Our new unit is upon us!
Unit Title: Stranger in a Strange Land
Context: Community and Service
Key concept: identity
Related concepts: community, assimilation, adaptation, alienation
Our inquiry is into what it means to be human and how we invent social selves to fit in to the communities we inhabit.
To get us started, let’s take a look at the concept of belonging.
Watch these videos:

Post a comment by Sunday Sept 29 at 9.00 pm on what you notice about :
- how the protagonist in the videos feels about him or her self
- how the others in the videos act toward the protagonist
- state some ideas about belonging that came to mind as you watched the videos
Revisit the blog on Monday night to respond to at least 2 other students’ comments.
The protagonists in the videos feel different and not accepted into society, and they just want everyone to accept them for who they are and what they do, because they are the same as everyone else. In the bird video, it shows that both the big bird and the small birds are the same, but the big bird sounds different and doesn’t show the same appearance that the small birds do, and so the small birds make fun of the big bird, but when they find out that maybe bullying the big bird was a bad idea, it becomes too late and they lose all of their feathers from being thrown into the air and then the big bird starts to make fun of them instead. In the video of Belonging, it is a show of how we judge people just by what is on the outside rather than what is on the inside. I was unable to watch until the ending because the video won’t load, but I understood that we tend to judge the people that look different from us just because we can, and that is how the human society works. In the third video, it is a show on how some people are left in societies where everyone is different from each other, and it shows how sometimes it is best to work together as a team, even if you are different from one another, because the more that you work with each other, the more you learn that everyone has a different story behind their lives, and it allows you to learn the basics of how to accept someone as who they are on the inside, rather than judging them from how they look. I learnt that it is a humans nature to try to fit into society, and we just want to be apart of something that we were never part of before. The fact that people treat us different just gives us more of an incentive to see if we can still fit in with the society that doesn’t truly want to accept us. Humans tend to work towards things that are sometimes out of reach, but with enough persistence, we can find a way to fit in and be apart of something that we were never part of before.
Nice. I agree with your idea, human nature of trying to fit into societies. Some will not be liked by certain people, but they will eventually have to learn to accept and be along with all the members. Because the world does not function in individual society, it is important for us to accept and understand the one’s with different identity. This applies to family, school, and business and more.
I like your idea that the little birds are bullying the big bird but did not realise that it is a mistake. I didn’t thought about that until I read your comment. People often stop bullying only when the act isn’t worth it, such as it is no longer fun, they moved to a different school, or it result in something bad happening to the bully.
You brought up the idea that people often work toward something even if it is out of reach, and fitting in is really true. Some people just give up, while others find a chair to stand on for that extra reach distance. And some people stand on the smallest guy in class.
I agree with you totally. It’s actually part of human nature to try to fit in and we don’t try then obviously we can left out in the community. We have to face hatred, prejudice, and etc. That’s why its hard for to individuality, attitudes, perspective to coexist in one society even though they do.
I agree with your idea of human’s nature of wanting to fit in. Even by looking at our small community, the school, I could clearly see your thought of human’s nature and fitting in arises. To add to your thoughts I think this human’s nature of fitting in is actually a way to survive because we have better chance to live in a large group rather than small one, so we try our best to fit in.
One’s feel that one is different, one knows that one’s different, but one wanted to fit in to avoid the feeling of being left out. That is what the protagonist feels like, being stripped of identity and feeling the need to adapt to what is mainstream, this is also the action of “bandwagon”. The people surronding them is either supportive or distingushed due to the concept of difference. I feel that if we’re not the same, we don’t have to be even if most of human instincts do so. Even if we’re not supported, there will be others who have the same idea as us, who will support and help us.
Cool. I like how you used the word bandwagon to support your thoughts. I also feel that people tend to follow the opinions of the majority rather than having their own opinion. Yes, although one may feel like they’re alone, there will always be those people who can support one’s idea.
True, i agree with this. It is very obvious that at least in one of the 7 billion people on earth right now, there must be at least someone who has the same thought, same feeling and emotion about a subject. Sometimes these 7 billion people are not always the same, thoughts are always different because of influence. But it is human nature to segregate one group, since the ancient times, these thoughts are still imprinted and stayed in our brains.
I agree with you where the protagonist feels that he/she needs to adapt to what is mainstream and so they lose their identity. We don’t need to be the same as other or change even if we are supported or rejected by the majority of the group.
