Ace Of Diamonds Essay
In the short text “The Ace of Diamonds Gang” by Owen Marshall, the author has used symbols to represent the 2 significant ideas of imagination, represented by the Ace of Diamonds. And the end of an era, symbolized by a Library card.
The first symbol introduced into this text is the Ace of Diamonds. This is introduced to he text as the mark of the Ace of Diamonds Gang, hence the name. It is also their calling card to law enforcement and when stamped on their masks in oil paint become their symbol of anonymity and mystique. The boys in this text (the gang) see themselves, in their fantasy realm, as “wraiths” and think they have undisputed notoriety among their small town. They also compare themselves as one of the great heroes of history. They compare themselves to “Fish Christians in the catacombs, the black hand, Jacobites, the Scarlet Pumpernickel… the league of Spartacus, the boxers… Kipling’s bazaar...” When the boys became unsatisfied with their latest exploits they decide to plan an assault on a commonly disliked man, Jorgesson. This man owns a scrap yard and buys people scrap metal at dirt cheap prices because he is the only dealer in town. They make Jorgesson a military target and plan their assault on him. When they arrive to his domain they describe the scrap yard as a battlefield with “a field hospital in a desperate war of machines…corpses and parts heaped…dismembered machines…” This symbolized a war between the Ace of Diamonds Gang and Jorgesson. With the ace of Diamonds as their strength and their disguise they siege the yard and disrupted Jorgesson enjoyment. The ace of diamonds not only represented a gang, it also represented the boy’s imagination and their fantasy world because in reality, their exploits weren’t as big as the boys thought them to be.
Another symbol introduced into this text is the library card. This symbolizes reality and the end of an era. This symbol is introduced at the end of the text. The narrator accidently pins his library card to the scene of their last exploit instead of pinning the Ace of Diamonds card. The last exploit was the siege on Jorgesson’s hut. This card represents reality and how the boys actually are compared to what they think in their fantasy world. This card also incorporates the narrators nerdyness, Ashleys farting and Bernie having to be home by 10. This card also defys the anonymity and mystique of the identity of the Ace of Diamonds Gang. When Jorgesson discovers this card, after their assault on his hut, he comes to the narrators house and talks to the narrators dad. This card stripped away the shroud of fantasy from the boys life. For the narrator it was the end of an era, boyhood. Reality had set in and it was also the Death of the Ace of Diamonds Gang.
In conclusion the 2 symbols that represented the ideas of fantasy and reality were the Ace of Diamonds, with the fantasy of an anonymity filled life, and the library card, which showed the reality of the gangs lives and the end of boyhood as they knew it.
Result: N
The first symbol introduced into this text is the Ace of Diamonds. This is introduced to he text as the mark of the Ace of Diamonds Gang, hence the name. It is also their calling card to law enforcement and when stamped on their masks in oil paint become their symbol of anonymity and mystique. The boys in this text (the gang) see themselves, in their fantasy realm, as “wraiths” and think they have undisputed notoriety among their small town. They also compare themselves as one of the great heroes of history. They compare themselves to “Fish Christians in the catacombs, the black hand, Jacobites, the Scarlet Pumpernickel… the league of Spartacus, the boxers… Kipling’s bazaar...” When the boys became unsatisfied with their latest exploits they decide to plan an assault on a commonly disliked man, Jorgesson. This man owns a scrap yard and buys people scrap metal at dirt cheap prices because he is the only dealer in town. They make Jorgesson a military target and plan their assault on him. When they arrive to his domain they describe the scrap yard as a battlefield with “a field hospital in a desperate war of machines…corpses and parts heaped…dismembered machines…” This symbolized a war between the Ace of Diamonds Gang and Jorgesson. With the ace of Diamonds as their strength and their disguise they siege the yard and disrupted Jorgesson enjoyment. The ace of diamonds not only represented a gang, it also represented the boy’s imagination and their fantasy world because in reality, their exploits weren’t as big as the boys thought them to be.
Another symbol introduced into this text is the library card. This symbolizes reality and the end of an era. This symbol is introduced at the end of the text. The narrator accidently pins his library card to the scene of their last exploit instead of pinning the Ace of Diamonds card. The last exploit was the siege on Jorgesson’s hut. This card represents reality and how the boys actually are compared to what they think in their fantasy world. This card also incorporates the narrators nerdyness, Ashleys farting and Bernie having to be home by 10. This card also defys the anonymity and mystique of the identity of the Ace of Diamonds Gang. When Jorgesson discovers this card, after their assault on his hut, he comes to the narrators house and talks to the narrators dad. This card stripped away the shroud of fantasy from the boys life. For the narrator it was the end of an era, boyhood. Reality had set in and it was also the Death of the Ace of Diamonds Gang.
In conclusion the 2 symbols that represented the ideas of fantasy and reality were the Ace of Diamonds, with the fantasy of an anonymity filled life, and the library card, which showed the reality of the gangs lives and the end of boyhood as they knew it.
