Marking Time - Part 2 - Cultural Differnce & Turning Points

Why were the Afghan people in Brackley referred to as 'boaties'?

I believe the term 'boaties' in this sense is a derogating term. The people in Brackley assumed these people came by boat, they put these people in a category as 'different', the thought of these people to not have the same quality to be respected. Australians didn't see refugees as people, just where they had come from, what they looked like, their culture and religion.

Why did the boys steal Randa's scarf?

They treated this as a joke, it probably wasn't meant effect Randa the way it did. It showed that Randa is different from others at her school and they didn't respect that. The boys didn't understand what her scarf means to her and what it means to her culture, they treated it as a joke, a way of showing off with their friends, it is a general part of Australia culture, to not take things seriously. I think it really effected Randa and upset her and probably made Randa think lower of the people of Brackley.

The returning of Randa's scarf

After the boys had stole Randa's scarf Hal and his friends got it back and Hal used his own time to go the the high school and give it to Randa himself. This showed kindness, and respect and changed the way Randa thought of all the people of Brackley. This scene could have made Randa more aware of Hal.

Significant scenes

Other scenes that really made this mini series change, were scenes such as when Randa's house was on fire and the scene where Hal bought the car Randa 'liked'.

Randa's house on fire

In this scene Randa's house was on fire and what made it significant was when Bullet took responsibility and action and called Hal and made him aware. Bullet acts like a carefree person who doesn't care too much about anything at all but this showed he looked beyond where Randa was from and saw her as a person, for what she really was. It also could have been because Randa is with Hal and Hal is friends with him, but the writer chose Bullet for this action to promote 'change'.

Hal's new car

In this scene Hal saw Randa and some girls looking at a small Mazda and at this point Hal was aware of his feelings for Randa. He bought the car. In this scene showed that people are willing to do anything to get the people they want and change for the people they want.