The Film Industry of Australia from its Renaissance to the Present-Day Situation - Case Study Example

FILM IN AUSTRALIA by Student’s Name Code + Name of Course Institution City/State Professor Date Film in Australia This essay discusses the film industry of Australia from its renaissance to the present day situation. The industry is still developing and it enjoys immense support from the government in terms of support, funding and in subsidies as well as promotion of local movies. The industry still evolves it has its own challenges strengths and weaknesses. Development of the Australian Movie Industry Form Its Renaissance The article presented explores the development of the Australian movie industry from its renaissance to the modern day situation. In the underground renaissance of the industry, the recent past experienced revitalization of the film industry of America. At almost the same period, the Australian film industry had film makers sourcing for federal funds to enable them produce movies. Adams and Jones were the two individuals who initiated sourcing of funds in the 1960’s by touring different regions of the world and in the process learning lessons on film making. Most of the films developed were rejected initially due to their poor content. The government directed a screen culture, which meant that schools were federally funded and from them a few filmmakers were selected before they could feature in the films sponsored using taxpayer’s money. The Australian Film Commission during the 1980s and 1990s did not acknowledge the ‘Ozploitation’ films rich assortment. An Australian film archbishop criticised and also made recommendations about the local filmmakers abandoning the American style in the film making genre. Instead, they were to focus in making movies that could be marketed overseas as with international standards. Ethical questions concerning legitimacy of financing by the government alongside, other problems later developed funding practices that were nepotistic and which seemed instantaneously. The first financed film by Adams became the first one to be produced by Australians. This film was “The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.” Response to the highly pitiful financial performance of Australian films was made in 2000. The Australian government introduced various reforms in attempts to salvage the Australian film industry which was failing. This included merging the major national film bodies. Limited funding in this industry compelled some producers and film-makers to look for other employment opportunities outside the film industry and mortgage their homes. They would also go to lengths of living unbalanced individual lives to ensure that their creative dreams arrived magically on the domestic and international audience screens. .For example Dalibor Backovic Sydneysider utilised his savings from his casual job as a monitor in a court for $20. Lack of government support catalysed personal action. There was an offset scheme whereby the government subsidized for the producers in Australian projects with over one million dollars. Ozploitation and Challenges to the Australian Film Studies The Australian cinema of between 1970s and 1980s swiftly grew fashionable for analysis, celebration and rehabilitation. Many ‘Ozploitation’ craze aspects, including art exclusion experimental or intellectual cinema, and the peculiar streamlining variegated the history of national film industry. This compels us to question the value of Ozploitation classics. From the release of the term ‘Ozploitation’, it has grown synonymous in the Australian film industry, Ozploitation as a theoretical concept has grown as a framework and de facto approach for understanding the Australian movie genres. However, as much as the Ozploitation concept has successfully raised awareness of the local genre films, the discourse still poses challenges for film studies. Utility of the concept is limited for studies of genre movies in Australia. Ozploitation limits the genre movies analysis to trash cinema or narrow exploitation confines. The discourse obscures significant discussions in the ways the Australian cinema associates with popular genres of movies. It also considers the idea of filmmaking in Australia as entertainment, as well as the commercial filmmaking dynamics in general. ‘Ozploitation’ considers promotion of moral standards while at the same time retaining appeal to the masses. Attention is usually paid to Ozploitation to ensure the film industry receives a retrospective phenomenon. One of the biggest problems that have interfered with Australian cinema historiography is the reluctance to engage in international comparisons. The Art Directing History In this history, a movie Picnic at Hanging Rock produced in 1975 is analysed. The movie started the Australian period film. It set into motion sub-genres of movie-making which became the fashions for the critics of local film and filmmakers. The period films appeared to fulfil the government obligations that movies subsidised using public funds were supposed to be culturally and commercially successful. This period film permitted the commission of Australian Film to validate its practices in ways which various predecessors had not managed in offering insights into the Australian community between the 1970s 1980s. The movies from Australia produced in the 1970s were marked by distinctive narrative and visual style. However, the styles were not appreciated universally. The seventies revival domination by given sub-genre developed in the past, through history re-creation and landscape representations and applying aesthetic mannerisms for example atmospheric shots, and the using slow motion in inferring significance. Towards the end of the 1960, the film industry of Australian was reinforced by increasingly strong nationalist mythologies which recognise films as desirable medium for showing images with maturity and new confidence to depict a contemporary Australian society and culture. Evolution of the Policy of the Australian Film Industry In early 1960s, the Australian federal government showed interest in determining viability of the film industry in Australia. Television development in Australia highlighted need for bringing up policing of foreign content seen on the Australian screens. It was also a platform to emphasize relevance of the movie industry in the supply of the workforce and infrastructure for theoretical drama and television. There, developed strong economic and industrial purposes. This suggested that the Australian cinema industry would gain in the existing industry in media, arts and entertainment. The friction role in policies of Australian film industry evolution policy premises on the tensions generated between the state, nationalism and commercialism. Cultural policy studies elicit attention in shifting cultural policies and emphasising the relevance of technological changes and globalisation. For example, the film Born produced in 2004, confirms the public broadcasting marketization through the prioritising financial accounting, subordination of public service ethos and producer community disempowerment. The Local requirements of the content in films and television are linked with a dimension of changes in the changes of the “Australian Film Industry” institutional regimes. Local content was associated with nationalistic ideas which reflected a variety of policies that include safeguarding the Australian sites for local cinema making. Strengths and weaknesses of the “Australian Film Industry” The strengths of the Australian film industry is that the government has promoted its growth by developing policies which promote local content and through subsidies granted to the local producers of films. . The industry has received immense government support through reduced taxes and subsidies. Thus, the government has helped in creating, financing, and distributing of films making them reach the intended customers. The weaknesses are that most of the film content lacks quality and this has elicited questions as to why the government keeps supporting the industry. Furthermore, the Australian filmmakers have not shown responsibility or reality of making quality movies by putting into consideration what the local audiences want. Thus, they have not been able to create what their audiences (Lieberman, 2002`, p. 699) desire.This implies that the filmmakers have to ensure that they understand well the kind of audience for their movies. The reason as to why the audiences prefer to watch the movies and developing bridges and paths to ensure that the audiences of their films are well catered for. The ironical thing is that all steps in filmmaking are collaborative efforts and should therefore be the same in distribution and marketing such films. Unfortunately, the film’s audiences are usually regarded as an afterthought with the primary effort being put into the craft only (Lieberman, 2002, p. 700). Recommendations for improving the Australian Film Industry It is highly recommended that administrative and funding activities in the future by the film agencies and the Australian Government should be geared towards ensuring that there is a clear recognition of the fact that the performance of films in Australia have been denigrated unfairly by using inappropriate comparisons. Thus the assessment criteria focus for judging success of the industry should be changed from the percentage investment return and share of market to the comparative subsidies for every consumer . This would change the conceptual emphasis of films as products to a film into work that is of intrinsic cultural value that endures outreach over national boundaries (French, 2001p.17). In conclusion, this industry is still developing but it enjoys immense support from the government in terms, funding, in subsidies as well as promotion of local movies. The friction role in policies of Australian film industry evolution policy premises on the tensions generated between the state, nationalism and commercialism. Cultural policy studies elicit attention in shifting cultural policies and emphasising the relevance of technological changes and globalisation References French, L 2001, Patterns of production and policy: the Australian film industry in the 1990s. In Craven, ed. Australian cinema in the 1990s, vol. 6, pp. 15–36. Lieberman, R 2002, ‘Ideas, institutions and political order: explaining political change’, American political science review, vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 697–712. Read More

