Focusing on the incidence of the ‘Westerns’ film genre in the 120-odd years of Australian cinema history, exploring how the American genre has been adapted to the changing Australian social, political and cultural contexts of their production, including the shifting emphases in the representation of the Indigenous population.



The idea for the book came to the author while he was writing two recent articles. One was an essay for Screen Education on the western in Australian cinema of the 21st century; the other piece was the review of a book entitled Film and the Historian, for the online journal Inside Story . Between the two, he saw the interesting prospect of a book-length study of the role of the western genre in Australia’s changing political and cultural history over the last century – and the ways in which film can, without didacticism, provide evidence of such change. Key matters include the changing attitudes to and representation of Indigenous peoples and of women's roles in Australian Westerns.



When one considers that the longest narrative film then seen in Australia, and quite possibly the world was Charles Tait’s The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), it is clear that Australia has some serious history in the genre, and Kelly has ridden again in Justin Kurzel’s 2020 adaptation of Peter Carey’s The True History of the Kelly Gang.

What can post-catastrophe films tell us about our current real-world circumstances?

This book proposes that a new sub-genre of film called ‘post-catastrophe’ is emerging that displays narratives directly analogous to our current predicament of runaway climate disruption. Post-catastrophe film sits in the space between blockbuster disaster movies that use scenes of destruction to blow the world up and disrupt the flow of humanity and post-apocalyptic films where a version of society has formed in the ashes of the disaster.

In these narratives, the characters are thrown into a world of unsettling circumstances in which they have to adapt and strive for survival and reimagine the world as it changes around them. We face a similar predicament."

Decolonial Media Imaginaries (DMI) begins from the basic premise that imaginaries serve an important role in the articulation and elaboration of identity, sociality, collectivity, and solidarity, especially in terms of the co-fashioning of ways of life and living.



Imaginaries are designed to be inhabited and eventually to be lived in. The most dominant imaginaries of the industrialist past and late capitalist present have been most finely attuned to expanding the influence of colonial, capitalist, and neoliberal priorities and imperatives. One of the consequences associated with the circulation of these dominant imaginaries has been the marginalization and diminishment of other modes of representation that illuminate alternative ways of living that run counter to these powerful tools of worldmaking.



DMI lays the groundwork to examine the power and limitations of both dominant and marginalized imaginaries, suggesting that the work imaginaries perform is ongoing, longstanding, and deeply engrained in broader historical, political, and geographical currents. As such, this book offers a more speculative, albeit theoretically- and conceptually- engaged discussion surrounding the future viability and vitality of decolonial media imaginaries as instruments for decolonial worldbuilding.

Over the past decade, Tiny Housing has become something of a viral sensation in the US. From Instagrammable enclaves for young professionals to vast municipality-supported schemes seeking to address homelessness, tiny house sites are proliferating across the country.



This book takes a look at life inside the ‘Tiny House Nation’, shining an intimate light on a phenomenon widely celebrated in the mainstream media. The book presents textured narrative accounts from and striking images of Tiny Home residents, their homes and communities, while analysing the broader socio-economic structures shaping their lives. In so doing, it paints a compelling and complex picture of a trend at the crossroads of several key social, cultural and economic shifts, at a pivotal moment for America’s housing future.

Fundamentally, this is a book about paradoxes. The paradox of tiny housing offering freedom from the constraints of capitalism, whilst at the same time remaining embedded within capitalist systems. The paradox of those who ‘go tiny’ both choosing an alternative lifestyle, and those who are pushed into tiny housing as a consequence of limited choice. The paradox of Austin, Texas, as both a countercultural enclave and hyper-capitalist tech haven. And the paradox of tiny house ethoses in Austin, as both centring community and shared assets, and individualist libertarianism. These paradoxes do not necessarily sit in opposition to one another, but are all bound up in the complexity of what tiny housing has to offer as an alternative way of living.

