Tag: Film

• What Lies Beyond the Iron Throne

  May 15, 2019 9:02 pm Comments Off on What Lies Beyond the Iron Throne

  “We have won the Great War; now we will win the last war,” – said by Daenerys Targaryen during the worst rated episode in the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’. Jamie Lannister has been reset to his factory setting as a ‘fuckboy’; Tyrion has never been more strategically useless since he became Hand of the Queen. As for Varys – he has stopped functioning as a Spy Master a long time ago; now he does nearly nothing but conspire against our Khaleesi. Nobody knows what happened in the producers’ minds. Maybe they simply gave up, putting a coffee cup in the show to mock us. People have started to question whether their favourite show will give them the truly epic battle and unpredictable finale that was promised.
  It’s 200 per cent reasonable to express our anger and concerns to HBO – yet I still have faith in the last two episodes, and especially in author George R.R. Martin who explained the ending of the book series to the series’ producers. I would never question his ability to articulate a finale we will never forget. After all, he is the almighty one true God of Death who can make both the Lord of Light and the Night King tremble. So, what might happen in the end? I think these three lines in the show are worth consideration:
  “I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the wheel.”
  “Power is a curious thing […] power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall.”
  “You say you can’t have children. But there are other ways of choosing a successor. The Night’s Watch has one method. The Ironborn […] have another”
  This first quote is said by Daenerys the Mhysa, to express her ambition on building a long-lasting dynasty in Westeros. The second is from Varys the Constructivist IR scholar, arguing that the nature of power is essentially a norm, an idea. Last but not the least, Tyrion discusses who could be the second in line to wear the crown.
  These quotes seem unrelated, but perhaps they directly foreshadow the fact that what lies beyond the ‘ugly old chair’ – the Iron Throne, a symbol of Monarchy – is a new, better political system, which might bring and end to the relentless ‘Game’ of Thrones for good. The ‘Throne’ has governed the world for a thousand years; it’s a game of aristocrats, a dying system which brings the public nothing but bloodshed and chaos. Such ‘chaos’ would eventually become a ‘ladder’ for people like Little Finger to take advantage of – but not people without a title or a castle to inherit. Most civilians in the show died for nothing, because they’re expendable. And it would be sad if such ‘wheel’ of ‘game’ continues to roll in the final episode. Varys has every right to pledge his allegiance to the “Good People of Westeros” – but his solution to switch to another candidate whenever needed is wrong. Tyrion is the only character to have truly foreseen the future by proposing a new mechanism to reduce current political carnage. Thus maybe none of the characters we have vouched for will sit on the Iron Throne. Or maybe something even better: there will no longer be a throne, only the relic of the Red Keep as a museum, to teach future generations a lesson – similar to the real-life ‘Forbidden City’ of Beijing. A more modernised democracy based on the voting system of Night’s Watch and the Ironborn may potentially be built in the end, to transfer the real power into voters rather than the ruler. Only in this way can we truly see the ‘terminal’ of the great power game and open a brand-new chapter of Republic.
  I mean it. If the Great War between life and death hasn’t already taught everyone the cost of the old Monarchy, why would we presume anyone can bring long-term peace and stability to us? Varys will die, Tyrion may die, Daenerys will never sit on the Throne as the prophecy implied in season two. Look beyond this show – think about what we have in the real world today: we have managed to (partially) shut the ‘power’ into a cage; made dominating politicians (like Kings and Queens) act as the servant and jester at times. But most importantly, we’ve made them disposable – because we as the voter are the guardians of power.
  Although many aspects of this world order are still far from ideal, we should appreciate the ‘Iron Price’ we have paid to enter this liberal era. Once upon a time, they wrote the Hammer of Witches and burned, skinned and drowned women alive. Later, they threw people into gas chambers and Unit 731 with racial pride. Then they assassinated writers, presidents, journalists, and labelled student upheaval as an ‘Anti-revolution Riot’. Our history isn’t less gruesome than the ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ written by Samwell Tarly. Whether in Westeros or on Earth, history progresses and evolves itself. And both histories shall sail towards a better tomorrow. The developing trend of human civilisation is that more and more ‘weak’ and ‘fringe’ minorities are gaining equal rights and individual freedom, desalting long-rooted discrimination, misunderstanding and invented superiority at the expense of their blood and tears. We will all continue to improve our existing era of history. This is my take-away from eight years watching GoT: I am ‘No one’ of house ‘Nothing’, and I bow to no one, I fight for all of us.
  Welcome to the ‘End of History in Westeros’. And welcome to 2019 AD.
  Haoyi is the PARSA Queer Officer of 2019.

