Abstract

Neither globalism nor its closely associated concept, globalisation, is a new phenomenon. From early historical times, people have applied these concepts with varying degrees of intensity and success across diverse fields of human activity. Similarly, localism with its strong ties to the security of traditional practices and values, at times rigidly imposed, is characterised by historical longevity. Generally, throughout this long history, the relationship between the global and the local tends to have been explored and compared within an adversarial framework, with the advocates of each concept staking claims for its superiority. However, such claims ignore the potential richness of ongoing conversations between the global and the local thus attributing minimal value to their interconnectedness, and giving scant recognition to their potential for creating new knowledge based on integrating global and local experiences. Using historical, narrative style, this paper explores some of these issues with particular reference to the motion picture industry. It commences with an overview of the industry’s growth and development which quickly established itself as a global phenomenon. Then the focus narrows to the impact of this industry on Australia and its response to the industry’s globalising influence. This national perspective leads into a discussion and description of a local response to this globalisation, through the film society movement, using a particular film society in metropolitan Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia, as an example.