What is National Cinema ? A Question proposed by Tom O’Reagan in Australian National Cinema (2005). The question leads to the sociological understanding that national cinema is constructed by both national and international film industries, the national film text and also by the various cultural, social and political contexts. National Cinema is a vehicle for social processes, emerging social identity and movements. A film may categorised as a ‘national cinema’ based on a number of factors: the language spoken in the film, the nationalities or dress of the characters, the country that supports the film financially, the setting, music or cultural elements present in the film. Which points to The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert …show more content…
The landscape has asserted both Australia’s difference from the rest of the world and also the nation’s singularity of constitution within its own boundaries (Gibson, R. 1992). Priscilla Queen of the Desert explores multiple landscapes and utilises them cinematically to establish and enhance the emotional and ambience of the characters on their journey. This technique is used frequently throughout Australian film to give the audience a sense of direction and to re-establish to international audiences how large and diverse Australia …show more content…
O’Reagan perfectly explains that The Woman-centred narrative is one feature genre that has maintained an ongoing though minor presence on production schedules, particularly from 1970. Then he goes on to explain that Public campaigns of the domestic feminist movement have been strong, and a prioritising of relationships as a central point of focus in Australian cinema has been necessary because it has had to rely less on action and more on relationships. One of the strongest characteristics associated with Australian cinema is the language, the Australian cinema has an upper hand being that the spoken language is English. This establishes Australia in the mainstream language majority. Although Australia has an impact on an international level and has an extremely iconic accent, on one hand this works in benefit being that the market for Australian language is demanding whereas on the other hand the Australian slang/lingo is extremely hard to understand and interpret, it is also very hard to translate without losing its comedic
Australia has only been here for little over 200 years whereas other countries have a lot of history with solid identities. Australian art is an important factor that helps to create its identity because its artists are passionate about the unique aspects and symbols of Australia and they incorporate them into their works to really show what they think Australia is.
Kenny (2006) is an Australian mock documentary about a blue collar Aussie bloke, attempting to belong in social situations outside of Australia. But Kenny has taught me, that you can take an individual out of Australia, but you can’t take Australia out of an individual. The mock documentary had greater success in America than Australia. The depiction of work-class Australian men, in the film, showed the amount of pride Kenny takes in completing his dirty job well. Kenny’s character struggles to belong in his immediate setting, and seeks for his identity in the work that he undertakes. His Australian identity is obvious in the mass use of colloquial language that displayed Kenny’s stereotypical Aussie communication methods.
The national spread of American media including; TV, film and music has been the cornerstone of Americanisation in Australia since 1945, the end of world war two. 'Britain's Farm' and 'America's Junior Partner': that is what Australia was labelled as, around the end World War II. Prior to WWII it is argued Australia
The ‘tourist destination’ portrayal of the landscape is highly emphasised in Joe’s narration. This depiction of Australia as a natural, dramatic landscape is continued throughout the film, with several other settings and landscapes showing a direct link with this first representation.
This genre is typically modern, perky and upbeat, but the common narrative in all of them is that it features a woman who is strong and she overcomes adversity to reach her goals. There is also a message of empowerment that also struggles with a romantic predicament and using comedy to poke fun at the male characters. Industries are still producing soppy romantic comedies for the female audience but the divide between the standard chick flick and romantic comedy is slowly disappearing. Similarly to the beginning of this essay it is evident that institutions are moving in the direction of women’s place in culture in relation to this film genre; women are usually shown as the super power since they are made to appeal to the female audience. However
After the war, Australia struggled to keep up with the increase in Hollywood films and television programs. This was shown as during the 1960’s, 83% of television programs viewed in Australia were American. America’s population is larger than Australia, and as both are English speaking countries, it is cheaper for America to produce films due to the higher demand and higher economy. Australian films often include American actors as this creates a higher rating and higher demand to see the film. As the majority of movies are America based or have American actors, it influences how Australian’s behave and act in terms of language and common slang, as what is portrayed in American comes forward into
Australian film and text have for years supported and broadcasted negative and inferior stereotypes of women. Criticising, embellishing, and mocking women’s behaviour, personalities, occupations and appearance. These stereotypes were heavily reinforced into the minds of the public and influenced their thoughts and actions. However these are gradually changing through the portrayal of women in a more positive way utilizing different film techniques and modern storylines. Traditionally women are portrayed as mothers and home carers and not as equal as men, mainly through the story lines, dialogue and music.
