Published May 17th 2007
For over 20 years, Melbourne has been a key site of Australia’s film exhibition industry. Boasting one of the highest per capita attendance figures in the world, the significance of Melbourne’s cinema industry was fortified during the late 1990s with the construction of several megaplex cinema venues. Melbourne’s Megaplex boom provided an expedient front for a tightly regulated vertical integration strategy which saw the intertwining of national film distribution, exhibition and production interests. Leanne Downing talks to ACMI’s Head of Film Programs, Richard Sowada, about vertical integration and its continued affect on Melbourne’s screen culture.
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Filed in Film, State of Play | No responses yet
Published Jan 15th 2007
By Matt Knight
Spider-Man has remained popular for more than 40 years and as new generations discover comics and associated media, producers of Spider-Man related properties find themselves having to cater for disparate age groups. This paper considers how Spider-Man has remained popular for so long and what impact 40 years of being one of the best known superheroes has had upon the character.
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Published Jan 15th 2007
This essay addresses the parodic representation of heroism in the quintessential American dramatic comedy, The Sopranos, and develops the different means by which these thematics are explored.
This paper was presented at the ‘Holy Men in Tights’ Superheroes conference which was held at Melbourne University in June 2005.
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Published Oct 2nd 2005
Superheroes are often used as symbols, by the artist and writer, for either the way they feel about a situation, or of their country and the direction it is going in. Thus, superheroes can be our guide to how certain people, living in countries such as the USA , the U. K. and Australia , felt and/or feel about emerging social issues and what should be done about them. They can also be used as a kind of social clock, allowing us to view change and alterations in opinion. Writer Rod Marsden explains…
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Published Oct 2nd 2005
The Internet has made it possible for writers all over the world, to get together in social groups, to discuss all things literary, but how successful can these virtual communities be?Are they really sociable places and do they satisfy the people that take part in them?Are they constructive in aiding writers with their creativity?
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Published Feb 4th 2005
Patricia explores the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, subculture and style.
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Published Feb 4th 2005
Can moving enhance listening? Through a series of research sessions that used movement in order to note its relationship to, and effect upon, her capacity to listen, Antonia Pont attempts to answer this question… through poetic means.
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Published Dec 19th 2003
The shopping mall is one of the most instantly recognisable architectural forms of the 20th century. In recent years, the mall has undergone a transformation that owes much to the entertainment industry. Adopting an “ageographical” identity that relies on a synergy of movie theatres, department stores, food courts, themed environments, and specialty stores. Entertainment and education have seen the mall recreate itself as an experience or, as Hannigan would have it, a place of “shopertainment, eatertainment and edutainment”. The phenomenon is visible in the city of Melbourne.
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Published Dec 4th 2003
A childhood accident stole his sight, but, incredibly, it endowed young Matt Murdock with radar vision and heightened senses. Armed only with his athletic prowess, billy club, and indomitable courage, Matt battles justice as a crimson-clad gladiator! …Still don’t understand how a blind lawyer can battle crime, let alone have no fear? Don’t know the good guys from the bad guys? Don’t want to wade through at least 400 back issues just to understand it all? …Then don’t worry, this site will boil it all down and explain it piece by piece.
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Filed in Comics, State of Play, Volume 11 | No responses yet
Published Sep 8th 2001
The World Trade Center ‘incident’ accelerated the strange sense of temporal vertigo we are already experiencing as we try to live in this science-fictional world.
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Filed in Other, State of Play | No responses yet
