Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday (ATOM Study Guide)

In February 2009, the worst bushfires in Australian history ripped through Victoria in a series of firestorms so powerful that a million acres went up in flames, 7000 Australians lost their homes and 173 people lost their lives.

Ten years later, Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday chronicles the personal stories of the people who survived the Black Saturday infernos to discover how they coped with unimaginable loss and trauma, and how they picked up the pieces of their shattered lives.

While the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission forensically documented the public response to the Black Saturday infernos, Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday tells the intimate and often anguished personal stories of an ensemble cast of volunteer firefighters and local residents whose lives were turned upside down by the fires.

The ordinary people featured in Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday all experienced the same extraordinary traumatic event. However, each of them experienced it differently and each had to find their own roadmap through the wreckage that it made of their lives. By interweaving their stories, the documentary underlines how there is no sure-fire path to recovery from trauma, and no cheat notes to help piece the jigsaw of a life back together again.

As the ten-year anniversary of Black Saturday approaches, Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday chronicles the challenging journey many Black Saturday survivors have been on in the decade since the firestorms transformed their lives. Out of the ashes of one of Australia's worst natural disasters emerges a story not about death and destruction but about the tenacity of life and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

Curriculum Links:

This study guide to accompany Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday has been written for secondary students at all levels. It provides information and suggestions for learning activities in English, Environmental Science, Geography and Media.

The focus of Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday is the impact of the Black Saturday bushfires on people. The interviews with survivors develop students' empathy with and understanding of the experience of the trauma and upheaval that bushfires cause for individuals and communities. The accounts of those who survived make the events of Black Saturday more immediate and relevant to students. In addition, the interviews provide an insight into the recovery process and the resilience of the survivors as they rebuilt their lives.

Students are encouraged to consider how people's responses to crisis may differ and to respect the courage and determination that it takes to overcome adversity. As a documentary Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday illustrates the effectiveness of personal storytelling in conveying important messages.

Activities in this study design have also been designed to educate students about the characteristics and causes of bushfires. In addition, by considering the history of bushfires in Australia, students can develop an understanding of the importance of landscape management in limiting the prevalence and devastation of bushfires, and study the effects of bushfires on the natural and built environments.

Some students may have experienced firsthand the impact of bushfires. Teachers need to respect the personal circumstances of students and remain aware of their sensitivities while viewing and discussing Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday.