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Many critics understand the film genre as being borrowed from literature and theatre. This understanding assumes that the most significant element of the genre is the narrative, thus ignoring the technical aspects of film, including camera and sound. The exegesis and supporting short film argue that an understanding of film genre, film sound theory and sound design techniques, when applied to practical filmmaking will lead to a technical based film genre, namely a sound-based genre. This argument is constructed through the discussion of film genre theory, film sound theory and sound design techniques and the combination of the three acts as evidence for the creation of a film sound genre in the future, proving a technical based genre is indeed possible. The significance of this research is in its new understanding of film genre and its original application of existing film sound theory and sound design techniques. This thesis forms the bedrock of ‘sound genre’ research, creating a pathway into further exploration of technical based genres.

The Island of Rottnest is commonly known to Noongar1 people as Wadjemup, “place across the river” or from its colonial connections the “Isle of Spirits”. Rottnest is located approximately 18 km off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle, and is world renowned as a tourism precinct. Less well known is its hidden history related to Aboriginal incarceration, dispossession and death. This PhD study includes a film documentary entitled: Wadjemup: Black Prison – White Playground and an exegesis. These two parts examine the Noongar cosmology and spirituality related to the Island and its surrounding landscape and its cultural significance to Noongar knowledge and history. They document the role of the Island as a colonial prison and the traumatic impact on Aboriginal prisoners. Contemporary and proposed approaches to reconciliation via cultural activities, museum exhibits and monuments are also discussed. The documentary and exegesis ask: Can investigation of the history and cultural context of a colonial prison for Aboriginal inmates facilitate production of a film, documenting the memories and trauma, which will significantly assist in the reconciliation processes via museums, monuments and other cultural activities? The study answers this question by investigating seven key areas or themes: cosmology; colonization; resistance; Aboriginal imprisonment; memorialisation and remembrance; tourism; and healing and reconciliation. The research emphasizes the period of Aboriginal incarceration on the Island highlighting the significant repercussions that alienation and dispossession had on Aboriginal families and cultural systems in Western Australia, and the lasting legacy of this on contemporary Aboriginal society. The significance of this research lies in the way it addresses the problems and processes of reconciliation within three levels: structural, theoretical and ideological. The study exposes the Island’s history and unravels the key linkages between critical c

Robertson, F., Nannup, N., Stasiuk, G., & Hopper, S. (2017). Nyoongar boodja koomba bardip kooratan: Nyoongar land long story short : A history of ancient nyoongar land and people. Batchelor, NT: Batchelor Institute Press. Rodan, D., & Mummery, J. (2018). Activism and digital culture in australia (Media, culture, and communication in asia-Pacific societies). London: Rowman & Littlefield International. Available here

Robertson, F., Stasiuk, G., Nannup, N., & Hopper, S. D. (2016). Ngalak koora koora djinang (Looking back together): a Nyoongar and scientific collaborative history of ancient Nyoongar boodja. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 40. Available here