Christine Plakolm

Department	Department of English and American Studies
PhD Supervisor	Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ralph Poole
PhD Co-Supervisor	Univ.-Prof. Dr. Nils Grosch
Start	SoSe 2021
Contact
Theme/Title	The Reception of American Popular Culture in Austria in the 1960s with the example of The Sound of Music (1965)

Abstract

In my doctoral thesis, I am investigating the relationship between the reception of American popular culture and the process of coming to terms with the Nazi past in 1960s Austria, using the example of Robert Wise’s US blockbuster *The Sound of Music*. The film, which is a phenomenon of popular culture, has always been characterised by a low profile in the country in which it is set. As part of my research, I aim to analyse the reasons for the lack of popularity of *The Sound of Music* in Austria. By drawing on primary sources such as the original screenplay, dubbing scripts and other archival sources (newspaper reports, reviews), I intend to examine the film’s production history, as well as the history of its dubbing and reception in Austria. Any decision-makers who are still alive will be interviewed regarding censorship, promotion and cinema or television programming. As a point of comparison for the reception of US popular culture in Austria in the 1960s, I will draw on the US film drama *The Cardinal* (1963) by the Austrian émigré Otto Preminger.

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