ he is building to take him back to when his father was young in the hope of understanding his father as well as the missing part of himself. As the pair progress down the river, Forest discovers a youthful and mischievous representation of his father through the “twinkle under his eyebrows, something I’d never seen before”. The trip culminates in the two rediscovering renewed connection as the composer utilises quick-cut shots of both young and old moving feet, creating an indiscernible distinction between father and son, illustrating their renewed connection with each other and to the environment as they move forward in the metaphorical journey of life. Thus, Woodward suggests that an individual can develop a complex and positive unified connection with the environment around them by merging their internal lens with that of another individual through their shared experiences with the landscape. Amalgamation of an individual’s self-identity with others due to their interaction with real landscapes offer a glimpse into the convoluted conundrum that it is human thought.

In conclusion, in Alain De Bottons AOT and Forest Woodward’s TIP the composers’  manifold representations of the interwoven relationship between people and landscapes highlights the infinite complexity of collective human thought. Both composers explore the bilateral relationship with the land and its power to elicit emotion and the manner in which individuals are influenced both by literature and the experiences of others when forming their own perceptions emphasises the numerous ways in which humans share an enriching yet complex relationship with their environment.
"Live life like a pineapple. Stand tall, wear a crown and be sweet on the inside"

"May you grow up to be righteous; may you grow up to be true. May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong"

"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire"

Advice for starting year 12
An open letter to my School Friends
Would 10 year old you be proud of who you are?

2020: Bachelor of Arts @ANU

jamonwindeyer

  • Honorary Moderator
  • Great Wonder of ATAR Notes
  • *******
  • Posts: 10150
  • The lurker from the north.
  • Respect: +3108
Re: English-ModC People and Landscapes Essay
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2018, 11:50:56 pm »
+1
I'm up to it friend ;D

- Nice Thesis, covers the ideas of representation and People/Landscapes well. Watch for flow, that last sentence is a tad too long. Sometimes simpler expression can make points more powerful; you've got an excellent vocabulary but you don't have to use the big words every time.

- Similarly, in your first body paragraph, I think you can make your expression more direct. 240 words, a quarter or so of that 1000 word  average for a Module essay, is what you've used there. You only have two techniques - You need to be more direct, use of ____ shows us ____. Simple, easy, lets you squeeze in more evidence.

- Shorter quotes help here as well, as does finding a singular quote that demonstrates your technique.

- A little bit of retell in Para #2. You are telling me something the character did (returned to the Colorado River), not necessary! Also watch for flow (sentence length is going a tad high I think), had to re-read a few sentences here to follow you properly. You need commas!

- Really like the topic sentence for Para #3. It's not generic, it is specific and provocative. Indeed, the ideas in this paragraph are great. But you aren't backing it up with techniques and specific examples! This is the representation module, techniques are your gospel! A conceptual paragraph like this works okay in the AoS, here it needs to be heavily based in the techniques.

- You've definitely leaned towards the prescribed in this essay - Not a huge deal, but it is noticeable that you don't quite have a perfect balance.

- Some heavy retell in Para #4. Re-read it, see how you are recounting the short film?



Essentially, when you propose an idea it is a good idea. When you analyse, you analyse well. But there's a bit of mucking around to get to those good bits, a few places where expression is getting in the way, and places where you lose sight of representation and instead slip back into retell or vague conceptual explanations.

This essay is about 1150 words, I think you've got a lot of room to cut unnecessary stuff, and then use some free space to get more techniques in. Right now you've got, at quick count, about 7 or 8 of them. I'd want you to aim for a dozen, minimum. Three per paragraph, and not implied, super clear - This is what the composer used, this is why, this is what they are showing us. Don't leave room for ambiguity, make it easy for your markers to give you ticks ;D