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'‘Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema’ comprises eight essays, an introduction and conclusion, and the analysis of poetics and cultural geographies is focused on landmark films and television. The first section of the book, ‘Backtracks: Landscape and Identity’, refers to films from and before the revival, beginning with the 1978 film 'The Irishman' as an example of heritage cinema in which performances of gender and race, like the setting, suggest a romanticised and uncritical image of colonial Australia. It is compared to Baz Luhrmann’s 'Australia' (2008) and several other films. In the second chapter, ‘Heritage Enigmatic’, 'The Irishman' is also drawn into comparison with Charles Chauvel’s ‘Jedda’ (1955), as films that incorporate Indigenous performances in this heritage discourse through the role of voice and sound. In Part 2, ‘Silences in Paradise’, the first essay, ‘Tropical Gothic’, focuses on Rachel Perkins’s 'Radiance' (1998) as a landmark post-colonial film that questions the connotations of icons of paradise in Queensland. The discussion leads to films, in the next chapter, ‘Island Girls Friday’, that figure women on Queensland islands, spanning the pre-revival and contemporary era: ‘Age of Consent’ (1969), ‘Nim’s Island’ (2008) and ‘Uninhabited’ (2010). Part 3, ‘Masculine Dramas of the Coast’ moves to the Gold Coast, in films dating from before and since the current spike in transnational production at the Warner Roadshow film studios there, namely, 'The Coolangatta Gold' (1984), 'Peter Pan' (2003), and 'Sanctum' (2011). The final section, ‘Regional Backtracks’, turns, first, to two television series, ‘Remote Area Nurse’ (2006), and ‘The Straits’ (2012), that share unique provenance of production in the Torres Strait and far north regions of Queensland, while, in the final chapter, the iconic outback districts of western Queensland figure the convergence of land, landscape and location in films with potent perspectives on Indigenous histories in ‘The Proposition’ (2005) and ‘Mystery Road’ (2013). ‘Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema’ presents the various regions as syncretic spaces subject to transitions of social and industry practices over time.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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"The House Will Come to You" : Domestic Architecture in Contemporary Australian Literature and Film
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , vol. 34 no. 2 2020; (p. 277-295) 'The house has long been an archetypal site of Gothic terror and entrapment. The Gothic dwelling is one of the most steadfast conventions of the mode, shifting as the Gothic has shifted through history to encompass a range of sites, from castles to cabins, speaking to ongoing anxieties about the security and stability of the home, nation, family, or self. The Gothic’s “relentlessly ‘architectural’ obsessions” (Castle 88) have been well documented, and Gothic buildings are frequently read as psychological as much as physical spaces. The Gothic edifice functions as a “sensation-machine” (Castle 88) capable of generating the sublime feeling of being overwhelmed by a greater power. The Gothic house, operating on a smaller scale, has likewise been associated with overarching power structures such as the nation, family, or—in the Female Gothic—patriarchy.' (Publication abstract) -
Allison Craven, Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema : Poetics and Screen Geographies (Anthem Press, 2016)
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 9 no. 2 2017; 'Queensland’s role as a location for film productions, a setting for film narratives, and a locus for local, national, and cinematic identities is the theme of Allison Craven’s Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema: Poetics and Screen Geographies. Craven’s work ‘pose[s] the idea of region as a source of cinematic identity, and … examine[s] how location affects a film’s meaning’ . Using films made and/or set in Queensland as her primary texts, Craven advocates for progressing from a generalised vision of Australia on film towards a vision that foregrounds regional space and identity. In doing so, she considers how these Queensland-based productions contribute to national identity in these transnational times, as well as how Queensland figures into representations of Australia within the broader context of film as a dominant commercial art form and global storytelling practice.' (Introduction)
-
Allison Craven, Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema : Poetics and Screen Geographies (Anthem Press, 2016)
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 9 no. 2 2017; 'Queensland’s role as a location for film productions, a setting for film narratives, and a locus for local, national, and cinematic identities is the theme of Allison Craven’s Finding Queensland in Australian Cinema: Poetics and Screen Geographies. Craven’s work ‘pose[s] the idea of region as a source of cinematic identity, and … examine[s] how location affects a film’s meaning’ . Using films made and/or set in Queensland as her primary texts, Craven advocates for progressing from a generalised vision of Australia on film towards a vision that foregrounds regional space and identity. In doing so, she considers how these Queensland-based productions contribute to national identity in these transnational times, as well as how Queensland figures into representations of Australia within the broader context of film as a dominant commercial art form and global storytelling practice.' (Introduction) -
"The House Will Come to You" : Domestic Architecture in Contemporary Australian Literature and Film
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , vol. 34 no. 2 2020; (p. 277-295) 'The house has long been an archetypal site of Gothic terror and entrapment. The Gothic dwelling is one of the most steadfast conventions of the mode, shifting as the Gothic has shifted through history to encompass a range of sites, from castles to cabins, speaking to ongoing anxieties about the security and stability of the home, nation, family, or self. The Gothic’s “relentlessly ‘architectural’ obsessions” (Castle 88) have been well documented, and Gothic buildings are frequently read as psychological as much as physical spaces. The Gothic edifice functions as a “sensation-machine” (Castle 88) capable of generating the sublime feeling of being overwhelmed by a greater power. The Gothic house, operating on a smaller scale, has likewise been associated with overarching power structures such as the nation, family, or—in the Female Gothic—patriarchy.' (Publication abstract)
- The Irishman 1978 single work film/TV
- Australia 2008 single work film/TV
- Jedda 1955 single work film/TV
- Radiance 1998 single work film/TV
- The Age of Consent 1969 single work film/TV
- Nim's Island 2008 single work film/TV
- Uninhabited 2010 single work film/TV
- The Coolangatta Gold 1984 single work film/TV
- Peter Pan 2003 single work film/TV
- Sanctum 2011 single work film/TV
- RAN 2006 series - publisher film/TV
- The Straits 2012 series - publisher film/TV
- The Proposition 2005 single work film/TV
- Mystery Road 2013 single work film/TV
- Queensland,