Gallipoli: Anzac Day Overexposure?

Anzac Day is only a few weeks time, this year marking 100 years since the Gallipoli campaign. A defining event in Australia’s history, many Australians will commemorate it at services across the country and around the world. The significance of this year means there are a number of TV series and documentaries dedicated to Gallipoli.

Some people have raised concerns that there has been too much media exposure of the topic and as a result people have become tired of hearing about it. What should be an important historical day of remembrance is in danger of becoming an over-hyped drama to be used for ratings.

Channel 9 recently aired a seven part miniseries, Gallipoli, that followed 17 year old Tolly and his brother Bevan from their landing at Gallipoli and through the doomed campaign. Foxtel also has a miniseries set to air in April, called Deadline Gallipoli. TV networks understandably want to make use of the increased interest this year. Record numbers of people are expected to attend Dawn Service ceremonies on the day, with the service at Gallipoli booked out for the first time ever.

As well as the possibility of too much attention leading to indifference, there is some criticism that Anzac Day and remembering Gallipoli as we do now, is no longer relevant to modern Australia. Joan Beaumont, history professor at the Australian National University, wrote that as well as exposure fatigue, Anzac Day represents an outdated Australian society that many people today do not relate to. Perhaps now, at the 100 year mark, we need to adopt a more modern and inclusive narrative whilst still marking the importance of Anzac Day in order to remember the unique impact it has had on Australian history.

After Mel Gibson’s hugely successful and defining 1981 film Gallipoli, subsequent dramatisations of the events of Gallipoli never seem to live up to their predecessor. While some may feel that the topic has been overdone, trivialising the actual events, some believe that it is an effective way of keeping the interest in Gallipoli and Anzac Day. Not many people think that Anzac Day should not be honoured, so maybe new TV series this year are a good way to keep the attention on it and provide new avenues for discussion about its ongoing importance to Australia.