Colonial mythology in twenty-first century Australian film

This article explores the changing nature of representations of the landscape in Australian film. It focuses on how these myths are changing in the recent films Japanese Story and Red Dog. It charts the ways that the two films represent changes to the mythological base of Australian film, as it is outlined by Ross Gibson in his book South of the West: Postcolonialism and the Narrative Construction of Australia. It also charts the way these films continue the tradition that Gibson outlines. The article criticises analysis of some recent Australian film, claiming that the analysis is too focused on emerging stories that relate to indigenous reconciliation and multicultural integration. It suggests that the methodologies used to examine landscape in Australian film need to examine visual constructions of the landscape in order to fully understand the complex process that goes into its formation in film. The article also engages in a discussion of the development of monolithic ideas of Australian identity in the twentieth century and how mining mythology in the films studied is co-opting elements of this identity. It then discusses the ways in which cultural power interacts with the political and economic spheres suggesting a wider application for work concerning cultural knowledge of society.