Chapter 11

Plot
The chapter  begins off with Anh describing his  first regular acting role, on the series “Don’t  Blame  Me”. His presence on the show allowed him to portray a non-stereotypical role. The  teachings of his father on how to handle animals further assisted him in his role, as he portrayed a park ranger named Vinnie. Who considered himself as an “Asian Steve Irwin”. When auditioning for the role the animal handling skills he possessed came in handy as his pet budgie, Rocky,  auditioned alongside him allowing the producers see that he was the perfect casting choice for the show.

Anh then goes onto talk about how his parents told him and his brother Khoa to “ Do as much as you can to give back to this beautiful country that gave us a second chance”, this leads the two of them to do a “fair amount” of charity work. Whilst doing community service they pick up a project working with “at risk street youth”  that would create a ten minute video. This ten minute video lead to a feature film as the youth suggested they make one. From there Khoa directed the feature film whilst Anh produced it, the project boosted the self esteem of the youth and prevented one from committing suicide.

After the completion of the film Anh decided to nominate his brother for the Australian of the year award as he witnessed “how special a person he really is”, after seeing how he worked and cared for the under privileged youth. His brother was not in favour of being nominated for the award as he does not like receiving praise the deeds he would do. However as time passed his mind on the matter changed as he realised how big a deal it was to be in the running for this award. He would later go onto winning the award.

After a period of commercial success Anh was presented with a position on “Dancing With The Stars”. From here Anh would do different charitable acts that were associated with the show. On was visiting sick children in the hospital, one trip to the hospital lead him to appreciate life more as he and his family were in perfect health with no ailments.

Whilst performing on the show Anh went on “Deal or No Deal” and played for an under privileged family. He went onto win the grand prize of 200 hundred thousand dollars, and a few weeks later presented the family with the cheque. It had turned out that the mother of this family was gravely ill and the cheque would provide allow payment for the rest of her treatment.

Anh later appeared on a tv show called “Thank You”, where people would thank people that had a real impact on their lives. He decided to thank his drama teacher from school Mrs Borny. The one that inspired Anh to act.

Theme
 FAMILY  This explores how family members become each other's support and guide each other through rough times. They have to think of their future and how they will work together to bring the best opportunities for themselves. In Chapter 11, Anh reflects on how supportive and loving his family has been to him and how they have encouraged him to do what he likes. Anh is very proud of his family and he decides to work with his family members, which made his work easier and happier. There are other people in this chapter who get strength from their family to keep fighting such as the child in hospital and his mother. Do suggests that family and loved ones help us overcome difficult situations in life and they make their lives are happier. They also become our strength and provide protection and a comfortable environment, which makes our survival easier. “'I get my strength from him'. This kid was so weak and tired but he still tried with all his might to cheer up his worried mum by making her laugh.” “It made me aware of making sure my friends and families always feel they are number one. That I remember to let them know how much I cherish them.”

 OUTSIDER AND INSIDER                                                                                                                                     An individual is an outsider when they don’t fit in and isn’t accepted by others, whereas an insider is the opposite of that and they belong in the society. In chapter 11, Anh and Khoa are now insiders in the Australian society because other Australians supported them such as voting for Anh on Dancing with the stars. They make a movie with street kids, who were outsiders and weren’t accepted by the society and even their families. They help these kids become insiders by giving them love, support and an opportunity to work in their movie, which also helped their self esteem. They both connect to these kids because they were once outsiders themselves. Today, we still have many abandoned children and people who are rejected by the society and in order to fit in, they face many problems and hardships. However, when given an opportunity, the outsiders are also able to do great work, which can allow them to be accepted and become insiders. ‘I watched as he mentored these street kids; looked after them and took them under his wing and gave them a love and respect that they’d never experienced before in their lives, not even from their own families.’

Character
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