Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Khaki on the Stage and Silver Screen in Interwar Australasia
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Making meaning from the First World War was not only the preserve of the poets, novelists and historians who helped shape Anglophone modern memory. In Australasian theatres, halls and cinemas in the 1920s and 1930s, the war formed a backdrop for drama, adventure, romance and comedy. “Tommies”, diggers, plucky nurses and courageous widows populated vaudeville and movies, helping Australians and New Zealanders make sense of their war. Exploring the remnant evidence of such ephemeral popular performances, this article focuses on popular, everyday narration of the Great War that was often shared as part of an audience. How can we understand war-themed comedies and romances in the context of widespread mourning and sometimes painful reintegration of soldiers back into civilian life? In what ways can popular visions of the Great War on screen and stage expand our notions of how the conflict was made sense of in the postwar decades? Moving away from a focus on trauma, this article broadens understandings of the emotional spectrum available in the interwar period for interpreting the impact of the First World War.'  (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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    y separately published work icon Journal of Australian Studies vol. 44 no. 4 2020 20835187 2020 periodical issue 'In March 2020, as the dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic became increasingly apparent, Prime Minister Scott Morrison rallied Australians for what would be “the toughest year of our lives” for many. 1 “We must not let fear overtake us,” Morrison said, as he summoned “the spirit of the Anzacs, of our Great Depression generation, of those who built the Snowy, of those who won the great peace of World War II and defended Australia” in his effort to inspire and reassure. 2 The following month, in the lead-up to Anzac Day, Morrison observed that this was not the first time commemorations had been disrupted by a pandemic; in 1919, parades for returned soldiers were cancelled due to the Spanish influenza outbreak that killed around 12,000 Australians, and as many as 20 million people globally. The prime minister urged Australians to find “COVID-safe” ways of commemorating Anzac Day: “I look forward to the entire nation, on their driveways, lighting up the dawn, remembering our heroes and drawing inspiration from them for the task and challenge we currently face.”' (Carolyn Holbrook, Margaret Hutchison, Editorial introduction) 2020 pg. 427-439
Last amended 1 Dec 2020 13:01:42
427-439 Khaki on the Stage and Silver Screen in Interwar Australasiasmall AustLit logo Journal of Australian Studies
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