  Haoyi Jason Zou

• The Oscars as a Microcosm of Politics

  May 13, 2019 1:15 pm Comments Off on The Oscars as a Microcosm of Politics

  The Oscars, hosted yearly, have often been criticised by mass media and actors alike for its lack of diversity in award nominations. Since the election of Donald Trump, the Oscars have grown more political in nature. Many memorable speeches, given by notable figures in the film industry, were centred around tough criticism of Trump’s policies and behaviour through direct or indirect means – particularly on social issues such as gun reforms, sexual harassment (me too) and racial and religious diversity. This form of political speech has cemented the Oscars as a platform for leftist/progressive/Democratic rhetoric and issues for some, and a platform to address issues of social justice for others. Subconsciously or otherwise, this has not only made an impact on the nominations of films and actors, it is transforming the film industry as a whole.
  The result is evident through the nominations of the Best Picture award. That included ‘A Green Book’ (Winner) featuring Mahershala Ali who also won his second Best Supporting Actor award. Other notable titles were ‘Black Panther’, a movie that created a significant buzz regarding its mostly black cast represented in the appropriate environment, with attention paid to the minute details of African culture. ‘BlackKKKlansman’, was another movie that centred on issues of racial tension and who can forget ‘Roma’, featuring Yalitza Aparicio, the first Indigenous American to be nominated (and that too for her debut film). Alfonso Cuaron won his second Best Director award, being the fifth time the award has gone to a Hispanic American in the last six years. However, these accomplishments on their own are meaningless. It was only a few years ago where the Oscars experienced a complete uniformity of white nominations. The American political climate has had a profound and obvious effect on the Oscars and its nomination. However, the Academy still holds ultimate and unilateral authority to nominate whom and what films it wishes, despite the movement’s influence.
  While encouraging the appropriate representation in films, it is pertinent to view the increasing profitability of corporate morality, in times where addressing or not addressing social problems shapes public opinion. Film studios, like all other companies, are ultimately interested in their own financial gains. Given an opportunity for large-scale profit, it would be merely illogical to ignore such a profitable rhetoric where the mobilisation of forces surrounding issues of social justice, would only serve to benefit the film studio and build its reputation. Capitalising on social issues is not limited to the film industry. The NFL protests are a great example of this. Nike capitalised on this political environment through their ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’ advertisement. As a result, Nike experienced a nine per cent stock increase and an increase in brand value.

  Giving coverage to minorities has become a focal point for profit. In the film industry, gambles taken on minority and female directors, actors and stories have generally been successful. A prime example is Patty Jenkin as director of ‘Wonder Woman’, featuring a strong female lead, Gal Gadot, and supporting actresses, Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen. The film emanated a strong form of female identity and was even praised by some for its lack of digital editing on thigh cellulite. The movie ended up grossing $821 million worldwide. The success of films promoting racial diversity, like ‘Black Panther’ or ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, grossing $1.35 billion worldwide and $238 million respectively only further cement to film studios the profitability of such films.
  The growing popularity of these films is undoubtedly affected by the political climate, however, the demographic changes in the world’s largest population of English moviegoers are likely also central to this trend. The composition of America is fundamentally shifting; non-white Americans are entering the middle class at higher rates. This economic progress allows non-white Americans to experience higher amounts of leisure time and consequently consume an increasing number of films. Simultaneously, it allows a greater opportunity for younger, non-white Americans to enter the entertainment world that is strife with difficulty and low pay, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating a median hourly wage of $17.49 for actors. This combination allows for a greater pool of talent of non-white descent to rise in the film industry to satisfy a new population of filmgoers that are hungry to see a reflection of themselves on screen.
  The Oscars today are shaped by resurgent progressive movement and a small scale model of the American demographic change.

  Shayan Lahijanian

• ‘Captain Marvel’: The Latest in a String of Great Marvel Movies

  May 1, 2019 5:38 pm Comments Off on ‘Captain Marvel’: The Latest in a String of Great Marvel Movies

