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
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
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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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 Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types' ....The Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types', the creation of utopian spaces for white subjects, the representation of evolution and devolution, the making of the Pacific as site for scientific endeavour and the production of narratives of survival are among the areas to be considered.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Australian film and television production for Multichannel Environments, 1995-2009. The project has clear national benefits in that it represents a new approach to understanding the difficulties and opportunities confronting Australian situated audio-visual production at a time of profound change. In centering the transformation of the production industry under the impact of structural adjustment to multi-channeling and increasing transnationalization, the study promises new perspect ....Redesigning Australian film and television production for Multichannel Environments, 1995-2009. The project has clear national benefits in that it represents a new approach to understanding the difficulties and opportunities confronting Australian situated audio-visual production at a time of profound change. In centering the transformation of the production industry under the impact of structural adjustment to multi-channeling and increasing transnationalization, the study promises new perspectives on strategic policy and industry priorities which will strengthen the capacity for innovation and international linkages among producers, policy makers and educators. It fits the national priority of 'Frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries' related to 'promoting an innovation culture and economy'.Read moreRead less
Robert Frank: Experimentation Across Film and Photography in Post-War America. A study of Frank's career will establish critical models that can be applied to the work of Australian artists and filmmakers – especially those whose personal histories are linked to the waves of immigration that occurred during the '50s and '60s. The publication of a monograph, journal articles, interviews, a DVD and the staging of a retrospective will increase public awareness not only of Frank's work but also the ....Robert Frank: Experimentation Across Film and Photography in Post-War America. A study of Frank's career will establish critical models that can be applied to the work of Australian artists and filmmakers – especially those whose personal histories are linked to the waves of immigration that occurred during the '50s and '60s. The publication of a monograph, journal articles, interviews, a DVD and the staging of a retrospective will increase public awareness not only of Frank's work but also the work of those he has influenced. By including an overseas classroom element, this project also provides the opportunity to showcase the quality of Australian film research to high-calibre US students. This is vital to maintaining Australia's international reputation as a provider of film and media research.Read moreRead less
War, Computer Games and Contemporary Technoculture. This project examines computer games with a view to understanding the profound interrelationship of war and cultural developments that influences much of the innovation in computer gaming and simulation today. In the wake of the recent escalation of terrorism and state-supported counter-terrorism, war has become even more visible in media and audio-visual entertainment, making the question of the relation between war and mainstream culture one ....War, Computer Games and Contemporary Technoculture. This project examines computer games with a view to understanding the profound interrelationship of war and cultural developments that influences much of the innovation in computer gaming and simulation today. In the wake of the recent escalation of terrorism and state-supported counter-terrorism, war has become even more visible in media and audio-visual entertainment, making the question of the relation between war and mainstream culture one which poses itself with increasing urgency. This project's exploration of computer games is aimed at illuminating crucial features of this wider question of war's place in Australian contemporary culture, connected as it is to the global media context.Read moreRead less
The global impact of Chinese martial arts films and their potential to use Australian technology. A study of martial arts film is of national benefit in several ways. First, it makes a scholarly contribution to film studies in our Asia Pacific region. Second, it enhances our understanding of issues arising from Chinese popular culture, such as soft power, cultural nationalism, regional rivalries, combat, and justice. Finally, Australian companies have been involved in the high-technology end of ....The global impact of Chinese martial arts films and their potential to use Australian technology. A study of martial arts film is of national benefit in several ways. First, it makes a scholarly contribution to film studies in our Asia Pacific region. Second, it enhances our understanding of issues arising from Chinese popular culture, such as soft power, cultural nationalism, regional rivalries, combat, and justice. Finally, Australian companies have been involved in the high-technology end of landmark Chinese martial arts films, which provides Australians with opportunities for developing business relationships, producing new creative content, and expanding innovative technologies with an important market in the global environment.Read moreRead less
Cinematic Ethics: Exploring Ethical Experience through Film. This project develops a new interdisciplinary framework for understanding cinema’s unique power to evoke ethical experience via audiovisual means. Combining philosophy with film analysis, it moves beyond the prevalent view that cinema merely illustrates moral situations, and challenges the long-held suspicion toward film’s manipulative aesthetic power. This project proposes instead a model of cinematic ethics: an investigation of how c ....Cinematic Ethics: Exploring Ethical Experience through Film. This project develops a new interdisciplinary framework for understanding cinema’s unique power to evoke ethical experience via audiovisual means. Combining philosophy with film analysis, it moves beyond the prevalent view that cinema merely illustrates moral situations, and challenges the long-held suspicion toward film’s manipulative aesthetic power. This project proposes instead a model of cinematic ethics: an investigation of how cinema evokes ethical experience through emotional, cognitive, and aesthetic engagement. This project will advance the emerging interdisciplinary field of film-philosophy by highlighting film’s under-recognised potential to enhance ethical understanding, and thus to promote greater social awareness and intercultural communication.Read moreRead less