Tabla de contenidos para No. 87 en Screen Education

When I see that famous Disney castle appear on the screen at the very start of a film, it does something to me. I sit up a little straighter, cross my legs underneath me and wait in wide-eyed anticipation for the familiar music and the fireworks crisscrossing the screen. There’s just something about a children’s movie that sparks a sense of wonder in an audience – even one made up of cynical adults. It’s no wonder, then, that they continue to entrance new generations of children. The technology and the images may be a little slicker, the audio arrangements may be just that little bit more complex and there’s a lot more diversity than there used to be, but they’re still the same kinds of stories that we always loved.…

This column’s goal is to investigate the scientific and mathematical aspects of well-known films – films that you can be assured that the average secondary school student will have seen or at least heard of. There are few film franchises that fit the bill better than The Fast and the Furious, making it a perfect tool for enhancing learning in your science or mathematics classroom. There have been countless articles written about the unlikeliness of this series’s ascension from a mid-budget riff on Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) and Gone in Sixty Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000) to a world-beating, billion-dollar institution. But there’s one feature in particular that critics can’t seem to help but comment on when discussing this franchise: its countless implausibilities. Nary a review goes by without a…

Wrath of the Titans (Jonathan Liebesman, 2012), rated M Another less-popular sequel, Wrath of the Titans takes many of the characters in the 2010 Clash of the Titans film and creates a new story for them. Of particular note in the sequel is the inclusion of the multi-headed dog Cerberus and Greek god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy). Students can analyse how Wrath’s portrayals of Perseus, Zeus and Hades differ from those in the 2010 film, even though the characters are portrayed by the same actors. Students can engage in compare-and-contrast exercises involving both of the recent films, all three Titans films or one or more of the films in comparison to the ancient texts. Gods of Egypt (Alex Proyas, 2016), rated M Gods of Egypt takes a seemingly videogame-inspired approach –…

There has been a lot of to-do about the strong emphasis placed on multimodal texts in the new Australian Curriculum, particularly in senior secondary English. A lot of teachers would be familiar with the idea of studying film in the classroom, or even analysing picture books such as John Marsden and Shaun Tan’s The Rabbits. Many of us have begun integrating visual-literacy studies through the use of graphic novels and comics such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. But videogames? This is a very new area of study that is only just starting to gain traction, though it is certainly becoming more common. Deakin University, for example, uses the game Gone Home to investigate Gothic horror tropes. In the second semester of 2016, I decided to…

Beloved by students and frequently disparaged by teachers, Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989) continues to resonate with new generations of viewers. This is surprising, given the narrowness of the film’s milieu: an elite 1950s American boarding school populated by privileged white boys. Yet, the romanticised themes of adolescent nonconformity and the development of individual identity, the performances by Robin Williams and the ensemble cast (which include Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard in early screen roles) and director Weir’s sensitive handling of the material mean that, for young viewers, the film holds riches beyond blinkered nostalgia. The film’s narrative follows the perspective of the introspective Todd (Hawke) as he starts senior year at Welton Academy in 1959. While he tries to keep his head down and avoid sullying his…

The Edge of Seventeen (2016), written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, is an important coming-of-age film that chronicles painful moments of teen awkwardness and self-realisation in a manner that jolts older viewers back to their pasts, and uncannily parallels the lives of younger audiences. The character of Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld), the film’s protagonist, embodies the experience of growing up with depth and complexity. In part, the film’s veracity can be attributed to Craig’s screenplay and deft direction. Also contributing to its authenticity is Steinfeld’s astonishing portrayal of an ungainly youth struggling with high school, home life and burgeoning sexuality. Over the film’s 104 minutes, the gap between fiction and reality – performing and living – seems to disappear as the audience becomes immersed in Nadine’s embattled emotional world.…

Treading a fine line between an uplifting drama and a tragic historical account, Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) offers a balanced rendition of a story from one of Australia’s darkest chapters: the systematic removal of thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal children from their families, resulting in what we now refer to as the Stolen Generations. Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the story of Molly Craig (Everlyn Sampi), her sister, Daisy (Tianna Sansbury), and their cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan), who, after being forcibly removed from their families in 1931, escape from the Moore River Native Settlement and try to find their way home by following a rabbit-proof fence. The film is based on the nonfiction book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara, the daughter of the real-life Molly Kelly (née Craig).…

