He\u27s not there: velvet goldmine and the spectral Bowie persona

In broad terms, this paper examines what I call Todd Haynes\u27 \u27hauntological\u27 approach to the celebrity biopic. More specifically, it focuses on Velvet Goldmine (1998) and argues that Haynes represents Bowie\u27s Ziggy Stardust persona as a series of phantoms in the Derridean sense. That is, figures that are both absent and present, material and immaterial— figures that affirm that no identity can ever be quite complete since the markers of identity are always enmeshed in a network of differences that can be continually re-coded. Haynes\u27 original script contained several Bowie songs, which he was forced to replace when Bowie refused to give him permission to use the music (Bowie claimed he intended to make his own film about his Ziggy Stardust period). Undeterred, Haynes produced a movie that made no direct reference to Bowie by name, yet recoded Bowie\u27s multiple personas and characters in a parallel cinematic world. Haynes\u27 film invites the spectator to re-think Identity in terms of \u27contamination\u27 and \u27inauthenticity\u27. He also establishes a genealogical connection between Oscar Wilde (one of the film\u27s many spectres) and Bowie by making several allusions to the parallels between 19th century aestheticism and Glam Rock. In short, I argue that Haynes\u27 film facilitates a critique of the idea that Bowie\u27s shifting identity is merely a question of aesthetic choice, or an expression of any kind of cultural logic. Rather, I argue that the figure of the Derridean phantom offers a new way to read Velvet Goldmine, and to identify the cultural work performed by Bowie\u27s Ziggy Stardust persona

Class act : Melbourne Workers Theatre 1987-2007

Celebrates the company\u27s artistic achievements and successes over the last two decades through interviews, essays and high quality images of key productions, and recounts its history, its evolving relationship with the embattled trade union movement, and its on-going engagement with working class, indigenous and migrant communities. <br /

The Sydney front recalled

This chapter provides a critical account of the Sydney Front performance group\u27s 1987 production of John Laws/Sade. </i

Darkly dreaming (in) authenticity : the self/persona opposition in Dexter

&nbsp;In &lsquo;Darkly Dreaming (in) Authenticity: The Self/Persona Opposition in Dexter,&rsquo; Glenn D\u27Cruz uses Dexter Morgan, the novelised serial killer and Showtime TV anti-hero to examine the connections between self and persona and the discourse of authenticity. D&rsquo;Cruz foresees a series of challenges for persona studies and considers key concerns ahead, in terms of the critical vocabulary and scholarly agenda and addresses the need for critical genealogy of the term &lsquo;persona&rsquo;.&nbsp;</span

Anglo-Indians in Hollywood, Bollywood and arthouse cinema

Apart from a few disparaging remarks about offensive stereotypes by Anglo-Indian writers and politicians such as Gloria Jean Moore, Frank Anthony and Gillian Hart, critics have paid very little attention to the representation of &ldquo;mixed-race&rdquo; Anglo-Indians in the cinema. Drawing on screen theory and recent theories of cinema spectatorship, this essay provides a comparative analysis of how Hollywood, Bollywood and arthouse films represent Anglo-Indians. More specifically, it analyses three paradigmatic films: Bhowani Junction (1956), Julie (1975), and 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981). Combining formal analysis of narrative structure, mise-en-scegravene and genre with historical analysis, the paper examines the ideological work performed by these texts, which use Anglo-Indians to dramatise specific political conflicts in India such as those generated by the British partition of India in 1947 and the more recent issue of globalisation.<br /