Retaining the frisson of the 'other' : imperialism, assimilation, integration and multiculturalism in Australian schools

In Australia, the 1960s saw a broadening of music offerings from other cultures in school materials from the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). This is a useful indicator for changing perceptions. Since then, increasingly 'authentic' materials have become available but how far have we really come? Blacking (How musical is man? University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1973) identified the difficulty of acquiring and understanding, skill and authenticity in the music of another culture. He stressed that musical acquisition should occur in a cultural context. Removing music from one culture and presenting it in the symbolic gestures of another may strip its meaning. This is particularly true for musics from cultures removed from the Western paradigm. The further we move from our cultural norm, the harder it is to produce authentic experiences for students. By considering the African music resources offered to schools by the ABC, we can explore the attempts we have made to move from colonialism to multiculturalism.

Integration and multiculturalism in music in Australian schools: has/can/should the leopard change its spots?

The 1960s saw a broadening of the offerings of music from other cultures in the materials and programs of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). This is a useful indicator for our changing perceptions. Since then, increasingly ‘authentic’ music materials have been available to primary classroom teachers, but how far have we really come? Blacking (1973) identified the difficulty of truly acquiring an understanding, skill and authenticity in the music of another culture. Blacking stressed the importance of music and musical acquisition occurring in a cultural context. In many cultures there is a clear link between the acquisition of musical and social skills. By removing music from one culture and presenting it in the symbolic gestures of another we may strip much of its meaning. It is very difficult for a member of one culture to comprehend the music and culture of another without understanding its social milieu. This is particularly true for musics from cultures removed from the Western music paradigm. It could be argued that the further we move from our cultural norm, the harder it is to produce authentic experiences for students and future experienced teachers. By considering the resources offered to teachers and teacher education students we can explore the attempts we have made, and continue to make, in our attempts to move from integration to multiculturalism. As a ‘work in progress’, this paper will consider the inclusion of African music in the nationally distributed ABC school singing books as a means of illustrating and marking change.

Active, healthy cities ? how does population physical activity vary between Australian cities?

Issue addressed: Despite recognition that urban infrastructure influences physical activity, there have been no comparisons between Australian city-level patterns of physical activity. This study ranked Australian cities in terms of adults? participation in leisure-time physical activity and examined city-level variations in activity trends between 2001 and 2009. Methods: Data on participation in leisure-time physical activity in adults (=15 years) between 2001 and 2009 were obtained from the Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS), a computer-assisted telephone interview conducted to collect population-level sport participation information by the Australian Sports Commission. Data were analysed for respondents residing in the eight capital cities of Australia. The prevalence of meeting recommended ?health-enhancing physical activity? (HEPA) and levels of walking were calculated by age, gender and survey year. Multiple linear logistic regression analyses were used to compare cities. Results: Pooled data from 174,323 adults across years showed that Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra residents were significantly more active than Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart residents in terms of HEPA. Hobart, Perth and Melbourne residents were significantly more likely to walk =5 sessions a week compared with their counterparts in other cities. HEPA and walking increased across most cities between 2001 and 2009. Conclusion: There are significant differences between Australian cities in physical activity and walking levels, over and above differences attributable to age, gender or educational levels. While this may be due to infrastructure differences, comparative information on indicators of the built environment and transport infrastructure are not available.

Australian gothic

Australian gothic - students took inspiration from the 1975 Australian film, Picnic at Hanging Rock and with choreographed moments created dream-like tableaux.

Missing the lesbian and the missing lesbian: a study of the forgotten lesbian in 1970s Australian cinema

This paper addresses the (largely forgotten) presence of lesbians, in 1970s Australian film. It explores the romantic friendships canvassed in 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', (Peter Weir, 1975) and 'The Getting of Wisdom', (Bruce Beresford, 1977) alongside the lesbian in other canonical 1970s works, like the election comedy, 'Don’s Party' (Beresford, 1976) the bio-pic 'Dawn!', and unique tele-features such as 'The Alternative' (Paul Eddy 1978). This paper investigates the way these texts are read and received. The 1970s was an important decade in Australia's filmic history, (affectionately dubbed Australia's film ‘Renaissance’) and this paper examine the lesbian readings that are and aren’t there; and that are and are not avowed.

