SERIES 3
A STUDY GUIDE by Roger Stitson
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
http://www.theeducationshop.com.au In Who Do You Think You Are?, six well-known Australians play detective as they go in search of their family histories and discover secrets from the past. Series 3 takes us to all corners of Australia and the globe, and some extraordinary stories are revealed – from resistance fighting to murder, from child abandonment to adoption, and from nineteenth- century abortion to twentieth-century shell shock, with each individual discovering that their ancestors form an integral part not only of their own identity, but of that of the nation.
Combining emotional and personal journeys with big-picture history, these inspiring and sometimes challenging stories remind us how Australians have come to be the people that they are today.
In keeping with Australia’s multicultural background, this is also an international story. The six participants travel to the places where their forebears lived, loved and died, and learn about the hardships and hurdles they overcame.
This is a fascinating chronicle of the social, ethnic and cultural evolution of Australia’s national identity.
General introductory note
This study guide contains a range of class activities relevant to each epi- sode. As some activities are relevant to all the episodes, there is a section later in the study guide devoted to a general overview of the entire series. There is also a dedicated Media Studies section with activities relevant to the construction, purposes and outcomes of the series. A general list of book and film references can be found at the end of the study guide, and a list of website references relevant to each individual episode is also included.
Curriculum links
This study guide is mainly aimed at middle- and upper-secondary school levels, and has relevance to English, Media Studies, History, SOSE/HSIE, Cultural Studies, Politics, Women’s Studies, Philosophy and Ethics, and SCREEN EDUCATION Genealogy.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 2 Episode 1 Magda Szubanski
Magda Szubanski is the actor behind many of Australia’s most loved comic characters. Magda has always been a fearless performer. But where is that courage from? To better understand how world events have shaped her family, Magda will trace the lives of two ancestors – her Irish grandfather, and her Polish father. Both were forced to make grim choices and both were forced to confront the brutality of war. SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 3 Magda’s grandfather – Luke John McCarthy or therapy for it? Describe the emotional and historical • From as much as you can extract from the episode, connections between Magda and her guide at Edenhall, construct a timeline of Luke McCarthy’s life. Ensure you Yvonne McEwen. include relevant dates and brief notes of wider historical events, such as the start and end of World War One. • Explain what Magda finds out about Luke from his son, Dominic (Magda’s uncle) in Scotland. Listen carefully to • Plan and write a short fiction story based in any way Dominic’s poem – or write it out, if necessary – then dis- you think suitable on Luke’s life before he was arrested, cuss its contents in class. What do you think the poem tried and jailed, prior to World War One. Before writing is about, and what is Dominic’s attitude towards the discuss in class the possible themes and events that subject matter? Explain the central metaphor towards might be incorporated. Poverty and burglary may be the concept of fighting for your country. examples.
• The following activity is about knowing where to look. To find out more about her maternal grandfather, Magda journeys to Dublin, Ireland, where she meets genealo- gist Elizabeth Cuddy. Elizabeth finds and collects a great deal of archival information about Luke and his family, from the early 20th century. In class discuss and make a list of Elizabeth’s archival sources. That is, where does she find her information? Where are the records stored? Who stores them? Why do you think they are stored, and for what possible purposes?
• Following from the previous activity, how does re- searcher Richard Moles find information about Luke’s war service in the British Army? How might Magda have SCREEN EDUCATION been led to Edenhall Hospital, in Scotland, to discover more about Luke’s shellshock and his likely treatment
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 4 Passchendaele, trench warfare, shellshock
• We are told that during World War One Luke participat- ed in the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) Carry out research then write a short account of the horrors of this battle, and its outcome. Was it, in any way, counted as a success for the Allied forces? (See website references for Episode 1.) Magda’s father – Zbigniew Szubanski • Explain the purposes and the characteristics of trench warfare. Why had trench warfare become a disastrous • Account for the decisions Magda’s father, Zbigniew method of combat during the 1914-1918 war? (See Szubanski, felt compelled to make as a very young website references for Episode 1.) man, in joining the Polish Resistance movement after the German invasion of the country in 1939. In what • Discuss in class why Luke and so many other soldiers way may he have been influenced by his own parents? during World War One were diagnosed with shellshock. What are the symptoms and causes of shellshock? Ex- • From viewing the episode it would be possible to draw plain the medical name given to this condition. The term upon Zbigniew’s experiences as a counter intelligence ‘shellshock’ has altered throughout the 20th and 21st officer for the Polish Home Army in plotting a dramatic centuries since the end of the Great War, as circum- fiction story. Discuss in class the possible themes, plot stances, methods of warfare and medical and psycho- events, characters and narrative approaches you could logical studies and diagnoses have evolved. Account take to writing a short story. Plan and write the story. for the changes in terminology. (See website references for Episode 1.) • Explain the reasons that led to Zbigniew leaving Poland after World War Two, and arriving in Scotland, despite • From the program, as though from Luke’s viewpoint, having been a Polish patriot. plan and write a first-person impression of his thoughts, emotions and responses, years later, after marriage, • Comment on the extent and type of research and when suffering a behavioural episode induced by war- inquiry Magda has to undertake to piece together her time trauma. father’s biography. Who, for example, does she visit and speak to, and what does she learn from each?
