Abstract
This creative practice PhD thesis combines a feature-length screenplay with an accompanying exegesis. The screenplay – Where There’s Smoke – is a contemporary Australian drama that follows a first-time, Caucasian teacher working in a remote boarding school. While the story centres on this protagonist, many supporting and minor characters are First Nations people.While the screenplay does not at any point undertake the task of telling a First Nations story, it does raise important ethical questions about the representation of marginalised groups in screenplays. The impetus for the exegesis is a dual ethical imperative. If the lack of representation for cultural groups can do them harm, then storytellers ought to include characters who represent members of those groups in their stories, wherever possible; but if certain types of representation – or the conditions under which representation occurs – can also be harmful, then storytellers also ought to take care to avoid this.
The exegesis seeks to understand the conditions under which screenwriting practice risks causing wrongful harm. It does so through philosophical conceptual analysis and argument, drawing from scholarship on storytelling, screenwriting, cultural appropriation, and the philosophy of harm. It incorporates critical analysis of two Australian films – The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) and Ten Canoes (2006) – to illustrate how theoretical insights into the nature of film comprehension and conceptual analysis of wrongful harm and cultural appropriation can come together to facilitate ethical examination of screenwriting practice.
Finally, the exegesis includes a critical reflection on the writing of the original screenplay. It examines how a deeper understanding of fiction and schematic knowledge, representation and cultural harms, and how these harms have manifested or been mitigated in real screenwriting practice shaped creative decisions across character, plot, and theme.Where the exegesis informs and illuminates screenwriting practice, the screenplay serves to exercise, sharpen, and clarify the ethical ideas explored in the research. It demonstrates how ethical responsibilities can be meaningfully integrated into screenwriting – and that doing so can lead to work that is more compelling, layered, and ethically sound.
| Date of Award | 3 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Damian Cox (Supervisor), Marc Rosenberg (Supervisor), Oscar Davis (Supervisor) & Michael Sergi (Supervisor) |