Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 20

Popular Culture Review

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thank God we can’t, but we can offer them something different. (Dixon
interview)
That “something different” is what John O’Shea strove for in all his work, and by
any measure of achievement, he had brilliantly discharged his obligation to society.
John’ O ’Shea is New Zealand’s John Ford; tough, irascible, very much his own
man. He made his films despite government interference, lack of financial backing,
and without the support of studios or distributors. In doing so, O’Shea demonstrated
that one can function as a genuinely independent filmmaker within society, and
make a crucial difference in the way people view the world.
University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Wheeler Winston Dixon

Works Cited
Churchman, Geoffrey B., ed. Celluloid Dreams: A Century o f Film In New Zealand.
Wellington: IPL Books, 1997.
Dixon, Wheeler Winston. Interview with John O’Shea, Wellington, New Zealand, August
5, 1999.
Martin, Helen and Sam Edwards. New Zealand Film 1912-1966. Auckland: Oxford UP,
1997.
O’ Shea, John. Don't Let It Get You. Wellington: Victoria UP, 1999.
Watson, Chris and Roy Shuker. In the Public Good? Censorship in New Zealand. Palmerston
North: Dunmore, 1998.
The author wishes to thank The New Zealand Film Archive, Wellington, for their help and
assistance in providing research facilities for this article.