  The received wisdom in nerd circles is that is that the Marvel cinematic universe movies are all the same and devoid of originality. And sure, the Marvel movies do tend to follow a formula, because it’s one that works! It meshes well with the three-act structure that most movies are built upon and allows the protagonist to go through their ‘hero journey’, completing their character arc satisfyingly.
  It is the filmmaking within this structure that makes a movie stand out – or not. Brilliant filmmakers such as Ryan Coogler and Taika Waititi have managed to create beautiful works of art in the form of ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, while still holding onto enough pieces of the Marvel formula to satisfy the casual moviegoer and rake in around $1 billion each.
  The newest addition to the Marvel cinematic universe is ‘Captain Marvel’, which earns its rightful place among the great Marvel movies (and recently hit $1 billion at the box office). It is the story of Carol Danvers, an alien (Kree) air force pilot stranded on Earth in the 1990s. She wrestles with her identity, and has to cope with figuring out who she really is while being on the run from the Kree’s enemies, the Skrulls, with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D’s Nick Fury and her best friend Maria Rambeau.
  While ‘Captain Marvel’ does not necessarily have the flash and instant recognisability in its filmmaking as recent Marvel fare, its directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck do a fantastic job of pulling together a movie that was tasked with seamlessly meshing a space opera aesthetic with the mid-90’s. Both of these sensibilities are wound together in a way that manages not to be jarring, except in those moments designed to be that way, where the two worlds collide (sometimes literally). It was a good call by the filmmakers to set the story in a setting where superheroes are yet to become known. It gives Carol a chance to shine in her own right without having to clutter the story with either the presence of other heroes, or justifications for lack thereof.
  The loveliest thing about this movie is the character relationships. Carol’s main relationships on Earth are almost entirely with folks of colour, which makes for a welcome change. She bonds with Fury relatively early on in the film over their service and mutual sass. The rapport between the actors, Brie Larson and a cgi-ed Samuel L. Jackson, is wonderful and feels very natural. It is a great building block to Carol’s role in the next Avengers adventure, ‘Endgame’, that she has a personal stake in the fight though her connection to Fury. Also, the fact that Nick Fury reacts to cats the way any cat-lover would, complete with cooing and baby talk, is delightful.
  Carol’s strongest connection on Earth, however, is with her air force best friend, Maria Rambeau, and her daughter, Monica, who she adoringly calls Lieutenant Trouble. Carol’s relationship with Maria is her anchor, and the main thing that brings her back when she’s on shaky ground regarding her own identity. Carol’s backstory with little Monica also strongly suggests that she played a co-parenting role in her life(listen internet, if there is not an abundance of fan works depicting Carol and Maria sappily raising a kid together, I will be sorely disappointed).
  The thing I enjoy the most about this most recent string of Marvel movies, even more than their masterful execution, is that the filmmakers were given enough freedom to put forward actual themes and messages behind the special-effects filled action scenes.
  ‘Thor: Ragnarok?’ Surprise, it’s about a colonial empire-building and how a nation built on violence and bones of the oppressed doesn’t deserve to exist! ‘Black Panther’? Surprise, afro-futurist philosophies manifest, along with discussions of pan-africanism and people’s responsibility towards their diasporas when they are marginalised!
  So, does ‘Captain Marvel’ have a covert theme smuggled underneath its super heroic veneer? Not that it necessarily needed one – being the first Marvel movie spearheaded by a solo female character would have been accomplishment enough, But yes, captain Marvel does have something more to say. The surprise theme this time is about challenging colonialist brainwashing and narratives, intertwined with Carol’s journey to reconcile her past, while discovering herself and her powers. The story also touches on the repercussions of colonialist mentalities, and the refugees that result from them. Refreshing, also, is the way that refugees in the movie are explicitly and unquestionably treated as people deserving of help and a home. As much as equating the struggles of marginalised communities to fictional groups is a hard thing to do, in this case I felt that it was handled with a skilful touch.
  The denouement of Carol’s character arc felt very apt for her character. It has been criticised for not being a satisfactory climax for a superhero’s journey, but personally, I adored the fact that the film culminates to Carol recognising that she doesn’t have anything to prove to any (male) authority figures in her life. It feels like a very deliberate choice, a message for both the characters and the audience: ‘Captain Marvel’ is here to stay, and she doesn’t care what you have to say about it.
  Captain Marvel is currently showing at Dendy Cinemas in the Canberra Centre.

  Al Azmi

• History Past, Present and Future at the Golden Globes

  January 9, 2019 2:55 pm Comments Off on History Past, Present and Future at the Golden Globes

