Self Reflection and Final Journal Report

Role 

In my group, Censorship For Media Production Makers, my role is to research on censorship laws within Australia covering these various points:

1. Overview of censorship in Australia

• Who controls media content that is produce and distributed in Australia?
• What is their purpose for controlling media content in Australia?

2. A brief history of how censorship began in Australia

• How and when it happened (events that occurred)?

3. The Australian National Classification Scheme

• What is its purpose?
• Who decides what is included or excluded from the scheme?
• When was it established?

4. Classification markings in Australia

• What is the purpose for having these markings?
• What are the types of markings available in Australia?
• What do they represent and limit from the public?
• Who classifies materials and devices in Australia?

5. The Australian Law Reform Commission

• What is their role?
• What power do they have?
• What is their purpose?
• What changes are proposed to the new Australian National Classification scheme?

6. A brief comparison between Eastern and Western censorship

• What are their differences?
• Who is affected?

7. Retrieve some case studies about censorship in Australia

• Are there censorship laws that are passed in Australia?
• Who were affected by censorship laws and what did the government do?

8. Conduct an interview with a professional media practitioner in Australia

• Get a broader perspective on censorship laws within Australia through media professionals.
• Have a better understanding on the challenges that I might face once I set my foot out in the media industry.
• Explore other aspects of censorship that are not covered in books or case studies.

9. Provide a summary on censorship in Australia

• Have a holistic understanding about censorship within Australia

My task in the group is to:

1. Focus my research on censorship laws in Australia and its effects.
2. Publish my research findings on the blog.
3. Search for censorship case studies in Australia and compare them.
4. Interview a professional media practitioner in Australia.
5. Participate in any video work required in this project.
6. Help in designing the website.

Issues and challenges

Some of the issues and challenges that I came across are:

1. Getting media practitioners in Australia to take some time off from their busy schedule for me to conduct an interview with them.
2. Finding the right media practitioner whose work relies heavily on censorship in Australia.
3. Finding controversial topics about censorship being discussed in Australia.
4. Finding censorship topics related to filmmaking within Australia, as Australia focuses more on Internet filtering and classifying films more than banning them in the society.
5. Organising my research findings on our website so that it is informative and well researched.

Progress

When I first began my research in this project, it was quite easy for me to find topics related to censorship laws within Australia, as there are quite a number of Australian websites that provide me with that information. In addition, they were well organised and structured so it was easy for me to identify who is in charge of the censorship laws, what powers do they have, what media content is allowed, removed or classified in Australia.

However as I shift my focus to films that are censored in Australia, I realised that films that are produce and distributed in Australia are hardly censored but are given classification markings instead. This is due to the fact that Australia only permits games, films and videos that have been classified by the classification board to be produced, distributed and consumed by the public. On the contrary, the government place their focus on Internet consumption by setting up stronger filtering systems that prevent Australians from consuming unclassified materials. Hence I found it hard to find any public dissatisfaction with film censorship within Australia and any controversial topics related to it as the Australian government allows a wide range of films to be consumed. The only issue is that Australians have to be of legal age to consume films with strong themes or content.

However, after dedicating more of my time to research on controversial topics related to film censorship in Australia I manage to find some sources that showed Australians questioning the board of film censors on their decision. This is due to the fact that I use various online platforms such as YouTube, DowJones and personal blogs to find what I need and through my interview with a media practitioner whose work relies on censorship in Australia. My strength was my decision in dedicating more time in my research and my weakness was focusing on the right angle to explore this topic.

Strategies

My strategy in conducting my research was a combination of research, collaborative and personal learning strategies. When gathering resources to research on my topic, I employ research strategies such as using various online platforms that are available on the RMIT website and searching up on catalogues and news paper articles that are available in the state library. For most areas in my research, I went to google scholar, the RMIT Library Website and the Australian Government Classification Website to look up on articles, reports and information related to censorship classification in Australia. I also read up on some of the reviews from personal blogs such as (blogs.crikey.com.au/cinetology) and movie reviews online such as (twitchfilm.com and theage.com.au). They have provided me with a comprehensive understanding of who banns and classify films in Australia and why these films are banned. When met with a challenge or an obstacle, I employ the collaborative strategies such as informing my group mates about the obstacles that I hit with and ask them for other ways that I can go about to solve it. Lastly, whenever there is a problem that presents itself before me, I will employ personal learning strategies such as reflecting on previous projects that I have done before and use that experience to solve the problem. These strategies that I use in conducting my entire research on this topic is very effective as it helps me overcome any problems that I encounter along the way. In addition it helps me in tackling future problems that I might come across when working on other projects in the future.