This research will only concentrate on the extent of Americanisation in Australia through the influence on television and the film industry as the aspect of Americanisation covers a wide range from fashion to language. To fully understand the topic of the hypothesis, proper exploration of the definitions of ‘identity’ and ‘culture’ are of relevance. ‘Identity’ and ‘culture’ play an integral role in what an Australian represents as well as how the world views Australians. The meaning of ‘identity’ can be summarized as; ‘The collective aspect of the set of
“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” is important to Australian culture not only for a great laugh but because it teaches people that there are many different types of Australian men and to embrace our diversity. Elliot used the AIDS epidemic as inspiration for this movie and did a very good
Film noirs describe pessimistic films associated with black and white visual styles, crime fiction, and dark themes. Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 film noir directed by Billy Wilder. Sunset Boulevard presents many themes that are common with the genre film noir, but also introduces some differences from the typical movie in that genre.
Cosmopolitanism or the capacity of belonging everywhere has been defined by “a high level of mutual respect for the rights of others and a generalized tolerance of ethnic, cultural, political and national differences” (Buchanan, 2010, p. 99). Beyond the Kantian, individual definition, some recent sociological and cultural approaches on the issue suggest that it could be more productive to study it in a situated context and not as an abstract idea (Glick Schiller and Irving, 2015). Now that the concept is becoming more relevant to the study of transnational cinemas, it is worth to notice that this interpretation of film cosmopolitanism is not necessarily subscribed to the idea of a neutral cinema, free from local or national perspectives.
Hess and Zimmermann mention that conventional categories have blurred and there’s demands for new political and aesthetic responses in transnational cinema (John Hess 2006). These transnational films I believe would be growing significantly in the film industry as a part of film history.
Sleeping Beauty. Hansel and Gretel. The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood. Stories and morals that have seemed to last the test of time. They were always around, changing slightly to fit on the type of media they were told on, whether it be paper or film. Storytelling began when the sons of the mighty Pharaoh Khufu, in Egypt, 2466 BC, would entertain their father with epic tales. Although, that may be far from the truth, as it is just a passed along anecdote. As Roy told his story of Alexander the Great to Alexandria, the visualized characters and landscapes were dictated both by Alexandria’s vivid imagination and Roy’s illuminative words. Alexander The Great likely did not actually walk around the
In one perspective national cinema is “descriptions from a perspective point of view”, instead of an actual description (Higbee, 2010). Examining transnational cinema from a local perspective, rather than globalized. The article explains how borders are blurred by “telecommunications technologies”, and debates between nations are transferred into films (Higbee, 2010). The article states,” there are three essential elements applied in film studies in order to define transnational cinema. The article deliberates the limitation of a national cinema, in correlation with transnational cinema, which construes relationships between cinema, and cultural economic factors. Also, transnational is interpreted as creating the film from a regional phenomenon. Finally, transnational cinema represents culture and identity, “to challenge the western construct of a nation and national culture and by extension, national cinema as stable….” (Higbee, 2010). In transnational cinema, there is a
Billy Wilder's famous and well known film called Sunset Boulevard is a masterpiece for the ages. Even though it is in black and white, don't think it isn't good. This film has so many twist and turns, the audience doesn't know what's going to happen next (even though you know the Writer in the movie is going to die because of the flash back). I thought the movie was interesting with the beginning of the film when they start out with the dead man floating motionless in the pool as police officers rush to the senses to understand what had happened to the dead movie writer. Also, later in the film that really interested me that was never answered in the film was the funeral for the dead ape and how it had anything to do with the plot of the movie.