  Hollywood’s prestigious awards season has kicked off with the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on January 6, 2019. While not part of the elusive EGOT crown of awards, winning a Golden Globe is still highly respected in the film and TV industry and it is often seen as a foreshadowing of who will come out on top at the elusive Academy Awards later in the year.
  This year’s ceremony was hosted by odd couple Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh. Their opening monologue was filled with the standard amount of awkward banter as they pretended to roast famous attendees while actually complimenting them. But they eventually settled into their rhythm and chose to finish on a note of acknowledging the progress that Hollywood has made over the last year to improve onscreen representation. Oh said she had felt fear at the thought of hosting the ceremony, but eventually decided that “I wanted to be here to look out into this audience and witness this moment of change. Next year could be different. It probably will be. Right now, this moment is real.”
  Oh echoed the sentiment again when she won the award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama as Eve Polastri in Killing Eve, thanking her parents who were present at the ceremony and crying “I love you” to them in Korean.
  Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy respectively. Rather interestingly, they are both films based on historical events. They have also both triggered dissatisfaction from the families of the subjects of the films, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury and African-American pianist Don Shirley, for not accurately portraying their stories.
  Continuing that trend, five out of six awards for acting went to portrayals of historical figures. The only exception was Regina King’s win for Best Supporting Actress as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk, which was based on the novel of the same name.
  The final season of The Americans was awarded with Best Television Series – Drama and the announcement of The Kominsky Method as the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy prompted audience members to do a quick Google search to find out exactly what the new Chuck Lorre Netflix series was about.
  The Golden Globes’ split of the motion picture category in ‘drama’ and ‘musical or comedy’ still continues to baffle audiences each year. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association are not alone in dividing awards by genre. For example, the People’s Choice Awards has four genre awards for best movie – comedy, action, drama and family – as well as best movie overall. There are also awards ceremonies entirely dedicated to different genres, such as the Saturn Awards for science fiction, fantasy and horror films.
  However, the Golden Globes usually sticks out for its baffling categorisation of films. Just this year, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born were both of a musical nature (if not in the technical definition of a film where songs are used in place of dialogue to further the plot) yet were nominated in the Drama category. Four out of five nominees in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy are categorised as hybrid ‘comedy-dramas’ with the exception of Mary Poppins Returns which is musical fantasy. Other recent mismatches in the Musical or Comedy category were The Martian(winner 2015) and Get Out (nominated 2017).
  Perhaps the most memorable moment of the night came when the winner of Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama was announced and Glenn Close couldn’t wipe the look of shock off her face. Previously a two-time winner for her work in TV, it was her first win for film for her role as Joan Castleman in The Wife. The 71-year-old actress carried her joyous air of surprise right through her speech as she reflected on the role of women in society, “We are women and nurturers, we have our children, and our husbands, if we are lucky enough, our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfilment. We have to follow our dreams. And we have to say I have to do that. And I should be allowed to do that.”
  Arguably the biggest success of the evening, Bohemian Rhapsody’s win was quite a shock since the film had only entered the ceremony with two nominations. By the end of the night it had won both its awards and set a record for the Best Picture – Drama win with the least amount of nominations in Golden Globes history.
  Box Office and popular culture hits Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians unfortunately did not pick up any awards, again reflecting a rift between films that attract large audiences and those that receive critical acclaim. Crazy Rich Asians actress Michelle Yeoh did grace the red carpet wearing Eleanor Young’s famous emerald ring as in a twist it turns out that the ring was a gift she bought for herself which she then lent for use in the movie.
  Australian nominees included Troye Sivan for Best Original Song with “Revelation” from Boy Erased, Nicole Kidman for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama as Erin Bell in Destroyer and Tony McNamara for Best Screenplay with The Favourite but unfortunately no Australians took home any awards.
  Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on January 22 followed by the ceremony on February 24, 2019.

  Julia Faragher

• The Forgotten Asia: From Nagini to Crazy Rich Asians

  October 27, 2018 1:12 pm Comments Off on The Forgotten Asia: From Nagini to Crazy Rich Asians

