Secondary Source Practice Report: Chapter 3: Of Machines and Markets

By Phoebe Hamilton

Complete citation: Matthews, Jill Julius. “Dance Hall and Picture Palace: Sydney Romance with Modernity”. Chapter 3: Of Machines and Markets, Currency Press, 2005, pp. 103-116.

Key Words: modernity, machines, Sydney, reproducing machines, entertainment, gramophone.

Brief Overview: This chapter looks at the introduction and spread of reproducing machines, primarily as a source of entertainment, in Australia. Matthews looks at the market for and impact of modernity, through reproducing machines, in the early to mid-1900’s.  

Summary of key points:

·         Modernity brought with it machines which could mimic and replace human action, it also introduced reproducing machines which could enhance and captivate artists’ and audiences’ imaginations.

·         The journey and advancement of these machines has been international and universal, as successful developments were replicated and content shared globally.

·         Early reproducing machines were introduced to Australia from the sea as travelers, performers, and entrepreneurs from across the globe arrived in and travelled through the port of Sydney.

·         This new reproducing technology was spread across the country and capitalised on by local businessmen and markets.

·         While film was a publicly enjoyed spectacle, gramophones allowed reproducing machines to be enjoy within the private sphere. It gave audiences control of what and when they engaged with the medium. Radio is an example of this.

·         As the technologies developed so did public demand for new content. Increasingly audiences wanted new and updated material which gave audio mediums like the gramophone and radio an edge on more strictly controlled (and more expensive to make) mediums such as film.

 

Important Quotations:

·         “The gramophone, wireless, cinematograph and the rotary press recorded and reproduced sound, movement and, in a different way, writing. Their transformative power lay in their effect on the mind and imagination, making appearances almost as palpable as the sensual and material worlds. They could change the way people perceived their world and understood it and themselves as modern.” p. 103

·         “The early reproducing machines, their products, and the showmen and salesmen who extolled, exhibited and sold them came to Australia from all directions. The first of the marvels was photography.” p. 105

·         “Anyone with a bit of spare capital could invest in the equipment and stock and set up business.” p. 107

·         “While moving pictures became a new public art and entertainment form, gramophones and their records were understood more simply as a new musical instrument for the untrained.” p. 112

·         “All these machines reproducing sight and sound presented themselves as agents of modernity. In part, this was because of the scenes of city life and jazz music they reproduced. But just as often, they played oldfashioned melodrama and parlour songs. More important than content was the modernity of their very machineness. They were the magic instruments of modern conjurers who enchanted their audiences with the illusions of presence and simultaneity.” p. 115

 

Usefulness to our group topic or individual project: This chapter gives a valuable insight into the public interests of this time period. It shows a magazine ad from the time advertising these machines. If you wanted to looking at advertisements or music/film reviews this chapter would be relevant to your broader understanding the time period.