Name of text: ‘ into a liquid ether ‘
Text type: Short story
Name of composer: Christos Tsiolkas
Date of production: 2008
Scaffold:
Plan for paragraphs:
Outline the ways in which individuals in this text experience transitions into new phases of life and/or social contexts.
In the short story ‘Into a liquid ether’ author Christos Tsiolkas explores his transition from childhood to adulthood through his fear/ love of the dark. This short story is a reflective piece on embracing his fear of the dark in order to experience new things and transition from childhood to manhood.
To what extent are these transitions seen to be challenging, confronting, exciting or transformative?
Christos Tsiolkas explores how the dark which is a symbol for all things frightening and intimidating enabled him to grow and experience life “I fumbled, I fell, I made mistakes. I learnt to stand on my own feet. I have the world of darkness to thank for this.”
To what extent may these transitions result in growth and change for the individual and others?
The transitions Christos Tsiolkas experience such as drugs, sex, alcohol, parties and friends were all experience during the ‘dark’ (nighttime). He uses the word ‘dark’ as metaphor, explaining that he was once afraid of the dark (the people, dogs, alcohol, drugs, sex), But has he matured and grew the darkness became his friend “In darkness I discovered the possibilities of the body and in age I discover its limitations.”
How does the composer highlight these transitions in this text? Identify ONE SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF THE TEXT and analyse the techniques employed by the composer and comment on how these techniques enhance your understanding of transitions.
The composer Christos Tsiolkas acknowledges the transitions in his novel through the repetition and symbol of darkness “In darkness I discovered the possibilities of the body and in age I discover its limitations.” This technique enhanced his life experiences and amplifies his experiences in life that have helped him transitions from childhood to adulthood.
Compare or contrast the issues and ideas highlighted in your chosen related text with the issues and ideas highlighted in Herrick’s verse novel. Ensure your response includes at least two quotations/examples from your related text and two from The Simple Gift.
Both texts are written in colloquial language giving the audience a more in depth understanding the characters and the challenges they face during their transitions. For example in ‘the simple gift’ billy says “The old bastard will have a fit!” as he is leaving home, showing the challenge of leaving home knowing his dad's reaction won’t be good. In ‘Into a liquid ether’ the narrator also uses colloquial language and metaphor comparing darkness to what helped him transition from childhood to adulthood “I discovered that adolescence is not simply the end of childhood but also the beginning of adulthood”, which is similar to ‘the simple gift’ as billy transitions from a young adult to manhood.
Name of text: ‘Small Bump’
Text type: music video
Name of composer: Ed Sheeran & Emil Nava
Date of production: May 10, 2012
Scaffold:
Plan for paragraphs:
Outline the ways in which individuals in this text experience transitions into new phases of life and/or social contexts.
In Ed Sheeran’s music video for his song ‘small bump’ it explores the miscarriage of a close friend through a visual story, exploring her transition from happiness and excitement of a child to loss and grief. Even though Ed Sheeran didn’t necessarily experience the miscarriage as a parent he wrote at is if he was experiencing it all “It was quite a difficult subject to tackle. I wrote it from their perspective. It was my perspective looking on them to begin with. It’s quite a touchy subject, so I wrote it from the perspective of actually being the parent,” he explained.
To what extent are these transitions seen to be challenging, confronting, exciting or transformative?
The transitions are extremely confronting and challenging for the character (Ed Sheeran and mother) but it has helped them grow and learn how to cope with awful experiences in life. The loose of a child isn’t easy for anyone and Ed Sheeran explores this struggle with loss and grief through song lyric and powerful visual elements.
To what extent may these transitions result in growth and change for the individual and others?
The song is about the growing and loss of a baby. Ed Sheeran has had to grow and accept his emotions in order to help his grieving friend after her miscarriage. Throughout the video there is a clock that appears and a beat that matches the ticking of a clock. This clock is a symbol for time, the time that the baby is in the womb and how quickly it can be lost/taken. For example he sings 'Cause you were just a small bump unborn for four months then torn from life
Maybe you were needed up there but we're still unaware as why.’ This shows the loss, grief he feels but also his acceptance of God’s will from the child to be “up there” with him.
How does the composer highlight these transitions in this text? Identify ONE SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF THE TEXT and analyse the techniques employed by the composer and comment on how these techniques enhance your understanding of transitions.
The composer highlights the transitions of loss and grieving through visual elements (camera shots & angles). The second scene sets the scene of the hospital, with close up low angle shot of the disposal bins from injections and gloves indicating dangerous, the lyrics playing over the top of this scene “You're just a small bump unborn, in four months you're brought to life” show us that the music video is about a miscarriage a baby born to early at four months.
Compare or contrast the issues and ideas highlighted in your chosen related text with the issues and ideas highlighted in Herrick’s verse novel. Ensure your response includes at least two quotations/examples from your related text and two from The Simple Gift.
Both texts are very similar in the way they are both about growth of a young one, the loss of family and connection to your identity. In ‘the simple gift’ billy leaves home and becomes homeless traveling australia “I'm sixteen, and soon to be homeless.” In Ed Sheeran’s music video there is a close up of his face with a solemn expression he sings 'Cause you were just a small bump unborn for four months then torn from life
Maybe you were needed up there but we're still unaware as why.’ This shows the loss, grief he feels but also his acceptance of God’s will from the child to be “up there” with him.