Bollywood’s Australian yarn

 It’s 101 years since the birth of Bollywood, the world’s largest and most vibrant movie industry and, of course, that’s more than enough time to mature and alter, to grow arms and legs. For some time, but since the 1990s particularly, the connections between Australia and Bollywood have really taken hold. So sit back and enjoy a cinematic journey that’s sure to entertain. As a genre Bollywood has grown and developed over a period of 100 years, coloured by India’s history, politics, socio-economic conditions, culture, sensibilities, dreams, fantasies, hopes and expectations. The ever-increasing presence of the Indian diaspora in different parts of the world has helped to realise what we might think of as Bollywood’s cultural diplomacy project. Various Australian state tourism bodies have since supported Indian productions and used Bollywood stars as ambassadors to promote Australia as a welcoming nation. The 1996 film Indian has been credited for featuring the first appearance of kangaroos in Indian cinema. But I have noticed that as early as 1974, a Hindi film Majboor made first reference to Australia and its iconic boxing kangaroo. It featured Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan with a poster captioned: ‘Just hop, skip and jump every Thursday to Perth Sydney’. Australia is now a hot destination for Bollywood as well as regional language film-makers, with a successful foray of films from Soldier (1998) to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). Over the past two decades, Australian films such as Holy Smoke! (1999), The Waiting City (2009), Save Your Legs! (2012), feature India, not just as a background location but as an integral part of the plot. Bollywood’s influence on Australia can be gauged by the direction of Australian film careers. Be it the Indian-Australian actress Pallavi Sharda (Besharam) or Australia’s bowling sensation Brett Lee (Asha and Friends), Mary Ann Evans – AKA Fearless Nadia, Louise Lightfoot, Tom Cowan, Bob Christo, Tania Zaetta (Salaam Namaste), Nicholas Brown (Kites), Tabrett Bethell (Dhoom 3), Rebecca Breeds (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag), Kristina Akheeva (Yamla Pagla Deewana 2), Emma Brown Garett (Yamala Pagla Deewana), Vimala Raman (Mumbai Mirror), Anusha Dandekar (Delhi Belly), and Maheep Sandhu (Shivam). In this paper I would focus on the journeys and stories of actors, chiefly Fearless Nadia, Bob Christo, and Pallavi Sharda; and also compare a few Bollywood films, particularly Kya Kehna (2000) and Salaam Namaste (2005) made on same theme but set in India and Australia respectively, to show how Australia as has been presented as sexually liberating, visually romantic, and fantastical land of beaches and beauties.

Re-visioning Australian social realism through a feminine lens

This research explores the unique ways in which female film practitioners in Australia are utilising social realist politics in examining the stories of women in marginalised spaces. The findings add to the much needed gravitas of the female voice in contemporary Australian film.

The Australian screen producer in transition

The role of the screen producer is ramifying. Not only are there numerous producer categories, but the screen producer function is also found on a continuum across film, television, advertising, corporate video and the burgeoning digital media sector. In recent years, fundamental changes to distribution and consumption practices and technologies should have had a correlate impact on screen production practices and on the role of existing screen producers. At the same time, new and recent producers are learning and practising their craft in af ield that has already been transformed by digitization and media convergence. Our analysis of the work, experience and outlook of screen producers in this chapter is based on data collected in the Australian Screen Producer Survey (ASPS), a nationwide survey conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, the media marketing firm Bergent Research and the Centre for Screen Business at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in 2008/2009 and 2011.2 We analyse the results to better understand the practice of screen production in a period of industry transition, and to recognize the persistence of established production cultures that serve to distinguish different industry sectors.

Australian films at large: expanding the evidence about Australian cinema performance

International markets have in recent years become a critical component of the business model for Hollywood cinema, opening up a renewed interest in the global dimensions of film diffusion. Smaller film-producing nations such as Denmark have similarly emphasised global distribution as a key component of the industry's success. Typically, however, claims for Australian film industry success rely almost exclusively on a film's domestic box office performance. This paper considers the possibilities for an expanded approach to measuring success and failure in the Australian film industry. Adopting analytic methods from cinema studies, cultural economics and geo-spatial sciences, this paper will examine the international theatrical circulation of Australian films using a unique global database of cinema showtimes. This data set captures all formal film screenings in 47 countries over an 18-month period ending 1 June 2014 and enables detailed empirical study of the locations visited by Australian-produced films. In conjunction with relevant box office data and contextual critical commentary, we propose a revised and expanded ‘film impact rating’ for assessing the reported performance of Australian films.

The pioneering years of Australian animation (1900–1930): from animated sketches to animation empire

This article describes the very earliest beginnings of Australian animation, detailing the events, processes, and the people who pioneered this medium from approximately 1900 to 1930. It examines these early achievements, which range from the first ‘animated lightning sketches’ to the rise and subsequent demise of a major animation studio. Much of this article focuses on the innovative work of Harry Julius (1885–1938) who is generally regarded as the chief pioneer of animation in Australia. However, as this article reveals, there were others who experimented with animation before Julius, and there were a number of artists and animators who worked alongside him in those early decades. Together, Julius and team built the very successful Sydney-based studio, Cartoon Filmads, which developed into what could only be described as an ‘animation empire’ with a robust national and international reach. This article details some of the authors’ extensive research surrounding these previously overlooked cinematic efforts, and carefully analyses these in terms of content, production, audience reception and international context.

Don't talk about me . . . like I'm not here: Disability in Australian national cinema

The article analyzes the representation of disability in Australian national cinema. Disability has been an enduring topic in Australian films and it has got occasional mentions in film and cultural criticism. An important pioneering treatment in this field is film critic Elizabeth Ferrier's examination of the trope of creative disabilities. Ferrier draws attention to disability in Australian film. She provides a stimulating and nuanced reading in light of the thematics of Australian cultural anxieties. "My One Legged Dream Lover," is one of the few productions that features a disabled lead character, Kath Duncan, played by disabled performer, Kath Duncan.