.For example Dalibor Backovic Sydneysider utilised his savings from his casual job as a monitor in a court for $20. Lack of government support catalysed personal action. There was an offset scheme whereby the government subsidized for the producers in Australian projects with over one million dollars. Ozploitation and Challenges to the Australian Film Studies The Australian cinema of between 1970s and 1980s swiftly grew fashionable for analysis, celebration and rehabilitation. Many ‘Ozploitation’ craze aspects, including art exclusion experimental or intellectual cinema, and the peculiar streamlining variegated the history of national film industry.

This compels us to question the value of Ozploitation classics. From the release of the term ‘Ozploitation’, it has grown synonymous in the Australian film industry, Ozploitation as a theoretical concept has grown as a framework and de facto approach for understanding the Australian movie genres. However, as much as the Ozploitation concept has successfully raised awareness of the local genre films, the discourse still poses challenges for film studies. Utility of the concept is limited for studies of genre movies in Australia.

Ozploitation limits the genre movies analysis to trash cinema or narrow exploitation confines. The discourse obscures significant discussions in the ways the Australian cinema associates with popular genres of movies. It also considers the idea of filmmaking in Australia as entertainment, as well as the commercial filmmaking dynamics in general. ‘Ozploitation’ considers promotion of moral standards while at the same time retaining appeal to the masses. Attention is usually paid to Ozploitation to ensure the film industry receives a retrospective phenomenon.

One of the biggest problems that have interfered with Australian cinema historiography is the reluctance to engage in international comparisons. The Art Directing History In this history, a movie Picnic at Hanging Rock produced in 1975 is analysed. The movie started the Australian period film. It set into motion sub-genres of movie-making which became the fashions for the critics of local film and filmmakers. The period films appeared to fulfil the government obligations that movies subsidised using public funds were supposed to be culturally and commercially successful.

This period film permitted the commission of Australian Film to validate its practices in ways which various predecessors had not managed in offering insights into the Australian community between the 1970s 1980s. The movies from Australia produced in the 1970s were marked by distinctive narrative and visual style. However, the styles were not appreciated universally. The seventies revival domination by given sub-genre developed in the past, through history re-creation and landscape representations and applying aesthetic mannerisms for example atmospheric shots, and the using slow motion in inferring significance.

Towards the end of the 1960, the film industry of Australian was reinforced by increasingly strong nationalist mythologies which recognise films as desirable medium for showing images with maturity and new confidence to depict a contemporary Australian society and culture. Evolution of the Policy of the Australian Film Industry In early 1960s, the Australian federal government showed interest in determining viability of the film industry in Australia. Television development in Australia highlighted need for bringing up policing of foreign content seen on the Australian screens.

It was also a platform to emphasize relevance of the movie industry in the supply of the workforce and infrastructure for theoretical drama and television. There, developed strong economic and industrial purposes. This suggested that the Australian cinema industry would gain in the existing industry in media, arts and entertainment. The friction role in policies of Australian film industry evolution policy premises on the tensions generated between the state, nationalism and commercialism.

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