  To the uni students like myself who should be writing essays instead of browsing Facebook and Twitter: you’re probably aware of the recent controversy over the casting choice of the role Nagini in the new Fantastic Beasts movie. Since the release of the trailer of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, fans have gone crazy over the choice to cast South Korean actress Claudia Kim as Nagini. The first issue fans have brought up is that Nagini is a snake, and firmly on the ‘bad guy’ side in the series. This draws on the stereotypical ‘Dragon Lady’ caricature which sees East Asian women presented as powerful but cold and deceitful. Worse, she is also a pet to Voldemort, a middle-aged white man. For many this brings to mind the fetishising of Asian women which has long been seen as a problem in Western-produced media. Now you can see why critics call that false representation. J. K. Rowling responded to her critics in a tweet which read, “The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name ‘Nagini’… Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi…” At first glance, this makes it seem quite reasonable to have an Asian actress cast in the role of Nagini.
  But it’s not quite that simple. The Indonesian myth of Naga is actually derived from the Shiva-Hinduist tradition, where the nāga are a proud semi-divine race who can appear as humans, serpents or a mix of the two. In Asia at large, the Naga myth is associated with either Hinduism or Buddhism, which is perhaps something Rowling should have considered when casting her Naga. Furthermore, while it is true that Indonesia comprises highly ethnically diverse populations, Korean actress Kim is a strange choice to represent them. 95% of Indonesia’s 300 ethnic groups are of Native Indonesian descent, with Chinese Indonesians making up less than 1% of the population. This means that most of the Indonesian population have much darker skin tones than Chinese, Japanese and Korean people. If Rowling’s aim was to keep the role true to the origin of the myth, she missed the mark by using a broad brush to cast an Asian actress rather than considering her specific origin.
  Of course, J. K. Rowling isn’t solely to blame for this issue. Not only Hollywood, but its audience, too often forgets about a large portion of Asia. Often when we talk about racial representation or racialism, the term ‘Asian’ is almost exclusively used to refer to Chinese, Japanese, South Korean and Singaporean people. It is almost like these 4 countries are the only countries in Asia. The justification that immediately springs to mind is that these countries represent a significant proportion of the Asian population. However, the population of India is 5 times more than the population of Japan, South Korea and Singapore combined. South Korea is not even in the top 10 countries in Asia by population. And yet when it comes to Asian representation, especially in Hollywood, we can only think of Chinese, Japanese and South Koreans.
  An example of this can be seen in the recent Warner Bros production of Crazy Rich Asians. Singapore, where the film was largely shot, is more diverse than many assume: Malays, Indians and other ethnic minorities account for around a quarter of its population. But the film focuses on Chinese people, Singapore’s ethnic majority, at the expense of any representation of this variety. Ng Yi-Sheng, an Asian and gay rights activist, noted that the ‘brown Asians’ in Crazy Rich Asians mostly perform menial tasks like driving and domestic work, and play (without fail) bit parts in the film. The film’s female lead Constance Wu noted in a tweet that the film won’t represent ‘every Asian American.’ Of course, there is a limit to the number of ethnicities who can be represented in a film. But is forgetting large swathes of Asia the way to go about achieving representation?
  As someone from Hong Kong and a member of Asian community, I feel a bit hypocritical when we complain about Asian representation in Hollywood and demand for the world to stop ignoring our existence. While representation of East Asians like myself (a category seen to include primarily China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam) is certainly still lacking, when we mobilise to call for more we seem to ignore our neighbours.
  Asians are more than just Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans and Singaporeans. Asians are more than pale yellow skin tones. The next time when we talk about the Asian representation, perhaps it is a good time to rethink what it means to have true representation.
   

  Tiana Sun

• Sounds behind the lights

  July 27, 2018 10:28 pm Comments Off on Sounds behind the lights

  In the grand scheme of a movie, the music can often be overlooked. You’re too invested in the characters, the story, and the visuals to consciously digest the music ever present in the background. Theoretically, this may stem from the concept for a silent movie, where the film is presented independently of any audio enhancements. It forces a viewer to pay attention to what is foregrounded. So maybe, over time, we just became too accustomed to that visual focus. It is hard to pinpoint a specific point when it began to switch back. Perhaps it was the rise of Broadway and an emphasis on music and visuals coinciding? Maybe the releases of the largely-ignored but now uber-cult classic ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, or the mega-popular ‘Grease’ in the 70s? We could argue ad infinitum. But, there’s two modern movies I want to focus on to prove the emotional connection to a movie and its characters that music can provide; Whiplash and ‘Birdman’.
  Maybe I’m cheating a little with ‘Whiplash’ since the movie is entirely based around music, but I think it perfectly portrays my point. In a movie entirely based around jazz drummer Andrew (Miles Teller) and his incessant attempts to prove himself worthy to instructor Terence (J.K. Simmons), the use of music is obvious. But the tracks prove themselves capable of carrying more tension and emotion than the characters. Miles’ character slowly loses his mind trying to be perfect enough for the instructor, creating an air of uncertainty as the movie continues. The music, and as a result the characters, begin to become more erratic. The finale ‘Caravan’ perfectly displays this. After ridding himself of the stresses of drumming, Andrew can’t stay away. He succumbs to his desires, belting out a nine-minute epic that never lets up. So, it’s at this point the viewer comes toat a crossroad. Andrew finally achieved what he wanted, Terence is impressed, but, it’s at the cost of his sanity and any semblance of a life outside of music. His hands are bleeding heavily, yet, still he powers through, determined. The intricacies of the track begin to take hold, and you become entranced. Not with excitement, but fear. Fear of what Andrew has had to give up to achieve what he’s been striving for. It’s bittersweet, and as a viewer, the music choice finally begins to make sense. The combination of smooth tracks (‘Too Hip To Retire’) with impressive full-band performances (‘Overture’) shows the transition of Andrew from one moment to the next. It’s flawless, and as a consumer, it makes the characters all the more believable and relatable.
  With ‘Birdman’, specifically in contrast to ‘Whiplash’, it’s all about what the soundtrack doesn’t say. The movie, filled with continuous shots and brilliant performances, would be nothing without a soundtrack to match the frantic pace of the movie. Starring Michael Keaton as once-famous superhero actor Riggan Thomson, trying to break the mould created for him by breaking into Broadway,; ‘Birdman’ relays the trials and tribulations as Thomson struggles to grab the attention of audiences without his past coming back to haunt him. However, the first fifteen tracks of the movie are entirely devoid of any instrumentals other than drums. The pace is often stop-start and lacks focus. And immediately, it grabs the viewers’ attention because it’s so minimal. A stray pattern here, a light symbol touch there:, it’s all carefully tailored to the pace of the movie. It coincides with Thomson’s struggle to stay focused as his ‘Birdman’ character attempts to take hold once more. As a viewer, it’s an engaging masterpiece that uses music to its full effect:; scenes are tense and unfocused, complimented by the sporadic drum lines, before the symphonic back-end of the movie results in an enthralling and surprising final act. It’s all put together beautifully, and it shows.
  It’s this intangible, yet vital, effect on the viewer that exemplifies the role of music in the cinema. Music plays the part of storyteller and mediator without any effort, proving its worth in providing an extra layer of emotion to an already-stacked movie experience. The fact it can work in both the foreground (‘Whiplash’) and in the background (‘Birdman’) proves its capabilities, and continually allows already-fantastic works to become that little bit more.

