The concept of belonging is a broad term that centres on the feeling of being wanted and respected. It can be viewed differently by each person and is influenced by factors such as culture, personal values and relationships, which are explored in the poems ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ and ‘Postcard’ by Peter Skrzynecki, and the film ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, directed by Jonathan Daton and Valarie Faris. These texts have broadened my understanding of belonging and extended my views of family relationships in different cultures and with different values.

Peter Skrzynecki’s poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ shows a critical view of the relationship between himself as a young boy and his father, Feliks. The way the poem discusses Feliks, Skrzynecki’s father, represents …show more content…
The first sentence of the poem states “My gentle father”; in which by using an inclusive first person pronoun Skrzynecki conveys a sense of intimacy and belonging within the father and son bond but also suggests a slight discomfort with the topic as he uses the formal term of ‘father’ rather than an endearment. This discomfort is enhanced throughout the poem as we see Skrzynecki use exclusive third person pronoun such as ‘his’ when referring to Feliks, “his garden… his polish friends… his house”. It is revealed that the distance between the two characters is due to Skrzynecki’s unfamiliarity with his heritage and culture whereas his father is still deeply rooted in the Polish ways and customs. The negative connotation in the third stanza “always shook hands too violently, I thought” gives the reader some insight into Skrzynecki’s emotions about the past and how they have now developed. They suggest that as a young boy he felt a disconnectedness from the culture and he purposely separates the words “I thought” to emphasise the fact that he doesn’t feel the same way now. The enjambment “Remember words he taught me, Remnants of a language I inherited unknowingly” gives a similar view as it also uses emphasis, now on the word …show more content…
‘Little Miss Sunshine’ follows a dysfunctional family on a road trip while focusing on the concept of belonging to a family. The father and son bond between Grandpa and Richard closely emulates the bond shown in Skrzynecki’s poems between himself and his father. In the movie there is an obvious distance between Richard and his father as they are influenced by conflicting personal values. Grandpa is constantly expressing his opinion of the importance of trying and enjoying life, “A real loser is someone who’s so afraid of not winning that they don’t even try“. In contrast, his son Richard is opposing this idea with his own principle of success “Willing yourself to win. You've got to want it badder than anyone“ where he tells Olive that she will win simply because she is the most determined and part of a ‘winning’ family. This results in arguments and disconnectedness between Richard and his father. Similarly, Richard and Frank also have a distance in their relationship. Richard pushes Frank away due to his opposing values and opinions. Frank is shown to act out against this by using sarcastic dialogue towards Richard, “Wow, Richard, you've really opened my eyes to what a loser I am, how much do I owe you for those pearls of wisdom?” in response to Richard’s belittlement of his feelings. Richard’s dismissal of Frank’s values and emotions relates to Skrzynecki’s