Philmology

In this piece written for Overland, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and I examine issues of racial politics, cinematic representation and their relationship to the horror genre in writer-director Jordan Peele’s debut feature Get Out. Get Out and the Horror of Representation (link to article)

“The word remake is anachronistic to the degree to which our awareness of the preexistence of other versions (previous films of the novel as well as the novel itself) is now a constitutive and essential part of the film’s structure: we are now, in other words, in “intertextuality” as a deliberate, built-in feature of the […]

Friday Film returned for 2015 this week with a discussion of the Clint Eastwood-directed American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper. Plus, talkback on the ‘politics of the War film’ on Drive with Rafael Epstein on 774 ABC Melbourne.

In this week’s episode of Plato’s Cave the team review Blue is the Warmest Colour, Le Week-End and Wolf Creek 2. With Josh Nelson, Cerise Howard and Thomas Caldwell. Plato’s Cave – February 24th Episode (.MP3)

In this week’s Plato’s Cave the team review Dallas Buyers Club and A Touch of Sin plus a discussion of the critical response to The Wolf of Wall Street and Twelve Years a Slave. With Josh Nelson, Cerise Howard and Thomas Caldwell. Plato’s Cave – 17 February Episode (.MP3)

In an industry where marginalised social classes are routinely depicted as loveable larrikins, comical bogans or dangerous criminals and sexual predators, Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail signals something of a breakthrough in Australian cinema. Based on the life and stories of Daniel P. Jones (who also performs the lead role, Danny), the film broadly depicts one man’s […]

In this episode of Plato’s Cave the team review Dredd, You Will Be My Son and Hail plus we discuss the representation of lower classes in cinema. With Josh Nelson, Thomas Caldwell and Tara Judah. Plato’s Cave – November 5th Episode (.MP3)

As far as blockbusters go, the recently released Men in Black 3 (dir. Barry Sonnenfeld) might seem to be a fairly unremarkable film. However, the narrative, which continues the story of extraterrestrial law enforcers Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), is noteworthy for other reasons. With its emphasis on the rescue […]

Despite the overwhelmingly positive chorus of support for Pixar’s latest animated feature, Toy Story 3 has found its way into the news recently amidst claims regarding the film’s negative and potentially harmful depiction of its characters. Amongst the most vocal of critics is MS. Magazine blogger Natalie Wilson who, in her piece ‘Third Time Still […]

While recent political debates about multiculturalism in Australia have tended to focus on issues of integration, ethnic compatibility, religious ideals, or worse still, the ‘true’ meaning of what it means to be ‘Australian’, there is one issue that is often overlooked: screen representation. How ‘we’ as a nation view ourselves, or rather, how we ‘wish’ […]