  Sebastian Lawrence

• Black Panther entertains while breaking box office records and historical barriers

  March 17, 2018 10:08 pm Comments Off on Black Panther entertains while breaking box office records and historical barriers

  Black Panther is a ground-breaking film in the superhero genre, with a cast composed almost entirely of people of colour, and an African American director and screenwriter. The film manages to incorporate explorations of feminism, globalisation and tradition, whilst proving to be an exciting action flick at heart. Black Panther is a certified box office hit, recently passing the one-billion-dollar mark to prove the naysayers wrong and demonstrate the desperate need for increased diversity in cinema.
  Set in the fictional African state of Wakanda, the film begins with the newly appointed King and Black Panther T’Challa, who rules over the futuristic utopian kingdom kept secret from the world for centuries. While the film doesn’t break much ground in terms of the Marvel plot formula, Black Panther manages to stand out by exploring deeper topics over the course of the movie. The Vibranium that has ensured Wakanda’s prosperity faces increasing threats and poses the question to viewers whether a state in utopia and security should be able to come at the cost of aiding the global community. In a time where leading nations are increasingly resisting globalisation, Wakanda too feels the pressure to share the wealth amongst their impoverished neighbours.
  Alongside such issues, Black Panther gives a rarely portrayed (albeit fictional) view of African culture, customs, and life in a modern context. The backdrop of a non-Western region in the mainstream film provides a refreshing divergence from the archetypal superhero film, whilst showcasing a cast of some of Hollywood’s most promising black actors; Lupita Nyong’o shines as Wakandan spy Nakia.
  When it comes to the film’s villains, however, Andy Serkis’ Klaue offers what may be the worst South African accent ever portrayed in a film, and does little to stir fear or embody any real threat. While undoubtedly more complex, Michael B. Jordan’s ‘Killmonger’ also presents a fairly stereotypically irrational and violent villain.
  It’s worth mentioning, however, that Jordan’s Killmonger plays a vital role in connecting the narrative to the real world through his representation of African Americans. He is the driving force of the argument to share the Wakandan wealth with the masses and to support people of colour who face discrimination across the globe. In this sense, despite his callous brutality, you are able to empathise with him, and understand the motives which drive his actions. He did not grow up in the Wakandan Utopia like the other characters, greatly shaping and differentiating his perspective and worldviews. In my opinion, the empathy the audience still feels for his character makes him a worthy villain for an all-around top-notch superhero film.
  If for nothing else, the latest addition to the Marvel universe is worth a watch for the boss-ass female characters. Black Panther is brimming with free-thinking, independent and strong female leads, something I pray we see more of in 2018.
  On the whole, Black Panther is a thrilling and tightly packed 2 hours 15 minutes of action, with a stellar cast and amazing special effects to boot. 4/5 stars overall, and 5/5 stars for finally giving the stale superhero film genre a well-needed shake-up.

  Anonymous

• More than Myth: Social Commentaries in The Lord of the Rings

  February 19, 2018 10:00 pm Comments Off on More than Myth: Social Commentaries in The Lord of the Rings