• Imagine you are Zbigniew’s old friend, Ryszard Bielan- ski, as they continue to write letters to each other over many years. Write a personal letter from Ryszard, and an answering letter from Zbigniew.
Invasion of Poland, Warsaw Uprising
• Draw a map of Poland, showing both the invasion of Poland from the west, by German forces in 1939, and the later invasion by the USSR from the east. Indicate the position of the capital city, Warsaw. SCREEN EDUCATION • We discover during the program that there is a Warsaw Uprising Museum in modern Warsaw. Plan and create
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 5 References and further resources
Websites
Episode 1:
Passchendaele:
Polish Resistance:
Shellshock:
an informative pamphlet about the museum, its loca-
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 6 Episode 2 Rod Marsh
Cricketer Rod Marsh trawls the records to uncover long-held secrets and piece together the dramatic circumstances that led to his father’s adoption. For the first time he discovers who his biological grandparents are and why their children were given up for adoption. SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 7 Archival records and sources father? Further to this, going on what we discover in the family archives during the program, discuss whether • Examine the episode carefully then make up a full listing or not Ken’s biological mother might also have been of all the archival records, sources and locations where breaking the law. Rod Marsh finds information about his family’s past. Who helps him find this information? In what way is • Discuss whether or not it is correct to include adoptive this helper an ‘expert’ or a source of knowledge in this parents or adopted children in the construction of a particular field of study? family tree. If so, how might this scenario be presented? For example, should Rod include Ken’s adoptive par- Ken Marsh – Rod’s father ents and grandparents in a family tree? (See website references for episode 2.) • A convoluted conundrum to discuss: if Rod Marsh’s father, Ken, had not been adopted out within a year of The Holgates – Robert and Amy his birth, explain what his surname, and therefore Rod’s surname, would have been. In answering this question, • Explain the simple logic of dates coinciding with the take into consideration that Ken’s biological mother whereabouts of Robert and Amy during 1916–1919, only married once, and therefore her own surname only through which Rod is able to deduce that it is impossi- changed legally once, when it was changed from her ble for Ken to be Robert’s biological son, and therefore maiden name. The surnames to work with are Holgate, for Rod to be Robert’s biological grandfather. Dutton and Marsh. • Using information provided in the episode, write an • More conundrums to contemplate: if Ken’s biological account of Robert and Amy’s marriage. father had actually married his (Ken’s) biological mother, explain whether or not it would have been a marriage • During the episode Rod reads a letter from Amy to recognised under Australian law. If not, what might Robert. Explain why he first refers to this as a ‘Dear have been the legal consequences for Ken’s biological John’ letter. (See website references for episode 2.)
• Write a fictional Dear John or Dear Jane letter. Follow this up with a fictional personal diary response from the recipient of the letter.
• Briefly define the purpose of the Repatriation Depart- ment as it operated after World War One. (See website references for episode 2.) Explain why Robert applied to the Repatriation Department for funds to buy furniture when he returned home in 1919. Why do you think SCREEN EDUCATION Rod decides to reserve judgement on both Robert and Amy’s behaviour at this time? Should we, as members
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 8 of the audience of this episode, pass judgement on Robert or Amy? For example, how difficult was it for women such as Amy to survive during wartime while their husbands were absent for such long periods? • Write Amy’s newspaper obituary from a feminist view- • The missing person whose responses and feelings we point. don’t see is Mary, the wife of Amy’s lover. All three lived in the same house. Tell the story from her viewpoint. • Why do you think Jack adopted out his three children from his relationship with Amy? Amy Holgate and Jack Dutton • Taking note all of these events, fashion a fictional short • Describe in your own words what happened to Amy story. Will it be a noirish tale of a doomed woman, the Holgate after she left Robert for Jack Dutton. Explain story of a villainous rogue, a human tragedy or a social and comment upon the circumstances of her death and critique of the times? funeral. • Discuss in class then write a character description of Jack Dutton based on your impressions of the way he is presented during the episode. How, for example, do you think he treated his wife Mary, his lover Amy and his children by both women?