I think your idea is really independent. Like you are saying, “You just need to be yourself, there will be people who will accept you as who you are.” I really like your idea and thoughts. I think it really like a modernize way of thinking. Only people who have their own way of thinking would be able to create new things, so sometime belonging and fitting in are actually obstacle to something new. Yeah, I love your thoughts.
The first video shows that the majority will work together to get rid of the guy who doesn’t fit in, even though they were fighting each other a second earlier. The second video shows that it is easier to hang out with similar people than try to change and fit in. The third video shows that when everyone is doing something and you are the few who are not doing it, you want to follow the majority even though it is hard.
The big bird in the first video just want to hang out with the little birds and feel like he have every right to do so, however the big bird’s size and actions is irritating. It is understandable that when his weight is causing the power line to almost touch the ground, the little birds want him to get off. However, they are not asking him nicely and resort to pushing and pecking. Long story short, I think all the birds are jerks.
The second video shows the red pentagon girl trying to find someone to hang out with because she is lonely. However everyone else is a green box and rejects her. She ended up hanging out with another red pentagon, because changing herself to fit others is physically impossible. Its not very nice, but in real life it is really hard to fit in when there is nothing in common. The red and greens should try to look past the appearance and hang out with each other.
The third video shows children from a boarding school going home to meet their family for a Malaysian festival, but two of them are orphans so they have nowhere to go. Instead of being the only two at school, they decide to visit their mother’s grave. It is a little less focused on fitting in, and more about persistence, so other people treat them nicely. The ticket sellers aren’t being rude, they are just doing their job and cannot simply give rides for free, especially if there are no seats left. The truck driver would not give free rides, not because he is mean but because nobody wants to be exploited. In reality, he is very kind and gave a free ride to the orphans because they really need it. The part about fitting in is different from the other videos because this is not fitting in socially, but fitting in by going back to visit their family like everyone else. Fitting in traditionally.
I like how you have made explained all three videos more in depth and detail, so that it makes it easier to not only understand, but to also get more true information out of the videos to find out more about belonging. I think that from this comment that you have posted, it basically explains how the all three of these videos show that we all try to belong in all of the societies that we live in. For example, we tend to fit into a society by changing the ways in which we think and see things, and over time the people that never used to accept us, start to accept us later on. In the video, “Belonging”, it shows how when we enter a new society, not many people want to be around us because we are different, but through time, we may meet some people that are similar to us, and those people become the people that we stay with through the good and bad of our time with them. I believe that your comment on this blog shows these few facts and it helps break down these videos into more detail so that it becomes easier to understand. I enjoyed reading your comment.
All three protagonists feel like they are different from other people. For example; one protagonist is a gigantic blue bird, when other birds are tiny. The gigantic bird doesn’t have the similar appearance as other birds do, so other birds find it funny and make fun of the big bird. However, some people find people who are different from other people pityful. So, they tried to treat them nicely. This happens when two orphanages sneaked into the truck to have a free ride, and the driver found out. At first the driver was going to leave them on the sideway, but then he knew they are only orphanages. So, he brought them with him. The idea of belonging that comes into my mind is when a big group of people see one doing something different or having something different from them, they would this one different. Sometimes they treat this different one nicely but sometimes they treat the different one badly. The people in the society would rarely risk their reputation to be different because they afraid that the society wouldn’t accept them .
I find that this statement is true. I agree that the protagonists feel as if they are different from one another. I also agree with your interpretation of belonging, and how you talk about people treat each other differently according to their appearance, and we always put our image (reputation) ahead of what we believe in first, because it our image is what makes the society accept us for who we are.
I completely agree with you. It’s true that we need to treat each other in our society better. it shouldn’t matter what background they come from. It’s also true that we fear to lose our reputation and be left out by the society thats why in our society we lack major changes and many horrible things happen in our society.
I completely agree with you Mimi. It is true that the protagninists felt somehow different from the others. Also I like your idea of belonging, when a big group of people see one person doing something different or having something different from them so they act out towards that person. This is similar to one of the points I was trying to say in my original comment.
I find the first two of the protagonists in the videos quite similar. Both of them have the same problem at first, they were ‘someone else’, someone that is not like the majority. When they first came in, they were rejected and tried to accept this rejection. However the two have different outcomes according to their attitudes. In the first video, the bird was rejected ,however, it didn’t feel bad nor depressed. Instead, he was happy all the way and in the end, karma does the work. While the other video, it shows that the protagonist tried to not accept the fact that she was being rejected, but failed. At least, she found someone that would accept her in the end. All these videos reflect on real life. Like how we feel about ourselves after hearing what people think about us. I feel that our feelings about ourselves, who we are are based on other people’s perspectives. Our ‘identities’ are not solid, we can change our looks, even our personalities.
