Look Both Ways critiques how the media bombards people with messages about death.

Do you agree with this interpretation of the film? -try to rephrase the statement in your own words and reflecting your own personal interpretation of the question -give the statement a strong tone, rather than simply writing something like it seems to be true that.. -show your understanding of the key words, for example bombards with messages -bombards, hits, forces, attacks, overwhelms.. -refer to some of the many instances where the TV news plays in the background, or a character is looking at a newspaper -characters reading the front story of the train accident and also Andys suicide article acts as a link and a motif, connecting the characters and helping to give the story an overall coherence eg. TV: beginning with Meryls mothers house, the train drivers house, Cathys house, Joans house (but there is a rare happy note in the news report, a child has been rescued, this reflects the positive change at the end of the film) eg. newspaper: Meryl, Meryls friend who comes to feed the fish, Cathy, note Julias reaction when she sees the front page (shock, anger, upset), note also how Meryl throws out her newspaper because she cant stand seeing all the death-related material -the death-related material in the paper contribute to Meryls feeling of drowning, not coping.. her paintings also show a drowning woman, when she throws out the papers, she also throws out one of her paintings, emphasising the connection between Meryls unhappy mood and the bombardment by the media.. -with Phil, Andy and Nick working for the newspaper, we often see glimpses into the media world, in a way it is their job to bombard the public with bad news, deathrelated stories, this seems to be the successful recipe for selling papers -thus, Nick has hundreds and hundreds of photos depicting disaster -Andy seems to enjoy writing negative, provocative stories (eg. his idea that many male accidents are in fact suicides this would be very upsetting to the family and friends of the victims, he also writes tabloid stories about men getting a bad deal out of divorce) -Nick is part of this death industry and when he learns he has cancer, it seems to overwhelm him as well.. he looks at his own photos, to add to his depression -he also uses the Internet to gather a lot of distressing information about cancer -in the photomontage sequences there are lots of newspaper stories which claim that all sorts of everyday things cause cancer (ie. another example of messages about death) -there is an important conversation between Anna and her housemates/friends -they are discussing Julias photo and giving their diverse opinions about it -one says that the story is a clich, a pretty girl in a pink dress with her dog.. -Annas friend also criticises the media for only offering tragedy in pretty packages.. suggesting that the media not only sells death but to make it more attractive, focuses on stories involving attractive looking people because it makes a better photo.. -Nick at the end of the film refers to his confusion/frustration about how there are so many messages about cancer floating around in society and the media that its a

war, that you have to fight against it, but also that you have to accept it calmly and peacefully.. Change is inevitable in any landscape. Discuss. -this looks like a simple topic, but remember that you must make your response as relevant as you can, ie. make sure you explore the idea of inevitability, try to think of examples not only where change occurred, but where the change was unavoidable. Fly Away Peter -nature an important element here -on the one hand nature is constant, and will follow its own patterns regardless of what human action is occurring (eg. world War), but nature also reminds us that things always CHANGE (seasons, for instance) -Jim likes the predictable, unchanging ways of nature birds following their ancient flight paths of migration, also the Australian landscape itself is particularly ancient and primeval (Ashleys friends from the city and from overseas are especially impressed by this, when Jim takes them on boat trips through the swamp) -at the same time there is human progress, and humans do have an impact on landscape, not on the cycle of nature but certainly on the appearance of the landscape (eg. farming, building.. think of some relevant modern examples of how humans have drastically altered a landscape) -new things appear in Jims landscape the dunlin, the bi-plane, even Imogen (like a bird that migrated from the northern hemisphere).. -he finds the bi-plane unnatural, not graceful, he thinks it breaks the laws of nature -Ashley likes change, but he doesnt want to change the landscape, he wants to PRESERVE it (the opposite of change) -sometimes, to STOP change, we have to take big steps to ensure something doesnt change (hence the sanctuary) -you could say that Jim going to the war is an example of a change, but need to explore and show your understanding of the question of whether this was inevitable or not -on the one hand, the war was voluntary but on the other hand, there was so much social pressure for young men to join up, that it was in reality almost inevitable -could say that LIFE DEATH is a good example of an inevitable change in a landscape (relevant??) -so much death in the chapters involving the War, and as Jim survives longer and longer through the War and the trenches, he sees the inevitability of death, death becomes a constant, everyday thing.. -some other ideas you could use: -growing up, getting older as an example of an inevitable change (but is this relevant enough to landscape?) -a place that was once very natural and untouched, but was replaced with buildings, lots of people, etc -even nature changes water levels rise and fall, erosion of land, evolution -population growth, industrialisation, global warming?? (relevant? Inevitable?)

-Imgoen reflects that so much was new, and everything changed (thinking about Jims death, her own experiences coming to Australia, how time marches forward, can never go back..) -this is both a negative and a positive for its sad that Jim had to leave, had to die, but also time will help her heal, she *will* recover from her grief, she *will* become interested and excited by new things, like the surfer (she thinks it would make a great photograph, something so new, something shes never seen before)