Technology and Film in Australia in the 1990s Essay

Submitted By PetaMH
Words: 1328
Pages: 6
Open Document
Year 10 History– Decade Study the 1990s
In the lead up to the turn of the century, our dependency on advancing technology for education, work, entertainment and socialisation was higher than ever. Not only was our personal ability to use technology on a basic level becoming a fundamental part of everyday life and an essential skill in the workplace, our culture was seeing great increases in the quality of technology being developed. This showed through advances in many aspects of life. Communication and finding information were made easier through advanced technologies such as the mobile phone and public access to the Internet and entertainment was at its highest quality yet through advances in special effects and digital technology for filmmaking.
The mobile phone, invented in the 70s, available for public sale in the 80s and finally converted to digital technology in the 90s, became a huge part of life. At the beginning of the 90s it featured a 30-minute battery life, analogue technology, a price tag of around $4,000 and a size and weight similar to that of a brick. By the middle of the decade, mobile phones were an essential part of life and people without them were significantly isolated from social interactions among a community. As mobile phones began being converted to digital technology, they became the most popular form of communication. 1996 was a big year for the development of the mobile phone. Motorola StarTAC, one of the first phones with a display screen and the first “flip phone”, was released. After the first Matrix movie was released, the Nokia 8110 became the popular release in the same year. At the end of 1996, the first smartphone was released. The Nokia 9000 Communicator had 8MB of memory, 6 of which were used for apps and the functioning of the phone and 2 were allocated to user data. Today, 2MB of memory would not hold the average 2 minute mp3 song.
Communication wasn’t the only aspect of technology that was advancing. Entertainment among young people had become hugely involved with console gaming and popular culture. The decade began in the middle of what is known as the fourth generation of console gaming. This included 16bit resolution, multi buttoned controllers and vibrant colours. As the decade progressed, the popular fourth generation consoles such as the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System decreased in popularity, making way for fifth generation in video game consoles. These included the first Play Station and the Nintendo 64. This was also the point in which hand-held consoles grew in popularity. The favourite among youth in the 90s was the Nintendo Game Boy series. This was a series of hand held consoles with a range of compatible games including the “Pokémon” series. In February of 1996, the first Pokémon game was released in Japan. It was an immediate hit in America and before long the simple console game had evolved into trading cards and a range of other merchandise. Pokémon themed versions of the original Nintendo consoles were even released.
With globalisation increasing and communication to people the half a world away becoming more accessible, other countries were influencing Australia’s technological side more than ever. The most prominent of these influencing countries in the 1990s was the United States. That’s not to say that all of the most popular and technologically influential mobile phones and video game consoles of the 90s were invented in America. Nokia is a Finnish company and the vast majority of video games consoles were created in Japan. It was the close link that Australia had with United States that caused their popular culture to meld with our own. America was the main market and if something gained popularity in America, it was likely to spread internationally. With all these technological advances pulling us into the future from the United States, it would have been nearly impossible for Australian culture not to be influenced by that of
Show More

Related Documents: Technology and Film in Australia in the 1990s Essay

Essay about 1 Camera, Set, Action: Process Innovation for Film and TV Production1

Camera, Set, Action: Process Innovation for Film and TV Production1 Chun Ouyang Kenneth Wang Arthur ter Hofstede Marcello La Rosa Michael Rosemann Business Process Management Group Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Australia Katherine Shortland David Court Australian Film, Television and Radio School Sydney, Australia Abstract: Film and TV productions, a key area in production screen business, comprise of processes with high demand for creativity and flexibility. However…

Words 5279 - Pages 22

Essay on global context

in trade barriers An improvement in technology 4. Forms of global business include: establishing subsidiaries exporting and importing outsourcing licensing and franchising direct investment in foreign operations joint ventures and strategic alliances mergers and acquisitions 5. The Multinational Benefits Economic development e.g. creates employment; provides financial support & global economic development Brings management expertise Introduces new technology & relevant training Encourages international…

Words 835 - Pages 4

A Life of Change Art Assessment Essay

‘Dropping the Urn’ (5000BC-2010), is a ready made that consists of a some what 5000 year old ceramic vase, with the iconic words ‘Coca-Cola’ painted in the symbolic red. He has featured a range of these similar works, many of his installations and shot films, which have been described by audiences as intriguing and deceptive. Through his works Ai has engaged viewers with issues important to modern china, his issue in this work the rapid modernisation, loss of natural history and the effects of global economy…

Words 1490 - Pages 6

History Of Magnet Materials

division in the late 80’s.1 At the peak of production, the U.S. was employing thousands of workers in 15 of their strongest magnet manufacturing facilities. Although business was still good for Americans, the magic of magnets was going global. “In 1990, worldwide magnet production was 300,000 metric tons, with sales valued at roughly $2 billion. United States production comprised over 50% of these totals.” As the decade continued, China began discovering rare earth deposits in Inner Mongolia near…

Words 1212 - Pages 5

Teen Magazines Essay

Feature Writing & Magazine Editing Feature Writing & Magazine Editing A SEMINAR ON * TEEN MAGAZINES * REAER’S DIGEST * PRE-FLIGHT A SEMINAR ON * TEEN MAGAZINES * REAER’S DIGEST * PRE-FLIGHT SUBMITTED TO RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN SUBMITED BY JOBY THOMAS 6/8/2012 SUBMITTED TO RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN SUBMITED BY JOBY THOMAS 6/8/2012 TEEN MAGAZINES Teen magazines are a genre of magazines aimed specifically…

Words 3244 - Pages 13

Witness Notes Essay

McGivern SECTION TITLES 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. The World of the Film 4. The Vision of the Film 5. How does the film tells its story? 6. Sequences for study 7. Key moments 8. Useful references IFI EDUCATION 1 WITNESS INTRODUCTION Witness (1985) was directed by Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, and stars Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. A considerable box office success on its release, the film received eight Academy Award nominations, winning two for the screenwriters…

Words 7548 - Pages 31

Genre Analysis of Movie Review Essay

of language in written communication. 3. Methodology 3.1 The corpus: data collection The movie review is about the movie The King’s Speech. We choose this movie is because unlike some commercial movies, this movie is a serious historical drama film but also humorous. It was directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The men become friends as they work…

Words 3983 - Pages 16

organizational behavior essay

Introduction Disney's European theme park adventure: a clash of cultures Marie C. Trigg and David Trigg The authors Marie C. Trigg is Lecturer at Bowater School, Deakin University, Australia. David Trigg is Lecturer in the Department of Management, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. Abstract When companies internationalize, the dimension of individual national cultures needs to be considered in conjunction with corporate culture. Theme parks deliberately set out to…

Words 7111 - Pages 29

Essay Hot_topic_in_marketing(targeting or advertising to children)

advertising employees are focusing on increasing sales volume; creating much more young generations to become potential customers and firming their market share. From 1990s, manufacturers started to use simply and brief messages in their advertisements which target to their new customers, children. With the development of technology, companies and marketers doing advertise and market through radio, TV, intent and other all kinds of place where can put their advertisements can be seen. Currently, food…

Words 2005 - Pages 9

Ecocriticism In Literature

Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE)—in which current international scholarship can be found. ASLE has multiplied into an organization with thousands of members in the US alone. From the late 1990s, new branches of ASLE and affiliated organizations were started in the UK, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand (ASLEC-ANZ), India (OSLE-India), Taiwan, Canada and…

Words 5251 - Pages 22