Metro Australia – July 2019

possibleopportunityfor films in this changedmarketplace’.^18

I wouldsuggestthat one of these failuresis the sector’slong-

terminabilitytoachieve substantial audience share for

Australianfilms.^19

It is not too hard to join the dots here. Argumentsabout

the crucialrole of film culturein audiencedevelopmenthave

been presentedin multipleAustraliancontextsover many

years.In their 2013 bookShininga Light, mediaacademics

LisaFrenchandMarkPoolecitemanyofthesearguments

for the importanceof a vibrantfilm culturein building‘com-

munitiesaroundthe movingimage’,providingcontextfor the

receptionof films through‘breadthof activity,lively debate

[and]analysis’,facilitatingaudiencediscussionandengage-

ment with films, and enhancingscreenliteracy to encourage

viewersto engagewith innovativefilms.^20

Evenonthemostbasiceconomiclevel,it isundeniable

that a vibrantfield of film-criticalwork is essentialto sus-

tainingAustralia’sscreenindustries.Frenchand Poolecite

interventionsover severaldecadesby many key playersin

theAustralianscreensectorwhohaveargued,asformer

AustralianFilm Institutechief executiveRuth Joneshas, that

‘the productionindustryand screencultureare “inextricably”

linked’.^21 Or, as formerAFTRSdirectorRod Bishophas sug-

gested,‘production,exhibition,distributionand training[are

all] “glued”togetherby screenculture’.^22 Or,asbroadcaster

andformerFilmAustraliaheadRobinHugheshasdescribed

it, film cultureis ‘the planktonin the food-chainthat feeds

the imaginationof our creativeculturalproducers’.^23 French

and Poole echo many Australianfilm luminarieswhen they

write that ‘regardingscreencultureas a discretionaryextra,

ratherthana centralingredient,is a short-sighted view that

potentiallythreatensthe wholeindustry’.^24

Assessingcultural value: Conceptual

methodology

Olsbergbasedits assessmentof culturalimpacton a survey

of 928 Australiansand 121 internationalrespondents,taken to

be representativedemographically.Respondentswere asked

about their preferredgenresand modesof viewingas well as

theirengagementwithAustralianscreencontent,andwere

requiredto nominateculturallyvaluableAustraliancontent.

Therankingoftheseworkswastakentoindicateculturalim-

pact and value,withCrocodileDundee(PeterFaiman,1986)

emergingas the ‘most culturallyimpactful’Australianfilm.^25

A keymetricofthestudyis thedistinctivenessofAustralian

content,but no discussionensuedas to how ‘distinctly

Australian’contentmay have been understoodby respond-

ents. This surveylaid the groundworkfor a numberof case

studiesinto cultural impact and value, which are included

in the report.

xxxx

Argumentsaboutthecrucialroleoffilm

culturein audiencedevelopmenthave

beenpresentedin multipleAustralian

contextsovermanyyears... Evenon

themostbasiceconomiclevel,it is

undeniablethata vibrantfieldoffilm-

criticalworkis essentialtosustaining

Australia’s screen industries.

Above, from top:Crocodile Dundee (two images);Muriel’s Wedding

122 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM