A film with a female hero
Fly Away Home
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2007 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. This article may not be copied in whole or in part without my expressed written permission. Contact me for permission. Please respect my copyright.
Finding a young female hero
Over the years, one of the difficulties we have had in applying
the hero’s journey pattern in the classroom is finding good
literature and film with strong female heroes, especially young
female heroes.
Several years ago, a 10th grade teacher using the hero’s journey
pattern told us about a film called Fly Away Home, which
she said worked well in her classes. The film has many of the
qualities which would make it an excellent addition to a 9th or 10th
grade curriculum.
Synopsis
The story, which takes place in the province of Ontario, Canada, is about
13-year-old Amy Alden. When she was very young, her father and
mother split up, with mother and daughter moving to New Zealand.
The film opens when Amy and her mother involved in an auto accident.
The accident kills her mother and injures Amy. Thomas, the father, comes to
New Zealand to be with his daughter and to take her back home with
him. Thus begins Amy’s journey to come to terms with her mother’s
death and to reconcile with her eccentric father.
But Amy isn’t the only one on a journey. When his daughter reenters
his life, Tom must learn to become a "good father." This involves
learning to be more responsible, responsive and caring.
Amy’s first morning on the farm she wanders into her father’s
workshop. Tom is sculpting a metal dragon and he tells Amy that he
will be very busy. "I’m not a baby," Amy tells him. "You don’t have
to hold my hand." Of course, that is exactly what she needs from her
remaining parent. Later, Amy meets Susan, Tom’s girl friend, and
immediately resents her, possibly because she feels Susan might try
to replace her mother.
The beginning of reconciliation comes when developers move into the
land adjacent to Tom’s farm and destroy a grove of trees which had
been the nesting place for a flock of Canada geese. Amy finds
several abandoned eggs, which she takes back to the barn to raise.
The geese bond with Amy and follow her everywhere. Soon, however,
she learns that without their parents the geese they will never
learn to migrate and could cause problems, so their wings must be
clipped. Everyone rejects this idea, but there seems to be no other
solution.
One day, as Tom is watching the geese follow Amy, he has an idea.
"Our problem," he tells Amy, "is that your birds don’t have anybody
to show them the way." (Isn't this the nature of all Journeys?) His
plan? By using an ultra-light airplane, he can lead the geese south
to teach them how to migrate. After some initial resistance and the
realization Amy must lead the geese in the ultra-light, not Tom,
everyone buys into the plan.
From then on, father, daughter, girlfriend, uncle and friend join in
a quest to help the geese. They overcome numerous failures, an
interfering (though well-meaning) ranger, and mechanical and
logistical challenges to make their dream a reality.
The film's classroom strengths
Besides a compelling story line, Fly Away Home has many other
elements which make it a good choice for the classroom.
First, it lends itself well to teaching and discussing symbolism.
There is, of course, the dragon imagery. The dragon is the creature
which unites the eagle (the symbol of the sun and eternity) with the
serpent (the symbol of the moon and temporal life). The dragon
represents a reconciliation of polar opposites, reminding us that
while poles may be opposite, they are not separate entities but two
sides of the same system.
The film also uses a number of feather images: the geese
(obviously), a pair of earrings Susan give to Amy, the feather which
triggers Tom’s idea, and several others. The feathers represent
flight and freedom, which are the characteristics of growth and
maturity, elements which come out in both father and daughter. The
image of Amy flying in a "feathered" ultralight also emphasizes her
"migration" toward a new level of understanding and awareness.
Concentric journeys
Another element which makes the film good is that it involves more than one journey. It is important for students to learn that they are part of the lives of others, and though they may be on a journey of their own, they are also play parts in the journeys of others. Tom, for example, plays the mentor (and "uninvited god") for Amy, while Amy becomes a helper and focus for Tom’s growth.
Good vocabulary opportunities
Finally, the film offers a number of opportunities for vocabulary
development. Words such as imprinting, eccentric, migration and
reconciliation give you the opportunity to discuss some important
Latin prefixes and roots. For example, you can compare "in-" (from
imprinting) with "ex-" (from eccentric). Using reconciliation, you
can teach prefixes "re-" (back or again) and "con-" (with or
together).
You teach the root centr (center) from eccentric and show how it is
parts of words like "concentric," thereby reinforcing the prefix
"con-".
Other qualities
The film also has other qualities going for it. It has wonderful
music and is beautifully photographed. It is subtle and suggestive,
with opportunities for in-depth discussion, such as the barn being
place of birth (the geese), creativity (Tom’s sculpting) and
life/rebirth (the light and the swing).
We think the film would work best with 8th through 10th graders,
although it might be a good exercise in studying symbolism, tone and
motif with older classes. It is certainly worth considering.
Have you used Fly Away Home?
If you have used Fly Away Home in your classroom, what has been your experience with it? How did you approach the film? How did it fit into your curriculum? What elements of the film did you emphasize or explore? Let us know.