A STUDY GUIDE by Roger Stitson
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© ATOM 2013 A STUDY GUIDE BY ROGER STITSON http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-281-9 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au Synopsis ABANDONED BY his mother, ten- year-old Pete (Cameron Wallaby), lives with his elderly grandfather, Jagamarra (David Gulpilil), in a deserted outdoor cinema of outback Curriculum links town Wyndham. Background setting This study guide is mainly aimed When his Grandfather’s home is at junior to threatened with demolition, Pete sees Carry out the following activities on Satellite Boy’s narrative and geographical locations. senior secondary his world in jeopardy and with his school levels, best friend, Kalmain (Joseph Pedley), • The events depicted in Satellite Boy take with relevance sets off for the city. place in the Kimberleys of Western Australia, to Indigenous principally in the region linking the towns of Studies, English, Together the boys travel through epic Wyndham and Kununurra. Media and Film Kimberley country and when they get On poster paper draw a map of Western Studies, SOSE/ lost in the bush, Pete and Kalmain Australia, and include a scale measurement HSIE, History find true friendship. guide in kilometres. Mark the general region and Geography, of the Kimberleys, and indicate the state’s Cultural Studies, Starving and thirsty, Pete must capital city, Perth. Locate and label the towns Environmental of Wyndham and Kununurra, and for a gen- remember some of the traditional Studies, eral perspective of distance, label the town of bush skills his grandfather has taught Broome, on the north-west coast. Psychology, him to survive. Mark the locations of the main river system in Ethics and the general area of the Wyndham-Kununurra Philosophy. Note about the study guide region. Draw and label the main roadway routes One activity in the connecting Perth, Broome, Kununurra and Media Studies Towards the end of the study guide there is a sec- Wyndham. (If you have a mapping app such as section, involving tion devoted to Media and Film Studies. Teachers Google Maps on a tablet device, you may wish the sculptor may wish to approach this section separately, as a to take advantage of this to find and name the distinct set of activities, or to integrate relevant ac- route connections.) Brancusi, may tivities into those from other sections of the study For more about Wyndham and Kununurra, see be of interest to 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION guide. For example, early in the guide there is an website references. senior students activity about Jagamarra’s knowledge of the natu- • Plan and write 250–300 words on the natural who are also ral environment, as gleaned from the opening two and geographical features of the Kimberleys for studying Visual scenes. In the Media and Film Studies section you a tourist pamphlet. You might wish to include Arts. will also find a loosely connected question about details about ancient Indigenous artefacts such the way the second of these scenes is visually as the existence and cultural importance of presented on-screen, how we might interpret it as rock paintings. metaphor, and its relationship to the closing scene. • During the film we see Pete and his friend 2 Kalmain both cycling and walking across land Indigenous numbers decreased? Have the from Wyndham and Kununurra. Calculate and traditional cultural values and ways of living off mark on the map the approximate distance in and by the land been lost? kilometres, by road, between the two towns. What are the essential means of governmental As well, we see that Pete’s mother, Lynelle, and and private-sector services, business economy her companion, Dave, are planning to drive and employment in and around each of the two from Kununurra to Perth. Calculate the road towns? Is unemployment an issue? Are primary, distance between Kununurra and Broome, and secondary and tertiary educational facilities from Broome to Perth, and mark on the map. adequate? Comment on the extent of tourism • Carry out some background research on the to the two regions, their environmental features history and development of Kununurra and and attractions. Wyndham, then plan, write and lay out an informative page or double-page presentation Satellite Boy: characters as though for a magazine about Australia’s rural and characterisation regions. Include illustrations as required. For example, when was each town founded, and why? What does ‘Kununurra’ mean in English? Carry out the following activities on the central Who was Wyndham named after, and why? characters who feature in Satellite Boy. Add statistical details on local seasonal climate and rainfall. What are each town’s present- • Discuss in class then write your own short de- day population figures, and the breakdown scriptions of the character, behaviour, motiva- of Indigenous and non-Indigenous numbers? tions, relationships