I agree that the attitude affect the outcome. Many people are never accepted into society because they gave up, while some people was accepted the very first day because they reach out and show everyone that they are awesome people. It doesn’t help that people often avoid people with bad attitude.
2 reasons I chose your comment to reply to, your comment is short and that I agree with your statement on agreeing to the truth of the world. Different emotions is shown depending on the event happening on one’s self. The identities are not solid, I also put that in my idea, due to the fact that you’re just one from 7 billion. You keep adapting and evolving.
“Our ‘identities” are not solid, we can changes our looks, even our peronsalities.” . This sentence is very strong due to the fact that it applies to a character from every videos, and more than a comment, it is persuading oneself to change their character. One of the reasons is you put it as the last sentence. NICE! :8)
I agree, the first two of the protagonists in the first two videos are similar. And I also like what you said about it; they start off the same, but have different endings according to their attitudes. This is because one of the protagonists (big bird) did not care what others thought, and just decided to jump right in and try and make some friends. The other protagonist, instead of realizing that she was special in her own way and shouldn’t care about what others think, she tried to be like them. Eventually she realized that she was special and met that guy who had the same appearance as her.
The protagonists in the three videos are excluded from the other members in their own society or community. There are several reasons why they felt left out. First, it is because of their appearance. The tall bird in the first video was discriminated and behaved different from other birds because he was the only one with distinctive voice and look. All the other birds looked the same but this excluded bird was the only one with different bodies and voice. The second video has a similar theme with the first video. One with the red box gets ignored and does not get along with the people with green box. Although he/she attemptes to change the color of the box to fit in with the green box people, he/she eventaully fails. On the other hand, the third video shows completely different view of the people’s behavior towards the protagonists. The truck driver helped the kids who are living in a worse condition than he was living in. He could have just left the orphans in the street but he did not because of his sense of guilt. All these videos indicates that there are people with different identities in each society. Sometimes they may be treated wrong from the other people however there are also those people who can be supportive. I personally believe that judging people solely by their appearance is not a decent way of thinking.
To be honest, i think that appearance is the first thing we look at. It is how we judge people, for example, when we see someone wearing a hoodie with their hands inside the pocket in the middle of the night, we can immediately assume that he is a bad guy and should avoid him although there is a 50% chance of him being good. It’s human instinct to do that, we don’t want anything to be hurting us in anyway, its what we call ‘safety first’.
I agree with your statement that there are people with different identities in each society. And it is very true that people judge other by their appearance alone and do not try to know them as you feel that they are not good. But some of them will think look at a person with their heart and think based upon reason and so judging people by their appearance is certainly not a decent way of thinking
The idea of being excluded is similar to my own idea, due to appearance and other different idea revolving around a society. To apply yourselves and feel for others, to appreciate your lives and support others who are less fortunate than us, can make a different in someone’s else lives. Just a simple favor or support can change their lives forever. Being excluded can mean losing identity.
The protagonists in the videos feels pitiful to themselves and become depressed as they couldn’t go along with other people in the community. And all the do is trying to belong to the community and for the others to accept them. In the first video the Bird is not accepted into the community or the gang of bird because he looks different from other bird and sounds different so other doesn’t accept him and make fun of him or become angry. The second video is a red cube head that is in the green cube head world and when the green head saw her they avoid her and wouldn’t talk to her. The red head then try to become like other people but she fail at it is not truly her and so later she found another red headed person and they become friend. The third video shows how the truck driver help the orphans and how different people react to the orphan where some rejected them out from the society. All these video shows how different individuals have different perspective as their values and beliefs is different. Some people would also goes through every process in order to become like other but in the end they won’t be happy as it is not themselves, everyone have their own uniqueness and eventually you would find someone that values similar things as you. Don’t try to be like other people because you don’t fit with them, don’t walk the same way as other but walk in a different way and create a new trial on the ground.
Your idea of having your own separate identity and being proud of it is understandable and I agree with you. But, I want to know, what if your own unique identity is frowned upon and interferes even with your daily life, not just socially. For example, certain cultures look down upon certain beliefs and lifestyles of people that even getting on a public bus is difficult without getting harassed. Do you still think unique identities will eventually pay out in the end?
