K. Dooley, M. McHugh, M. Berry, C. Batty, James Verdon
{"title":"Approaches to gender diversity behind the camera in Australian student screen productions","authors":"K. Dooley, M. McHugh, M. Berry, C. Batty, James Verdon","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.07","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.07","url":null,"abstract":"This article asks how educators at tertiary level might attempt to address gender diversity behind the camera in student productions. The 2020 Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) report Diversity On and Off Screen in Australian Film Schools outlines the results of a national survey measuring levels of gender diversity behind the camera in Australian university capstone (major project-based) screen production units. The survey results reveal that, while close to even numbers of male and female students are completing capstone projects in screen production departments and film schools in Australia, crew roles are highly gendered. A gendered skew is most pronounced in the roles of cinematographer and sound designer (male dominated), and producer and production designer (female dominated). We argue that an investigation of this subject calls for an examination of the specificity of the tertiary screen production environment. The crewing of student projects can be fraught, involving competition for popular roles such as that of director, and choices are made based on student likes and dispositions. In this article, we further drill into quantitative and qualitative data from the ASPERA survey to examine educator attitudes and approaches towards the gendered nature of some student production roles.","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"25 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"113969008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fostering diversity on and off screen","authors":"M. Berry, K. Dooley, M. McHugh","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.00","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.00","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, individuals and groups from inside and outside of academia have called for greater diversity on screen, resulting in campaigns such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, and #OscarsSoWhite. In particular, the gender imbalance that exists on screen and behind the camera has been a particular point of focus. Our aim for this special issue is to present research that suggests a way forward for practitioners, educators and members of the broader screen industries from all over the globe with regard to improving gender and diversity imbalances. We note important prior studies and projects exploring screen diversity in industry and educational contexts. We then explore ongoing issues and barriers for the fostering of diversity, such as practitioner perceptions of slow change, organisational initiatives, the impact of caring duties, and television cultures. The editorial ends by presenting an overview of strategies to effect change through screen education.","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133922933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Scotland’s for Me? The (gendered) salience of parental status and geographical location to experiences of working in film and television","authors":"Susan Berridge","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.04","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, international scholarship and industry reports have exposed the inherent incompatibilities between the media sector’s working cultures and caring responsibilities, focusing particularly on women who remain disproportionately responsible for childcare. The ideal media worker—characterised by geographical mobility, autonomy, adaptability and total commitment to work—is highly at odds with the material realities of parents and carers. However, despite recognition of the salience of mobility to wider (gendered) patterns of exclusion of parents, there is little scholarship that critically scrutinises the significance of geographical location on their experiences of work. This article addresses this lack, contributing to wider debates around the need to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the film and television workforce, which, in turn, is viewed as crucial to facilitating diverse representations, voices and perspectives on-screen. Using the Scottish screen sector as a case study, the article draws on a series of one-to-one interviews with parents – both men and women – who work, or have previously worked, in the film and television industries to explore the complex ways in which gender inequalities are mediated by both geographical location and caring responsibilities.","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"186 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132162100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Landscape and the Moving Image, by Catherine Elwes","authors":"Toby Ashworth","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.13","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"205 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131988334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Embodying Contagion: The Viropolitics of Horror and Desire in Contemporary Discourse, edited by Sandra Becker, Megen de Bruin-Molé and Sara Polak","authors":"Maggie Roberts","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.19","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127106318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Columbo: Paying Attention 24/7, by David Martin-Jones","authors":"B. Lamb","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.16","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131544846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"LGBTQ Visibility Media and Sexuality in Ireland, by Páraic Kerrigan","authors":"Don Duncan","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.15","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133398013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Where is Australia’s GLAAD? A case for establishing an Australian LGBTIQA+ Media Institute to improve diversity in screen media representation","authors":"N. Krikowa","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.03","url":null,"abstract":"As screen studies scholars have noted over the past two decades, media representation is critical in being able to see oneself as important to society. In 2016, Screen Australia released the “Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on Diversity in TV Drama” report on the diversity in Australian TV drama. “Seeing Ourselves” paints a critical picture of the lack of inclusive storytelling on Australian scripted TV, suggesting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and other sexuality- and gender-diverse (LGBTIQA+) people were in fact not seeing themselves—that the representation was lacking diversity, inclusivity, authenticity and complexity. This article presents a case study of the GLAAD Media Institute and similar international organisations and imagines how a similar advisory and advocacy organisation could be established to support Australian screen practitioners and students in being more inclusive of LGBTIQA+ people in their screen stories. It highlights the necessity for, and benefit of, creating an independent organisation that could replicate GLAAD’s three pillars of training, consultation and research to improve the current lack of diversity—the ultimate goal of this organisation being to advocate for real and sustained impact, not just in Australian screen media, but in our local communities and society at large.","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"951 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126998109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"White noise","authors":"Karen Nobes, S. Kerrigan","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.05","url":null,"abstract":"First Nations content on commercial Australian television drama is rare and First Nations content makers rarely produce the content we see. Despite a lack of presence on commercial drama platforms there has been, and continues to be, a rich array of First Nations content on Australian public broadcast networks. Content analysis by Screen Australia, the Federal Government agency charged with supporting Australian screen development, production and promotion, aggregates information across the commercial and non-commercial (public broadcasting) platforms which dilutes the non-commercial output. The research presented in this article focused on the systemic processes of commercial Australian television drama production to provide a detailed analysis of the disparity of First Nations content between commercial and non-commercial television. The study engaged with First Nations and non-Indigenous Australian writers, directors, producers, casting agents, casting directors, heads of production, executive producers, broadcast journalists, former channel managers and independent production company executive directors—all exemplars in their fields—to interrogate production processes, script to screen, contributing to inclusion or exclusion of First Nations content in commercial television drama. Our engagement with industry revealed barriers to the inclusion of First Nations stories, and First Nations storytelling, occurring across multiple stages of commercial Australian television drama production.","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126091320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teaching diversity, questioning representation","authors":"Sarah E. S. Sinwell","doi":"10.33178/alpha.24.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.24.10","url":null,"abstract":"This paper creates a taxonomy of representation that includes suggestions for how students might be more inclusive in terms of how they think about representations of diversity in their own media and filmmaking practices. To this end, I argue that there are six modes of thinking about how to analyse and interrogate representation in the media: 1) search for presence, 2) seek out positive representation, 3) create complex and layered characters, 4) consider casting, crew, consulting, and mentoring (including below-the-line), 5) focus on intersectionality, empathy, and empowerment, 6) interrogate your choices. This paper will explain how students may use these maxims and modes of thinking as a means of mapping out how they might move towards more inclusive representation in both their own productions as well as their mediamaking practices by using examples from documentaries such as The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 1995), Ethnic Notions (Marlon Riggs, 1987), The Slanted Screen (Jeff Adachi, 2006), Reel Arabs (Jeremy Earp and Sut Jhally, 2006), Reel Injun (Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, Jeremiah Hayes, 2009), Latinos Beyond Reel (Chyung Sun and Miguel Parker, 2012), Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (Xavier Burgin, 2019), and Disclosure (Sam Feder, 2020).","PeriodicalId":378992,"journal":{"name":"Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127452978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}