  The Lord of the Rings is unarguably the OG trilogy. J.R.R Tolkien’s efforts to create Middle Earth as a multilingual and diverse collection of mythological life is unparalleled; elves, ents, orcs, and who can forget the hobbit(ses)? It’s the whole shebang. Beyond this extraordinary creation of fiction, however, is it possible that something wholly shrouded in myth is telling us more about our reality? Well, I say the answer is yes, indeed it is. There is a vast community of people who also believe this, and you can find such analyses in the dark corners of Reddit threads and the personal wix web creations of LOTR fiends.
  J.R.R Tolkien wrote these novels during a particularly dark era of human history, and some argue LOTR alludes to the rise of Nazism and WWII. The ring, bearing great magical power, lost for centuries can be seen as a symbol of absolute power and the enslavement of its beholder and those subjected to them. The ring is, therefore, a metaphor for the ease with which humanity can be persuaded to turn against itself, submit to darker desires, and become enthralled in a quest for power.
  From this understanding, we can conversely draw out Tolkien’s optimism for humanity through the Fellowship: where there is evil, there will be a force of good striving to prevail.  The Fellowship of The Ring emphasises that this dark power must be destroyed, so our good-seeking, passionate bunch created the fellowship to share the burden of this monumental task (I’ll leave you to decide if the rest contributed to the campaign as effectively as Frodo and Sam). This theme of evil vs good resonates throughout the series and forces the characters to face their inner demons, their darkest fears and battle with greater evils than they knew existed. In the end good triumphs over evil, as per. Except for Boromir, but let’s be honest with ourselves here, Sean Bean never stood a chance.
  A more intricate analysis of LOTR focuses on Tolkien’s conservative opinions of how the world ought to be. Some even believe that the entire trilogy is Tolkien’s devotion to restoring feudal social order. The disruption to this order is overturned by the restoration of the ‘rightful’ king and his throne.  This evil can be understood as capitalism and, throughout the trilogy, Tolkien utilises a range of techniques to depict how unnatural he perceives this evil to be. For example, nature plays a significant role throughout the narrative: the forest and its trees are characterised as an ancient and immovable feature of Middle Earth. The degradation of the Ent’s forests near Isengard as a result of Saruman’s expanding army arguably comments on how disposable capitalism treats nature – the destruction of the natural world for the temporary service of those seeking power and gain. The ease with which Saruman was willing to dispense of the Ents aptly demonstrates a multi-faceted commentary by Tolkien on his dislike for the emerging capitalist social order and its impact on preserving the natural state of things in the world. This symbolic sub-plot highlights yet another resounding theme of the interaction of technology and the environment through capitalist means.
  LOTR’ s mythology serves as a way of unearthing the intricacies of our world. The way in which we look at LOTR’s capacity to do this may be vastly different from one lens to another, but whichever way you decide to look at it, a few things become clear. Firstly, that the trilogy maintains a resounding capacity to comment on the darkness humanity can succumb to. Secondly, our willingness for ‘good’ (whatever that could be) to prevail and, lastly, the fact that I have probably watched and read this series a hundred times too many.

