Cirrus@Austlit

'Historical scholarship on the recovery of Aboriginal Anzacs in twentieth-century Australia is a field that has developed significantly in recent years. As knowledge of Indigenous service in overseas wars grows, the more these narratives have begun to be disseminated through a range of public history sites and audiences. This article focuses on the representation of Aboriginal people in the First World War in postcolonial documentaries made for television. The major emphasis will be on six documentaries screened on public broadcasters that foreground Aboriginal voices in revealing forgotten war service. Television has the capacity to reach a mass audience and therefore occupies an important position in challenging the monolithic white Anzac legend. However, the role of television as a legitimate communicator of historical argument is contested by many historians. This article contends that historical documentary possesses some advantages over the traditional written canon especially as a medium for Aboriginal storytelling. All of the examples selected effectively develop the audience's appreciation of the complex interplay of forces surrounding the home front, war service and its legacy. They do so by drawing on a range of personal narratives centred around emotion, identity and empathy and in so doing gesture towards reconciliation.'

Source: Abstract.

'"Making Film and Television Histories" approaches film and television texts as primary historical media with the potential to bring historical topics alive through their interplay between past and present. It is a major text, the first to situate in a clear historical context selected New Zealand and Australian films and television programs ranging from highly successful films such as "Gallipoli", "The Piano", "Australia", "Once Were Warriors" and "Heavenly Creatures" to less well-known texts that form the basis for intriguing examinations of history, representation and identity. This book is designed for all those with an interest in Australian or New Zealand history, film or television, and is written by leading scholars in these interdisciplinary fields, as well as filmmakers involved in the production of some of the films and TV shows discussed. With ten thematically structured sections and covering over 40 film and tv texts in clear and focused chapters, "Making Film and Television Histories" will be of particular value to teachers and trainee teachers wishing to inspire students to engage with history by putting to use audiovisual media in the classroom.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.