belonging

Belonging to a community or a group can impact someone through their attitudes, behaviour and habits. It can also affect them socially as it may prevent them from revealing their true identity and in some cases may allow them to broaden their beliefs. A persons place in the community affects the entire community and their actions can affect the community in a positive or negative aspect. These ideas have been reflected in the texts Strictly Ballroom, Neighbours and Drifters. Strictly Ballroom directed by Baz Lurhmann shows a young man, Scott Hastings, who ballroom dances’ but wishes to change his style of dancing. This goes against the authority and the federation and affects the whole community. In Neighbours written by Tim Winton, illustrates a married couple broaden their beliefs about belonging to a place through acceptance from the community which allows them to create their own identity within the community. However, Drifters written by Bruce Dawe represents ideas of both belonging and not belonging to a community and how it can affects people differently.
In the movie Strictly Ballroom, Scott is portrayed as a semi-professional ballroom dancer which is reflected as his identity in the community. The ballroom community prevents Scott from expressing his own way of dancing in which he can mirror his feelings allowing him to create his own identity within the community. This restriction results in him going against the federation to create his own identity within the community ultimately allowing him to express his dancing from the heart instead of choreographed steps which relate in no way to the true meaning of the songs to which he dances. These steps are highlighted through close-ups to his movements to exaggerate that he is different from the rest and also to his face revealing his true feelings about his way of dancing, which is of happiness and excited imaged through his enthusiasm and dedication for dancing. However, the result of Scott’s actions are