Cirrus@Austlit

'In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Australian government was striving to enhance its international standing in the arts, it chose to focus on film. Many films were produced to global acclaim. After watching Bruce Beresford's "Breaker" Morant (1980), Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979), or Peter Weir's Gallipoli (1981), many in academic contexts outside Australia were drawn to examine Australian writing. Since then, film has not lost its prominence among those who study Australian literature. Here, Sheckels discusses the use of Australian film in teaching Australian literature and the ways that enhance that undertaking. He explores three directions that teachers might pursue in integrating film into Australian literature courses.' (Publication abstract)