Spectacle

The moving image has captured some of history’s biggest moments. In the early 20th century, Australians received much of their information from newsreel shorts in cinemas before the main feature. This shared viewing experience represented the way film, and the media, could turn current events into spectacles, and these shorts were an important predecessor to the nightly news that followed when television arrived in the 1950s. As the century progressed, world events were broadcast directly into homes, helping accelerate social, political and cultural change. Today, technological advancements also fuel new formats, like the 24-hour news cycle and social media, which blur the lines between information and entertainment while reflecting the hope, tragedy and joy of human experience.