The series of ‘Go Back to where you came from’ follows 6 ordinary Australians from different ages, backgrounds and view point on the issue of asylum seekers. These Australians become a part of a social ‘experiment’ to chase the refugee experience. Their journeys are depicted through episodes 1-3, which will be analyzed in this essay along with the various discoveries that were made by both the participants and the viewers.
In the first episode we are introduced through short vignettes to all 6 participants; Raye, Roderick, Adam, Darren, Raquel and Gleny. The first episode immediately reveals us their where they are from, their age and their occupation as well as their personal opinions about the issue of asylum seekers. The viewer is then introduced to their ‘controller’ socialist Dr. David Corlett who introduces the journey and sequence of events that will be occurring throughout the social experiment. Another un-seen participant in this series is the narrator; he plays an important role in linking stories with facts such as statistics and background knowledge that educates the viewers along the episodes. The narrator also has an emotional impact on the viewers from the tone of his voice. The story begins with the participants meeting refugees who have reached their final destination in Australia after a experiencing a traumatic and life changing refugee journey. In the first event, the viewer and the participants are exposed to the final destination of the refugee experience; this reverse sequence of events allows the viewer and participant’s curiosity to grow.
David Corlett decides on a clever group dynamic which was to divide the participants into two groups of three to allow each group to experience the different ways of migration: legal and illegal. This dynamic helps the participants and the viewer’s to attain knowledge from both personal viewpoints. The initial stage of the experiment started when the particip...