Australian Film Theory and Criticism. Australian film theory and criticism has burgeoned over the past thirty years, but there is no dedicated book-length study of the field. This research project will fill the gap, not only tracing the specificity of Australian film theory and criticism but also reasserting its place on the international scholarly agenda. In tracing the critical positions, personalities and institutions that have shaped film theory and criticism in this country, this project wi ....Australian Film Theory and Criticism. Australian film theory and criticism has burgeoned over the past thirty years, but there is no dedicated book-length study of the field. This research project will fill the gap, not only tracing the specificity of Australian film theory and criticism but also reasserting its place on the international scholarly agenda. In tracing the critical positions, personalities and institutions that have shaped film theory and criticism in this country, this project will at once disseminate and preserve (for scholars and the general public alike) the legacy of those critical intellectuals who have striven to understand the nation's most popular art and entertainment form, the cinema. Read moreRead less
The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural econom ....The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural economy. The study on how film agencies and archives have managed Asian Australian cinema is a resource for policy and film makers in the industry. The new diasporic cinema studies framework developed will consolidate Australia's established reputation in cinema studies and advance international film scholarship.Read moreRead less
Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that st ....Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that stands to integrate film studies within the core of humanities education in tertiary institutions. This will ensure the ongoing relevance of philosophical and aesthetic research to contemporary cultural formations and stimulate ethical debates about culture and the mass media in the broader community.Read moreRead less
Experimental Cinemas and their Publics. The aim of this project is to undertake a major study of the cultural organisations and institutions that have shaped different types of cinematic experiment and their publics in Australia, Britain, and the United States since the mid-1940s. This study's assertion that all experiment in the cinema has been undertaken in an environment of culturally and institutionally controlled risk, has been designed both to contribute to an important revision of the wa ....Experimental Cinemas and their Publics. The aim of this project is to undertake a major study of the cultural organisations and institutions that have shaped different types of cinematic experiment and their publics in Australia, Britain, and the United States since the mid-1940s. This study's assertion that all experiment in the cinema has been undertaken in an environment of culturally and institutionally controlled risk, has been designed both to contribute to an important revision of the way experimental cinema is thought about and taught, and to engage film and new media producers themselves in critical discussion about the roles of institutions in experimental media cultures. Read moreRead less
The Democractisation of Documentary Cinema in China. The Democratisation of Documentary Cinema in China has cultural, political, economic, and research benefits for Australia. Culturally, the Project provides an analysis of the ways China views itself and the world. Politically, the Project enriches Australia's understanding of how media control in China has been transformed from 1949 to the age of globalisation. Economically, the Project enhances Australia's chances of finding a niche in the wo ....The Democractisation of Documentary Cinema in China. The Democratisation of Documentary Cinema in China has cultural, political, economic, and research benefits for Australia. Culturally, the Project provides an analysis of the ways China views itself and the world. Politically, the Project enriches Australia's understanding of how media control in China has been transformed from 1949 to the age of globalisation. Economically, the Project enhances Australia's chances of finding a niche in the world's largest documentary film market. As a contribution to research, the Project will produce the first in-depth study of Chinese documentary film, its industry and politics and so offers Australia a new perspective on how political change is reflected in one of China's leading media productions.Read moreRead less
Children of Frankenstein: Science Fiction, Automata and the Emergence of Robot Realities. Entertainment technologies are integral to everyday life and they play a crucial role in acclimatizing the public to new technologies. This project provides a unique account of the role played by creative industries in developing cutting-edge technologies that include robots, and film and computer game special effects that rely on artificial intelligence. The computer game industry in Australia is developin ....Children of Frankenstein: Science Fiction, Automata and the Emergence of Robot Realities. Entertainment technologies are integral to everyday life and they play a crucial role in acclimatizing the public to new technologies. This project provides a unique account of the role played by creative industries in developing cutting-edge technologies that include robots, and film and computer game special effects that rely on artificial intelligence. The computer game industry in Australia is developing into a very profitable industry and attracts an audience far greater than that of the cinema. Like film effects designers, game programmers are implementing artificial intelligence into their games. By considering Australian industries within an international context, much can be learned about our role as innovators on a global scale.Read moreRead less
The impact of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson on European modernism and cultural life. The story of how the Black American entertainers Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson became stars in Jazz-Age Europe is the stuff of legend. Lionised by artists and intellectuals and idolised by popular audiences, they embodied the spirit of the age. As an allegory for those times, their story reveals a secret history of cultural intermixing at the heart of European modernism. It also holds up a mirror to our ....The impact of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson on European modernism and cultural life. The story of how the Black American entertainers Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson became stars in Jazz-Age Europe is the stuff of legend. Lionised by artists and intellectuals and idolised by popular audiences, they embodied the spirit of the age. As an allegory for those times, their story reveals a secret history of cultural intermixing at the heart of European modernism. It also holds up a mirror to our times. By demonstrating the cosmopolitanism and ingenuity of popular culture, the research will simultaneously discomfort multicultural and anti-racist assumptions and deflate the myth of a pure or unchanging cultural identity.Read moreRead less
Australian Screen Comedy. This project will analyse the different types of screen comedy produced in Australia in order to understand how comedy has shaped a sense of who we are as Australians. It will provide an understanding of why some Australian comedies and comedians succeed at home but not abroad and whether comedy can claim to be representative of an Australian way of life. It will make a contribution to a network of current research projects into the history and aesthetics of Australian ....Australian Screen Comedy. This project will analyse the different types of screen comedy produced in Australia in order to understand how comedy has shaped a sense of who we are as Australians. It will provide an understanding of why some Australian comedies and comedians succeed at home but not abroad and whether comedy can claim to be representative of an Australian way of life. It will make a contribution to a network of current research projects into the history and aesthetics of Australian television and film, producing synergies in national media research.
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