A Study Guide by Anne Chesher & Emily Dawson
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© ATOM 2016 A STUDY GUIDE BY ANNE CHESHER & EMILY DAWSON http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-954-2 http://theeducationshop.com.au CONTENT HYPERLINKS 3 INSPIRATION 3 CONCEPTUALISATION 3 CLEVERMAN THEMES 4 CURRICULUM 6 PRODUCING CLEVERMAN 6 SERIES SYNOPSIS 7 STORY DIRECTION 7 THE CLEVERMAN WORLD CLEVERMAN is a six 8 SPECIAL EFFECTS one-hour episode (VFX) AND DESIGN television drama 9 CHARACTER STUDY series that asks 11 COMMENTS FROM what would happen THE CAST if creatures from the ancient mythological 12 STORYLINE spirit world co-existed 12 KEY CURRICULUM among us in the RELATED THEMES general population in EPISODES 1-6 SYNOPSIS: what we take to be “the real world”. Caution: Please note that the CLEVERMAN series contains occasional explicit material and language that some people may 2016 © ATOM find offensive. It is therefore recommended that teachers and 36 SERIES CREDITS parents view the series before showing it to students in order to be informed and prepared to provide guidance to students. 37 REFERENCES 2 CLEVERMAN THEMES CLEVERMAN addresses several themes on contemporary society issues that, according to ACARA’s cross-curricula priority and as a general capability of intercultural understanding, are cur- riculum relevant for students from Years 9 to 12. INSPIRATION These include: - Power - Multiculturalism A Cleverman is an important being for - Identity - People smuggling many Australian Indigenous cultures. - Media Influence - Walled communities They are often a man of power within the - Kinship, family and - Minority groups belonging - Slavery clan. They are the conduit between the - Indigenous - Ethics Dreaming and this world. There are many spirituality - Scientific innovation types of Cleverman, and each Aboriginal Country’s Cleverman plays a different role. These men inspired the production of the CLEVERMAN series. CONCEPTUALISATION The idea for CLEVERMAN came to Ryan Griffen while dressing up as Ninja Turtles with his young son. As a young Aboriginal person, it was important for Ryan that his son had an entertaining cultural superhero he could look up to. “I got thinking about creating something cultural - something Aboriginal, Indigenous - that he could connect to on a superhero basis,” Ryan says. Ryan conceived a ‘world’ set in the near future, where a species from ancient mythology known as Hairypeople, must live amongst humans and battle for survival in a soci- ety that wants to silence, exploit and destroy them. Ryan Griffen visited Indigenous communities around Australia with an Indigenous advisor to seek permission to tell Dreaming stories. “One of the stories that we obtained permission to tell was from out near Katherine in the Northern Territory. I sat in a riverbed with an elder where there’s a songline - paths across the land, water or sky which mark the route followed by spirits or ‘creator-beings’ during the Dreaming. It was an absolute privilege to be there to hear the story and then for the community to give me the permission to bring it to the screen.” 2016 © ATOM Indigenous protocols were strictly adhered to throughout the production process. 3 practices in a wide range of contexts over time CURRICULUM • Develop respect for cultural diversity through understanding the importance of mutual respect in CLEVERMAN it relevant to the teaching and learning of the promoting cultural exchange and collaboration in an Australian Curriculum on several levels: interconnected world • Communicate across cultures so as to analyse the • As a national cross-curriculum priority, complex relationship between language, thought and • As a general capability learning outcome, context to understand and enhance communication • English (Years 9-12), • Consider and develop multiple perspectives that • The Arts (Years 9-12). present a balanced view on issues where conflicting views cannot easily be resolved » CROSS-CURRICULUM PRIORITY • Empathise with others in order to recognise the effect that empathising with others has on their own The Australian Curriculum Reporting and Assessment feelings, motivations and actions Authority (ACARA) purports three cross-curriculum priori- • Reflect on intercultural experiences to reflect criti- ties for teaching and learning across all subject areas in cally on the effect of intercultural experiences on their Australian schools. The first cross-curriculum priority is own attitudes and beliefs and those of others Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures • Challenge stereotypes and prejudices to critique thereby providing opportunity for all young Australians the use of stereotypes and prejudices in texts and to ‘gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of issues concerning specific cultural groups at national, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, regional and global levels deep knowledge traditions and holistic world views’. • Mediate cultural differences so as to recognise the challenges and benefits of living and working in a cul- The objective of the priority is that all learners will develop turally diverse society and the role that cultural media- knowledge and understanding to ‘participate positively in tion plays in learning to live together the ongoing development of Australia through a deepening knowledge and connection with the world’s oldest continu- (Source: http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/ ous living cultures’. General_capabilities_-_ICU_-_learning_continuum.pdf) CLEVERMAN supports this learning by providing op- » ENGLISH portunity for students to gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of be- In the 21st century classroom the study of English has ing, knowing, thinking and doing. expanded to enable students to develop literacy and lan- guage mastery and appreciation across all platforms from CLEVERMAN aligns directly to the priority’s conceptual traditional texts to innovative communication technolo- focus on Country/Place, Peoples and Cultures and as gies. CLEVERMAN provides the opportunity as a text that such is the ideal resource for setting up a coherent learn- reveals ‘the imaginative potential of the language, including ing framework which includes developing knowledge and how that relates to cinema, television, and multimedia’. understanding of the: With CLEVERMAN senior students can critically analyse how texts manipulate themes, ideas, and historical and • The unique belief systems that connect people physi- cultural contexts. cally and spiritually to Country/Place, • The diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander CLEVERMAN match points for Year 10 as foundation for Peoples’ culture through language, ways of life and English in Years 11 and 12: experiences as expressed through historical, social and political lenses. 1. Acknowledgement of the influence of text in shaping our personal, cultural and national identities » GENERAL CAPABILITIES 2. Understanding of how text has purpose and can exert influence to position the audience ACARA recommends that by the end of Year 10 (Level 6) 3. Appreciation of texts influence all aspects of the human students should have the general capability Intercultural experience and their aesthetic values Understanding skills to: 4. Diversity of language and texts in structure and usage depending on cultural and social context • Investigate culture and cultural identity through 5. Manipulating language according to audience and analyse how membership of local, regional, national purpose and international groups shapes identities including 6. Understanding of human experiences and the capacity their own for language to communicate those experiences 2016 © ATOM • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, be- 7. Analysis of different interpretations of texts and how to liefs and practices to be able to critically analyse the use language to achieve specific effects complex and dynamic nature of knowledge, beliefs and 8. Refining language, literature and literacy skills which 4 enable students to interact confidently and effectively CLEVERMAN match points for Media Arts students in with others in everyday, community, social and applied Years 9 and 10: learning contexts 1. Refine and extend their understanding and use of » CONTENT DESCRIPTIONS EXAMPLES structure, intent, character, settings, points of view, genre conventions and media conventions in their Language for interaction - Understand how language use compositions can have inclusive and exclusive social effects, and can 2. Analyse the way in which audiences make meaning empower or disempower people (ACELA1564) and how audiences interact with and share media artworks Expressing and developing ideas - Evaluate the impact on 3. Draw on media arts from a range of cultures, times and audiences of different choices in the representation of still locations as they experience media arts and moving images (ACELA1572) 4. Explore the media arts and influences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and of the Asia region Responding to literature - Analyse and explain how text 5. Learn that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people structures, language features and visual features of texts have converted oral records to other technologies and the context in which texts are experienced may influ- 6. Explore the representation of relationships that have ence audience response (ACELT1641) developed between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other cultures in Australia and Responding to literature - Evaluate the social, moral and how these may influence