Columns
War for the Planet of the Apes: Review
I have lovely memories associated with this film, so I hope I don’t sound dramatic when I say it’s the greatest work of art in the history of cinema. I concede this is a bold statement, but my reasoning is sound. Matt Reeves’ stunning science-fiction epic, War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), is […]
26 May 2021
The Performance of University and Cyber Utopia
content warning: mentions of sexual violence, no specific detail Last year got me thinking a lot about the public sphere of the University. When we went into the first lockdown, I was the Disabilities Officer at the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU). In the last week before we all studied from home, I focused […]
22 May 2021
Parasite: Review
It’s incredible to think how much joy and destruction one small family can inflict. Bong Joon-ho’s dark comedy thriller Parasite (2020) is held together by a strong cast and slick directing, and the take-home message is clear: bonding with your family causes death. I feel I reserve the right to criticise this cynical view of […]
5 May 2021
The Trials of Adolescence: Ginger Snaps
content warning: mentions of suicide, gore and body horror. Spoilers for Ginger Snaps (2000). “Out by 16 or dead in this scene, but together forever.” This is how we’re introduced to Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald in the film Ginger Snaps (2000). They’re on the precipice of adolescence, reminiscing on their childhood suicide pact. Both are […]
23 April 2021Art Musing: Curatorial Intentions
Sophie Gerhard always thought that she would be an artist. But six months into a Fine Arts degree, she realised that it wasn’t for her. “I didn’t like the criticism,” she told me. “I probably just wasn’t very good.” So, she left her degree to study Art History at the University of Leeds. Here, she […]
23 April 2021
Being John Malkovich: Review
What makes a consciousness independent? Evidently, not much according to Spike Jonze’s 1999 ‘classic’: Being John Malkovich. Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is an unsuccessful puppeteer who discovers a portal into the head of John Malkovich (John Malkovich). Schwartz mostly plods along as an asinine protagonist, only to be challenged with fanciful moral dilemmas and philosophical […]
12 March 2021
Ordinary Joys
Ever since my brother, my sister and I were small, my dad had a vision for us to become surfers. He had a shimmering dream of his three kids gliding down the face of waves out at sea, perfectly executing 360 degree turns with the grace and power of Kelly Slater. He has tried hard […]
5 March 2021
Art Musing: Monumental Questions
content warning: colonialism, racism, civil war Looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 may well be known as the year of the monument. In previous years, there had been little international debate surrounding the continued presence of colonial monuments—a representation of a bygone and problematic history. Indeed, in 1927, writer Robert Musil famously proclaimed […]
5 March 2021
Jennifer’s Body: Hell is a Teenage Girl
content warning: sexism, graphic violence and gore. Spoilers for Jennifer’s Body. Horror has always been a tool to explore girlhood and female virtue. But what Jennifer’s Body (2009) does differently—and so well—is show a teenage girl in her ultimate form: brutal, cringey, flawed, and most importantly, still a child. The script narrates the story of […]
5 March 2021
Slogans and Nonsense
“What, announce a policy without a slogan? Are you mad?”- overheard from Scott Morrison’s office, presumably. There’s a problem with slogans in politics: when political slogans age into accepted wisdom and the taint of ideology is forgotten, political partialities can be passed off as facts of nature. Of course, arguments are much easier when your […]
5 March 2021