I quite agree with you on how people should embrace their differences and be proud, unique individuals with their own opinions and ideas, but then again, there are circumstances where doing so would put you at a big disadvantage in society. As seen in the videos, people who are different are discriminated and their thoughts and opinions are left ignored and unexpressed, so what’s the point? Regardless of how special or brilliant the person’s ideas are, the simple fact that they are different would quickly rid them of their chance to share it around. Perhaps pretending to be same, all the while being different (like hiding in a closet, yeah?), would be a better solution. Or at least that’s what I think.
P.S. The last sentence of your comment vaguely reminds me of the poem: “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, and that is awesome.
The protagonist in the videos feels pitiful, depressed as, they are different and the community cannot accept as they are. We can see that one of the protagonist actually tries to do what the society whats them to do. In that way they not only becomes part of the community the community itself learns somethings from the protagonist and blends it in their culture and daily life. However , you cannot follow everything your community wants you to do. Its important to have individuality, and different perspective in a community as it helps for betterment of the community. Even though, sometime you cannot be perfect as the community wants you to be you will always find some in the same position as you are or similar to it. In a community its important collaborate and help each other to make the community continue. In order live in a community some you need sacrifice personal desires and other things in order to help the community and be part of it. In a community you need to have attitudes, individuality, perspective, and etc. All of this things needs coexist among each other even with all the difference they might have between each other.
I quite agree with your idea of individuality in a community, as it also brings variety and innovation to decisions. When a group of the same identity people come together, nothing new is created, but when a group of different identities meet, then something new and different is created as a result. Of course though, this does not mean it is the best concept in a community, because it also has its own challenges, in that there is no overpowering majority that can quickly make a decision efficiently. Like Democracy, the majority wins and the minority is forgotten and stepped on, just like the protagonists in the video.
I really like your idea that people can try to be whatever the society wants them to be, but they should always keep their identity. They shouldn’t lose their own identity to the society because identity is what defined who they actually are. If we lose it, then it’s like losing ourselves. I also like your idea that even though we might not like the way other people are like this, we should try to ignore it. So, we can keep the community a peaceful place. It’s the truth that we couldn’t like everything other people are doing, but we should try to ignore it if it’s not harming other people lives.
It’s all about being inclusive or exclusive, whether or not we notice it or not whenever there is a gathering of humans/living creatures. The protagonist of these three videos all play the role of being the excluded and different member of the community. The reasons for their exclusion varies from their appearance, personality or background. What the protagonists are feeling in this community, is the wanting to be “belonging” and share an identity similar of those in a group. But all of the protagonists know that they ARE different, whether or not they like it or not. They cannot change their identity, as from the observations of these videos, sometimes even hating themselves for who they are. In other situations, they feel as though they are missing out a part of everyday life (in Second and Third Video) and live at an disadvantage.
The actions of the other characters toward the protagonist, are often show the attitude that “You cannot belong in this group/with us” and treats them differently from a member of their own group. For example in the Birds on a Wire video, the big bird is made fun of, bullied and forcefully removed from the group, though costing them their own skin (feathers). The actions and attitude shows the exclusion of an individual socially and physically because that certain individual (Protagonist) in the first videos, except in the last video. This is where instead of discrimination, the protagonist suffer from a difficulty and are not socially excluded, but more of a social disadvantage.
The concept used here “Belonging” is a term which is natural for us humans to experience when we share a similar identity with another being. As we all know, there is also social concept of being excluded. You, me or even that person you saw down the street yesterday, all have experienced at some point in their lives, the feeling of being excluded. And often enough, we try to make a change in our own identity or behavior to mold our social mask to fit that identity.
I like your whole overview of how you label the whole overview of the videos as “inclusive” and exclusive. Through that, you show that belonging is a invention of human, and can only exists insdie community. 石头!
All of the videos above indicate that a community must consists of more than a single person, and all of the conflict or problem rise from human’s nature and beliefs.
“Bird on the wire” portrays a group of similar small birds struggling for personal spaces, denying the right of others to stay in their area. However, they accepted the sharing of space on the wire, after they identify a misfit, a tall blue bird. They now all have a place to belong after they comprehend the goal of their community, which is to repel the tall bird from colonizing their idea. It is humanoid to find a black sheep and cooperate as a whole group to eradicate one. The tall bird feels that she is being accepted because the actions of small birds are actually comforing her, while the small birds feel disgusted of a different creature close to them.