• Plan and write a newspaper obituary of Jack.
The Marsh clan of Geraldton
• Explain why Rod’s father, Ken, grew up in the house- hold of Tom and Millie Marsh in Geraldton. SCREEN EDUCATION • Tom’s father Daniel (Dan) Marsh became a successful business entrepreneur in Geraldton when he arrived
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 9 Discuss in class what you think he means when con- sidering his life in comparison to the lives of his adop- tive grandparent – Dan Marsh – and his true biological grandfather – Jack Dutton.
• Following on from the previous activity, explain why Rod says, at the episode’s conclusion, ‘I think I’ve become a wiser man today.’
• What have you learnt from Rod’s journey into his fam- ily’s past?
References and further resources
Websites
Episode 2
Adoptions and family trees:
there in the 1870s. Describe his place in the history of
• We are informed during the episode that when Dan died ‘Dear John’: in 1928 the local newspaper published an impressive obituary, but omitted some important facts. View the
• Towards the end of the episode, on the subject of
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 10 Episode 3 Tina Arena
Singer Tina Arena has always wanted to find out more about where her Italian-born parents came from, a subject that has never really been talked about in her family. She is driven to find out the truth behind some family secrets and heads off to Sicily to explore her Italian roots and the tough reality of her grandparents’ childhoods.
At the end of her journey Tina realises that the issue of abandonment has been running through her family for generations. She understands more about the drive and struggle of her Sicilian ancestors and the impact this has had on her parents and grandparents. SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 11 Family tree
• Because Tina Arena’s paternal line is made up of farm- ers from the town of Valguarnera in Sicily, most of the episode explores her more complex maternal line, the Catalfamo family. From the episode, draw a family tree linking Tina (Filipina) to her parents Joe (Giuseppe) and Franca (Francesca) Arena. Then continue Franca’s line back to Carmela Catalfamo in the 1840s. Most of the episode examines Tina’s forebears in this line, from Carmela to the present. • We are informed that Carmela’s foundling babies were • In connection with the previous activity, draw a map placed soon after birth in the ‘foundling wheel’ (or of Sicily. Show the location of Palermo, Sicily’s capital. ‘ruota’ in Italian) on the outskirts of Valguarnera. Imag- Also mark the towns of Valguarnera and Santa Lucia, ine you are writing an illustrated article for a magazine both of which feature during the episode. Include brief of popular history about foundling wheels. Explain the notes about the history of both these two towns. (See history and the construction of the wheel, how it oper- website references for episode 3.) ates, the reasons for its existence and its purposes. Are foundling wheels, or their modern equivalent, still in Carmela Catalfamo and the foundling wheel operation today anywhere in the world? Are they illegal? Do they exist in Australia? Format and illustrate your • First, define the word ‘foundling’. presentation using desktop publishing software. (See website references for episode 3.) • Write an account of what Tina discovers about great- great-grandmother Carmela. Explain the means by • Drawing on the episode and your further research, plan which she locates the archival information about Car- and write a short fiction story in which a foundling wheel mela and her foundling children. Add a short character is an important ingredient in the narrative. Consider description of the sort of person you think Carmela may plot events, themes, settings, characters and character SCREEN EDUCATION have been. relationships, and narrative style.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 12 • As though you were Tina, write a personal letter to your late grandfather. What will you say, and how will you express it? If Francesco were able to reply to Tina, what Filippa Giulivo – Tina’s grandmother do you think he would say? Write his letter.
• Comment on the extraordinary family coincidence link- • You are a roving newspaper reporter. Write a dramatic ing Filippa’s life to Carmela’s, despite the difference in newspaper exposé of conditions in the Sicilian sulphur generation and era. How did Filippa acquire her maiden mines, and the associated child labour, in the time of surname of Giulivo? What does the name ‘Giulivo’ Francesco’s childhood. Ensure you give the report mean in English? Surmise as to why she may have been an appropriate headline. Format the story into typical given that name. Explain the initial gap in the records newspaper columns, using desktop publishing soft- between Filippa’s birthdate in 1901 and the time she ware. (See website references for episode 3.) was placed into care at the convent in Valguarnera in 1909. Where was she during those missing years, and Joe and Franca – Tina’s parents in what way did her circumstances change in late 1908? • Explain why Franca’s wedding to Joe was conducted • Discuss the archival sources and detective work that by proxy in Valguarnera. Why do you think Franca’s fa- lead to Tina’s discovery of her grandmother’s early ther insisted that Franca be married in this fashion first, years. before travelling to Australia?
