Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0235 - Australian and New Zealand Cinema

From the Australian Film Revival in the 1970s represented by directors such as Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi and Gillian Armstrong to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Rabbit-Proof Fence," "The Piano," "Mystery Road" and "Mad Max: Fury Road," Australian and New Zealand have made unique contributions to international cinema. In this course, we will examine the ways in which selected films from both countries engage with genre film, national identity, race and gender, history, myth, landscape, and the ability of two small film cultures to thrive despite the economic and cultural dominance of Hollywood. Our weekly film screenings will be supplemented by a discussion of short stories and a novel in order to situate Australian and New Zealand cinema within a broader cultural and historical framework. This course is part of the Time and Narrative Learning Collaborative (LC). Some of the questions we will explore are: How does film narrate national history, heritage, and myth? How do Australian and New Zealand films address the colonial legacy of these two settler nations, and shape postcolonial responses to that legacy? Keywords: Australian film, New Zealand film, national identity, history, cultural studies

Time and Narrative Students in this course can expect to spend 6 to 8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.