Two special quests to the Bundaberg Campus on 27th August 2003, both internationally recognized in their respective fields.
Geert Lovink: Media theorist, net critic and activist, author of “Dark Fiber” and “Uncanny Networks”. Currently a postdoctoral fellow at University Queensland.Their presence on campus was supported by the School of Contemporary Communication.Linda Wallace: Media artist and curator who has exhibited globally. Linda screened some of her video work. http://www.machinehunger.com.au/.
Sometimes, various groups of us read things ... together. Some of the texts we've read are:
Manovich, Lev. The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001
Heiddegger, Martin. "The Question Concerning Technology". In Heiddegger, Martin. Basic Writings: From Being and Time (1927) to the Task of Thinking (1964). David Farrell Krell (Ed). London: Routledge, 1993. pp. 307-341.
Steigler, Bernard. Technics and Time, 1. Trans. Richard Beardsworth and George Collins. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998.
Derrida, Jacques. Specters of Marx. Trans. Peggy Kamuf. New York: Routledge, 1994.
Johnston, John. "Machinic Vision". Critical Inquiry 26 (Autumn 1999) University of Chicago.
In 2004 we had regular weekly film screenings, and afterwards upstairs at the Bundy Tavern for discussion, drinks and/or dinner. Some of the films were:
Mulholland Drive (2001, Dir. David Lynch). Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring. David Lynch continues his explorations into the limits of film making and the surreal worlds that films create in this disturbing thriller mystery. Dream blends with reality in a toxic mix of the visual and the sensual.
Point Blank (1967, Dir. John Boorman). Starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson. Crime thriller. Tough gangster Marvin seeks revenge for betrayal. A film before its time, Point Blank is now regarded as a classic of modernist neo-noir film style.
Rome, Open City (Italy, 1945, dir. Roberto Rosselini). This celebrated film was made during the last days of the occupation of Rome by the German invading army during the Second World War. It employs a unique documentary style to tell the story of resistance by ordinary Roman citizens to the German forces. One commentator has described Rosselini's film as the vanguard of 'cinema as the organ of resistance' (Harvey O'Brien, http://indigo.ie/~obrienh/roc.htm).
'The film represents a constant struggle between the raw and unfiltered reality it captures and the careful contrivance of film artists. Rossellini's camera seems to passively observe events on the actual streets of Rome while his cast of mostly non-professional extras interact with the spontaneity of people going through familiar routines. Yet it builds deliberate suspense in the manner of the best Hollywood programmers, and milks its emotional high points for every moment of hope and fear it can generate.
The result is continuously exciting, keeping the audience off balance with a combination of familiar dramatic involvements and a sense of the authentic and uncontrived reality present on screen.'
Rosselini's film is an early example of the blending of actuality and fictional narrative which has only now become popular in mainstream film making.
Blow Up (1966, dir. Michaelangelo Antonioni, Great Britain). A fashion photographer played by David Hemmings takes photographs in a park. What does he see? Foul play? This quintessential 'swinging sixties' film is also a fascinating thriller that raises all sorts of questions about truth and reality. Antonioni's stylish film stands out as one of the best of its kind.
Badlands (1973, USA, dir. Terence Malick) Starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. "This cinematic gem details the killing spree of two young lovers in the Midwest. Martin Sheen as the illusionary rebel in the James Dean form and Sissy Spacek as his young, worldly-naive girlfriend, are complimented greatly by the acute dialogue and philosophies of the screenplay and Director Terence Malick's stunning direction" (Excerpt from Badland's web site http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Forum/6370/badlands.html)
Wages of Fear (France 1953, dir. Henri-Geordes Clouzet, starring Yves Montand, Charles Vanel and Peter van Eyck). Made in 1953, this much copied film is regarded as one of the great suspense thrillers of all time. Director Henri-Geordes Clouzet explores existential themes in his portrayal of danger on the edge in a mining camp in central America. The film's political message was heavily censored at the time, and it still resonates with the immediacy of exploitation and desperation of people caught in a kind of living hell. Powerful images are unforgettable.