• Write a collection of personal diary entries from ten- • Carry out research then write a report on the extent of year-old Filippa’s viewpoint, centring on her experi- Italian proxy marriages involving Italian men working in ences, her struggles, her abandonment, her loss and Australia after World War Two. How did the new brides her new life. feel about travelling to Australia to meet their hus- bands? Were the proxy marriages successful? Later, in Francesco Catalfamo – Tina’s grandfather Australia, did couples undertake full marriage ceremo- nies together? Research indicates that records of proxy • Discuss in class why Tina breaks down in tears when marriages among Italian couples are difficult to locate she discovers the truth about Francesco, her grandfa- in Australia. Why might this be the case? (For general SCREEN EDUCATION ther. Explain her previous opinion of him, and why she information on Italian proxy marriages, see website now has to reassess her attitude. references for episode 3.)
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 13 Websites
Episode 3
Foundling wheel
Proxy weddings
• Discuss the way in which Franca’s management of Casa Santa Lucia Serena, a nursing home for the elderly in Melbourne, coincidentally continues a Catalfamo family trait.
Tina’s reflections
• Write a short commentary about the poem that Tina Valguarnera composes and reads aloud to the camera at the end of the episode. What is she attempting to express in the
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 14 Episode 4 Shane Bourne
Actor and comedian Shane Bourne is probably best known for his roles in City Homicide and Thank God You’re Here.
In Who Do You Think You Are? he investigates a pattern of absent fathers and discovers a man with grand but fraudulent designs. A sociopath, a conman, an illicit affair, and a movie star all await Shane on his journey into his ancestry. SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 15 Archival records and sources age and place of birth – and even his name – you may even consider extending your timeline back to a date • Examine the episode carefully then make up a full listing before he was actually born! of all the archival records and sources where Shane Bourne finds information about his forebears. For ex- • We discover that in 1908 Percy held the world record ample, where does he discover the source of informa- for long-distance, or marathon piano playing. Create a tion that demonstrates his grandmother once acted in large poster advertisement to promote the event. Australian films during the 1920s? What is that source of information, or historical artefact? Who helps him • Not mentioned during the episode is that a year later find this information, and in what way is this helper an Percy held the world record for roller skating, set in ‘expert’ or a source of knowledge in this particular field Brisbane. Discuss in class the possibilities for story of study? Note that as well as the episode’s in-program events, characters, plot and theme, then plan and write contents, the end credits are also a valuable and a short fiction story in which one or other of Percy’s (hopefully) accurate means of procuring a record of the world record feats is an important narrative element. Set episodes’ source material and the names of participat- your story in the era of 1908-1909. (See website refer- ing researchers and helpers. ences for Episode 4.)
Arthur Percival Freeman – Shane’s maternal • Plan and write a newspaper account of Percy’s acts of grandfather stealing, cheating and lying in the years up to his mar- riage to Dorothy Maybury. • Because of the mystery surrounding Percy Freeman’s life, and the seeming confusion within the family about • Taking into account the events of Dorothy’s marriage who he was, and what he did, this episode concen- as presented during the episode, write a letter from the trates mainly on him. From what you can discover from viewpoint of her father, William Augustus Maybury, to a SCREEN EDUCATION the episode, construct a timeline of the events of his relative or a friend in which you express your opinions life. As Percy seems to have lied at least once about his about Percy Freeman.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 16 • Following from the previous activity, is it possible to approach these events from Percy’s own viewpoint. Can he explain or rationalise his behaviour? Present a monologue as though you were Percy. Dorothy Maybury – Shane’s maternal • Plan and create a large magazine advertisement calling grandmother for investors to participate in the establishment of any one of Percy’s business activities, such as Motorbus • Explain why you think Dorothy married Percy when she Services Limited and the Mercantile Bank. was only 15 years old.
