Sophie+Watson

//**Life's A Beach, Australia**//

G'day! Welcome to Sophie and Carissa's Wiki. Our focus is Life's a beach, Australia- Beach Culture! Here is a visual that we believe represents our topic well. This is a good representation of Australia's beach life, because of the red and yellow on the life guard's hats, and the zinc across the people's faces which is very Australian. The surfboard in the background is also very Australian, as lifesaving is a very common feature on a lot of well-known beaches in Australia. It tells us that Australians value their youth, and are happy and fit people.It also conveys the idea that Australians are very equal, in the fact that all genders are accepted, which is shown by the way that the female is also a lifeguard and is at the same level in the photo as the males.

//**THE SURFER **// //He thrust his joy against the weight of the sea; // //climbed through, slid under those long banks of // //foam-- // //(hawthorn hedges in spring, thorns in the face stinging). // //How his brown strength drove through the hollow and coil // //of green-through weirs of water! // //Muscle of arm thrust down long muscle of water; // //and swimming so, went out of sight // //where mortal, masterful, frail, the gulls went wheeling // //in air as he in water, with delight. //

//Turn home, the sun goes down; swimmer, turn home. // //Last leaf of gold vanishes from the sea-curve. // //Take the big roller’s shoulder, speed and serve; // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">come to the long beach home like a gull diving. //

//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For on the sand the grey-wolf sea lies, snarling, // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">cold twilight wind splits the waves’ hair and shows // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the bones they worry in their wolf-teeth. O, wind blows // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and sea crouches on sand, fawning and mouthing; // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">drops there and snatches again, drops and again snatches // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">its broken toys, its whitened pebbles and shells. // //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Written by Judith Wright

//**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">COMMENTARY **// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> //'// The Surfer' by Judith Wright is a poem about the beach life in Australia. It was published in 1963. Its intended target audience would be the typical Australian beach goer, or people who enjoy surfing, including tourists that come to Australia, and want to partake in the experiences and wonders of Australia. The purpose of this text is to give the reader a strong image in their mind about the surf life of Australia and to share the experiences of one mans day at sea.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the typical Australian or even a tourist reading this text it may be resistantly read, as the dominant reading of the text represents that the ocean can be unpredictable and has a personality of its own. The resitant reader will think that man can have control over the sea, and that the surfer is in charge in the situation. Thus stereotypes have not really been used in this poem, it subverts a common stereotype throughout the poem, beginning with: "He thrust his joy against the weight of the sea" and ending with "cold twilight wind splits the waves' hair and shows".

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The structure of the poem is a three stanza free verse. The poet uses metaphors, similes and personification to help in creating imagery in the poem, for example "the grey-wolf sea lies, snarling….the sea crouches on sand" and "come to the long beach home like a gull diving". The use of other literary techniques such as alliteration: "mortal, masterful….speed, serve", onomatopoeia "snarling", repetition: "drops there and snatches again, drops and again snatches" and the rhyme that occurs ever so often "shows, blows…curve, serve" help in conveying the sound, rhythm and imagery of the poem.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The poem is effective in meeting its purpose through the use of many literary devices. This contributes to our understanding of Australian identity of both a positive and negative light as shown throughout the poem as our view of the beach may turn from light to dark by the end of the poem.

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 * //VISUAL TEXT 2: TV//** **//advertisement//**

This advertisement by the Queensland tourism board represents the strong stereotype for beaches in Australia. It does this through the various visual elements and the background music used. It represents the beach as a beautiful, relaxing, fun and enjoyable place to be. All of the people in the video, especially the children, have big smiles on their faces, and look as if they are having the time of their life, this supports the stereotype of the beach being a happy and inviting place. The music playing in the background of the advertisement is upbeat and happy, which emphasizes the fact that Queensland and Australian beaches are bright and cheerful. The sun is shining on the people everytime the song says "//shines//", bright colours are also purposely used for the advertisement, again supporting the stereotype of a sunny and summery, Life's a beach Australia. It shows people doing different activities, which outlines the idea that there are many diverse activites shown to the reader/viewer .The advertisement shows the beach as a safe and protected place as life guards are presented to us throughout the advertisement. The people's body languages give us the sense that they are laid- back and easy going, through the way that there is no tension or violence in the advertisement, and everyone is having a good time, this supports the stereotype of Australians who live near the beach and Life's a beach Australia.

This excerpt from Bondi Rescue season 6, shows how the ocean can have a personality of its own. This completely contrasts and subverts the stereotype shown in the advertisement by the Queensland tourism which shows the beach and ocean as a fun, cheerful and relaxing place that anyone can go to and have the time of their life there, especially young kids and teenagers. The episode shows a man who gets pumped by the ocean waves, even though he was doing the right thing and swimming in the "safe zone" between the red and yellow flags. With his face blue, and now pulse the lifeguards consider him to be clinically dead. This subverts the stereotype of beaches in Australia being a safe place, emphasizing the fact that the ocean has a mind of its own. This excerpt takes you back to reality, giving you real life coverage of the intensity and drama that can happen at the beach. As it is a reality TV show it is very real and the visual elements used are those that you would see if you were actually there. Thus there is no one that is really foregrounded and there is no specific use of colours, they are the typical ones that you would see at the beach of the lifeguards: boys in blue. However, the camera is looking down on the victim which gives us the sense that he is very small in that situation, and from his perspective he would probably have thought he was in a blur and that the beach around him is huge. This also shows that even with the lifeguards on duty, there is always still a lurking danger, subverting the stereotype shown in the advertisement where the lifeguard is smiling with a young boy looking tall and strong supporting the stereotype that Australian beaches are safe and joyful.