Welcome! Sit back and relax, take a reflective moment to think about what it means to be an Australian. Who are you? Where do you come from, and how would you like the media to portray you and your life? I am trying to find out the details behind who we are as a cultural majority and what we think about the cinema production in our own backyard.
This will be a retrospective look at Australian film and television. Using imagery, film footage and hyperlinks I will be displaying my discoveries of many unique identities, in regards to the Australian film industry. I will be focusing on one of the faces of the industry, Denny Lawrence. A man who has been a part of the media field for over thirty years as an actor, writer, producer and director.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Who is Denny Lawrence and why does he matter?
I asked the same
question to myself when I pulled his name "out of a hat". I am a current
film and creative writing student at Deakin University and this year in our
Contemporary Australian Cinema class we were given the task to research a
person, institution, cinema, or film and try and find something new and
informative regarding the topic. As I blankly stared back at the small slip of
paper reading "Denny Lawrence" I felt frazzled and unsure where to
begin. Typing IMDB into my web browser was mildly
successful... still leaving me with zero information regarding whom this man is
as a filmmaker, writer or producer.
A man who has been a part of the industry for over
three decades as an actor, writer, producer and director.
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| Denny Lawrence http://www.abc.net.au /mda/behind/denny.htm |
Lawrence is currently a professor at NYU (New York
University) working in the Kanbar institute of film and television. He teaches
a range of topics from ‘developing the screenplay’ to ‘advanced television
production’. His new career as an educator led me to discover the large amount of
education he has had himself in the many years of his career, studying at the
National Institute of Dramatic Art and the Australian film, television and
radio school.
Lawrence’s education displays his broad knowledge
and interests in the film and television industry, also impacting significantly
on the style of filmmaking and scripting writing that he collaborated with
others to create.
This led me to think differently about how I could express Lawrence's career and history in the Australian film industry in a new and unique way. I came up with a research question that raised ideas about Australian identities in the film and television industry. I reflected on the my own experiences with the media and the types of texts that I openly consume and as an overall generalisations, I often felt a slight disconnect with the character on the screen. Australians have been displayed as larrikins and exaggerated characters in the film and television industry for decades; my response to this is, in modern multi-cultural Australia, can we ever truly represent what it means to be 'Australian' without falling into stereotypes and cliches?
This led me to think differently about how I could express Lawrence's career and history in the Australian film industry in a new and unique way. I came up with a research question that raised ideas about Australian identities in the film and television industry. I reflected on the my own experiences with the media and the types of texts that I openly consume and as an overall generalisations, I often felt a slight disconnect with the character on the screen. Australians have been displayed as larrikins and exaggerated characters in the film and television industry for decades; my response to this is, in modern multi-cultural Australia, can we ever truly represent what it means to be 'Australian' without falling into stereotypes and cliches?
Where it all begun. The 1970's.
Lawrence’s career begun during the 1970’s on a well-known
series called Number 96, featuring in an episode in 1972. The show was daring in its approach to topics that were still regarded as sensitive issues, questioning sexuality and common gender roles, politics and the way in which people interact. Representations of women were more experimental and honest, women could talk about their sexual identities and experiences in a positive way.
During this period in Australian film and
television a new era and style was constructed, being labeled “Ozploitation”. An era in which 'the larrikin hero' would be his own successor, gratuitous sex and violence, cheaply constructed production were apparent in almost everything made during this time period. Number 96 was a series which was one of the earlier shows to
display full frontal nudity, and featured a narrative that contained themes and issues often considered taboo: sexual identity,
abuse, alcoholism and so on.
With the Vietnam War still fresh in peoples minds, Governments were over run with political backlashes, a new generation of people were changing the media industry with their rebellious spirits and fight against censorship.
With the Vietnam War still fresh in peoples minds, Governments were over run with political backlashes, a new generation of people were changing the media industry with their rebellious spirits and fight against censorship.
The films that came out of this Ozploitation era of Australian film and
television have been some of the most successful as they represented a dream
concept of what it meant to be an Australian.
Ozploit what?
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http://www.aveleyman.com/FilmCredit.aspx?FilmID=241
|
Barry Humphries described the Ozploitation
era as a display of “urban vulgarity” stating “homophobia and racism can be
charming”. During this era Humphreys was not known as the over top success of
‘Dame Edna’ as he is today. The character had humble beginnings in the film
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, playing ‘Aunt Edna’, a woman of English decent
living in Moonee Ponds Victoria during the 1970’s.
An interesting documentary, which discusses further the issues and
success of filmmaking during this era is Not Quite Hollywood by Mark Hartley.
Australians had a chance to tell the rest of the world stories about
our culture in a way that was entertaining and competitive with the Hollywood
film industry during that period. Satire was heavily used to display stereotypes
of men and women and place these exaggerate characters in humorous scenarios.