• Discuss in class: do you think Percy was simply and • In discussing Dorothy’s later petitions for divorce, social deliberately an amoral swindler and a fraud, or a poor historian Hillary Golder comments that ‘there’s a real businessman who suffered bad luck in his ventures? double standard in the law… at this time’. Explain what she means. In what ways might Dorothy as a woman • Write a comedy-satire short story about a swindler. have been disadvantaged by the existing British and Decide the narrative point of view. For example, in Australian divorce laws of the era? (See website refer- what ways might the story seem to be different if told ences for Episode 4.) from the viewpoint of the swindler, as distinct from the swindled, or even from the viewpoint of a third-person • Following from the previous activity, explain the concept narrator? of ‘matrimonial cruelty’ as a reason for filing for divorce. If Percy denied his alleged behaviour towards Dorothy, • At his death, Percy does not seem to have kept any how was she finally able to prove her allegations? records or mementos of Dorothy or of his children. Shane comments that Percy decided to ‘close the door • Imagine you are a woman living in the era in which on that part of his life’. Discuss the possible reasons Dorothy’s petitions for divorce took place. Write a letter behind this apparent decision, and whether Percy Free- to the editor of a large daily newspaper expressing your SCREEN EDUCATION man was a reformed character later in life. views about the state of the divorce laws as they affect women.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 17 • Explain how Dorothy’s role in the Australian silent-era film of Environment bore a resemblance to the events of her own life.
• In connection with the previous activity, research then write a short report on the functions of the National Websites Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), and its importance to Australia’s cultural heritage. Draw upon this episode of Episode 4: Who Do You Think You Are? in explaining the NFSA’s importance. (See website references for Episode 4.) Divorce laws:
Shane’s reflections
Environment (film):
Percy Freeman’s world records for marathon piano and skating:
NFSA: SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 18 Episode 5 Paul Mercurio
Actor, dancer and TV chef Paul Mercurio is probably best known for his role in the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom. In Who Do You Think You Are? he embarks on a journey into his ancestry to investigate rumours of a Mafia connection and discovers a political kingmaker leading a double life.
Paul’s parents divorced when he was six, and Paul and his siblings were raised by his mother in Western Australia. He didn’t get to know his father, Gus, until he was an adult. Gus immigrated to Australia from the US in 1956 and Paul knows little about the family SCREEN EDUCATION that Gus left behind. Along the way Paul learns of violence, murky political patronage and innocents caught in the crossfire.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 19 Archival records and sources Mafia boss Frank Balistrieri. Write a short biography of Balistrieri and outline his activities. • Discuss in class and make a list of where Paul Mercurio finds the archival records, sources and locations about Vincent (‘McGurk’) Mercurio – Paul’s grandfather his family background. Also include those people or groups and organisations that assist him in his re- • Explain why Vincent Mercurio was also called McGurk. search. • Write an account of how Vincent climbed the social lad- General background der in Milwaukee, going from violent boxer to business- man to local Republican party identity. • First, using the program as a guide, draw a family tree linking Paul to his American cousins, his father, his • Write a short commentary on what the anecdote told by uncles and aunts, and his grandparents in Milwaukee, former trial judge Bill Jennaro, about how Vince once back to his great-grandparents Agostino and Giuseppa taught him to count melons at the fruit market, tells us Mercurio, who migrated from Sicily in the 1880s. about what kind of man Paul’s grandfather was.
• To provide geographical context, draw a map of the • From your viewing of the episode, discuss in class your states surrounding the Great Lakes region of the USA, overall impression of Vincent Mercurio as a man, a and the provinces of Canada on the northern side. husband to Mickey, a father to Gus, a businessman and Label the states and provinces. Mark the location of local political player, and as an alleged member of the Milwaukee, in the Midwest state of Wisconsin. Include Milwaukee branch of the Mafia. Would you be proud or other large American cities such as Chicago and De- ashamed of having Vincent as a forebear? troit. • Describe Paul’s own response to the question of his • Carry out research then write a background account of own reaction towards having Vincent as a grandfather. how, when and why the Sicilian Mafia (also known as Why do you think, on discovering Vincent’s Mafia Cosa Nostra) arrived in the USA. What was this organi- connections, Paul says, ‘I feel dirty’? Do you agree with sation? Who belonged to it? What were its activities? his assessment? Paul also somewhat jokingly says that Explain the omertà, or ‘code of silence’. (See website Vincent appears to have been ‘married to the mob’. references for episode 5.) What does he mean? (Note that there is a feature film comedy from 1988, directed by Jonathan Demme, SCREEN EDUCATION • We are informed during the episode that it is likely that titled Married to the Mob, about the widow of a Mafia Paul’s grandfather, Vincent, was known to Milwaukee member.)
