Remembering Jonathan Dennis

The abstract summarizes an oral history recording titled "Emma Jean Kelly - remembering Jonathan Dennis", recorded in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 30, 2016. Emma-Jean Kelly, interviewed by Gareth Watkins, explores the life and legacy of Jonathan Dennis within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand’s social and cultural landscape from the 1950s to the 2010s.

The recording begins with Kelly’s account of how curiosity about an unarchived collection of photographs at the New Zealand Herald led to an exploration of Maori representation in archives and a subsequent desire for academic and professional engagement with Maori culture and history. This journey was furthered by reading Barry Barclay's work and noting the absence of literature on Dennis, which catalyzed their Ph.D. focus on this influential figure.

Jonathan Dennis, a pivotal figure in New Zealand's film archival history, became the director of the New Zealand Film Archive. A passionate advocate for film, specifically silent cinema, Dennis worked tirelessly to preserve and celebrate New Zealand's cinematic heritage. The recording portrays Dennis as a colorful, opinionated individual, known for their flamboyant dress and deep affection for film.

Moreover, Dennis's significant contributions to acknowledging and preserving Maori film heritage are also highlighted, marking a paradigm shift in archival work by recognizing the importance of culturally sensitive approaches and the rights and knowledge of indigenous communities.

Additionally, Dennis's personal life and identity as an openly gay individual are discussed with respect to the influence on their professional life and the intersectionality of queerness with the wider themes of archive and memory. It is noted that while the life and identity of Dennis were integral to their work, it was not the sole lens through which they were viewed.

Furthermore, Dennis's resilience and response to adversity in incidents such as the homophobic physical attack experienced in Melbourne are touched upon, suggesting an undercurrent of social challenges faced during their life.

The narrative weaves in Dennis's achievements, personal struggles, connections, and broader societal commentary, resulting in a multifaceted picture of someone who impacted the film industry and the collective historical consciousness of New Zealand. The abstract concludes with insights into Dennis’s contributions to Maori representation, queer history, and archival practice, establishing them as an influential figure in New Zealand's cultural and academic history.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Emma-Jean Kelly

1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2010s, a day without art (radio), activism, amamus theatre group, anti springbok tour protest (1981), aoraki mount cook, aotearoa new zealand, archives, auckland, auckland university of technology, australia, barry barclay, bastion point, biculturalism, biography, blood, blue (film, derek jarman), boarding school, boy (film, taika waititi), bruno lawrence, camp, centenary of cinema (radio), chris brickell, christchurch, clive sowry, clothing, conservative, cricket, derek jarman, dolls, elizabeth alley, emma-jean kelly, exhibition, family, feminism, ferry hendriks, film, film festival, film society, friends, gay, goodbye pork pie (film), growing up, hermitage hotel, heteronormativity, hiv / aids, homophobia, homosexual law reform, homosexual law reform society, identity, imagination, indigenous peoples, indigenous rights, introversion, invisibility, italy, janet frame, jason king, jonathan dennis, lillian gish, lindsay shelton, long loop home: a memoir by peter wells, love, malcolm mckinnon, manu tuturu (book), marae, march, masculinity, mates and lovers: a history of gay new zealand (book), media, melbourne, merata mita, michel foucault, māori, national identity, national library of new zealand, new zealand film archive, new zealand herald, nga tamatoa, ngā taonga sound and vision, parents, patu! (film), pervert, peter wells, photography, pordenone film festival, queer, queer bashing, queer theory, radio, radio new zealand, radio new zealand concert, radio new zealand national, resilience, roger horrocks, ron o'reilly, rotorua, sam neill, sergei eisenstein, sergio toffetti, sex, sexual orientation, sexuality, shooting, silent film, sport, springbok rugby tour (1981), subversion, taonga, te herenga waka - victoria university of wellington, te kohanga reo, te māori exhibition, te reo māori, teeth, the adventures of jonathan dennis (book), the devils pit (aka under the southern cross), the film and television school new zealand, the history of sexuality (book), tiriti o waitangi / treaty of waitangi, toss woollaston, valance smith, verbal abuse, visibility, voice, wellington, whina cooper, witarina harris

abuse, access, acting, advice, advocate, assumptions, audience, awards, bear, beating, books, bottom, bravery, broken, budget, building, bullying, cafe, camp, cancer, canterbury, career, celebration, change, children, cinema, clubs, code, conference, confidence, connect, connections, conversation, costumes, cruise ship, culture, diary, difference, drugs, eating, education, encounters, environment, escape, exercise, face, fairy, fear, flamboyant, flying, freedom, fun, funeral, future, gaming, god, government, gym, hate, heterosexual, history, hit, homosexual, homosexual law reform, hope, in the zone, inspiration, job, knowledge, language, law, letter, library, lover, mainstream, mask, meetings, monitor, naming, narrative, news, normal, occupation, opportunity, other, pain, passion, people, performance, politics, power, preservation, psychology, public figure, public speaking, race, rainbow, rally, reading, reflection, relationships, research, running, sad, san francisco, school, sea, sexual identity, siblings, silence, so gay, social, space, spaces, straight, struggle, study, stuff, surgery, television, tension, the edge, the other side, theatre, time, top, touch, trust, understanding, volunteer, walking, water, women, work, writing