Other Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Convention And Contradiction: Representations Of Women In Australian War Films, 1914-1918, Daniel Reynaud

Daniel Reynaud

This paper examines the representation of women in Australian cinematic war dramas made between 1914 and 1918, showing how the representations were shaped by political, industrial and ideological influences, and identifying the range of representations present in the films. It observes that while there was considerable overlap with other media in the representation of women, there were images ignored by films, while others were unique to the cinema.

Pregnancy Denied, Pregnancy Rejected In Stephanie Daley, Susan Ayres, Prema Manjunath

Susan Ayres

This article offers a reading of Hilary Brougher’s film Stephanie Daley (2006), in which a teen is accused of murdering her newborn (neonaticide). Brougher depicts a “phenomenology of unwanted pregnancy” and an example of therapeutic jurisprudence. Part One examines Brougher’s treatment of the “shadow side of pregnancy,” and highlights barriers to the empathetic treatment of neonaticide. Part Two emphasizes the process of therapeutic jurisprudence as experienced by the two main characters. Brougher’s film provides a social narrative and phenomenology that may influence laws and legal responses and enlarge social understanding of unwanted pregnancy.

Emotional Realism And Actuality: The Function Of Prosumer Aesthetics In Film, Celia Lam

Celia Lam

Studies of film spectatorship and production techniques have rarely ignored notions of Reality. From the psychoanalytical approaches of Baudry and Metz to the auditory spaces of Doane, approaches to film reception have primarily focused on the methods and rationale behind a spectator’s investment in the reality of the spectacle. On the other hand specific techniques that assist in aligning character with spectator have been explored from both visual and auditory perspectives. Sound and music in particular are able to bring spectators into the emotional ‘space’ of a character, while ocular techniques that invoke points of view visually align the observer …

Critical Insights: Film-Casablanca, James Plath

James Plath

From Salem Press:

Considered one of the greatest films of the twentieth century, Casablanca earned three Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and instant critical and commercial success following its release in 1942. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, this romantic drama is still hailed for its all-star cast, exceptional screenwriting, and memorable soundtrack, and continues to be ranked as one of the greatest motion pictures ever made.

Dog Movie Stars And Dog Breed Popularity: A Case Study In Media Influence On Choice, Stefano Ghirlanda, Alberto Acerbi, Harold A. Herzog

Harold Herzog, PhD

Fashions and fads are important phenomena that influence many individual choices. They are ubiquitous in human societies, and have recently been used as a source of data to test models of cultural dynamics. Although a few statistical regularities have been observed in fashion cycles, their empirical characterization is still incomplete. Here we consider the impact of mass media on popular culture, showing that the release of movies featuring dogs is often associated with an increase in the popularity of featured breeds, for up to 10 years after movie release. We also find that a movie’s impact on breed popularity correlates …

Film Literacy In The Primary Classroom, Marc Barrett

Marc Barrett

The recent move in Britain towards a nation-wide film literacy program to support young learners of English prompted ACER research into the use of film within Australian primary schools.