The interesting part of the films was that they allowed people to go and
essentially laugh at themselves and some of the common iconography of middle
class Australian existence during the mid 20th Century.
The films that came out of this time period say a lot about the
mentalities of the public and the people producing the films. The majority of
the films displayed stereotypes and films never really touched on the issues of
multiculturalism and homosexuality, these topics usually the basis of crude humor.
Films were also constructed during the late 1970’s and mid 1980’s as a
form of advertisment, using the film to market certain products by writing a
script that applauded the consumer product. 'BMX Bandits' (1983) is a key example of product placement and the impact a film has when it
has been funded by advertising, the quality and meaningful textual value are
generally lost allowing the film to have lost a portion of it’s market and
generally is sold to the public as a children’s film. 'BMX Bandits' was a poor representation of Australia culture during that period, the film marketed an Americanised way of life that did not display a sense of Australian identity. 'He Died With a Felafel in his Hand' (2001) is another commercially successful Australian film that can be compared to the works of Denny Lawrence, in regards to style and the contextual themes of suburban life. 'He Died With a Felafel in his Hand' is a more recent portrayal of what it means to be Australian and the many identities that such a broad phrase can contain.
The films Lawrence created during the early to mid 80’s show creative
intent, adding interesting story arcs to a somewhat bleak exterior. Lawrence’s
films and screenplays often use the Australian setting as a vital narrative
tool. Allowing the subject to interact with its environment.
Lawrence rebelled against the "Ozploitation" view on symbolic iconography, in regards to landscape and environment. Many films made during this period like: Road Games (1981) used the 'Australian outback' as their focus of setting, creating a fantastical version of a post card combing the obscure contexts and subject matter. The ridiculous style of film making gave an unrealistic sense of the Australian landscape, making everything seem surrounded by desert and swamps filled with crocodiles. There was not very much diversity in these film in regards to perspective, they were action packed and did not usually display the average mans life and the monotonous struggle of a suburban reality.
 Road Games Film Poster |
| http://www.imdb.com/ media/rm4291534592/tt0083000 |
'Goodbye Paradise'
Goodbye Paradise is an Australian film
set in Queensland's Gold Coast, more specifically Surfers Paradise. The film
focuses upon a former police officer, Michael Stacey (played by Ray Barrett).
The film uses the investigatory nature of 'Stacey' and follows him on his
journey to inevitably bring the corrupt police force to justice. To do this he
writes about the police officers in his book to expose their crimes, whilst
dealing with risky interactions and investigations in the process. The film
uses satire and political references in the narrative to allow the story to be
colloquial and relevant to the Queensland government during the 1980's.
Denny Lawrence and Bob Ellis wrote the screenplay together and some of their own political view points
seem to be expressed to question the idea of Australian stereotypes and
character traits. Both sharing strong Labor party views, the narrative featured
in 'Goodbye Paradise' allows the audience to understand that the "people" and Australian public
wanted a change in regards to their judicial and political systems. (Featured on Bonza written by MR, 2011)
The trailer of the film is a stark contrast to what the film actually
is; Lawrence writes what I would call
the ‘Blue Velvet’ of Queensland culture. Marketing of films has always
been a problem in the Australian film industry. People want to be able to
relate to the characters but also go to the cinemas to be entertained, to see
violence, sex and overall mindless action.
'Blue Heelers': Crime fightin' fun!
Blue Heelers was a Victorian television series that went from 1994-2006, about a Mt. Thomas police station and the melodrama that occurs in the lives of its police officers. The show embodied county Australian values and imagery. Ordinary people in a small town"trying to get by"with their lives, all of their issues and worries played out in crime scenes and cases that the officers involve "us" as the audience in.
Uploaded by MCProductionsAU on Dec 20, 2009
The story arcs were often inter-changeable, never
really touching on new themes, but it was one of the original crime shows that were
made by Australians for Australians to watch. Colloquial language and phrases
thrown in here and there to give us a natural 'ocker' feel towards the
characters. The concept allowed people to watch a fictional series that had
characters the audience could relate to, draw comparisons with their own
lives.
Lawrence directed three episodes of series 9 which
aired in 2002. The episodes were titled 'The Best Man', 'Buddies' and 'Breaking Point Part one'. The series was one of the last things Lawrence directed in
Australia, it is interesting to look at his body of work and see the links
between them all. Lawrence was an is an important figure in the Australian film
and television industry because of his constant reiteration of Australian
stories. His career shows that he writes and directs for an Australian
audience, he does not exclude local themes and values, using what he knows to
help tell stories to a local audience.
