Digital resources tagged with ‘popular culture’

Australian television drama

Australian content on television reflects our culture and our society. Mac Gudgeon celebrates the importance of Homicide in the history of Australian television production. Stuart Cunningham and Scott Goodings remember some of the popular dramas which showed Australians that they could love Australian programming.

Broadcaster control

Liz Jacka details the history of broadcaster control and the introduction of the Australian Broadcasting Control Board.

Channel 9 and cricket

Self-confessed cricket lover Tim Bowden remembers when Channel 9 took over the cricket broadcasts from the ABC.

Creating an Australian Image

Stuart Cunningham explains how innovations in technology have transformed television content.

Effects of TV on radio

Tim Bowden describes how radio continued to prosper after the launch of television. John Safran reveals what attracts him to television production rather than radio. Corinne Grant talks about the link between the soap box and talkback radio.

Ethnic Community Broadcasting

Liz Jacka talks about how SBS was established to cater to minority communities as part of multicultural policy in the late 1970s.

Family radio

A young boy plays along with a musical game during one of the many ABC broadcasts for children. Children from around Australia tune into a kindergarten broadcast over the ABC. Tim Bowden remembers the ABC children's program The Argonauts.

First prime-time Soap Opera

Scott Goodings links the popularity of Number 96, first screened in 1972, with the post-Menzies liberalisation of society and media content.

First Surfboard

Huge, heavy and finless, the first Aussie surfboard was actually handmade by a visiting Hawaiian in 1914 using a piece of local wood.

Fox Movietone News

The importance in Australian news broadcasting history of Movietone and other newsreels.

Launch of TV

Liz Jacka provides a brief history of the debate on how to establish television broadcasting in Australia. Tim Bowden recalls the enthusiasm with which Australians embraced television.

Mini-Series

The Australian film revival of the late 1970s and early 80s triggered a rise in quality of Australian TV drama and a 'high point' in the production of mini-series from the early 1980s to the early 90s.

News as Entertainment

John Safran talks about the use of 'doorstopping' in current affairs programs. Scott Goodings traces the celebrity and entertainment value of today's news broadcasts to the 'news wars' of the late 1980s.

Programs with Staying Power

Behind the scenes of a recording of a popular radio soap of the 1940s. Tim Bowden recalls his father listening to popular radio series Mrs Obbs and the personalities who brought the characters to life.

Public broadcasting

Families tune in to a broadcast of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra over the ABC. Liz Jacka describes how the BBC's preference for 'high culture' programming influenced the nature of early broadcasts in Australia.

Race Around the World

Technology has revolutionised the nature of 'guerrilla filmmaking'.

Radio Soap Operas

Actors gather around a microphone to record an episode of radio soap The Country Hour. Tim Bowden reflects on how significant radio series were in Australia.

Rules of AFL

Ten hand-written rules displayed in a museum in the heart of the National Heritage-listed Melbourne Cricket Ground hold the key to a great Australian sport.

Sport - a spectacular television event

Behind the scenes of a transmission from Wembley Stadium, seen on Australian television.

Stuart Crosses the Continent

There was enormous public and media speculation about whether the Victorian backed Burke and Wills or South Australia's Stuart expedition would be the first to cross the continent's interior.

Technology Timeline 1960s: film vs video image quality

Ray Edmondson compares the image quality of 35mm and 16mm film when it is transmitted in cinemas, on television and over the Internet.

The Aussie Drawl

An announcer reads the news headlines for ABC radio.

The Ratings War

The ruthless world of commercial television and its chase for ratings is compared to the programming motivations of the public broadcaster.

The Sentimental Bloke Film

The classic 1919 silent movie The Sentimental Bloke is regarded as one of the greatest Australian films.

The Youth Market

Tim Bowden reflects on the emergence of youth culture with the advent of rock'n'roll.

Triple J

Triple J takes popular culture from the big cities to young people across Australia.

Tuning in to the ABC

The archival clip shows the ABC network as it was in the 1955. Tim Bowden reflects on the power of ABC broadcasts to unify states and cities across Australia.

TV and family life

The Doonan family relax together at home in front of the television - their 'permanent visitor'. Liz Jacka describes the role of the the Vincent Committee in establishing local drama production for Austalian television. Megan Spencer remembers some of the shows she and her family watched together.

TV chases youth market

Youth has become a new target audience for television programmers.

TV Pop & Rock

The opening sequence from Six O'Clock Rock - Australia's first national teenage programme on the ABC. Scott Goodings gives a history of music shows on Australian television.

TV Soap Opera

TV soap operas have the ability to reflect Australian society and culture and connect people through the shared memory of watching a television show.

Waltzing Matilda Song Sheet

The original handwritten score for Waltzing Matilda holds the story of a musical collaboration that created Australia’s national song.

Working on television

Megan Spencer shares her first experience of being filmed for a television broadcast. Mac Gudgeon talks about the constraints in writing for Australian soaps.