The inimitable Greta Gerwig stars in Maggie’s Plan, a colourful comedy about a woman who is always in control. Gerwig is great at playing characters that have no idea what they’re doing (like the titular character in Frances Ha), but in this film, she proves she can also play the opposite. Maggie, a university graduate…
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Rebellion is a historical drama that puts women at the centre of the action. The five-part mini series premiered earlier this year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, and is still available on Netflix for subscribers to binge-watch at their leisure. The series begins in 1914, with three…
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Testament of Youth brings Vera Brittain’s memoir of the same name to life on the big screen. The film opens amid a jubilant scene: Armistice Day, 1918. In the middle of it all, a young woman stumbles, overwhelmed by the crowds and removed from the joy everyone else is seemingly experiencing. The timeline then jumps…
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Channel Ten’s new political drama Party Tricks opens with an uncomfortably familiar scenario: a public controversy surrounding comments made about a female politician who doesn’t have children. In this case, though, it wasn’t former Prime Minister Julia Gillard they were talking about— it was Kate Ballard, the fictional Premier of Victoria played by Asher Keddie…
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Scott & Bailey is like any other good British crime show. It has gripping and often disturbing storylines, workplace banter and plenty of trips to the pub after work. But in one particular way, the show stands out: its two title characters are women, working under the leadership of a female boss in the Manchester…
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This week, the ABC has devoted lots of airtime to bringing mental illness into the spotlight. Titled ‘Mental As’, the suite of programming coincides with Mental Health Week and is all about removing the stigma from illnesses that are not always physically apparent, yet can be truly debilitating. On Wednesday night, viewers were treated to…
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In our media-saturated society, images of young women are everywhere. Advertisements, fashion spreads, television shows and movies all provide us with a million pictures of what youthful ‘beauty’ and ‘style’ should look like. But how often do we see images depicting women over the age of fifty? The idea that it is only younger women…
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It is hard to deny the somewhat mythical significance of the ANZACs and Gallipoli in popular understandings of Australian history. The connotations of mateship, bravery and nationhood that are all tied up with the ANZAC figure seem predominantly masculine, but how often do we hear about female ANZACs? It was not just men who experienced…
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Romantic comedies are not always the most interesting or unique of films, but every so often one comes along that stands out. The Lunchbox is one of these films. A feature film debut from writer and director Ritesh Batra, the movie has been nominated at several international festivals and won multiple awards, including the Critics…
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The ABC has broadcast a number of outstanding historical telemovies of late: from Paper Giants to Mabo, these period dramas have told stories of amazing Australians and documented social change in our country’s recent past. The latest offering in line with this trend is Carlotta, a film based on the life of Carol Byron, a…
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There has been plenty of good television on Australian screens of late. From Redfern Now to Rake to Janet King, it seems that roles for Australian actors have become increasingly complex and varied in recent years. But can we put Channel Ten’s hit drama Offspring in this category of quality? The commercial network is not…
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When imagining horror films, one might typically think of blood, guts and a whole lot of gratuitous screaming. These are often staples of the genre, but horror can do so much more than make its audience squirm. It can draw upon real issues in our society, bringing them to life in the most confronting of…
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As the Logies nominations for 2014 were released last Monday, I could almost hear the collective scorn with which these awards are often received boiling up in anticipation of the awards night itself. But, I have a confession to make: I watch the Logies every year. Although I try to pass myself off as a…
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During the trial of Adolf Eichmann, German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt was unexpectedly struck by what she perceived as the normality of the man in front of her, who had been a senior member of the Nazi administration. Arendt described the ‘banality of evil’: the most evil of acts are not necessarily committed by inhuman monsters, but…
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