with other characters in the From the time of European settlement in and story, and general importance to the film’s nar- around the two towns, how has the Indigenous rative and drama, of the following participants: population been affected? Have, for example, o Pete o Jagamarra (aka Jubi) o Kalmain o Lynelle • Discuss what the following two sequences might tell us about Pete’s emotional state: o Pete places an old plastic chair directly over the flames of his grandfather’s campfire, 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION then plays with science fiction toys and models while wearing a mask, and then reads old postcards. Why does he destroy the chair, and what is the significance of the toys, models, and the mask? o As they later walk towards Kununurra, Pete handles Kalmain’s stolen gun and then returns it to him. What do you think his 3 attitude is towards holding the firearm, and then giving it back to Kalmain? (Note in this sequence Pete’s subjective point-of-view camera shot.) • Discuss in class then write a commentary on to Perth with Dave (her partner) and Pete, and Jagamarra’s knowledge and respect for the whether this might turn out a successful out- ancient and traditional ways of his people, and come for her. the lore (and law) of ‘country’. How do you think • In general, discuss then write a commentary this is expressed in the opening two scenes of on the relationship between Indigenous and the film? The two scenes in question are a shot non-Indigenous characters during Satellite Boy, of the night sky, accompanied by Jagamarra’s and whether this is a relevant theme to an un- voice singing and speaking on the soundtrack, derstanding of the story. To help you, examine and a day scene of he and Pete walking the changing visual content of the wordless se- through an outback landscape. quence where Pete and Kalmain, at the general • Explain why a police officer tells Pete that store where Kalmain’s sister works, then ride Jagamarra is a ‘respected man’. Why do you their bikes with her to where Kalmain’s mother think Jagamarra is respected by everyone? lives. • Plan and write a short fiction story about what • As an extension of the previous activity, com- you think Jagamarra was like as a young man. ment on whether you think both Pete and Consider locations and other characters, events Kalmain are treated fairly and appropriately and themes, and narrative viewpoint. by the police, in those scenes that portray an • At around the seven-minute mark of running interaction. How do you think the filmmakers time, Kalmain’s entrance into the narrative is present the police on-screen? announced before we actually see him on- • From your observations of both Pete and screen. Describe how this is carried out, its Kalmain, write a police report on both of them, immediate effect and influence on Pete, and in 150–200 words each. You may first need what it tells us about Kalmain’s personality, to discuss in class the formal style of written behaviour and character for the remainder of language that is likely to be used. the entire film. • Discuss whether the differences in general The journey outlook between Kalmain and Pete outweigh the similarities between them or not. Why do you think they are friends? Are they a good and Pete’s journey, from Wyndham to Kununurra and positive influence on each other? back again, is more than physical, across land, • Discuss Lynelle as a parental influence on her through time and space. It is also a journey in other son, Pete. Is she what we might call a ‘good’ ways: a journey of questing and learning, of self- parent, and a role model? Compare her as a discovery, a psychological and spiritual journey mother to Kalmain’s mother. which, put together, culminates in a rite of passage 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION • Why doesn’t Lynelle visit Pete and Jagamarra from childhood and immaturity towards the begin- in Wyndham, even though she lives not too far nings of growth into becoming an adult. away, by car, in Kununurra? Is she, for example, selfish? Comment on the scene, in Kununurra, Survival and adapting to in which she takes Pete shopping. What does circumstance this scene tell us about Lynelle’s understand- ing and her assumptions about her son and his • As they walk across land, Pete tells Kalmain, needs? Also comment on her desire to travel ‘Jubi says if you walk country, country’ll look 4 after you.’ What do you think he means? How and adapting to circumstances in which he and is this comment exemplified in the scene where ‘Jubi says Kalmain find themselves. For example, what Kalmain eats from a bag of chips then throws is the cause of Kalmain’s flat bicycle tyre, and the empty wrapper away? What does this if you walk what is the remedy? action tell us about Kalmain and his upbring- country, • While Pete is walking across land with Kalmain, ing and life experience? What does Pete’s he picks up a shell and examines it.