amyginger12
The series episode, 'Stand Up' follows an Aboriginal boy, Joel, be accepted into a prestigious Australian school. At the school, it is a requirement that they sing the national anthem every morning. This causes a huge dilemma for Joel. He is faced with the topic of power. Who has power over him? Who does he have power over? Joel's problem is intertwined with the concept of power and how he can use it to his advantage.
When he was supposed to be singing the national anthem, Joel sat down and this was one of the ways that he displayed power. He stated that when he sang the words, it didn't "feel right." Therefore, he protested by sitting down. This shows to the school that his beliefs were the opposite to theirs; he didn't have to follow them if he didn't want to. Joel felt that what he believed was more powerful than the school's expectations of its students. For that reason, Joel sitting down in a crowd of students, shifted power his way.
In this scene, Joel, his parents and the principal were discussing about the fate of Joel's education at Clifton Grammar School. The principal had to make a decision of whether Joel should stay at the school or be expelled. This caused Joel's mum to panic and beg to save her son's education, making her feel weak and vulnerable. Throughout the episode, she walks high, heels clicking through the halls; intimidating students around her. At one point, she threatened the Indigenous students that she would expel all of them. This meant that the power was in the principal's hands.
Once Joel's parents were in agreeance, they used their power as parents to get Joel back into school. After he was expelled, Joel's parents decided that he should keep going back to school, even if it means that he would get constantly kicked out. Joel and his family showed persistence, they kept trying no matter what. This can be a type of power; they were powerful within themselves to keep going on.The power is displayed by Joel and his parents because they were rebelling against the principal and the school.
The last time Joel goes to the school, his parents hire a journalist to take photos. This startles the principal and the bodyguard and they back off. Later the reporter writes a story in the newspaper, dissing the school for their Indigenous inequality. This makes the principal rethink how to approach the Joel situation by enrolling his friend and having a press conference. By bringing a reporter to the school, this gives the power to Joel and his parents because they startled the principal, therefore, making her feel a little vulnerable.
After Joel's rebel, Chloe, and other Indigenous students, began to sit down during the national anthem. They were later interrogated by the principal, asked why they were disobeying. The students wanted their beliefs to be noticed so sitting down was their best option. This demonstrated power with numbers. As a group, they revolted against the principal and the school, therefore, proving their point and showing their opinions.
Mr Parish is a part of the school faculty, one of the principal's closest assets. While the other Indigenous students were sitting down, Mr Parish stopped singing. The principal noticed and he said, "Things have gotten way out of hand. We need to get Joel back." What he meant by this was that the anthem means nothing to the students, it means nothing to him. He showed power by not saying the anthem; agreeing with Joel in order to get him back to the school.
