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| 2017.0002 [TELEVISION] |
| Date Range of Records: |
1968-2013 |
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The Greer Archive has been made available because of its historical and research importance. Statements which form part of the collection are not made on behalf of the University and do not represent the University's views. It contains material that some researchers might find confronting. This includes: Explicit language and images that reflect either the attitudes of the era in which the material was originally published or the views of the creators of the material but may not be considered appropriate today; Names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in published and unpublished printed material, audio recordings and photographs; Graphic descriptions of medical conditions and treatment.
The Television series consists of 15 units of records documenting Greer's diverse career on screen. It contains the paperwork and correspondence associated with arranging Greer's film and television appearances, as well as scripts, schedules and personal notes. The series also acts as an index to third party video recordings held in the Greer archive and the attempts made by Greer and her administrative staff to document this aspect of her career.
Most items within this series relate to a program or series of programs that Greer has been involved with, whether as actor, presenter, guest, interviewer or interviewee. There are also several files of miscellaneous correspondence or refusals, many of which were received as loose papers sandwiched between files. Description fields for items relating to programs have been listed with the name of the program, the production company, recording (Rx) and transmission (Tx) dates and AV catalogue number. The files are arranged loosely chronologically, with some variation throughout.
Greer employed an audio-visual archivist, Melissa Osborne, in 2012 to source copies of programs and films that were not held in the archive, and this series contains documentation of her work. Osborne compiled a comprehensive inventory of Greer's appearances the contents of which has been consolidated in the UMA catalogue. This inventory assigned four digit reference numbers to each program in order to link them with recordings of those programs held in the Greer Archive, referred to in the box list as the AV catalogue number. Sometimes this number is found in the file title or documentation within the file, however these numbers are often inaccurate. Naming of these folders is frequently inconsistent, indicating several changes of administrative staff. Some of Greer's earliest appearances such as the documentary Good Old Nocker and the film Trouble in Molopolis have no documentation within this series from the time of production. In these instances the files document attempts to add recordings of these works to the archive. It is important to note that this series is not a comprehensive record of Greer's screen appearances. Several prominent television appearances, such as her guest hosting of The Dick Cavett Show and appearances in Twice A Fortnight do not have files within this series. Good Old Nocker, Twice a Fortnight, The Dick Cavett Show, Trouble in Molopolis and the Trans Media Germaine Greer specials all have further documentation in the Early Years series.
The series begins with two files relating to the 1968 and 1969 seasons of Nice Time, a sketch comedy series produced by Granada and John Birt and starring Kenny Everett, that sought to remind people of the simple joys of everyday living. A poignant hand written piece by Greer gives insight into her impressions and aims for the series "If it works, perhaps it will be easier to realise that the quality of living is up to us, and not all the fumbling of our politicians, and gradual sinking of our standard of living, and all the chaos of international politics, nor even all the serious television programs about suicides, neurotics, alcoholics, divorcees, can disguise or disfigure the human face, or quench the human spirit." Sketches included Greer in a fur coat and feather boa singing Land of Hope and Glory and the Nice Time Weird Olympics. Many programs from the 60s and 70s, such as Nice Time and Twice a Fortnight have been destroyed by their creators. These files likely contain some of the only remaining documentation of these programs and provide valuable insight into the back of house creative and production work involved. An unaired outtake on 16mm film intended for Nice Time program 26, depicting Greer as housewife and Everett as milkman, was also found in the archive and has been digitised and put online.
Following the publication of The Female Eunuch and Greer's subsequent celebrity status, a large portion of the Television series relates to Greer's frequent appearances on variety and talk shows, often as a part of various promotional tours. These include various programs hosted by Clive James, Clive Anderson, Terry Wogan and David Frost, as well as panel shows such as Question Time and Q&A. Files for programs with Greer as an interview subject or panellist generally only contain letters or emails regarding arrangements for filming and payment. In 1994 she hosted her own all women panel show titled The Last Word. These files also contain viewer responses and panellist interviews.
Greer also frequently appears in documentaries as a cultural commentator and interview subject on a wide range of subjects such as women in sports, eating disorders, English literature, The Spice Girls, contemporary art and opera, as well as her own life and work. Greer takes part in review programs throughout her career, from the 1970's on The Book Programme and Book Four through to her long running tenure on various incarnations of Newsnight Review, as well as numerous round ups of the Turner Prize and Man Booker Prize. These files frequently contain background material regarding the works in question, and occasionally notes on Greer's own impressions.
Interspersed throughout Greer's career are more whimsical appearances on sitcoms, quiz shows and reality television, harking back to her role in Nice Time. These files are frequently sparse and dominated by fee negotiations, but can contain scripts and other documentation beyond the administrative. The Hospital episode of Absolutely Fabulous in 1994 saw her cast as the lead character's mother in a hallucination. An episode of World of Pub in 2001 had her sing Stand By Your Man cabaret style to a women's only pub, the file of which contains sheet music for the song. Greer's file relating to her much publicised appearance on Celebrity Big Brother includes news clippings and a detailed entrance questionnaire. In response to a question regarding the best thing that could happen as a result of participation in Big Brother, she writes "That some millionaire out there would put money into the rainforest…". There is evidence that many of these programs were undertaken in order to fund other projects such as Stump Cross Books and the Cave Creek Rainforest Rehabilitation Scheme.
Programs where Greer has been engaged as a writer and presenter contain extensive research material, scripts of varying completeness, shot lists and shooting schedules. These programs tend to explore Greer's personal and professional interests, such as Shakespeare, women artists and poets, and the relationship between architecture and society. Among these is Diverse Reports: Ethiopia, a television documentary filmed in September 1985 about the Ethiopian famine and the failures of the disaster relief program. Another unique project was Of Beauty and Consolation, where Dutch journalist and television producer Wim Kayzer invited prominent individuals such as Freeman Dyson, Stephen Jay Gould, Karel Appel and Greer to create a response to the title. Greer created a personal documentary exploring the wildflowers of Western Australia, the batik textile works of Aboriginal women artists at Utopia in the Northern Territory, and her relationship with her sister Jane.
The Television series also documents several unrealised or cancelled projects, including an invitation to serve as a judge for a reality TV series to find Australia's top bloke. Also to be found in this series are records relating to a proposed BBC miniseries on the life of Aphra Behn. Greer wrote a detailed 11 page treatment for the series offering three different accounts of the poet's much contested biography. The treatment ends with a shot of Behn's grave focusing on her epitaph "A proof that wit can never be defence against mortality". |
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| 15 units (2.55m) |
| Collection Category: |
Culture and the Arts, individuals |
| Access Conditions: |
Access: Restricted |
| Finding Aids: |
Yes listed ONLINE |
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