Coming Home (1978): Characters and Context

Coming Home was a film that spoke to an America just coming to grips with the lasting effects of the Vietnam war. Though filmed in the late seventies, Coming Home takes places in 1968, a year that was marked by not only the escalating conflict in Vietnam, but also political and social turmoil within the...

The Sapphires: a glimpse of Australia’s Stolen Generations

The Sapphires (2012). Directed by Wayne Blair, written by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs, based on the 2004 stage play of the same name. The Sapphires is a 2012 musical comedy-drama that tells the story of an Aboriginal all-girl group in 1960’s New South Wales. Growing up on a reserve in Western Australia, sisters Gail,...

Thrones and Roses: The history behind Game of Thrones, part 2

In a series of articles, I will look at the links between Games of Thrones and the Wars of the Roses, pointing to the real-life inspirations for several of the key characters in the series. For this study, I will be looking solely at how these events and characters are portrayed in the HBO series rather than...

Thrones and Roses: The history behind Game of Thrones, part 1

 With season 8 of HBO's Game of Thrones underway I thought I'd take a look at some of the historical events and figures that inspired the series. Although Game of Thrones is set in a distinctly fictional fantasy sphere, many aspects of the world portrayed in the series are reminiscent of medieval Europe. George R.R. Martin, the author of...

A reassessment of ‘Poor Polidori’: a look at the life and times of John William Polidori

“ 'We will each write a ghost story', said Lord Byron, and his proposition was acceded to. There were four of us” (Shelley, Author's Introduction, 7). The above quote is from Mary Shelley's introduction to her 1818 novel Frankenstein and refers to the fateful night in the summer of 1816 where Lord Byron ordered the guests gathered at...

Picnic at Hanging Rock: The story of Marion Quade

 In the late summer of 2018, RTÉ 2 aired the Australian set period drama Picnic at Hanging Rock. An adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, the six-part series tells the story of the disappearance of three schoolgirls and their teacher in 1900 Australia. This is the second major screen adaptation of...

Picnic at Hanging Rock: “Purity and refinement, the Appleyard promise.” Part Two, conduct and confinement

In the late summer of 2018, RTÉ 2 aired the Australian set period drama Picnic at Hanging Rock. An adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, the six-part series tells the story of the disappearance of three schoolgirls and their teacher in 1900 Australia. This is the second major screen adaptation of...

Picnic at Hanging Rock: “The arse end of the world.” Colonialism and escape in the Australian wilderness

In the late summer of 2018, RTÉ 2 aired the Australian set period drama Picnic at Hanging Rock. An adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, the six-part series tells the story of the disappearance of three schoolgirls and their teacher in 1900 Australia. This is the second major screen adaptation of...