The Red Tree Belonging Analysis

An individual’s sense of belonging is often influenced by the relationships and experiences which can shape one’s identity, yet simultaneously not belong to a particular aspect of that group. Rachael Perkins ‘’Stand Up’’ and Shaun Tan’s ‘’The Red Tree’’ conveys how belonging is an inescapable part of human nature and how belonging can enrich our identity and relationships. Both the composers appeal to the empathy of the audience to emphasise the importance of fulfilling our deep human need to belong.
Both texts clearly demonstrate that belonging is an inescapable part of human nature, and an individual’s relationships are experiences impact upon this to a great extent. This is evident in ‘’Redfern Now’’ where everyone is conjointly singing

the national anthem with Joel being an outsider. Here, Joel faces a dilemma as he must either sing the Australian National Anthem or lose his Aboriginal scholarship. We are perplexed with the idea of not belonging from the very moment Joel refuses to stand up for the National Anthem, where through a mid-shot we are able to view his troubled and confused facial expression; resembling his inability to understand the National Anthem. Unlike the rest of the student’s, Joel’s cultural differences can also be clearly demonstrated through a high angle shot; highlighting how he is being looked down upon. His cultural background is also further contrasted where this image signifies how detached he is from the rest of the school population, displaying how he does not belong.

Joel’s strong sense of identity within his family means he cannot conform to the ideas of the school. This leads to Joel not

seeing the potential value of his scholarship or the meaning of the National Anthem displaying he cannot develop and sense of place nor purpose within the school environment. Through this, Joel cannot recognise his position at his school, neither what purpose he serves at being at the assembly. Therefore, by using a wide variety of angles and shot, Perkins suggests that a sense of belonging is a primary source of human connection and how our relationships within a community shape our sense of belonging.
‘’The Red Tree’’ deals with the similar ideas on feelings of alienation and the slow difficult journey towards belonging. This concept can be illustrated in one page of ‘The Red Tree’. In this illustration, we exhibit the persona standing on a stool in a field, within the wilderness holding a megaphone. In this graphic, it is also visible that her face is within the shadow of the sun, representing darkness and loneliness indicating her overarching perception that no understands her and that she has been ravaged by the situation at hand. This is meant to resemble her overwhelming perception that she is misunderstood and alone. However, this is only what she sees and metaphorically speaking; what we perceive. A path to the bright horizon, offers her some hope and escape from her treacherous mindset of being isolated, while the persistent motif of the red leaf continues to symbolise that hope always exists. This illustration highlights how objectively, there is always some logical way to belong and that is can be readily seen by others though it also resembles that we create our own barriers to belonging; we only belong if we are able to feel it. Henceforth, our perceptions dictate our attitudes to whether we belong to certain groups and Tan utilises this with using a variety of shots and resemblance.
The widening gap between Joel and his family increasingly highlights the compulsive nature of a person’s need to belong.

Each individual has their own desires, needs and values. They find their place in the world and a genuine sense of belonging is made in various ways. Many individuals find the strongest sense of belonging through family relationships, due to the fact that humans need these connections. In the scene where Joel and his parents are in the Principal’s office, Joel’s father, ‘Eddie’, challenges the principal by drawing her attention to the multicultural nature of the school. Eddie’s frustrated facial expression is shown in a close up shot emphasising the absurdity of the expectations of the school where an aboriginal students is required to sing the national anthem. Joel proclaims ‘‘I can’t do this….. It’s not right’’ as he sits while avoiding eye contact. The room is dimly light, stressing the tension in the atmosphere and the principal’s authority is highlighted through her being positioned in the centre of the seats and opposite the shields. Her lack of acknowledgement of Joel’s background is a further indicator of her discriminatory treatment of the indigenous population. Through the use of a close up shot, we can identify how family relationships are influenced on our sense of belonging and how Joel is prevented from developing a sense of belonging to the school community and chooses to reject its

value.
The Red Tree further establishes how relationships and experiences shape our sense of belonging displaying belonging being able to enrich our identity. This can also be seen in another image of ‘The Red Tree’, where the persona is drawing an outline of herself on a wall. Here the words on the page state: “or who you are meant to be” to imply that she doesn’t understand the norms of society or herself; her identity. Moreover, the outline on the coloured wall is juxtaposing the ‘colourful’ nature of the wall to the ‘dull grey’ outline, showing she doesn’t belong there. Also the outline with no fill, symbolises she doesn’t know who she is, nor what’s inside her; she cannot recognise her beliefs and values that make up herself. In all, without a sense of identity, an individual cannot recognise what part of the world they would like to invest in. Without a sense of identity, a person does not know what purpose they serve in life nor in what place they serve in families, groups, communities or society. They cannot interact well with their surroundings as they cannot realise the potential value within others nor themselves. Those individuals without a self of identity suffer from low self-esteem and a negative sense of sense; they believe and think in a way that recognises every opportunity as a difficulty, which they cannot solve. As a result of this, without a sense of identity, individuals cannot develop a sense of purpose, place and connection, subsequently becoming isolated, insecure and independent.
Because Tan and Perkins have chosen to explore these ideas of belonging in the form of a Television Series and picture book respectively, we as the audience witness the barriers individuals take for the search to belong within a group or community. This allows us to recognise the confronting importance of the need to belong not in a compact place in school (shown in Stand Up) but to belong in the wider community (shown in The Red Tree). While there may be an almost inextricable link between family and school, we must realise that we cannot make others stop our search to belong.