Episode 4: ‘ Remember me’

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We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which the ACTF is based and pay our respect to their Elders past and present.

We are honoured to have the opportunity to learn from the oldest cultural storytellers in the world and seek to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners to share their rich culture and perspectives with children in Australia and around the world via stories on screen.

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When Violetta discovers Fun Kid, Gonzo, is disintegrating because no one remembers him, she resolves to help. Meanwhile, Chester’s attempt to make Mapplethorpe’s death more comfortable backfires.

Task 1: Year 7 English

Director, Nick Verso, was inspired to make Crazy Fun Park after the death of friends when he was a teenager. ‘I never really spoke about [the deaths],’ he says. ‘There was no language for a teenage boy to process grief and what happens when you watch somebody’s life get ripped away from them.’

The death of a loved one or someone we know can be difficult to speak about — even though talking might be helpful. Death is an uncomfortable topic and is often considered taboo in our culture. Violetta is closer to death on a daily basis than most of us and is comfortable talking about it.

In pairs, create a written or digital advertisement for Violetta’s father’s funeral home that has a fresh take on death or aims to remove the taboo that surrounds it.

Definition:

Taboo: when a specific activity or subject is considered widely offensive or embarrassing to do or speak about.

AC9E7LA02: Year 7 English | Language: Language for interaction with others | Recognise language used to evaluate texts including visual and multimodal texts, and how evaluations of a text can be substantiated by reference to the text and other sources.

Task 2: Year 8 English

In this clip, we see Gonzo’s younger sister broadcast an old tape of his voice at the radio station she works at — sparking her memory of him and saving him from deterioration. Afterwards, she makes a speech about remembering being important.

Write your own speech about a personal memory that’s important to you. Include lots of detail and sensory language to bring your speech alive.

AC9E8LA01: Year 8 English| Language: Language for interacting with others | Recognise how language shapes relationships and roles.

Task 3: Years 7 and 8 Media Arts

This episode kicks off with Fun Kid Gonzo’s backstory. In 2005 he was electrocuted on the water slide at Crazy Fun Park.

Choose another Fun Park kid and create a backstory for them. Write a 1-3 page script about the day they had leading up to and including their death.

In your script, include:

scene headings
character names
dialogue
action, and
transitions.

AC9AMA8D01: Years 7 and 8 Media Arts | Developing practices and skills | Develop media production skills throughout the production process to construct representations using media languages and media technologies.

Task 4: Years 7 and 8 Media Arts

Chester decides to use his life privilege to help Mapplethorpe. He goes to his friend’s house to find the toy dragon that inspires Mapplethorpe to write comics. While there, Chester observes the state of the house. Describe how the director uses sound (music) and composition to reveal how Mapplethorpe’s mum is or isn’t coping with his death. What do you see and hear during this clip to support this assumption?

AC9AMA8D02: Years 7 and 8 Media Arts | Developing practices and skills | Reflect on their own and others’ media arts works and practices to inform choices they make during the production process.

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