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Seeing Green

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SEEING GREEN reviews Australian film classics through the lens of contemporary environmental concerns, evoking new interpretations that recast our national cinema for present day audiences. This podcast is a collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University, with funding from the Australian Research Council. Host: Dylan Bird. Producer: Britta Jorgensen. Executive Producers: Belinda Smaill and Therese Davis.
12 Episodes
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Warburdar Bununu / Watershield is a 2019 documentary set in the Gulf country of the Northern Territory. It focuses on the language groups around Borroloola, who are told that their drinking water is contaminated with elevated levels of zinc and manganese.  A large zinc and lead mine is thought to be the cause but the operator, Glencore, denies responsibility. Together, the community pursues justice, all the while affirming the healing power of culture.In this episode:Director Jason de Santolo and producer John Harvey.
The Pacific nation of Kiribati is at risk of being lost to climate change. It averages less than 2 metres above sea level, and as a result experiences regular flooding - threatening fresh water supplies and wiping out vegetation.  In this episode of Seeing Green, we explore how The Hungry Tide depicts the lived reality of sea level rise in the Pacific, and what it means for its people today. We see up close how climate change impacts daily life for those living in the region, and the immense challenge of holding back the rising ocean.In this episode:Linda Uan, a climate change advocate and media producer. Working in part with her late husband, John Anderson, Linda has used video to catalogue the situation in Kiribati and educate others about the impact of climate change in the Pacific.And Australian filmmaker Tom Zubrycki, the director and producer of The Hungry Tide.
From director Ken Hannam and starring Jack Thompson, 1975’s Sunday Too Far Away focuses on a group of shearers in the lead-up to strike action in the mid-1950s. The film follows Foley – a so-called ‘top dog’ shearer who returns reluctantly to a remote sheep station, despite having dreams of leaving the industry for good. There he engages in the typical shearers’ life – characterised by both camaraderie and fierce competition, hard-drinking and laconic humour. In this episode of Seeing Green, we explore how Sunday Too Far Away engages in a particular representation of the environment,  animals and making connections with contemporary industrial practices. In this episode:Professor Therese Davis, Department Chair of Media and Communications at Swinburne University of Technology and one of Seeing Green's executive producers. And Professor Ruth Abbey, Department Chair of Social Sciences also over at Swinburne University of Technology.
An American mercenary, Martin David, is tasked with hunting down the last remaining Thylacine in the Tasmanian wilderness. He was put up to it by a shadowy company called Red Leaf, who want to use the animal’s genetic code to develop a potent bio-weapon. Daniel Nettheim’s 2011 film The Hunter is a dramatised meditation on extinction, starring Willemm Defoe, Frances O’Connor and Sam Neill. In this episode of Seeing Green, we explore the film’s representation of the thylacine as a casualty of humans’ mastery over nature. We also consider the very specific setting of Tasmania, as a place that has given rise to hard-fought battles over environmental conservation.In this episode:One-time cinema studies scholar Dr Guinevere Narraway, whose research spans eco-criticism and the representation of nature in the moving image.And Dr Rick De Vos - adjunct research fellow in the Centre for Culture and Technology at Curtin University, whose work explores the cultural and historical significance of anthropogenic extinction.
When Rae and John Ingram set off on their yacht into the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, they’re looking for some solitude in the wake of their son’s tragic death.In this episode of Seeing Green, we’re diving into Dead Calm, Phillip Noyce’s 1989 psychological thriller starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. We’ll explore how its particular depiction of ‘seascape’ relates to imaginaries about the ocean as both threat and refuge. We’ll also touch on the connection between weather and mental health, and the role of film in reflecting anxieties of living on an island continent.In this episode:Dr Fincina Hopgood, senior lecturer in screen studies at the University of New England.And Dr Killian Quigley, research fellow at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Australian Catholic University.