Despite its unattainability for all but the most privileged, the American Dream - the home-owning society, the suburban bliss, the white picket fence - remains emblematic of the residential Good Life. But in the decades since the turn of the millennium the dream has been shrunk down, expectations of a decent home literally reduced. Whilst for some this has led to forms of freedom and fulfilment, it has also contributed to the normalisation of cities so outrageously expensive that all people can afford are miniature homes on the urban periphery. As this book shows, both impacts of tiny housing are equally true, and one does not cancel out the other. Tiny housing embodies an important societal crossroads. In some respects, it offers an alternative to the prevailing housing status quo. In others, it demonstrates what options have already been taken away from us.

from the Introduction



‘In the rest of this book, we’ll lead you through our exploration of tiny housing in Texas. We’ll start, in the next chapter, by introducing some of the places and people we encountered on our travels to set the scene. Then, the ‘pathways’ chapter examines the various conditions and journeys through which people end up living tiny. As you’ll see, our attempt to produce a diagram of pathways to tiny living escalated into the production of a fully blown board game. We describe this diagrammatic board game to show the complex and nuanced personal and structural circumstances that lead people into tiny housing. From there, we go into three empirical chapters, focusing on economies of tiny living, the materiality of tiny housing as domestic spaces, and community culture. We then draw the book to a close, and speculate about what tiny housing means for the future of domestic life, especially in relation to the American Dream.



‘Throughout the book our descriptions are accompanied by photographs taken by Cian Oba-Smith, who accompanied us on our first trip to Texas in 2022. The hype around tiny housing is undoubtedly driven, in large part, by the aesthetic cultures surrounding it. Tiny homes are the picturesque, boutique, upmarket cousin of mobile homes and trailers. They are distinguished from these other types of small housing, as we’ll argue in this book, specifically by their aesthetics. Anyone who ventures into the world of tiny housing for more than five minutes will see how thick this aesthetic culture is. From beautifully curated Instagram pages, to countless coffee table books, to Etsy shops dedicated to crafted tiny house merchandise, a key part of living tiny is enjoying and embracing its aesthetics. By working with Cian we were able to focus (literally) on these aesthetic dimensions of tiny housing. However, we were also able to capture some of what’s not presented in promotional tiny house materials; the constraints, the challenges and the complexities that come along with the joy and the freedom. We’re positioning this book as something of a disrupted coffee table book. On an initial flick through it might not look too different to the photography books that valorise tiny living, but you’ll already know, if you’ve read this far, that our approach is more nuanced. Our attempt has been to expose the ‘real’ Tiny House Nation. Not to attack it, not to deny its beneficial impacts for a huge number of people, but to inject some nuance into the debate so that we can take forward the positives of tiny living without normalising the negatives.’

Drawing on the principles of Diffusion of Innovations, this article examines Disney’s emphasis on public speaking through its various television programmes, during training sessions for employees and even at its theme parks. Introduced by Everett Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations postulates that an innovation is initiated within a specific group of people. Then, it is diffused via specific channels across the larger cultural context. Stressing the importance of public speaking for Disney’s employees can be an innovation that matches Disney’s pre-existing system, which would require fewer changes and would be easy to adopt. Taken as a whole, what this conceptual and theoretical analysis demonstrates is that public speaking has emerged as a vital skill within The Walt Disney Company due to the innovative nature of its organizational environment, which emphasizes storytelling, transformation and global collaboration. At its core, Disney is a brand built on the power of stories that connect with audiences across cultural and generational boundaries. This narrative-driven focus extends beyond its films and theme parks to its internal and external operations, where public speaking plays a critical role in shaping the company’s image, inspiring employees and fostering meaningful stakeholder engagement.

Using YY, one of China’s earliest live-streaming platforms, as a case study, this article investigates the cultural logic of the attention economy in the context of streaming media. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and participant observation, I examine the everyday practices and dynamics that shape live-streaming on YY. I argue that live-streaming reconfigures our understanding of the attention economy through three conceptual dyads: attention and distraction, commodity and intimacy, agency and passivity. By analysing the hierarchical structures of attention and its commodification within the live-streaming sphere, this study offers new insight into the rapid expansion of live-streaming industry in China and its significance for global digital cultures.

