CUL 221 AUSTRALIAN FILM AND TELEVISION – RESEARCH ESSAY;

NOTE: EACH QUESTION REQUIRES YOU TO USE ONE (OR MORE) OF THE SCREENED TEXTS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEMESTER – FAILURE TO DO THIS WILL INCUR A PENALTY
QUESTION ONE:
Using Evil Angels (Fred Shepsisi, 1988) and Housos vs Authority (Paul Fenech, 2012), offer an analysis of the relationship between the national and power in the Australian context. How does each film/ program explore collective identities? How can we consider the construction of dominant forms of Australianness as extensions of popular representations, understandings and value systems?
QUESTION TWO:
How do images of Aboriginality construct narratives of the changing Australian social context? Using examples from one of the screened film/TV texts and one not screened in the course, explore the idea that Aboriginality is constructed through a dialogue between white and non-white Australia. Using the model of ‘narrative accrual’ from Hartley (2004: 21), chart some of the impacts and effects of indigenous images on larger stories of being Australian in film and television.
QUESTION THREE:
Australia’s ongoing issues with immigration and ethic/cultural differences are played out through the representations of cross-cultural encounters. Using Head On (Ana Kokkinos, 1998) and one other appropriate text from Australian film or television (including news and current affairs), explore what these representations tell us about the negotiations and politics of Anglo-Australian identity with respect to diasporic cultures. Does the film and television landscape foster and reflect integration, or merely separate and tolerate difference?
QUESTION FOUR
Thinking about the style and content of the film Australia (Baz Luhrman, 2009), analyse the relationship between Australian film and television and ‘epic’ tales of Australian history. In what ways does the film support a ‘nationalist agenda’ (Rayner, 2000) if at all? Does the film invoke ‘shock, recognition and trauma’ (Collins and Davis, 2004) found by critics as characteristic of contemporary Australian films?

Criteria:
• Extent to which the essay is focused on the specific question selected
• Structure: statement of aims in introduction, organisation of material (logical order and flow of discussion), conclusion
• Clarity of argument, quality of analysis and fluency in cultural studies terms
• Identification of appropriate themes and concepts from the set texts and further reading and their usefulness in the analysis of examples – this is VITAL to Cultural Studies
• Use of appropriate evidence to support claims
• Adequate and appropriate citation of sources
• Presentation: format, spelling, syntax, grammar and expression, WORD LENGTH

ALL WORK to be submitted via the TURNITIN link. Write to word length and include a full bibliography. See Faculty or University website for details with respect to plagiarism and academic writing services.