Representations in Australian Film
“There isn’t a more pervasive prism for reflecting and shaping Australia’s national identity than screen content. Its ability to tell our stories through image and sound, infused with cultural nuances, has a powerful impact on how Australians see themselves, how they see others and how others see Australians. Feature films lead this charge. They start with a buzz amplified by the big screen before traversing every small screen possible and remaining accessible in different ways, in many corners of the world, for many years after release. When our very vernacular changes we know they make a difference.”
SCREEN AUSTRALIA ‘Staying Power: The Enduring Footprint of the Australian Film’
This website is the home of a research assignment by four final year media students from RMIT, Melbourne, and as such the use of images are a part of the "Fair Dealings" provisions.
The focus of the research was Representations of Australia in film and identifying how the images presented were received by both Australian and International audiences. Our goal was to first distinguish what it is about Australian films that make them so identifiable to our lifestyle and culture and what elements are particularly evident in Australian films that are successful (financially or critically) in the international market.... “the outback film kind of dominates in certain points in time. It doesn’t really dominate now, but it has in certain points in time. It’s partly to produce something that is more identifiably Australian, even though that may only relate to most peoples’ daily experiences." Adrian Danks, Media and Communication Program Director at RMIT University states here, that the Australian film is identifiable as an outback feature, certainly in times past, and was used to relate to the everyday Australian person.
It's important to note that we did not set out to provide a "formula" for the successful Australian film - rather, we set out to investigate the "key trends" in representations of Australiansin Australian films over the last 10 years. These trends can then be compared and contrasted with past trends of the Australian industry. Adrian Danks made it clear in his opinion, ‘on the whole, I don’t think, and I think for good and happy reasons, there isn’t an identifiable Australian film. And I think that if there was, I don’t think that would be necessarily something you would want to make. Given that people might have tried… such as Baz Lurhmann.”
When asked if there was a "quintessential Australian film" he hemmed and hawed, ‘I don't know if there is such a thing as a “quintessentially Australian film”. Obviously what an Australian film is, has been defined in different ways at different points in time....”
There is a starting point of ‘The ocker’ and the effect ocker films had on the industry, how it changed over time and what happened during the re-emergence of the industry in the 1970’s. Also touched upon is the demise of the ocker that occurred roughly a decade after the re-emergence.
Crocodile Dundee acts as a key contextual study and as a catalyst for discussion as it can be described as the first quintessentially “Australian” successful Australian film. Representations of things like gender roles, ethnicity, ideals and landscape within the film all clearly reflect the idea of the ocker. We have also looked at three other internationally successful Australian productions as case studies. In the commercial market: Australia and Wolf Creek, and also one art-house feature, Animal Kingdom and how their representations support, don’t support, or subvert the notions portrayed in Crocodile Dundee.
The focus of the research was Representations of Australia in film and identifying how the images presented were received by both Australian and International audiences. Our goal was to first distinguish what it is about Australian films that make them so identifiable to our lifestyle and culture and what elements are particularly evident in Australian films that are successful (financially or critically) in the international market.... “the outback film kind of dominates in certain points in time. It doesn’t really dominate now, but it has in certain points in time. It’s partly to produce something that is more identifiably Australian, even though that may only relate to most peoples’ daily experiences." Adrian Danks, Media and Communication Program Director at RMIT University states here, that the Australian film is identifiable as an outback feature, certainly in times past, and was used to relate to the everyday Australian person.
It's important to note that we did not set out to provide a "formula" for the successful Australian film - rather, we set out to investigate the "key trends" in representations of Australiansin Australian films over the last 10 years. These trends can then be compared and contrasted with past trends of the Australian industry. Adrian Danks made it clear in his opinion, ‘on the whole, I don’t think, and I think for good and happy reasons, there isn’t an identifiable Australian film. And I think that if there was, I don’t think that would be necessarily something you would want to make. Given that people might have tried… such as Baz Lurhmann.”
When asked if there was a "quintessential Australian film" he hemmed and hawed, ‘I don't know if there is such a thing as a “quintessentially Australian film”. Obviously what an Australian film is, has been defined in different ways at different points in time....”
There is a starting point of ‘The ocker’ and the effect ocker films had on the industry, how it changed over time and what happened during the re-emergence of the industry in the 1970’s. Also touched upon is the demise of the ocker that occurred roughly a decade after the re-emergence.
Crocodile Dundee acts as a key contextual study and as a catalyst for discussion as it can be described as the first quintessentially “Australian” successful Australian film. Representations of things like gender roles, ethnicity, ideals and landscape within the film all clearly reflect the idea of the ocker. We have also looked at three other internationally successful Australian productions as case studies. In the commercial market: Australia and Wolf Creek, and also one art-house feature, Animal Kingdom and how their representations support, don’t support, or subvert the notions portrayed in Crocodile Dundee.