Problems

Some of the problems that I came across are:

1. Organising my time well to channel my focus on a particular area required in my research.
2. Choosing which points from my sources that are relevant to my research topic.
3. Finding media practitioners that are willing to take some time off from their busy schedule to allow me to conduct an interview with them.
4. Finding media practitioners where their work is heavily affected by censorship laws in Australia.

How did I go about to solve them:

1. I ensure that I spend at least eight hours every week to focus on my research.
2. Having a discussion with my group mates and asking them for their opinions on which areas in my research that I should focus on.
3. Sending out emails to a list of media practitioners that I found online during my research, so that I will get at least one who is willing to take an effort to allow me to conduct my interview.
4. Starting my search for such media practitioners earlier as it requires a lot of time to source for one.

Connections And Intersections

In conclusion, this course has taught me values like:

1. Problem solving skills whenever I come across an obstacle.
2. Develop my knowledge of the media industries so that when I set my foot in it, I will have at least some substantial knowledge.
3. Develop my skills in researching these industries through looking out for various sources that will help me build project.
4. Develop my skills in analysing media industries, theories and practices in Australian, international and cross-cultural contexts, especially when our work comes together in the project.
5. Helps me identify, analyse and solve problems relevant to media practice.
6. Helps me to effectively learn to adapt, innovate and lead in a rapidly changing professional environment.
7. Help me to work effectively in a collaborative environment given a little amount of time we have.
8. It helps me contextualise my individual interests and skills within a broader, more-in-depth understanding of contemporary mediascapes.
9. Evaluate my learning experience and understanding my strengths and weaknesses.
10. 10.  It helps me to communicate professional research in appropriate forms online.

These values that I have taken from this course are very useful and I can see that they will help me in my career as a media practitioner in the future and ensure that the work that I produce are of professional quality and standard.

 

Marks Awarded:

ITEMS	HD	D	C	P	N (Fail)
Role	HD
Progress	HD
Strategies	HD
Problems	HD
Connections/intersections	HD

 

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Censorship In Australia, Bahrain and Singapore

Censorship In Australia, Bahrain and Singapore from ABS Censorship on Vimeo.

A short introduction video to censorship in Australian, Bahrain and Singapore.

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Censorship Laws In Australia From A Journalistic Perspective

Corporate and Self Censorship From A Journalistic Perspective from ABS Censorship on Vimeo.

 

An Interview with Liam Houlihan, the Chief of Staff of the Sunday Herald Sun, tells us more about corporate censorship and self censorship in Australia.

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A Brief Introduction To The Film, Vivre sa Vie By Jean-Luc Godard, 1962

A Brief Introduction To The Film, Vivre sa Vie By Jean-Luc Godard, 1962 from Herald Chia on Vimeo.

 

This short video was used as an introduction to our group’s presentation for our Cinema Studies course. It was made by one our group mates Donna Seat and the voice over done by Jessie Obien.

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An 80 Seconds Montage Of Vivre sa Vie

An 80 Seconds Montage Of Vivre sa Vie from Herald Chia on Vimeo.

 

As part of my Cinema Studies course, I put together this short music video featuring a montage of images from the film Vivre sa Vie by Jean-Luc Godard, 1962. The music I used is call, “Blue Jeans”, by Lana del Rey. I do not own any copyright to the film or the music.

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Connexion entre Nana et Jeanne d’Arc (Connection Between Nana And Joan Of Arc)

 

As part of my Cinema Studies course, I made this video to replicate the connection that Jean-Luc Godard drew between the character, Nana, in his film, Vivre sa Vie, 1962 and the character, Joan of Arc, in Carl Theodore Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, 1928. Both women shared the same fate of being persecuted by men and that death was their only form of deliverance. This connection can be seen in Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie’s Tableau 3: The Concierge – The Passion of Joan of Arc – A Journalist.

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