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 20 Cecilia (Mickey) Mercurio – Paul’s • Describe the eerie similarities in behaviour between grandmother Gus, in Australia, and his father, years previously, in Milwaukee, USA. If Gus has bad memories of his father, • When speaking of both Mickey and his own mother, how could this possibly happen? Can it be explained Jean, Paul comments that, ‘These are people that and understood? Discuss. should be honoured and celebrated.’ Discuss in class, then write your own commentary on why Mickey ought • During the episode we hear some anecdotes about to be ‘honoured and celebrated’. Why is he proud of Gus’s childhood, and we see a very touching photo- her? What indignities did she endure, and how did she graph of him as a young boy. Write a short story about overcome them? (See similar activity in the section a child growing up in similar circumstances. below for Paul’s mother, Jean McKibben.) • During a long-distance phone conversation Gus, in • Plan and write a newspaper obituary about Cecilia Melbourne, asks Paul, in Milwaukee, ‘Do you still love (Mickey) Mercurio. Format your presentation using me?’ Describe your own reaction to this question. What desktop publishing software. does this tell us about Gus’s inner, unspoken concerns and emotional turmoil? • The Old Recipe Book: discuss in class how you might go about plotting a short fiction story derived from the • There is an incisive moment when Paul, excited by sequence in the episode where Paul’s American cousin, viewing old television footage of his grandfather, Scott, presents him with one of Mickey’s handwritten Vincent, makes an important decision about the video recipe books. Consider, for example, how you might in relation to his father, Gus, and then immediately feature the imagery of the book as a metaphor; a motif. questions his own right to even make that decision. Write the story. Explain. Do you think he made the right decision? What would you have done? Have you ever been in a situa- Gus Mercurio – Paul’s father tion where you have deliberately decided to withhold information from someone for ethical or moral reasons, • Comment on Gus’s emotional responses to the memo- or for fear of causing them emotional pain? ries of his father, Vincent. Explain whether his reactions are justified. Jean McKibben Mercurio – Paul’s mother
• Discuss whether the episode ever offers a real explana- • Paul comments that his mother, Jean, along with SCREEN EDUCATION tion as to why Gus permanently moved from the USA to his grandmother, Mickey, should be ‘honoured and Australia. (See website references for episode 5.) celebrated’. Explain why Jean should be ‘honoured
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 21 Websites and celebrated’. Why is he proud of her? Describe the hardships she has endured, and how she strived to Episode 5 overcome them. Frank Balistrieri: • Write a commentary on who you might ‘honour and celebrate’ within your own family heritage.
Paul’s reflections
• Comment on why Paul discerns a similarity between Robert Kennedy and Cosa Nostra: himself and his father, Gus, in their respective child- hoods.
• At the end of the episode Paul asks, ‘Am I who I am Mafia and Cosa Nostra: because of my ancestors? Or am I who I am in spite of my ancestors? I think both are true.’ Discuss these
• Write a commentary on what Paul means by breaking
• Discuss in class why you think the episode begins and
Gus Mercurio obituary:
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 22 Episode 6 Georgie Parker
Georgie Parker has created some of the most memorable female characters on Australian television. The women in her own family are all big personalities and she sets out to find where that female strength comes from.
Georgie says she’s not afraid to hear any of her family history, but the journey ahead will test her. It takes her from some of the most elite centres of Victorian-era Melbourne to
slums and prisons. The family’s female strength has been – through loss, limitation and SCREEN EDUCATION even disgrace – very hard won.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 23 Archival records and sources
• Discuss in class and make a list of where Georgie finds the archival records, primary sources and locations relating to her family background. Also include those people or groups and organisations that assist her in this research.
Georgie’s mother’s side of the family
• From the episode, construct a family tree tracing back through Georgie’s mother’s line.
• The following is a very good example of cause and effect in real life. We are told that in the mid nineteenth century Georgie’s forebears, Edward and Sarah Waring, emigrated from Wales and prospered during the Victo- • Explain why Emily’s move from her residence in rian gold rush era. Explain how they achieved business Hawthorn to a house in Fitzroy was, in historian Janet and financial success. In what ways did Edward invest McCalman’s words, ‘psychologically … a catastrophe for the financial security of his children and grandchil- … a complete social disaster’. dren? Explain the factors that led to these investments eventually collapsing some decades later, during the • Discuss in class whether you think Frederick Eddy’s early years of the twentieth century. In what way was financial affairs and his activities at the Yorick Club, the Edward’s daughter Emily, as a married woman with a revelation of which upon his death caused distress to child (Grace), adversely affected by the loss of the War- Emily and affected the rest of Grace’s life, were a prod- ing fortune? uct of bad management or bad luck.
