Screen Education is essential reading for those with an interest in media literacy. Produced by educators, scholars and critics, the magazines content is tailored to the primary and secondary classroom, as well as some tertiary-level material, offering a unique and engaging perspective on screen education.
Screen Education
The Australian Curriculum: HISTORY
Bedroom Games SEX AND POWER IN THE FAVOURITE • An earthy and caustic representation of historical events – real and rumoured – during the eighteenth-century reign of Queen Anne, Yorgos Lanthimos’ dark comedy gleefully up-ends period-drama tropes in its depiction of the backroom machinations and sexual intrigues that play out between its female protagonists. While women are very much at the centre of the film, however, the limitations imposed by their male-dominated surroundings remain ever present, as JOANNA DI MATTIA contends.
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Into the Night RELIGION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE IN FIRST REFORMED • Paul Schrader’s troubling portrayal of a pastor’s attempts to reconcile his religious mission with his radical environmentalism is a provocative text, taking aim equally at the greed of corporations and at the silent complicity of mainstream American Christianity. As ANTHONY CAREW finds, however, this often-bleak film inflects its hopelessness with moments of transcendence.
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Close Encounters of the Furry Kind COMMUNITY AND JUSTICE IN PADDINGTON 2 • In this sequel to the acclaimed children’s book adaptation, the titular Peruvian bear comes to grips with confusing British customs and wrongful imprisonment. In its representation of easily comprehensible themes and its beautiful design work, the film – a charming paean to compassion and courage – serves as an excellent text for upper primary and junior secondary students, as LOUISE LAVERY outlines in this study guide.
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Dark Enlightenment CRIME AND POWER IN THE CULT OF THE FAMILY • An expanded and updated version of Rosie Jones’ 2016 documentary on the notorious Australian cult, this year’s three-part ABC documentary series gives greater space to its survivors’ emotionally charged testimony while remaining a harrowing depiction of corruption and injustice. Yet the figure of cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne remains elusive, with her central presence in the series subverting true-crime tropes and gender stereotypes, as FELICITY FORD argues.
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The Marrying Kind EXPLORING GENDER AND TRADITION IN I AM NO BIRD • Following four brides from different countries, faiths and socio-economic settings as they prepare for their wedding days, Em Baker’s documentary is a welcome antidote to culturally dominant representations of women in cinema. While the film seeks to challenge conventional ideas about gender and marriage, it also foregrounds its subjects’ voices without judgement, as AMANDA BARBOUR finds.
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Arrested Development POP CULTURE AND VHS NOSTALGIA IN BRIGSBY BEAR • A quirky, sensitive comedy about an escaped kidnapping victim’s obsession with the children’s show that was created for him, Dave McCary’s film painstakingly re-creates the aesthetic of no-budget old-school educational videos. As ANTHONY CAREW explores, it also has much to say about the role of entertainment in interpersonal connection and cultural meaning in a post-religious society.
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Play Fighting THE REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE OF VIDEOGAMES • In the midst of the seemingly never-ending debate over whether videogames cause violent behaviour, the structural links between game production and weapon development, military recruitment and international resource-based conflict are often overlooked. As JINI MAXWELL outlines, these relationships are as multifarious as they are disturbing.
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Cinema Science ASSEMBLING THE OPERATIONS OF AVENGERS:...