Short story – ‘Into a liquid Ether’ by Christos Tsiolkas
Christos Tsiolkas’ Into a liquid Ether explores the transformative power of the night as an opportunity which sparks self discoveries throughout the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Tsiolkas in the form of a personal story, recounts his transitional journey through his experience of the night and how it has the ability to transform an individual's identity and their perception of the social world around them. Through a flashback in time, Tsiolkas recalls “My mother would switch off the light and slap me” as a punishment, revealing the fear in which dwelled within the darkness, ultimately reinforcing his early negative perceptions of the dark. However, this is short lived, as Tsiolkas begins to experience the transitions of growth and its capability to transform his internal views. Tsiolkas’ lyrical reflection allows for a highly personal insight into the intimate passage from childhood through to adulthood as he states “reflective piece on his fear, then embrace, of the dark – and with it, the embrace of new experience, of risk, even of danger.” This reveals Tsiolkas’ bravery as he embraces his fears of the dark, further enabling him to transition into a new phase of life, and with it comes both “risk” or even “danger”.
Tsiolkas initially describes the dark nature of the night as a “dangerous and forbidding place”. However, through experience, he began to transition himself enabling him to appreciate the significance of the night, further inviting the reader to join him intimately as he advocates why. Tsiolkas recounts his revelatory experience of discoveries through his curious human nature as he reveals the loss of his virginity, drug participation, and gaining greater self understanding, thus encouraging the reader to embrace the darkness of the night as an important experience for self discovery. Tsiolkas says “Books, films, drugs: in the dark I was receiving an education” exposing the significant advantages within the night and the ways they contribute as he transitions throughout his adolescent years into adulthood. The transformation through time of Tsiolkas’ trust and disclosure is portrayed whilst recounting family experiences. With the aid of a metaphor, Tsiolkas’ mother personifies ‘culture’ arguing how ‘fear’ only “shrunk a culture, made it embittered and selfish”. This exposes fear as a countering force to one’s ability to change and develop, ultimately revealing the importance to embrace the fear of the night as an essential aspect to the social development of a society.
We begin to notice Tsiolkas’ appreciation for the night as he states “I fumbled, I fell, I made mistakes.” however, “I learnt to stand on my own feet. I have the world of darkness to thank for this.” This exposes the extent to which this transition has enabled self improvement. Thus revealing the impact of his experience within the night as a significant, contributing factor to the development of his internal state.
Tsiolkas utilises the four senses to as he says “I became an expert of night. I knew how the dark sounded – booming – how it looked, smelt, how it felt.” This gives the reader a greater understanding of Tsiolkas’ transition throughout his years as result of his “sleeplessness” experiences. Both texts are written in colloquial language giving the audience a more in depth understanding of the characters and the challenges they face during their transitions. For example in ‘the simple gift’ Billy says “The old bastard will have a fit!” as he is leaving home, showing the challenge of leaving home knowing his dad's reaction won’t be good. In ‘Into a liquid ether’ the narrator also uses colloquial language and metaphor comparing darkness to what helped him transition from childhood to adulthood “I discovered that adolescence is not simply the end of childhood but also the beginning of adulthood”, which is similar to ‘the simple gift’ as Billy transitions from a young adult to manhood.
Music video – ‘small bump’ by Ed Sheera99on and Emil Nava
Ed Sheeran’s music video ‘small bump’ explores the transformative power of grief and loss through film techniques, to understand others circumstances.
Ed Sheeran, through the form of his lyrical music, reflects about a personal tragedy from the perspective of parents who have lost their child due to a miscarriage after four months. The music video accompanied by the song lyrics explores the transformative power of grief and loss in which create an opportunity to discover self understanding and peace, despite tragedy. Ed Sheeran and Emil Nava, the directors of the music video, use a variety of camera angles and shots to portray the transformative power of grief and loss. For example, the second scene shows us the location, being a hospital, with close up low angle shot of disposal bins for syringes and gloves indicating danger or distress, the lyrics playing over the top of this scene “You're just a small bump unborn, in four months you're brought to life” inform us that it is about a pregnancy. Throughout the video clip we have different characters coming into the frame, the use of fade out with a son pushing mother in a wheelchair, mother chasing after her daughter, the fade out is extremely powerful as it shows time moving on around him as he sits in the hospital waiting room.
The song is about the growing and loss of a baby. Ed Sheeran has had to grow and accept his emotions in order to help his grieving friend after her miscarriage. Throughout the video there is a clock that appears and a beat that matches the ticking of a clock. This clock is a symbol for time, the time that the baby is in the womb and how quickly it can be lost/taken. The music video continues to explore the visual loss of his close friend who had a miscarriage after four months and her transition from happiness and excitement of a child to loss and grief. Even though Ed Sheeran wasn’t necessarily experiencing the miscarriage as a parent he wrote as if he was experiencing it all “It was quite a difficult subject to tackle. I wrote it from their perspective. It was my perspective looking on them to begin with. It’s quite a touchy subject, so I wrote it from the perspective of actually being the parent,” he explained. Ultimately this music video by Ed Sheeran and Emil Nava portrayed the ways in which individuals experience transitions into new phases of life even if they are tragic, with the help from friends, family and others, transitions can be made.
Both texts are very similar in the way they are both about growth of a young one, the loss of family and connection to your identity. In ‘the simple gift’ Billy leaves home and becomes homeless traveling Australia “I'm sixteen, and soon to be homeless.” In Ed Sheeran’s music video there is a close up of his face with a solemn expression, he sings 'Cause you were just a small bump unborn for four months then torn from life
Maybe you were needed up there but we're still unaware as why.’ This shows the loss, grief he feels but also his acceptance of God’s will from the child to be “up there” with him.