• Emily’s problems with her father’s inheritance were • Turn Emily and Grace’s biographical details into a compounded by the sudden death of her husband, dramatised short fiction story. In class, before doing so, Frederick Eddy. Explain the events leading up to Freder- discuss the plot, character, thematic possibilities and ick’s death that left Emily with major financial difficulties. alternatives for narrative style and viewpoint. How did she attempt to cope with the double blows of her abrupt financial decline and Frederick’s death, and • Ironically, Georgie reads a short humorous poem about what did this mean for her young daughter, Grace? the gentlemen of the Yorick Club:
Well after much thinking I haven’t a doubt That it’s so pleasant to lead a bohemian life, That to really enjoy it one should be without That dubious commodity known as a wife.
Either individually or in pairs, in the same style and rhym- ing pattern, compose an answering verse from a woman’s viewpoint; perhaps the viewpoint of the poet’s wife her- self, whose husband spends more time at the Yorick than perhaps he ought. You may wish to create an illustrated SCREEN EDUCATION poster, in the style of early twentieth-century poster art, that features the two verses.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 24 Georgie’s father’s side of the family
• From the episode, construct a family tree tracing Geor- took place. With many abortions taking place without gie Parker’s father’s line. You may find this task a little legal prosecution ensuing, explain possible reasons as complex, as Georgie’s great-great-great-grandfather, to why this case attracted public notoriety. John Wiley Breckenridge, sired two different lines. By his first marriage to Lilias Reid he had eight children, • Note that in an academic paper on the history of abor- and by his second marriage to Maria Crocker he had tion law reform, Dr Robyn Gregory writes: seven children. In 1904, a Royal Commission into the declining birth- • John Breckenridge, family patriarch, was one of the rate found that Australian women had long used every upstanding founders of the town of Forster. We are means at their disposal to limit the numbers of chil- informed that after his first wife, Lilias, died, he married dren they bore, for both economic and social reasons. his maid, Maria Crocker, causing ‘a big rift in the family’. Ignoring these reasons, the royal commission found Imagine that you are one of Breckenridge’s adult chil- that the decline in births was largely the result of the dren. Write a letter about this to a friend or to another ‘selfishness and pleasure-seeking’ of women. relative living far away from Forster. In the letter would you express that you consider this turn of events a town scandal and a personal embarrassment, or not?
• At the beginning of her search for information about the Breckenridge family line, Georgie comments that be- cause it’s unknown to both her father and herself, ‘it has a secretive quality … somehow a bit sinister, something to be ashamed of’. Discuss in class, then write your own commentary on whether she is correct. Is shame an important or relevant element in the Breckenridge family history? What, in fact, is Georgie’s reaction on uncovering the family secret, and is she justified in thinking this way? How would you react if you discov- ered a similar story in the lives of your own forebears?
• From the episode, and from further research, write a commentary on why abortion was particularly frowned SCREEN EDUCATION upon in Australia during the era (late nineteenth century and early twentieth century) when the Breckenridge trial
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 25 You may wish to discuss the validity of the royal commis- sion’s findings, and the commissioners’ attitude towards women. Why do you think such a finding was arrived at in those early days of Australian Federation? (See ‘Abortion and declining birth rate’ in website references for episode 6. The first-listed reference under this topic is to the full text of Dr Gregory’s paper. The second-listed reference, an essay by Michael Gilding, discusses in part the royal commission itself, which is referred to by its full title of Royal Commis- sion of Inquiry on the Decline of the Birth Rate and of the Mortality of Infants in New South Wales.)
Georgie’s reflections
• Write a commentary on what you think Georgie now appreciates about her family heritage that she may not have appreciated before embarking on her journey of discovery.
