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Film on Beatle's life offers insights into our own

Tuesday 7 August 2012, 5:18PM

By Massey University

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A film documenting former Beatle George Harrison’s life and times is to be examined in a presentation that encourages the audience to explore their own achievements and legacies.

School of English and Media Studies lecturer Radha O’Meara’s seminar While His Guitar Gently Weeps, is an exploration of memory, documentary and the biopic, It takes the Martin Scorsese movie George Harrison: Living in the Material World as the basis for a wider view of the 1960s-1980s and various interpretations of contemporary media, memoirs and interviews.

“Scorsese’s treatment of Harrison’s life story evokes audience reflection on their personal histories – that is, it comes from the form of the film, rather than the raw material from which the documentary was created, “ Dr O’Meara says “The film can be seen as a work that refocuses the fans’ gaze from Harrison’s life back on themselves”

. Her paper was co-written with Professor Carolyn Stevens from Monash University.

In a separate seminar Dr O’Meara’s colleague, theatre lecturer Emma Willis, will deliver an analysis of Productive Bodies a performance-based project by artist Mark Harvey and volunteers, staged in Wellington in March. It explored the idea of being ‘productive’ amid the backdrop of public sector job cuts.

Dr Willis’ presentation will focus on the effect of how this performance intervened in the city’s social landscape, around places like Parliament and Lambton Quay, and how this is a commentary on the social-political environment.

Both seminars are being held at 3pm on Friday August 10 in the theatre laboratory of Massey University’s Wellington campus, Room 5D14, Entrance A, 63 Wallace St. Refreshments follow the seminar.