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Clip description
Newspaper clippings are accompanied by voice-over that declares the Menzies Government ‘intends to wreck the carnival’. NSW state leader, Lord Mayor O’Dea bans the Sydney Town Hall as a venue for the carnival. Meanwhile, the carnival comes up against detractors: people hiring venues are hassled; posters are vandalised or removed; the police maintain a high presence amongst the crowds; and youth are portrayed as misfits and vandals by the popular press. Their support comes from the youth newspaper Challenge.
Curator’s notes
Again, dramatic music (part of Moussorgsky’s 'Night on Bald Mountain’ ), persuasive voice-over and selective images serve the film’s arguments that the carnival is revolutionary in its stance against war. The stereotypes of youth as vandals or potential trouble makers may be overused here to make a point, but are certainly still relevant today.