Our modern community has a general image of being civilized, but humans’ emotions and interest had been used as a main factor in decision in common situations. In the short film “belonging”, a girl is trying to find a place where she can fits in, as she is suffering in either melancholy or her inablility to find someone with similar interest. For instance, the two boys who were playing their 3ds(s) outside (they are only holding onto the side of the console while walking, that’s very dangerous) it’s ho reject her approach almost without a second thought, for they want to preserve their small community of two or they’re not fond of a girl joining them.
“You will cry after watching this” is a story of a orphan trying to find his dead parents, to find his lost warmth. Through their facial expression, it seems like they are unaware of their bad luck in social status, but their persistance towards their goal itself show their confidence. A scene that is exceptional is the one where they ask a truck driver for a ride to the cemetery. The truck driver almost immdediately excludes them from the vehicle when he saw them in the back of the truck, but changed his mind after learning that they’re orphans. Your belonging partially depends on your social reputation.
The pepsi advertisment showed a change in the local people behavior towards the foreigner who tried to coexist with them. They were frowning at the sight of a boy with blonde hair, but they later accepted him after he had the same skills and two squared symbol at his forehead like the local people. This resembles that skills are something captivates attention, and symbol is a mark that creates general national identity. For example, A brown passport with golden god bird on the cover signifies that you are Thai.
Some people know where they belong, but desire to belong somewhere, and there is a procedure and difficulties he or she must face before gaining the proof of their new identity.
I want to say that I really find this particular sentence you wrote very intriguing, quote, “It is humanoid to find a black sheep and cooperate as a whole group to eradicate one.” The more I think about it, the more truth there is to that statement. Individuals in a community have conflicts, yes, but once they have a common goal in mind, the problems seem to vanish and the main focus is to now achieve the goal or solve this social problem that is a threat to our community, and once that’s over, it’s all the same once again.
The protagonists in the videos feel left out and like they don’t belong. For example, they tried to fit in and it did not work, as shown in the second video. But at other times, the protagonists had accepted who they were and did not care what others thought about them, just as illustrated in the first video. There, the big bird did not care about what the other birds thought, he is just trying to belong. When it comes to someone that is different in any way, other people act out towards them, as shown in the first two videos, they want no part in knowing the protagonist.
In the third video, my understanding of what happened is that it was a holiday when people go home and visit family. But the two boys had no family, they were orphans. They were all alone, and one of the boys was blind and the other had a hearing problem. I am guessing they also felt as if they did not belong. But then one of the boys said he missed his mom, and the other suggested they go visit the boy’s mom. They tried to go visit where the mom’s grave was but they were denied means of transport to get there. They then secretly hitched a ride with a truck driver, and halfway along the driver found them, at which point they told the truth. The driver said that they should have told him in the first place. This shows that all they really had to do is tell the truth. What I learned from this was that the two boys went to all this trouble just to feel like they belonged to a family. That is why at the end, the boy whose mother was buried in the grave said to the other boy that this could be your mother as well. He said this so they could both feel like they belonged.
Also another idea about belonging that came to mind was in the second video. The protagonist tried so hard to belong; she bought a box hat, and even tried to paint herself to look like the others. But in the end it never worked out. Then she met another protagonist like herself, and she finally felt like she belonged. In the first video, the big bird wanted to hang out with the little birds, but they did not like the big bird and made fun of the bird and were laughing. But the big bird took a chance, and as shown in the video, it was the big bird who was laughing at the end.
Nice insight Noah! I think your right about how owning who we are and accepting who we are as individuals is important, after all if we can’t accept who we are how can we expect others to? We all long to belong in a society, it is how we live. Yes, it was the bird who had the last laugh, funny how life works that way. 🙂
I totally agree with your idea about telling the truth because it is the only way to set people free. If the two boys told the truck driver a lie, they might get kick out of the truck somewhere they couldn’t find another truck. I also like your idea about the big bird was giving small birds a chance, it shows that sometimes when people are trying to fit in, they do not have to be mean. They could be nice. The big bird was also giving small birds a chance to change their minds to be nice to him, but they didn’t. As a consequence, they lost all their feathers.
