The Influence Of Outback Movies On Australian Cinema And Its Relationship With The National Identity Since Film Revival

The thesis aims to examine the influence of outback movies that has been exerting on the Australian national cinema with deep affiliation with the national identity. Australia has been proudly acknowledged as one of the pioneers in the sublime lineage of world film industry, which blessed the nation with an advantage to enjoy a relative cinematic success during the beginning period of the 20th century. However, the home industry regressed after the First World War as Hollywood's predominance emerged with sweeping power and British colonialism still lingered.Fortunately since the 1970s, the Australian Film Revival, bolstered by the government, has helped lighten up the grim picture. Large number of the productions embedded with nostalgia for the landscape, mostly the bush or the outback have been waltzed into the centre stage as the aesthetic presentation of "Australianness".Therefore, the national self-expression has become a dominant motif in the cultural creation of films with their main characters measured against the backdrop of the mystified outback. The intense bond between the myths and the landscape is treated with discrepancy, which contributes to infuse more flexibility and dynamism into the interpretations of national identity-an eternal pursuit of this nation down under.Integral to the nationalist agenda since the Revival Period, the battle raged by Australian film industry as an attempt to counteract American mega-media threat has been continuing till today. Despite the precarious commercial role in the overall market, the outback movies, permeated with local particularities, have been filling in the market niche of a minor but distinctive stream. Through strong adherence to cultural values that are foundational to the discourse of national cinema, the movies have established a more direct and powerful connection with its domestic audiences and more importantly, helped enrich the construction of national identity. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 serves as the general introduction of the study. Chapter 2 to 4 are the main parts of the thesis, elaborating on the influence of the outback movies have been exerting over the national cinema and its relationship with the national identity. And Chapter 5 provides conclusive observations.