Migrant wives on spouse visas find themselves in a state of transition. The conditional and temporary nature of their legal status positions these women precariously, with their wait for permanency causing legal limbo. Although research into the insecurity and precarity of women on spouse visas is increasing, we know little about how power imbalances between these women and their sponsor husbands are enacted and sustained through quotidian family practices. Responding to this gap, this article analyses the everyday experiences of 39 wives who, after migrating with a type of spouse visa to Hong Kong (n = 20) and Melbourne, Australia (n = 19), faced significant pressure from their husbands to perform ‘good wifeliness’. Although highly diverse and residing in two different social contexts, these women are connected by how these expectations can be traced to their visa status, specifically its purpose (for an intimate partnership), transitional and probationary nature and underlying sponsorship arrangement. Ideas of good wifeliness imposed by the women’s husbands are further underpinned by pressures to demonstrate legal deservingness as migrants seeking to move from a transitional legal status to permanent residency. Remnants of this dynamic continue even after separation, pointing to the long-lasting effects of arriving by spouse visa.

Review of: The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture, Karen Lemmey, Tobias Wofford and Grace Yasumura (2024)

Washington, DC, Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Smithsonian American Art Museum and Princeton University Press, 292 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-69126-149-2, h/bk, USD 65.00

ISBN 978-0-69126-151-5, e-book, USD 32.50

This research investigates the role of activewear as a representation of modern masculinity in urban Indonesia. The study used qualitative research methodologies, including interviews with ten Indonesian men who actively include activewear in their wardrobe choices. Such exploration will look into the dynamics at play at the nexus between fashion, fitness and masculinity within this setting. The findings indicated that activewear is a multidimensional signifier of contemporary masculinity, signalling a movement away from the stoicism associated with traditional masculinity towards a health-and-fitness-emphasized, modern and active lifestyle. Overall, participants showed an overwhelmingly strong association between the concept of healthy lifestyle and activewear, where sportswear was seen as wearing an image of fitness and discipline, a desirable life. It illustrates that globally and locally relevant constructions of male identity intertwine, as most of the ideals of athleticism and masculinity depicted through the western media get appraised by participants with consideration towards Indonesian cultural logic focused on harmonious coexistence and community bonding. Additionally, when choosing clothing, comfort and usefulness work together to enhance the brand’s image. They preferred brands with images they would like to portray and those offering high-quality, functional clothes. Sustainability was an increasingly important consideration, but high prices barred most from choosing such options. This research develops the understanding of how fashion and consumerism shape masculine identities in contemporary Indonesia. By placing activewear in this context, the study places a valuable insight into the changing dynamics of masculinity in the fast-changing urban landscape.

This article examines perceptions of LGBTQIA+ expression of their identities through dress. The research utilizes intersectionality theory that encompasses additional identities an individual may have to understand how LGBTQIA+ individuals express their gender through dress and the impact of other identities on the expression of gender identity. This study is significant because it contributes to research on gender identity and dress by examining it within the context of intersectionality theory. In-depth interviews were conducted with LGBTQIA+ individuals from two regions in the United States. The results revealed that in addition to gender, participants actively portrayed their profession, personality/lifestyle, social group, religious group, sexual orientation and financial status through dress. They also discussed biased treatment due to additional identities such as ethnicity, financial status, profession and age. While gender was important to express, other identities impacted their experiences as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and their dress selections. This research has practical applications for human resource managers and teachers in post-secondary education to interact with employers or students as a whole individual with many intersecting identities.

