Migrant Hostel Belonging Analysis

It is human nature to feel the incessant need to belong, whether it be to a particular group of people, culture or a country, This need can hinder or enhance an individual’s sense of belonging or not belonging. This essay will discuss this concept through the analysis of the following texts: Migrant Hostel, Feliks Skrzynecki written by Peter Skrzynecki in the Immigrant chronicle and the TWO other related texts “Skins” directed by Anthony Fabian and the documentary “Bully” directed by Lee Hirsch. All four texts explore modes of belonging, not belonging and the statement above.

The first text, Migrant Hostel, is a reflective poem about Peter Skrzynecki’s experience in a migrant hostel in Parkes, Western Australia. Skrzynecki describes in intense
Sandra Lang was born to two white parents who was born with coloured skin, this caused an argument as to which part of the clearly segregated societies that Africa lived in, the white society and the coloured society. Factual information within film is the biggest and foremost technique used, Lang’s story is told truthfully with no fear of controversy, the director conveys not only what happened to Lang but how she felt through these happenings, she felt as though she didn’t not belong with either society, her parents were white, she was coloured, she was raised as a “white” African women but was never accepted. Camera angles are used thoughout the film to convey power and equality, as Lang is a child in the film she is displayed in a panning shot to create a sense of belonging, innocence and equality because at this point there is little to none controversy about her, As Lang is an adult she is conveyed in below shots to show inequality and alienation, this is used in the scene where Lang has been shunned by the white community yet makes an appearance at the general store that her father owns, where coloured people are not permitted to