With the pressure the television networks face in
competing with overseas television programs, it is humbling to know that some
people still try and keep what is "ours" alive. The television
networks have to support the high demand on American sitcoms and highly
renowned HBO series', which means that less Australian programs have the chance
to survive at a popular time slot.
Think about how many Australian shows (that are not
news programs) that you have watched in the last few years on a mainstream
network; the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Centre) is one of the last remaining
channels that supports and funds Australian television and filmmakers.
We may nostalgically look back upon shows like
Blue Heelers and laugh at how out of date they seem, but the sad reality is
without these shows there may come a time where we cannot familiarise
ourselves with the people on the screen and the material we may view in the
future will solely be imported due to the overwhelming demand.
Behind Closed Doors: an interview with Lawrence
This interview was conducted by the ABC in 2005, called 'Behind Closed Doors'. The interview is quite brief but gives us an insight to the way in which Lawrence views the industry and his own career.
The Producer is the parent/headmaster/boss/quality controller/leader - and is responsible for EVERYTHING!
The interview is simplistic and I think reveals something interesting regarding Lawrence's relationship with the media and his own personal acheivements. He is realistic and the circumstances of filmmaking, even in his successes he still raises the idea of money and time being a problem.
ABC:Tell us about a day in the life of a Producer on MDA:
LAWRENCE: typical day varies from meetings with writers, script editors and/or directors to screenings and film editing sessions to sound and music mixes to budget and production meetings to... the lot!
How long have you been a Producer?
For 15 years, but I have worked in the industry for 25 years (I've also worked as an actor, writer and director).
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The infinite variety of the many aspects of production and the chance to work with so many stimulating people.
What are some of the challenges/pressures you face in your job?
Time. Money. Staffing. Egos.The Producer is the parent/headmaster/boss/quality controller/leader - and is responsible for EVERYTHING!
The interview is simplistic and I think reveals something interesting regarding Lawrence's relationship with the media and his own personal acheivements. He is realistic and the circumstances of filmmaking, even in his successes he still raises the idea of money and time being a problem.
Who am I Mr Lawrence?
In the 21st Century we base opinions on ourselves through new technological advances in the media, not only do magazines and advertising control our views but the film and television industry have been showing us what we want and who we want to be for over a hundred years.
I disagree with people when they state that we are becoming more "Americanised", there is proof of how creatively, morally and politically different we are in out film and television that has been produced throughout the 20th and 21st Century. We as young Australian writers, filmmakers, students, need to work together to make sure that the industry does not evaporate into nostalgic memories of a dead film industry. Australia is ever changing in terms of politics and multi-culturalism, these are issues which need to be seen on the screen, to educate and entertain but to also make sure that the representations of who we are and what we want to be are easily accessed.
People like Denny Lawrence have helped the industry tell relevant stories for Australian people, focusing on our lives and in general the complex issue of what it means to be Australian and how diverse that outcome can actually be. There is no simple answer to who we are, but there is a way of equally showing all of our values, cultural and local concepts of our way of life.
To some the "Ozploitation era" of filmmaking was one which they believe should be disregarded, but it in fact gave Australia a place in the film industry across the world, we as a whole were recognised and that is incredibly important. Without a film or television industry Australians cannot have a voice, a place where they can solve their problems or see their lives through the lense of a camera. In the end it doesn't matter if the quality of the production is not very good, or the acting it stilted, what matters is that we continue to make productions that are for "us" and by "us".
So thank you Mr. Lawrence for making me gain a new appreciation of Australian film and cheesy daytime melodrama.
I disagree with people when they state that we are becoming more "Americanised", there is proof of how creatively, morally and politically different we are in out film and television that has been produced throughout the 20th and 21st Century. We as young Australian writers, filmmakers, students, need to work together to make sure that the industry does not evaporate into nostalgic memories of a dead film industry. Australia is ever changing in terms of politics and multi-culturalism, these are issues which need to be seen on the screen, to educate and entertain but to also make sure that the representations of who we are and what we want to be are easily accessed.
People like Denny Lawrence have helped the industry tell relevant stories for Australian people, focusing on our lives and in general the complex issue of what it means to be Australian and how diverse that outcome can actually be. There is no simple answer to who we are, but there is a way of equally showing all of our values, cultural and local concepts of our way of life.
To some the "Ozploitation era" of filmmaking was one which they believe should be disregarded, but it in fact gave Australia a place in the film industry across the world, we as a whole were recognised and that is incredibly important. Without a film or television industry Australians cannot have a voice, a place where they can solve their problems or see their lives through the lense of a camera. In the end it doesn't matter if the quality of the production is not very good, or the acting it stilted, what matters is that we continue to make productions that are for "us" and by "us".
So thank you Mr. Lawrence for making me gain a new appreciation of Australian film and cheesy daytime melodrama.
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