Wednesday, August 01, 2007
2 Documentaries
The Book That Shook the World
IMDB:
I have no memory of the Little Red School Book that caused controversy, around 1972, here in Australia and in many other countries. My main problem with this documentary is the lack of current day pro-censorship (except Keith Windshuttle) people. I do not know if this was a deliberate bias in the making, or if all those who were apposed at the time are now dead or no longer willing to talk about it. The archival footage of Don Chip (pre Democrats) and Mary Whitehouse were some of my favourite parts of the show. As this was a Danish / SBS co-production it should be shown on SBS some time in the next year.
Why See It? As a starting point for a discussion on censorship, or for a little bit of recent Australian history.
Big Dreamers
IMDB:
Tully and the Golden Gumboot. This documentary was not as good as ‘The Book That Shook the World’. While that focused on the events through the people, ‘Big Dreamer’ is about the personalities in and around Tully. This is a bit of light entertainment. The short interludes with others who have created, or appreciated various ‘big’ attractions around Australia are treated with kindness, although the sniggers from the audience at some of these people suggests maybe the treatment was not that kind.
Why See It? A bit of light entertainment, that it much more palatable than reality TV.
