Hope

Surprise is that today is 3th, the Friday :)

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars, the hope they give to the blithe-bright times of one’s life”. Both Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (Text A) and A Song of Hope by Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Text B) present the idea of “a new beginning”, but they do so in vastly different ways. One is a fictional 1985 American slasher horror film meant to entertain and scare. Directed by Danny Steinmann, it stars Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, and Shavar Ross, and was produced by Timothy Silver with music by Harry Manfredini. The executive producer is Frank Mancuso Jr., and the screenplay was written by Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen, and Danny Steinmann, all of which is displayed in Text A. The other is a non-fiction poem written in the 1960s, intended to inspire hope in an Aboriginal community that has endured historical injustice and systemic discrimination.

Text A is fictional, while Text B is non-fictional. Both mention “a new beginning,” but in completely different ways. Text A promotes a horror film and entertains an audience that enjoys suspense and thrill. Text B speaks to Aboriginal Australians imagining a fairer future. Both texts use darkness and light symbolically, but for different purposes. The tone of Text A is eerie and unsettling. Text B’s tone is hopeful, commanding, and uplifting. Text A uses symbolism visually through dark shadows, bold color contrast, and ominous imagery to set the mood. The film title overshadows the rest, with the tagline “A New Beginning” just below it and credits in mouse print font. The tagline is ironic because “a new beginning” sounds like something fresh, bright, or peaceful, but horror fans know that in this context it means more violence and fear instead of peace and positivity. The hockey mask and the ominous glow in the background grab attention. Darkness and bold red text create feelings of suspense and danger. In contrast, Text B carries the emotional depth that Text A lacks, as it speaks to a lived history of pain and the hope for a better future.

Text B uses a wide range of literary devices to convey its message. “Now light shall guide us. No goal denied us” implies a path toward justice and progress. Light becomes a metaphor for overcoming institutional racism and suppression. “dark freedom-lover” reclaims darkness as pride and identity rather than something to be ashamed of. “Look up, my people” addresses her community using inclusive language like “my” and “our”, which creates a sense of unity. It also uses anaphora (“when…more”), personification (“the world is waking”), and rhyme to unify and uplift. Alliteration in “juster justice” and assonance in “plan the promise” make the poem more rhythmic and remembered. Juxtaposition and parallel structure are used in “to our fathers’ fathers the pain, the sorrow…to our children’s children the glad tomorrow” that covers the whole journey from past pain to future hope. The line “points the bone no longer at a darker race” references an Aboriginal curse and symbolically represents the end of blame, scapegoating, and systemic oppression.

On balance, both texts explore the idea of “new beginning” but they do it in varied ways. Text A is a horror movie that shows a new beginning, but eerie and scary. Text B is a poem that shows hope for Aboriginal people after going through pain and suffering. The theme in both is still about new beginning, but in Text A it’s more about horror, and in Text B it takes a positive meaning. After darkness, something new always comes but the connotation varies. Hope, whilst in different forms, connects them.