Creating resonance between an audience and brand identity is often a long-term process but can be made instant through proper music implementation. This research explored music listening behaviours and their effect on inducing fantasy/daydreaming within fashion spaces (domestic, retail and runway) and specifically if fantasy strengthens garment self-association. Creating this connection between music, a garment and a physical space could result in an elevated visitor experience and signals a preference for curated experiences. The study undertook a phenomenological approach through surveys, wardrobe interviews and Mirror Time (using a mirror to pull on subconscious thoughts). The short-form survey and long-form interview had sample sizes of fifteen and four, respectively, covering several age groups from 21 to 35. Results showed that genre, task, music agency and desire mitigated fantasy/daydreaming. Additionally, music listening behaviours split into two audience groups: one using music for fantasy and the other for focus. Fashion spaces were mapped on a Store–Space (x), Object–Product (y) continuum to assess their properties, which, in conjunction with the audience groups, provided a framework for organizations to develop accurate music strategies. By integrating curated music experiences into a marketing strategy, a more consistent and meaningful brand–consumer resonance can be created.

This article explores how changing textile fashions and evolving consumer tastes reshaped handloom production in North India between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. British imperialism and industrialization transformed the social practices of textile design, production and consumption in colonial India. The implications of these new fashion arrangements – often overlooked – led both consumers and producers to engage, consciously or not, with the modernizing colonial project. The article argues that responses to European industrial fashion were not merely imitative or passive but marked by selective appropriation and strategic revival of Indigenous styles. These sartorial choices reflected deeper social negotiations, expressing class, hierarchy, nationalist sentiment and evolving identities. The handloom industry, far from being obsolete, adapted to new fashion regimes, making cloth a powerful site of cultural expression and social change in the material world of colonial India.

This article critically examines the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of fashion trend forecasting, focusing on how machine-learning technologies reshape the aesthetic and commercial dimensions of predicting style. Drawing from fashion studies, philosophy and management studies, this article interrogates the shift from qualitative, expert-led trend forecasting to data-driven, predictive systems that claim to map and anticipate consumer taste at scale. It explores how these systems function not only as tools of prediction but also as producers of cultural meaning, taste hierarchies and aesthetic norms. The article offers a new perspective on AI forecasting in the academy, which has thus far focused on its technical aspects. By analysing AI fashion trend platforms, I explore a critical framework for understanding the implications of AI-driven trend forecasting in both commercial and cultural contexts.

This article explores the use of technology to provide hospitality at high speed. The requirements of economic competition and achieving profitability underpin the need for speed. Speed, in this article, is viewed as a function of Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of liquid modernity but also points to evidence of solid structures. Solidly positioned corporations set the pace of the speed agenda. Trade journal articles offer insight into the corporate-managed push for technology-driven speed. Themes are noted that relate to ‘fast hospitality’: an overarching concept that blends the desire for speed and liquid relations with the profit-seeking practices of ‘solidly’ entrenched corporate entities. The interplay between Bauman’s notions of solid and liquid is presented as one of contemporaneous connection rather than historical transition. Rather than representing a shift from the liquid to the solid – a notion more consistent with Bauman’s work – ‘fast hospitality’ would appear to be deployed in a way that weaves them together strategically. Such actions help corporations avoid uncertainty as well as address an absence of focus and clear direction: conditions typically associated with liquidity. ‘Fast hospitality’ is a function of solid organizational structures that aim to preserve a rationalized economic order, thus minimizing uncertainty, during liquid modern times.

This book explores the consequences of unbridled expansion of neoliberal values within India through the lens of popular film and culture. The focus of the book is the neoliberal self, which, far from being a stable marker of urban, liberal, millennial Indian identity, has a schizophrenic quality, one that is replete with contradictions and oppositions, unable to sustain the weight of its own need for self-promotion, optimism, and belief in a narrative of progress and prosperity that has marked mainstream cultural discourse in India. The unstable and schizophrenic neoliberal identity that is the concern of this book, however, belies this narrative and lays bare the sense of precarity and inherent inequality that neoliberal regimes confer upon their subjects.

The analysis is explicitly political and draws upon theories of feminist media studies, popular culture analyses, and film studies to critique mainstream Hindi cinema texts produced in the last two decades. Rele Sathe also examine a variety of other peripheral ‘texts’ in her analysis such as the film star, the urban space, web series, YouTube videos, and social media content.