  Jeremy Little

• The Last Jedi: All You Need to Know

  5:19 pm Comments Off on The Last Jedi: All You Need to Know

  I love Star Wars, but I’m always getting confused about all the characters! Who is Luke and can he really walk in the sky? Is that Adam from HBO’s hit show Girls? Where’s Lena Dunham? Is Jar Jar Binks really dead? I have asked myself all these questions and more, which is why I’ve written this handy guide so that you never feel stupid again.
  Mr Kyle “Ben” Ren
  Kyle (read: Kylo) is an Emo Sad Boy ever since his Uncle Luke tried to kill him after finding out he listened exclusively to Fall Out Boy. Kyle wants to take after his Grand Papi, who was the ultimate big bad boy with a mask! Alas, he has invasive good guy thoughts and is crushing on a random girl (her name rhymes with bae) who does not come from a wealthy family. He gives off serious Mr Darcy vibes during their courtship. Also, we now know that Kyle does, in fact, have an eight-pack.
  Rey Bae
   Rey Bae is the sweetest rebel scum I’ve ever seen. With a heart of gold, she spies a certain Sad Boy (his name rhymes with silo) and makes it her mission to make him over into the Rebellion’s most popular boy. Rey is very skilled with the Force and is better than everyone else at absolutely everything. She’s not related to the Skywalkers at all, which leaves the #Reylo door wide open. For those who haven’t spent a ridiculous amount of time on the wrong side of Tumblr this summer, ‘Reylo’ is the couple name of Rey and Kylo. I back it one hundred percent, and their relationship would complete the symmetry of Anakin and Padme perfectly. As George Lucas said, the romance in Star Wars ‘is like poetry, it rhymes’. At the same time, he also wanted Jar Jar Binks to be a Sith Lord and claimed that he was ‘the key to all of it’, so take from that what you will.
  Chewie
  Number One Dad award goes to Chewie for driving Rey Bae to Jedi School, parking the Millennium Falcon round the back and waiting for her finish.
  Not Your Princess
  Leia ‘The Fucking Best’ Organa is the most badass person ever to grace Star Wars. She’s always been a winner, from drawing the long straw and being raised as a princess rather than a Loser Sand Dune Boy, to escaping death by flying through space. Unfortunately, she has to deal with Little Man Poe Dameron, who is always whipping out his manhood and measuring it with a ruler for everyone to see. She is the mama to Sad Boy Kyle, and my heart breaks for everything she’s lost. She is played by the amazing Carrie Fisher, a truly inspirational and incredible woman who was never afraid to be her true self – rest in peace.
  Finn x Poe
  Finn is our resident rebel convert, and Poe is his sexy to-be boyfriend. They wear each other’s clothes, finish each other’s sentences, and are just all-round into each other. Both believe that they are superior to everyone, especially women in positions of power. They are also both big sweeties and very good boys.
  Rose
  Cute little mechanic with a big heart and a huge amount of bravery to match. You may hear mixed feelings about her but anyone who talks shit needs to be slapped. She is a golden child who needs all the love in the world – I am deadly serious about this. She has a crush on Finn but alas he is promised to another.
  Luke Sulkwalker
  Luke has gone from Young Sand Boy to Space Jedi Hero to Very Sad Boy Who Lives on an Island by Himself. Despite claiming that he never wants to be found, he leaves a trail of clues scattered across the galaxy so that his friends can spend an obscene amount of time and resources trying to find him. When they finally do, he pretends to be angry and just acts super extra. To be fair, he did get the ball rolling on Kylo and his mates killing a handful of Padawans and joining the First Order. You’d be sad and angry as well. There’s also a scene where Luke milks the boob of some alien, and I really don’t want to know who’s weird-ass niche fantasy that was.
  Porgs and Ice Foxies
  Great new content for Disney to make bulk merchandise.
  That Purple Haired Lady
  Just another incredible woman in power whose on-screen time is dominated by Poe ‘Small Penis’ Dameron challenging her intelligence and rank. She sacrifices herself so that the rebels can escape and continue rebelling. She and Leia bond over how silly and clueless men are.
  Hux
  This guy is just always angry and seems pretty stupid to me. He likes blowing things up and looking silly. Loved the opening scene where he was on Poe’s Prank Patrol!
  Puppet Yoda
  Yoda returns in a blaze of glory (literally) as a Force Spirit. He is a Regular Jokester and teases Lukey about the Sacred Texts, and then burns everything to the ground.
  So that’s it. I’d write about Snoke-y, but he was just a gross looking Bad Guy who wasn’t very smart at all. Get keen for Rogue Two: Han Solo Origins!
  May the Force be With You, ya nerds.
  Katie has a lot of feelings about Star Wars. She believes that Jar Jar Binks is the greatest comedic character ever accidentally written and is obstinate in the fact that he will return to the series. You’ll find her in the kid’s section of your local department store, trying to restrain herself from buying Kylo Ren merchandise. She’s a big nerd, probably avoid her.

  Katie Ward

• We All Jig-Saw That Coming

  December 19, 2017 4:06 pm Comments Off on We All Jig-Saw That Coming

  Well, I don’t know what I was expecting.
  The eighth instalment of the Saw series, creatively titled ‘Jigsaw’, delivers pretty much as promised – if you ignore the previous film’s promise to be ‘the final chapter’. Given the recent trend of horror films exploring psychologically complex themes, such as in Get Out and Cabin in the Woods, you may have hoped that this revival of the Saw series would be deeper than its predecessors; sadly, but not surprisingly, it is not. The film is nostalgically simplistic: the only things about it that are deep are the characters’ wounds. It’s got nothing the franchise hasn’t shown before – sacrifices of blood, dingy ‘haunted-house’ sets, rusty traps and soothing tapes inviting you to ‘play a game’.
  In Jigsaw, 10 years after the supposed death of the Jigsaw Killer, played by the now-iconic Tobin Bell, the traps continue. Five chosen victims must play along with Saw’s game in order to avoid being dragged towards certain death while a group of morally ambiguous police officers race against the clock to free them. If that sounds somewhat familiar to you, it’s because it is the same exact plot as the previous films. Intercut with a few twists, none of which are particularly memorable, the story is pretty much a thinly veiled excuse for the torture-porn the film promises.
  So, is it any good? Well, the characters are as one-dimensional as they come, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone redeemable among them. The gore is graphic, gratuitous and definitely not everybody’s cup of tea. Although tension is maintained throughout the film, the final payoff is disappointingly confusing and there are more than enough moments to make you roll your eyes.
  So… it’s a Saw film.
  If you liked the previous movies, you will probably enjoy this latest one. Yeah, it’s forgettable, but if your guilty pleasure is torture flicks with all style and no substance, this will certainly satisfy. That said, if you were hoping the franchise was going to branch out into something more intelligent, then maybe give Jigsaw a miss.
  Jigsaw will be available to rent or buy in Australia from 18 February 2018.

  Alexandra Elgue