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Australian cinema is a social bond uniting and excluding diverse people [.] serving as a vehicle of popular socializing and as a forum for telling uncomfortable truths about society' 2). It can be argued, however, (according to O`Reagan) that the "truth- in Australian filmmaking or the uncomfortable mirror of Australian society is no longer a wholly negative statement in realtion to the most recently produced films from Down Under. Certainly, this statement is relevant when discussing the cultural cringe ocker films of the 70`s, the subsequent smattering of self-concious art house films, the wholesome period films of the AFC genre' and the glossy, "tourist trap- films of the 80`s supported by the IOBA tax shelter scheme for film makers. Yet the most recent offerings from Australian film makers Strictly Ballroom' (1992), Muriel`s Wedding' (1994) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' (1994) refelct a feeling of acceptance of Australia`s place on the world stage through it`s films, whilst simultaneously celebrating a new found ease of the quirky Australian national identity.
As Sue Milliken (chairperson of the AFC reported in 1994): .
We`ve got over the cringe and the strut when Australians didn`t know whether to try to be totally American or totally Australian to be successful. Now they`re just being good.3).
For Australian film-makers, the journey to making the confident and colourful films of the 90`s was a difficult one, neccessitating the overcoming of its cultural cringe towards Europe - particularly Britain -, whilst creating a unique cinema, separate and distinct from the Hollywood. The challenge was to create a cinema not based solely on the virtues of the beauty of the country, but more to explore the unique personalities of its inhabitants. It can be argued that this interesting balance has been struck in Australian films of the 90`s, contributing to their originality and charm.