Result: N
Samson and Delilah
The visual techniques that the director Warwick Thornton uses to develop the deeper idea of the harsh realities are his use of props, cinematography and make-up.
Thornton uses props to show the dislocation young Aborigines experience towards their culture and how it leads to substance abuse for many. This is clearly shown with the prop always associated with Samson, his petrol can or bottle. Within the opening five minutes this association is clear, as shortly after Samson wakes up he grabs his petrol tin and sniffs it before getting out of bed. His dependence on it is very clear to the audience. Samson is nearly always holding onto or sniffing his petrol and the effects of it become more obvious through the film. When the car hits Delilah, Samson doesn’t notice and carries on walking, the whole time sniffing his bottle of petrol. This substance abuse has clearly affected his brain severely and this is the reality of life for young Aborigines that Thornton wants to show the audience with his use of props.
Another technique the director uses to display the harsh realities of life for aboriginal teens is his use of cinematography. The harsh reality being exploited here is the dislocation of young aborigine from their culture. After Samson is beaten up by his older brother, he leaves the village feeling alienated, exiled and shunned. This alienation is further fuelled by Delilah being beaten by two women with sticks. This creates a distant connection from their cultures. This particular scene displays the connection between Samson and his village; he is in a long shot looking down on his village in the distance. Samson is in the foreground and the distance from the village develops the idea of dislocation and estranged relationship with his culture. The next long shot is when Samson is walking away from the camera into a distance of nothingness. He turns his back on his culture and the audience. He walks away from both his culture, which he is leaving behind, and us, the viewers. The harsh reality being confronted in this scene is the separation of young aboriginals from their culture. By making the protagonist leave his village it shows the struggles that aborigine youth face when dealing with their cultures on a day-to-day basis.
The third technique the director uses to shock the white Australian audience is make up. The harsh reality being displayed here is that violence is a part of everyday life for young aboriginals. When Delilah returns from her abduction, she is a silhouette showing she is still alive, even if barely. The light of the fire shows that her face is littered with evidence of brutal beating, there is stage blood all over her clothes face and teeth presenting the brutality shown towards her on a plate known as her face. There is prosthetics on her right eye of wet tissue wrapped in latex to create a feel of a swollen eye, which look realistic. This shows the violence of Alice Springs and Thornton wanted to shock the audience with this disgusting abuse of young aborigine and the abuse that surrounds them.
Warwick Thornton uses make-up to show brutality show towards the aborigine youth. The cinematography he attributed to the film displayed the dislocation from culture that they have and finally the props displayed the substance abuse that surround aborigine culture
Thornton uses props to show the dislocation young Aborigines experience towards their culture and how it leads to substance abuse for many. This is clearly shown with the prop always associated with Samson, his petrol can or bottle. Within the opening five minutes this association is clear, as shortly after Samson wakes up he grabs his petrol tin and sniffs it before getting out of bed. His dependence on it is very clear to the audience. Samson is nearly always holding onto or sniffing his petrol and the effects of it become more obvious through the film. When the car hits Delilah, Samson doesn’t notice and carries on walking, the whole time sniffing his bottle of petrol. This substance abuse has clearly affected his brain severely and this is the reality of life for young Aborigines that Thornton wants to show the audience with his use of props.
Another technique the director uses to display the harsh realities of life for aboriginal teens is his use of cinematography. The harsh reality being exploited here is the dislocation of young aborigine from their culture. After Samson is beaten up by his older brother, he leaves the village feeling alienated, exiled and shunned. This alienation is further fuelled by Delilah being beaten by two women with sticks. This creates a distant connection from their cultures. This particular scene displays the connection between Samson and his village; he is in a long shot looking down on his village in the distance. Samson is in the foreground and the distance from the village develops the idea of dislocation and estranged relationship with his culture. The next long shot is when Samson is walking away from the camera into a distance of nothingness. He turns his back on his culture and the audience. He walks away from both his culture, which he is leaving behind, and us, the viewers. The harsh reality being confronted in this scene is the separation of young aboriginals from their culture. By making the protagonist leave his village it shows the struggles that aborigine youth face when dealing with their cultures on a day-to-day basis.
The third technique the director uses to shock the white Australian audience is make up. The harsh reality being displayed here is that violence is a part of everyday life for young aboriginals. When Delilah returns from her abduction, she is a silhouette showing she is still alive, even if barely. The light of the fire shows that her face is littered with evidence of brutal beating, there is stage blood all over her clothes face and teeth presenting the brutality shown towards her on a plate known as her face. There is prosthetics on her right eye of wet tissue wrapped in latex to create a feel of a swollen eye, which look realistic. This shows the violence of Alice Springs and Thornton wanted to shock the audience with this disgusting abuse of young aborigine and the abuse that surrounds them.
Warwick Thornton uses make-up to show brutality show towards the aborigine youth. The cinematography he attributed to the film displayed the dislocation from culture that they have and finally the props displayed the substance abuse that surround aborigine culture
