Tim DiGregorio The multifaceted concept of belonging can negatively impact a person’s life, as not belonging to a social group can consume their self-esteem. The notion of belonging will be further explored in the poems: ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ and ‘St Patrick’s College’ by Peter Skrzynecki, and the film, ‘Happy Feet’ directed by George Miller. These texts all hinder similar aspects of not belonging to the social norm, whereby the characters all develop their own sense of belonging to self.
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Cultural alienation is demonstrated through Peter Skrzynecki’s attempts to understand his heritage and place in Australian society. In ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ the English language is portrayed as a complex barrier for Feliks to understand whilst he is faced with certain challenges in his attempts to integrate to the Australian way of life. The tone of the department clerk suggests an irritated character who through the metaphor ‘dancing bear grunts’ expresses his dissatisfaction of an unmotivated migrant failing to learn the language of his new home.
The typical struggles a migrant faces, similarly to those of Feliks are ones of attempted cultural assimilation, while his “cultural baggage” can often hinder his attempts to fit into a new society. Feliks was unable to assimilate and self-forced himself to create a place where he felt he belonged, as referred to in the personified simile: ‘loved his garden like an only child’. Here we see a clear example of the migrant’s unsuccessful attempt to ‘fit in’ to society and as a result of obstacles such as heritage and assimilation by outside forces, Feliks was led to cultural alienation.
An individual’s sense of belonging to a place is determined by factors such as social inclusion. In St Patrick’s College both Peter Skrzynecki and his mother have different opinions on what it means to belong to a society. “Mother enrolled me at St Pat’s with never a thought to fees and expenses” shows his mother’s idea on belonging to the school community and how she makes her decision based on judgment, which juxtaposes to her lack of control as a migrant in Europe. This suggests that she wants him to be educated in a way that is best, that will help him to belong in a new country.
The poet’s mother would also like both her son and herself to belong to a particular social hierarchy. Contrasted to this, is the poet’s perception of continuously going to St Patrick’s, however still not feeling as part of the community within. This is expressed through: ‘caught the 414 bus like a foreign tourist, uncertain of my destination every time I got off. ’ and the repetition of ‘for eight years’. Together these two quotes make evident his sense of not belonging to the place he constantly went to for his entire schooling life.
The poet’s disconnection to the school is further emphasised where he ‘stuck pine needles into the motto on my breast’. This demonstrates his lack of appreciation of the school and his failure to accept the school for what it is. Skrzynecki’s lack of appreciation for the school is a comparison to his father failing to successfully learn the English language in ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’, which conveys the idea that he is a spitting image of his father in their failed attempts to assimilate into Australian society.
An inner sense of balance allows the individual to belong harmoniously in the world. This idea of belonging is juxtaposed in the animated film ‘Happy Feet’ as it illustrates the notion of not belonging. The main character, Mumble struggled to assimilate to the civilization, which found him socially excluded as a result of his inability to sing. However he established his sense of belonging to self as he retreated to the deserted cliff-tops where he could be alone and free.
The panoramic view of the landscape which shows Mumble dancing in front of the teacher, along with the joyful, wholehearted emotions on his face indicates the establishment of his sense of self whilst he’s dancing. However the anticlimax of the non-diegetic mood music as he stops dancing alludes to the harsh realization that he is culturally alienated from the civilization. Similarly to the symbolic garden in Feliks Skrzynecki the non-diegetic sound of the narrator’s voice-over demonstrates Mumble’s emotions in words, where ‘Mumble found a place away from disapproving eyes where a funky little fella could be himself’.
With his newfound confidence from establishing his sense of self, he went on a journey and came across a new group of penguins with similar features as him. Here, the concept of belonging is finally established as the new penguins he meets here also love to dance and so Mumble feels he belongs with them. The pathetic fallacy of the cloudy pre-storm weather as Mumble was banished for disrupting the way of life brings to mind the dullness of the situation and the feeling of regret that the responder feels from the decision.
Conclusively, ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ dwells on the idea of the garden being Feliks’ real home while ‘St Patrick’s College’ emphasizes the lack of connection felt with a place regardless of the time spent, and ‘Happy Feet’ is a combination of “not belonging to place” and “belonging to self” as experienced by Mumble. These three texts in their respective ways all depict the notion of not belonging to a community and the feeling of disconnection with self that it brings.
