Whose Reality
Writing Tasks for Context Notebook
Childhood
O William Wordsworth said that: ‘The child
is father to the man.’
O The experiences we have as a child shape
who we are as adults. We can certainly see
this in Spies.
O Consider an experience – positive or
negative – that you had in your childhood
that may have impacted how you see the
world today.
Great Thinkers
Respond to one of these statements
“If you want to be happy, be.”
― Leo Tolstoy
“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally
transform a million realities.”
― Maya Angelou
“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,
it's a way of looking at life through the wrong
end of a telescope.”
Who's to say that dreams and nightmares
― Dr. Seuss
aren't as real as the here and now?”
― John Lennon
“Reality is that which, when you stop
believing in it, doesn't go away.”
― Philip K. Dick
“One person's craziness is another
person's reality.”
― Tim Burton
News and the Media
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Our sense of reality is shaped by the various
stimuli around us. Every day we are
bombarded by images and news flashes.
The media is one entity that plays a
significant role in shaping our reality.
Public issues such as Gay Marriage?
Our perception of public figures?
Our feelings about the world around us?
Advertising?
News and the Media Cont’d..
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Who determines what is newsworthy? News reports are often
subjective and many factors play a role on how they are
presented.
Political situations
Advertising
Social belief systems
Public popular culture
When items are reported in the Australian media we get an
Australian perspective, when the same item is reported in the
international media the perspective changes.
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Cronulla riots
• Attacks on International students in particular Indian students
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This is not a pipe…
This is a famous artwork by Rene Magritte. Why do you think he
wrote this statement at the bottom of the painting?
Propaganda
O During the war, and the time in which Spies
is set, the government put out a lot of
propaganda (images on following page) to
make the public have certain positive
associations with soldiers.
O How does this shape the reality of the
people at the time? Can you see this in
Spies?
Walk A Mile….
O The old expression “walk a mile on someone
else’s shoes” can help us to look at multiple
realities.
O Choose a person who you believe has a
different view of reality to you and try to walk
a mile in their shoes. Write this in your
context notebook.
Plato’s Cave Allegory
O Plato tried to define personal realities with
this story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhAS
OdM
O Write in your Context Notebook – what have
you understood from this about reality?
Second Life
O The internet provides us with a way to
present ourselves to the world in new ways.
From social networking to second life,
people are engaging in new realities.
http://www.celebitchy.com/4785/couple_who
_got_married_two_years_ago_on_second_life
_finally_meets_and_gets_engaged/
O What repercussions does this have for our
context?
Mental Health
O Sometimes impaired mental health chnages
our ability to perceive reality.
O A text that explores this is A Beautiful Mind,
a film tracking the life of mathematician
John Nash.
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_d0Ay
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O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvF4C1EuJU
The Senses
O Memory can be stimulated by the sense – in
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Spies we see that Stephen is reminded of
his past by the smell of the privet hedge.
Think about a sensory memory that you
have. It could be:
A food that reminds you of a time or place
A smell that evokes memories
A feeling or sensation
A sound
Ned Kelly/Robin Hood
O What are your immediate
associations with these two
historical (?) figures?
O If you look at them
clinically, with these
associations, what do you
see?
O What does this tell us about
the nature of reality?
Reality TV
O Our televisions are cluttered with many
examples of reality TV programs.
Brainstorm some now.
O Do you think these shows accurately show
reality? Why/Why not?
O What does this tell us about the nature of
reality?
Escapism
O “Humankind cannot bear too much reality”
– T.S. Eliot
O Are there times when we need to escape
from reality?
O Is this always dangerous? Can it be
healthy?
O Explore this in your context notebook.
Perspective
O Hindsight – it is like foresight, but without a
future.
O When we look back at things we
experienced as children, we would respond
to them differently as young adults.
O Consider a time in your childhood when you
responded to something differently that you
would now. Reflect on what this means.