AustLit
Description
Rationale
Since the 70s, the output of the Australian film industry has been prolific and exciting. This unit examines a number of key films, bearing witness to the energy, creativity and particular perspectives that Australian films present to national and international audiences. The position of a local industry and its cultural texts in an internationalised environment is crucial to understanding the operations of a global economy. It also gives an invaluable insight into Australian life & a unique example of a settler society in flux.
Aims
This unit aims to explore the diverse ways Australian films produce and circulate a range of significant discourses about Australia and the world. The unit aims to give international and domestic students valuable insights into Australian culture and cultural productions.
Objectives
On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Understand the nature and societal role of films in the New Wave of Australian cinema since the 1970s.
2. Evaluate critically the way cultural discourses are constructed in various key films made by culturally diverse filmmakers.
3. Have a critical awareness of the place and significance of Australian film and the film industry, both within Australian society and internationally.
4. Apply the theoretical dimensions proposed by academic writers and manifested by the filmmakers.
Content
The unit addresses content such as: national identity, war, indigenous issues, multiculturalism, gender, family, location, sexualities, cultural discourses and theoretical dimensions, cinema as a local and cultural text.
Assessment
Assessment name: Formative Assessment Task
Description: (Formative) 5-10 minute presentation.
Relates to objectives: 2 & 4
Due date: Weekly
Assessment name: Essay
Description: (Formative and summative)
Relates to objectives: All
Weight: 40%
Due date: Mid Semester
Assessment name: Final Exam
Description: (Summative)
Relates to objectives: All
Weight: 60%
Due date: End Semester
Supplementary Texts
Berryman, K. (1980) The Australian Film Industry and Key Films of the 1970's,
Melbourne: Australian Film Institute.
Caputo, R. & Burton, G. (2002) Third Take: Australian filmmakers talk, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Collins, F. (1997) The Films of Gillian Armstrong, Melbourne: AFI.
Crofts, S. (1993) Identification, Gender and Genre in Film: the case of Shame, Melbourne: AFI.
Hall, Sandra (1985) Critical Business: The New Australian Cinema in Review, Sydney: Rigby.
Jennings, K. (1993) Sites of difference: cinematic representations of Aboriginality and gender, Melbourne: AFI.
McFarlane, B. (1987) Australian Cinema 1970 - 1985, Melbourne: Heinemann/AFI.
McFarlane, B. & Mayer, G. (1992) New Australian Cinema, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Malone, P. (2001) Myth & Meaning: Australian film directors in their own words, Sydney: Currency Press.
Murray, S. (Ed.) (1993) Australian Film 1978 - 1992, Melbourne: OUP.
Murray, S. (1994) Australian Cinema, North Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
O'Regan, T. (1996) Australian National Cinema, London: Routledge.
Rattigan, Neil (1991) Images of Australia: 100 films of the new Australian cinema, Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press.
Rayner, J. (1998) The Films of Peter Weir, London: Cassell.
Robson, J. and Zalcock, B. (1997) Girls' Own Stories: Australian and New Zealand Women's Films, Oxford: Scarlet Press.
Sheckels, T.F. (2002) Celluloid heroes down under: Australian film 1970 - 2000, Westport: Praeger.
Stratton, D. (1990) The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Sydney: Pan MacMillan.
Turner, Graeme (1993) Making it National: Nationalism and Australian Popular Culture, Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Turner, Graeme (1994) (Ed.) Nation, Culture, Text: Australian Cultural and Media Studies, London: Routledge.
Verhoeven, Deb (2000) (ed) Twin peaks: Australian and New Zealand Feature Films, London: Damned.
AFI Screen Studies site: http://www.cinemedia.net/AFI/reinfo5.htm
