Nowhere Boys Study Guide Has Been Written for Upper Primary and Lower Secondary Students
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EPISODES 7-13 © ATOM 2013 A STUDY GUIDE BY KATY MARRINER http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-365-6 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au ‘Everybody who knows us has forgotten us.’ Nowhere Boys (2013), a thirteen-part Australian children’s television series created by Tony Ayres for Matchbox Pictures, is the story of four teenage boys who return from a school excursion to discover they are stuck in a parallel world in which they were never born. A compelling combination of drama, adventure and the supernatural, Nowhere Boys develops and enriches its audience’s knowledge and understanding of the experiences of adolescence as Andy, Felix, Jake and Sam endeavour to resolve their differences, solve their dilemma and find a way home. reading, viewing and writing. Teachers are advised CURRICULUM LINKS to choose tasks that are age-appropriate. The Nowhere Boys study guide has been written for upper primary and lower secondary students. It In completing the tasks, students will have demon- provides information and suggestions for learning strated the ability to: activities in English. • identify personal ideas, experiences and opin- In English, students engage with a variety of texts ions about texts and discuss them with others; Stills from The 5th Boy for enjoyment. They read and view, and also inter- • describe and explain how events, characters online game pret and evaluate these texts in which the primary and settings in texts are depicted; purpose is aesthetic. As a classroom resource, • analyse, explain and evaluate the structure of a Nowhere Boys is relevant to the teaching of the text and how the features of the text influence Literature strand, allowing students to respond to, audience response; examine and create literature. In Media, students • explain and analyse the ways in which stories, view, analyse and evaluate media texts and the characters, settings and experiences are re- contexts within which they are made. As a class- flected in particular genres, and to discuss the room resource, Nowhere Boys is relevant to the appeal of these genres; SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION teaching of how media texts engage audiences, • create a wide range of texts, make presenta- draw on codes and conventions, and construct tions and contribute actively to class and group representations. discussions; • when writing, demonstrate understanding of The tasks described in the Nowhere Boy study grammar, select specific vocabulary and use guide provide opportunities for students to accurate spelling and punctuation, editing their complete a close analysis of the series and the work to provide structure and meaning; key ideas and values on which it is based, and to • use a range of software to create, edit and pub- engage in the processes of listening, speaking, lish texts. 2 SERIES SYNOPSIS When four very different teenage boys get lost while trekking through Bremin National Park, an already tiresome school excursion becomes even worse. After surviving a terrifying night and a twister that seems out to get them, Andy, Felix, Jake and Sam return to town expecting a heroic reception. Instead, they discover that they are now total strangers to their friends and families The alternate world the boys return to is identical to theirs except for one startling difference – they were never born. All public records of them have van- ished and the world has reconfigured itself. Their families are living very different lives. Felix’s disa- bled brother can walk. Jake’s struggling parents are now leading successful lives. Andy’s family – and in particular his sister – are less straight-laced. Sam is not pleased to discover that he has been replaced. The ‘nowhere boys’ are forced to fend for them- selves. They band together to find out what is going on, but as one bizarre situation after enough Determined to find a way home, their bond is threatens their survival, Andy’s scientific obses- threatened yet again when Felix is revealed to be sion with finding a rational explanation gives way responsible for their dilemma. He cast the spell that to Felix’s belief that they are up against something brought them to this other Bremin in an attempt otherworldly. Felix comes into the possession of an to heal his brother Oscar. Felix has always blamed ornate talisman through Phoebe, who runs the local himself for the accident that put Oscar in a wheel- new-age spirituality shop. He discovers that when all chair. To work the spell, he needed the other three the boys are together, they possess magical powers boys, to create a unification of the elements – Jake that allow them to use the talisman to ward off the is earth, Andy is water, Sam is air and Felix is fire. demonic force that is intent on destroying them. Despite their anger, the boys can only return home In this strange new world, the boys are still drawn if they work together. The demon is now at the to their families. Jake meets the father he never Each peak of its power and uses Oscar to capture Felix. had. Sam faces up to his self-indulgent flaws. Andy episode The boys realise that Oscar represents the fifth has a running enjoys his first taste of independence. Felix is ac- time of element – spirit. Having unlocked the mystery, they cepted by his family in a way never possible after 26 minutes repair the talisman and defeat the demon. the accident that injured his brother. Meanwhile, the demon grows ever more powerful, possessing In a final confrontation, just as the boys are re- animals and humans in its quest to wreak havoc. turned to their world, the demon is revealed to be Convinced that Phoebe is behind it all, the boys Phoebe’s sister, Alice. But something has changed. confront her, but Phoebe just wants to find her sister, Each of the boys now possesses power over their Alice. Phoebe believes the boys can help find Alice respective elements and Alice has followed them because Felix is bestowed with the gift of magic. home … When the boys are presented with a chance to In addition to the television series, Nowhere Boys revisit the forest where they went missing, they has a truly unique online game hosted on the ABC3 grow hopeful of a return home, only to discover the website. This interactive online game unfolds as demon is now stronger than ever. Having barely each of the six worlds (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Spirit, survived, the boys are back where they started and and Darkness) are unlocked at key stages during old tensions are renewed as they begin to see their the TV broadcast schedule. The user will take on SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION chances of returning to their old lives fade away. the persona of a fifth boy who is lost between di- mensions as he journeys through Negative Space, The demon takes advantage of Sam’s frustration to battles demonic forces, and gains elemental pow- trick him into destroying the talisman, leaving the ers to help the nowhere boys return home. The boys vulnerable. To make matters worse, the boys’ online narrative runs parallel to the TV series until new-world mothers simultaneously succumb to both stories converge, revealing a dramatic twist. mysterious ailments triggered by the boys them- This innovative, groundbreaking experience will selves. The four must work together to cast a spell give users an extra perspective on the TV series as that reverses the effects before it is too late. it screens. 3 JAKE ANDY THE REAL WORLD > Popular, THE REAL WORLD > A geek and athletic, and confident, Jake is a unflinchingly logical, fifteen-year- perennial winner who is capable old Andy’s mind and imagination are of playing schoolyard bully, second to none. While Andy has an especially to Felix. However, his extensive knowledge of facts, theories home life is far from perfect. and Bear Grylls’ survival skills, he has His single mother struggles zero practical experience. The only boy financially, working two jobs to in a Singaporean-Chinese family, Andy pay the bills with little help from has been mothered three times – by his his father, who cannot manage his grandmother, mother, and older sister. He own life. Jake and his mother are would do anything for some freedom. very close and Jake is accustomed to taking responsibility. NEW REALITY > In the new reality, Andy enjoys his first taste of freedom. Andy can NEW REALITY > Jake wonders if now be the man of action he has always the world is better without him. wanted to be – he becomes more outgoing His mother is now a Lexus- and self-reliant. He even finds himself driving, successful real estate with a girlfriend for the first time – Ellen, agent, and is married to Jake’s Felix’s friend from the real world. As a science teacher, Mr Bates. Jake’s man of science, Andy is initially sceptical father, now a police sergeant, has about Felix’s ‘magic’, but he eventually gone from loser to pillar of the accepts it and studies it with zeal. He community. Used to surviving hopes to combine science and magic to on his own, Jake becomes the find a way home. nowhere boys’ ‘den mother’ and forges a genuine friendship with Andy. SAM THE REAL WORLD > Sam is the golden boy, effortlessly cool and naturally gifted. Everything comes easily to Sam and he takes everything he has for granted. His family is the epitome of happiness. His parents are supportive and understanding, and he gets along with his brothers. Even Sam’s girlfriend Mia is perfect. NEW REALITY > For the first time, Sam has to fight for something.