Australia, the 1950s. Every two weeks a single mailman travels the remote Birdsville track, linking South Australia and Queensland. The Back of Beyond is a landmark documentary charting this expedition. It was produced by the Shell Film Unit in 1954 as a way of associating the company with quintessential ‘Australian-ness’. In this episode of Seeing Green we explore how The Back of Beyond represents the environment as an expression of national identity, touching on themes of water scarcity, extreme weather, cultural belonging, and white settler histories.In this episode:Associate Professor Ruth Morgan,  environmental historian and Director of the Centre for Environmental History the Australian National University. Ruth has published extensively on topics like water and climate history. She also is Vice President of the International Consortium of Environmental History Organizations, and Treasurer of the International Water History Association.And film expert, and the co-executive producer of this podcast Associate Professor Belinda Smaill from Monash University.
In Season 2 of SEEING GREEN we're putting our "green-tinted glasses" back on! With a fresh bunch of films and documentaries,  we're asking: could Australian cinema help us to imagine new ways of addressing our most urgent environmental challenges? Bringing together film and science experts, we explore how Australian cinema has shaped our relationship to land, water and country. Dropping into your feed in June 2022.This podcast is a collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University, with funding from the Australian Research Council. Host: Dylan Bird. Producer: Britta Jorgensen. Executive Producers: Belinda Smaill and Therese Davis.
A group of tourists visiting Australia’s top-end, a broken down boat, and one giant crocodile. That’s the central plot of Rogue - a 2007 film from director Greg McLean. We touch on themes such as eco-tourism and bio-diversity conservation, and consider whether fantastical horror movies featuring killer beasts can serve a productive purpose in raising awareness about key environmental issues.In this discussion:Dr Simon Troon, an early career film researcher in media and environment based at Monash University in Melbourne.And Dr Benjamin Thompson, a lecturer in human geography, also from Monash University.
In an isolated coastal wilderness known as The Coorong, a young boy called Mike forges an unlikely bond with a pelican named Mr Percival.  We’re re-examining director Henri Safran’s acclaimed 1976 film adaption of Storm Boy. We explore whether the film’s environmental messages still have application today, and consider why the story has continued to resonate more than half a century since it first appeared. In this discussion:Senior lecturer in film and screen studies at Swinburne University of Technology, Dr Jess Balanzategui.And associate Professor Emily O’Gorman from Macquarie University, whose work focuses on environmental history.
Petrol guzzling V8s, scintillating car chases, crazed gangs who wreak havoc across the Australian desert. Mad Max is the 1979 dystopian thriller that remains a standout of Australian new wave cinema. In this episode, we're taking a fresh look at the Mad Max series, with a focus on the latest film, 2015’s Fury Road. We're looking at what this film reveals about Australian car culture, resource extraction, and the disastrous consequences that await if we don’t act on climate change.In this discussion: PhD candidate in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University, Melanie Ashe, who researches film and mining in far west NSW.And Dr Kathryn Lucas-Healey, a research fellow at the Australian National University with a diverse background spanning architectural design, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
It’s now become a classic of Australian cinema. But for years it faded into obscurity and was nearly lost forever.  Wake in Fright is a psychological horror that paints a damning portrait of a particular kind of Australian culture. In this episode, we’re looking at Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 film adaptation of Wake in Fright - a novel by Kenneth Cook. We’re exploring what this film reveals about contemporary environmental issues like climate change, species loss and the enduring impacts of colonialism. In this discussion: Associate Professor in Film and Screen Studies at Monash University (and one of our executive producers), Belinda Smaill. And PhD candidate in conservation psychology at the University of Melbourne, Chris McCormack. He's also co-founder of the nature charity, Remember the Wild.
Could Australian film help us to imagine new ways of addressing our most urgent environmental challenges? Bringing together film and science experts, SEEING GREEN explores how Australian cinema has shaped our relationship to land, water and country. We put on our "green-tinted glasses" to revisit some classics of the Australian screen in entirely new ways.Dropping into your feed in February 2022.This podcast is a collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University, with funding from the Australian Research Council. Host: Dylan Bird. Producer: Britta Jorgensen. Executive Producers: Belinda Smaill and Therese Davis.
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