Titles tagged with ‘colonialism’
22 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1930s
White, AR: Tin Mining in Malaya home movie – c1930
Australians have engaged with the Asia-Pacific region through travel and enterprise for many decades, but moving image records like this one from the first half of the 20th century are not common.
Ghosts of Port Arthur documentary – c1932
A ‘novelty travel talk’ by Ken G Hall in 1930 has other resonances today: violent encounters after European settlement and the horror of the Port Arthur massacre.
Holidays in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canton, Java home movie – c1932
These scenes of colonial-era South-East Asia are an early example of actuality footage which captures Australian perspectives of the region.
Balinese Holiday home movie – c1933
This rare example of amateur footage of Bali and Java in the 1930s represents a particular Westerner’s view of the Asian region at that time.
1940s
Mid-East documentary – 1945
The African continent would have still represented the ‘heart of darkness’ for many Australians viewing this film.
Duff, Paul: Papua New Guinea home movie – c1949
This is a unique record of Australia’s interests in the natural resources of our Asia-Pacific neighbours.
1950s
Walk Into Paradise feature film – 1956
For the third time with director Lee Robinson, Chips Rafferty played his version of an Australian hero – rugged, self-reliant, resourceful, an unpolished rough diamond.
1970s
Monday Conference – PNG television program – 1971
In one of the earliest Monday Conference programs, Robert Moore moderates an interview with the impressive New Guinea politician John Guise.
Singapore Synopsis home movie – 1971
As a competent and creative amateur filmmaker, Alan Bresnahan’s shots are well chosen, mixing architectural and colonial history with tourist attractions.
The Breaker documentary – 1973
The Breaker reveals the details of Henry 'Breaker’ Morant’s life before he went to the Boer War and was executed for murder.
Journey among Women feature film – 1977
Making this film in the 1970s became politically charged: should and could a male director make a meaningful film about women?
1980s
The Rocks: Sydney, Australia documentary – 1983
The Rocks was considered a slum until it was restored in the 1970s. This sponsored documentary traces its redevelopment as a tourist precinct.
Nice Coloured Girls short film – 1987
The tongue-in-cheek title of Tracey Moffatt’s first film positions Aboriginal women as naïve and 'nice’ but these are merely roles played by the women.
Strangers in Paradise documentary – 1989
On the eve of bicentennial celebrations, Strangers in Paradise looks at Australian culture through the eyes of tourists on a ‘Dreamtime’ tour.
1990s
Man Without Pigs documentary – 1990
The first Papua New Guinea man to become a professor returns to his small village to celebrate, but inadvertently creates antagonism when rituals aren’t adhered to.
Black Robe feature film – 1991
In 17th century Canada a Jesuit missionary confronts his faith and mortality while travelling up river to reach a settlement of Huron Indians.
In a Savage Land feature film – 1999
Evelyn’s misadventures in the Trobriand Islands are in the foreground of this exploration of racism, colonialism and voyeurism set during the Second World War.
2000s
The Mad Century short film – 2000
All you ever wanted to know about the 20th century according to cartoonist Bruce Petty.
My Mother’s Country Part 1 documentary – 2001
Oral history is an important feature of Indigenous culture. The stories told by family members give the Coniston massacre of 1928 a human face.
My Mother’s Country Part 2 documentary – 2001
Japanangka’s act of retaliation for the theft of his wife sparked one of the last-known massacres of Aboriginal people in Australian history.
Hula Girls, Imagining Paradise documentary – 2005
Western imagination has transformed the spiritual hula dance of traditional Polynesian society into a (male) fantasy presenting the Polynesian woman as beautiful and exotic.
Global Haywire documentary – 2007
Bruce Petty asks Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal and a bunch of cartoon characters if the West has only got itself to blame for its woes.