In all three of the videos the protagonist is someone that is different and is isolated from the community or others. In other words the protagonist pretty much felt left out of place and isolated from the society because they felt that they are different. The others act toward the protagonist rudely. They tried to avoid the protagonist, which might be simply because of fear of the differences, or disgust of the difference. I think that to be able to fit in or belong to the society one must try to act to be part of the community. In other words try to understand and follow the act or ideas of the community. Do not go against the community or the group. It also means that to belong you must be similar in a way because having the same ideas or goals are actually what bring people together. For example when you try to find a friend you always try to find something that they have similar to us because that way it is easier for you to get along and be together. To belong is the same thing.
Isolated is the perfect word to describe the situation! I agree with your point about how strong fear is towards those who stand different, fear makes people do some really sad, sick things. Out of all the emotions I would say fear is one of the strongest, it can control us through our actions and thoughts. Also I agree with what you said about how ideas and goals can bring people together, but they can also pull us apart.
To belong to something or to someone makes us in a way feel whole inside. Belonging makes humans feel like we matter, like we have importance. When we feel like we don’t belong we look to blame ourselves because we see ourselves as the reason to why we don’t belong. In blaming ourselves we sometimes look to change who we are in hopes of a better outcome. The impact the society in which we live in has on our self-image is huge, depending on the reaction of the society towards us; it alters how we see ourselves. The protagonists in all three videos share a common desire to belong to their society. Two of the videos showed an individual looking for that sense of belonging: the larger bird and the triangle headed girl, whiles the third video showed an individual first accepted into a society and was later trained or molded to become apart of the society. The two individuals who looked to belong within in their society in the end found happiness because they were either accepted by their society out of need or they found a friend alike to them. This applies to everyday life circumstances, when we are needed we are accepted or when we find someone who shares a bond of not belonging, we don’t belong together. In some cases we are accepted earlier on into a society and learn and adapt to our surroundings like the man in the third video did. That desire to belong is a natural desire and can only be filled through acceptance.
Video 1: Birds on a Wire
In this video, I find it that the protagonist is quite oblivious to how the other birds are avoiding or excluding it from the group, and tries to fit in and befriend the other birds. The bird probably feels confused to why the other little birdies are refusing to talk to it.
The other birds in the video treat the big blue bird like a weirdo. They’re just going all, “You sound different, you look different, and we do not want to talk to you.” Not only so, they even bully and hurt the blue bird, even though they end up hurting themselves in the end.
As I watched this video, I feel that people genuinely want to belong somewhere, and feel wanted and needed, but then sometimes being different could really be an obstacle. Nobody wants to be alone, really, and to be discriminated or kicked out or ignored actually really hurts.
Video 2: Square Heads
The protagonist in this short film feels different, and lonely. I think she feels confused to why people won’t talk to her, lonely because she’s alone, hurt because no matter how hard she tries, nobody will talk to her or treat her nicely. I think she felt hopeless for a while too, when she went to the fence and just sat there with a sad face. She probably wonders why she was made different and whether she’ll ever fit in anyway.
Because she’s a red, square head with a pyramid on top and not a green square head like everybody else, people ignore her. They see her and they see how she’s different from them and walk away, refusing to make any contact with her whatsoever. Basically, they’re treating her like an outcast because she doesn’t look like the rest of them.
What came into my mind while I watched this video is how people tend to judge other people by their appearances and refuse to tamper with those that are different from them. It’s like how girls would rather hang out with girls than the opposite gender, or even the racism problem people used to have (and still have, I suppose, a little bit). It’s hard to belong when you’re different.
Video 3:
There’re two protagonists in this video: one is blind, and another has a disability, but both are orphans. The other kids around them are going home to meet their other relatives for a special day in Malaysia, but because the protagonists don’t have any relatives left, they had to stay at the orphanage. In that situation, I think the protagonists feel sad and probably a bit abandoned, and felt that the word was quite unfair, because why did the other kids get to see family on that special day but they didn’t?
The other people in the video didn’t seem to be treating them badly at all. They was no bullying or harassing or any of the such, in fact, the people treat them really well. The kids didn’t tease them about having no family to go back to, nor did the people working at the train station or the other places. There was even this uncle who kick them out when he found them hiding at the back of his truck and let them come sit in the front seats and drove them back to their village.
From this, I thought that even thought you’re different, you can still belong. You really either have to choose to belong somewhere that’ll force you to change yourself or somewhere that’ll accept you for who you are or just understand you and you can just fit in there completely. Like how the two protagonists in this video chose to belong where they thought they belonged (at his mother’s grave because it’s a special day) instead of at the orphanage.
-Oum