• At the conclusion of the episode Georgie says of her forebears, ‘The women’s choices were kind of beholden to the choices that the men in their lives made.’ Discuss what you think she means, with examples from the episode. Comment on whether the general situation for both men and women in Australia has altered greatly since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the historical forces that have dictated attitudes and life choices. SCREEN EDUCATION
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 26 Who Do You Think You Are?: the answers, so where might you begin to look? What an overview research tools might you need? Write a commentary on these questions, and create a family tree on poster Carry out the following activities (also note that activities paper. If you have looked at the wide range of archival about the entire series, from a media studies perspective, or primary sources and locations referred to in each can be found in the Media Studies section): episode, you should be able to draw on this as a start- ing point for the kind of research you may need to carry • Discuss in class and then write your own appraisal, in out. 300–400 words, of what you think the series achieves. Is the series more concerned with the ‘star quality’ of It is also worthwhile reading Searching For The Secret the six major participants, rather than the histories they River, Kate Grenville’s account of her personal research into are attempting to uncover? Would the series maintain her own family history, and how she came to write her novel the same level of viewer interest if the subjects were loosely based on the lives of her convict forebears, The not as well known to us? Is the series an adequate Secret River, which is set in early nineteenth-century New and worthwhile way to learn and to appreciate history? South Wales. Considering the series as a history project, what have you learnt from it? Media studies
• One of the characteristics of the series is that it places Carry out the following activities. genealogy within a broader context of important histori- cal events, movements and cultural values, giving the • In many respects the format, narrative and content of viewer a deeper understanding of the lives of particular every episode of Who Do You Think You Are? create individuals at particular moments and places in time. for us, as viewers, a false impression of the ease with Discuss, with examples from any of the episodes, which the participants research and discover their where and how this is exemplified. family history. Do you agree? Discuss. For example, you might look at the ‘linear’ way in which information • How much do you know about your family history? is presented or edited together, in order to pursue or How far can you trace it back? How do you think you tell a coherent story. Also look at the seemingly ready SCREEN EDUCATION could find out more, or fill in the gaps? Remember that availability of ‘helpers’, both on camera and behind the your immediate older family relatives may not have all scenes.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 27 Lenore Frost, Dating Family Photos, 1850–1920, L. Frost, Essendon, 1991. (Note: a search of the author’s website indicates that she does not intend to reprint this book. Cop- ies are available in libraries.)
Kate Grenville, The Secret River, Text Publishing, Mel- bourne, 2005.
Kate Grenville, Searching For The Secret River, Text Pub- lishing, Melbourne, 2006.
Noeline Kyle, We Should’ve Listened to Grandma: Tracing Women Ancestors, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney, 1988.
Angelo Loukakis, Who Do You Think You Are?: The Es- sential Guide to Tracing Your Family History, Macmillan • The producers of the series state that, ‘A key casting Australia, Sydney, 2008. consideration is that the celebrities know very little about their ancestry, as the series works on genuine Nicole Manktelow, The Australian Guide to Online Geneal- revelation.’ Discuss what is meant by ‘genuine revela- ogy, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest, 2002. tion’, providing examples from the series as to how this is achieved on camera. Examine the ways in which the Janet Reakes, How to Trace Your Convict Ancestors: Their capturing on camera of these moments may be revela- Lives, Times & Records, Hale & Iremonger, Sydney, 1987. tory for the celebrities, but are in fact carefully planned, constructed and artificially mounted by the filmmakers. Janet Reakes, How to Trace Your Family Tree: And Not Get Stuck on a Branch, revised edition, Hale & Iremonger, • Following on from the previous activity on the revela- Sydney, 1998. tory aspect of each episode, write an account of the series as a constructed detective-genre mystery, with Film traditional narrative and storytelling elements. Discuss whether it is also possible to incorporate the narra- Dynasties (various directors), series 1 to 6, ABC, 2001– tive characteristic of conflict, essential in most fictional 2006. storytelling, into this construction. Who Do You Think You Are? (various directors), series 1 • Discuss the role of the narrator of the series, who acts and 2, Screen Australia, 2008–2009. as an all-knowing ‘voice of God’. Select one episode for detailed comment.
• The accompanying soundtrack music often plays an important role in each episode, either in terms of creat- ing a mood or commenting on what is happening on screen. Comment on this, with examples from through- out the series.
• In 350–400 words write a review of the series for a pop- ular TV magazine or a blog aimed at a young teenage demographic. Your task is to inform the target audience about the program in accessible language.
References and further resources
Books
Noel Currer-Briggs, Worldwide Family History, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1982. SCREEN EDUCATION Hazel Edwards, Writing a Non-Boring Family History, Hale & Iremonger, Marrickville, 1997.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 28 Websites
Episode 6:
Abortion and the declining birth rate:
Breckenridge of Forster:
Yorick Club: Who Do You Think You Are? (British):
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 29 Who Do You Think You Are? format devised by Wall to Wall Media Ltd and based upon a program originally produced in the UK by Wall to Wall Media Ltd. Format licensed by Wall to Wall Media Ltd.
productions
This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2010) [email protected] For more information on Screen Education magazine, or to download other study guides for assessment, visit
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