Alice in wonderland belonging

Alice in Wonderland is a well-known film produced in 1951. A remade modern version of the movie was made in 2010. The movie is an American live action/computer animated fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, one of Hollywood’s â€Å"Big Six† film studios, and film stars including Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. The movie is based on a nineteen year old girl named Alice going onto an audacious adventure. Alice has been confronted by an unwanted marriage proposal to a man, not knowing of how to reply, Alice gets overwhelmed and runs away following a rabbit in a blue waistcoat, and accidentally falls into a large rabbit hole, where she finds herself into another dimension called Wonderland. She gets greeted by a White Rabbit, a Dormouse, the Dodo, the Tall Flowers and Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They argue over her identity as being â€Å"the right Alice†, which legend says that she is somewhat supposed to slay the Red Queen Jabberwocky and restore the White Queen to power. Alice walks towards the Red Queen’s castle. The Red Queen welcomes Alice into her castle and shows Alice the Vorpal Sword (the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky), not knowing that she is the chosen one to slay her Jabberwocky restoring peace to the land. Alice later then manages to retrieve the sword and gets caught by the Bandersnatch, a terrifying beastly creature. She runs away and hands over the sword to the White Queen. Word gets around that the White Queen has possession of the sword handed by Alice, and a rebellious war goes down. Both armies of the White Queen and The Red Queen prepare for battle. Alice later on manages to kill the Jabberwocky and peace is restored to the land. From the purple blood of the dead Jabberwocky, Alice uses it to magically return home. She promises to come back and visit again, like she had thirteen years back. Alice returns home and makes a pledge to her family to live life on her own terms. 1. There are numerous aspects of belonging being represented in the text ‘Alice in Wonderland’. One main aspect in the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that is being represented to belonging is, when Alice goes onto a mysterious journey in search of a destination where she truly felt she belonged as a child. Alice is being accepted in to the Wonderland which makes her feel belonged and allows her to get a better understanding about her situation in reality. The adventure she goes on, allows her to make many choices of her own and where she has to make a final decision to define who she is and who she wants to become in the real world. 2. Belonging is important to how we find our own identity within ourselves and our place with individuals. It is a connection to people, places, groups, communities and the wider world. Belonging can provide a sense of acceptance, security and completion. Nevertheless, the process of belonging may not always be depicted as a positive aspect. It can also lead to the exclusion or segregation of individuals due to obstacles that delay efforts to belong. The Depiction of belonging is similar to our core text â€Å"The Secret River†, as it has been shown throughout the whole text. An example of this is how both the Indigenous Australians and the English settlers both feel that they either own or belong to the land. As noted on page 93, â€Å"There were no signs that the blacks felt that the place belonged to them. They had no fences that said this is mine. No house that said, this is our home. There were no fields or flocks that said, we have put the labour of our hands into this place. † This quotation demonstrates how the English settlers have no understanding of ownership from the Aboriginal idea that they and the land are one. The Aboriginal people believed that the land was not something that could be retailed or negotiated away. The Indigenous Australians had cared, cherished and lived harmoniously with the land, while on the other hand, the British colonists saw no reason not to take the land and resources of the Aboriginals because they did not place any signs of them owning the land or any property. The Western had built permanent structures and plants out crops on fields as the Aborigines had not invested in the land. It was believed that someone who did not do labour on the land or developed its resources were not considered to own that land. The Indigenous Australians had felt the firmness of the land beneath their feet and knew that the land belonged to them, and that they belonged to it. The Depiction of belonging is similar to â€Å"The Secret River† as it has shown belonging in numerous ways throughout the text by demonstrating who owns the land and who does the land belong to. 3. There are many language techniques used throughout the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to communicate the idea of belonging. These would include symbolism, metaphors and similes. Symbolism is used in the text where Alice goes through a variety of absurd physical changes to her body. She feels traumatic and sorrow for never being the right size. This acts as a symbol for the changes a child may feel as her body grows and changes during puberty. Alice struggles to uphold a comfortable physical size. As stated in In Chapter 1, Well, Ill eat it, said Alice, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way Ill get into the garden and I dont care which happens! She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, Which way? Which way? † holding her hand on top of her head to feel which way it was growing; and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size. † This quotation shows that Alice is feeling miserable, frustrated and stressed when she keeps finding herself too big or too small to enter the garden. The use of symbolism used in this example demonstrates that it represents an abstract idea of Alice feeling irritated, traumatic and the act of not belonging. Another language technique that was used in the text is Metaphors. A Metaphor is a figure of speech comprising an implied contrast, in which a word or phrase normally is used of one thing is applied to another. †Down the rabbit hole† is a quotation from the film Alice in Wonderland. It is now a famous and most commonly used metaphor symbolising everything from exploring a new and unknown world to taking hallucinogenic drugs intending to explore through philosophical and existential thinking. In the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’, the rabbit hole is the place where all her adventures begins. It was Alices thoughtless decision to follow the White Rabbit that lead to all of her escapades. Lastly, the use of similes was used in the film. At the beginning of the film, Alice refers to telescopes. She wishes that she could â€Å"shut up like a telescope†, as well as other people too. The quote is intending that Alice wants to shut up, but keeps opening and shutting her mouth as to the ability to reduce a telescope’s size by collapsing its moving parts. She also expresses the craving and ability to shrink or grow as effortlessly as she would extend or contract a telescope. The use of simile is important because it conveys a distinctive and fascinating, thought to the audience by comparing it to something with which the reader is familiar of. In conclusion, the use of symbolism, metaphors and similes used in the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by the composer to communicate the idea of belonging is shown throughout the text is effective as it gives the audience a real, vivid image in their mind.