Picturing Politics: Some Issues in the Documentary Representation of Australian Political and Social History
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Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Moran, Albert
Other Supervisors
Turnbull, Paul
Year published
2007
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This submission groups together four 'TV Hour' documentaries - Red Ted and the Great depression 1994, The Legend of Fred Paterson 1996, The Fair Go: Winning the 1967 Referendum 1999, and Stories from the Split: the Struggle for the Souls of Australian Workers 2005 - researched, developed and produced between1990 and 2005. Each of the submitted documentary films treats an event or individual that made a decisive and lasting contribution to Australian political and social history in the course of the 20th Century. The projects also had the good fortune to win support from institutions such as the Australian Film Commission, ...
View more >This submission groups together four 'TV Hour' documentaries - Red Ted and the Great depression 1994, The Legend of Fred Paterson 1996, The Fair Go: Winning the 1967 Referendum 1999, and Stories from the Split: the Struggle for the Souls of Australian Workers 2005 - researched, developed and produced between1990 and 2005. Each of the submitted documentary films treats an event or individual that made a decisive and lasting contribution to Australian political and social history in the course of the 20th Century. The projects also had the good fortune to win support from institutions such as the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Research Council, the Film Finance Corporation, the Australian Foundation for Culture and the Humanities and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The selected films may be viewed as representing a sustained exploration of the relations between documentary modes and production practices, the uses of oral history, the institution of television, and certain understandings of Australian Politics. Taken together, the works exemplify some significant issues in the documentary representation of Australia political and social history. All the films take their content from the field of Australian political and social history; all work within the limits of the 'Television Hour' - from 51 to 60 minutes for public broadcasters; and all emply a mix of interview and archival materials in their construction. Crucially, the films emphasise the experience, opinions and testimaony of participants and witnesses rather than experts. Each film also employs elements of an approach to compilation filmmaking which can be traced to the montage strategy pioneered by the Soviet filmmaker Esther Shub; celebrated by Jay Leyda in his groundbreaking study 'Films Beget Films' (1964).
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View more >This submission groups together four 'TV Hour' documentaries - Red Ted and the Great depression 1994, The Legend of Fred Paterson 1996, The Fair Go: Winning the 1967 Referendum 1999, and Stories from the Split: the Struggle for the Souls of Australian Workers 2005 - researched, developed and produced between1990 and 2005. Each of the submitted documentary films treats an event or individual that made a decisive and lasting contribution to Australian political and social history in the course of the 20th Century. The projects also had the good fortune to win support from institutions such as the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Research Council, the Film Finance Corporation, the Australian Foundation for Culture and the Humanities and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The selected films may be viewed as representing a sustained exploration of the relations between documentary modes and production practices, the uses of oral history, the institution of television, and certain understandings of Australian Politics. Taken together, the works exemplify some significant issues in the documentary representation of Australia political and social history. All the films take their content from the field of Australian political and social history; all work within the limits of the 'Television Hour' - from 51 to 60 minutes for public broadcasters; and all emply a mix of interview and archival materials in their construction. Crucially, the films emphasise the experience, opinions and testimaony of participants and witnesses rather than experts. Each film also employs elements of an approach to compilation filmmaking which can be traced to the montage strategy pioneered by the Soviet filmmaker Esther Shub; celebrated by Jay Leyda in his groundbreaking study 'Films Beget Films' (1964).
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Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy by Publication (PhD)
School
Griffith Film School
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Public
Note
PhD by Publication This thesis has been scanned.
Subject
Documentary films
Australian history
Australian political history
Australian social history