The big buzzphrase of the moment in education is, as ever, ‘flipped learning’. Like the schoolies prank everyone has heard of – the one that happened at a friend of a friend’s brother’s high school involving stolen roadworks signs, the cling-wrapping of the principal’s car, detergent in the water fountains or cows being led upstairs – the term’s meaning changes a little bit every time it comes up, with each new reference to it incorporating some truth, some myth and a lot of suspension of disbelief. Depending on the source, you’ll hear flipped learning defined as ‘the be-all and end-all of education’, ‘the future of teaching’, ‘how we, as teachers, need to change our practice for the learners of today … something something You-Tube mobile phone’, or ‘something I’d like…

The opening title card of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (2008) bills its setting as an almost mythical land: one of ‘crocodiles, cattle barons and warrior chiefs, where adventure and romance was a way of life’. The description sounds more Indiana Jones than historical epic, filtering facts through a Vaseline lens to present a beautified, cinematic country. This approach comes from a wide variety of influences, but most notably from one (now relatively unproduced) type of film: the lavish historical epic. Australia appears to borrow liberally from films such as Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939), Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962), Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack, 1985), Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980), Once upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968) and Red River (Howard Hawks & Arthur Rosson,…

The Act of Killing’s success brought an incident of genocide rarely spoken about into the greater global conversation, and forced Indonesian authorities big on denial to discuss the past, if not apologise for it. The Act of Killing (2012) is a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction film in which notions of ‘truth’ and ‘fiction’ are up for grabs. Made over a decade by American documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, it finds the filmmaker speaking to mass murderers: the executioners who slaughtered ‘enemies’ earmarked for death during the 1965–1966 Indonesian genocide. Rather than repentant men offering grim to-camera confessions, The Act of Killing introduces viewers to jovial grandfathers, openly boasting of the number of ‘communists’ they killed. Looking into the eyes of the perpetrators of atrocity – men who murdered with machetes, with fencing wire and by…

One of the main challenges for teachers is how best to situate learning in a growing world of multimedia and pop culture while thoughtfully identifying appropriate texts for students. In addition to traditional print texts, educators have increasingly been incorporating film into their lessons, alongside other, predominantly visual forms such as picture books and graphic novels.1 It has been suggested that film encourages students to undertake high-level questioning, particularly when examining specific cinematic features such as angles and lighting – much in the same way that they would analyse a complicated print text.2 Moreover, the emotive content of films can serve as an engaging connection point for students when they are learning about history or society, as it invites them to ponder the representation or re-creation of particular time periods.…

We have much to thank Barrie McMahon for. He was a giant in his field, and his vision, intellect, passion and profound insight have enabled us to do what we do: teach Media. Vowing to never give up on the value and worth of Media education, Barrie – along with Robyn Quin, Jan McMahon and Rod Quin – dedicated years to building Media Studies into the discrete subject that it is today. Barrie was a visionary leader. In an era when traditional subjects ruled the roost, he ensured that Media Studies were not ignored. He also provided the opportunity for students to learn about the media and create their stories. As our Education Department Media Advisor, he visited metropolitan and rural schools, conducting Media workshops and creating specialist facilities –…

STORYBOARD THAT http://www.storyboardthat.com Cost: free (fourteen-day trial) from US$12.95 per month (teacher pack) additional US$2.49 per student per year (school licence – minimum 150 students) Storyboard That is a versatile website-based resource allowing students and teachers to graphically organise and storyboard ideas or events. Its straightforward interface, pre-made selections, support resources for teachers and cross-curriculum opportunities make it a worthwhile investment and resource for both primary and secondary schools. While teachers and students have access to plenty of different digital storyboarding resources nowadays, Storyboard That stands out because it has just the right number of tools and options for a diversity of age groups and abilities. Its simplicity and the charm of some of its clip art–like graphics gear it perfectly for use with younger students; however, it is still…

Clement and Waititi approachWhat We Do in the Shadows with this knowledge of vampire history firmly in mind, using widespread familiarity with the fanged figures and their trademarks to lure viewers in, then surprise them with a bite. ‘I wanted to have a quick chat about flat responsibilities,’ Viago (Taika Waititi) tells his housemates Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) and Deacon (Jonathan Brugh). They’re gathered around the kitchen table to discuss chores in their shared Wellington accommodation, in a scene that will be recognisable to anyone who has cohabited with others. Viago first spends time rounding up the group from their slumber: knocking on doors, explaining why their meeting is important, negotiating a time that suits everyone and accepting that the fourth of their number, Petyr (Ben Fransham), simply won’t be joining…