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Fabulated Fauna: Anthropomorphism, Spectacle and Narrative Construction in the Nature Documentary.
Introduction: Framing the Wild Narrative as a mechanism for storytelling seems quite different from documentary as a mechanism for addressing nonimaginary, real-life issues. But not all narratives are fictions […] (Nichols 1991, p. 6). A sequence from BBC’s Planet Earth (2006) begins on a snowy mountain, high above the tree line. A wide-angle shot shows… Continue reading
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Spatial constraint: the metamorphosis of props in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) and Rear Window (1954).
Introduction A rope is used to strangle a man, then becomes a seemingly innocent harness to tie a pile of books together. A camera is used as a tool of leisure and observance, but later transforms into a weapon. These are examples from two of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, Rope (1948) and Rear Window (1954) respectively,… Continue reading
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Urban extremes: Authoritarianism and freedom in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
Introduction Urban spaces are marked by extremes. Crowding, crime, surveillance and isolation are some of the factors that often characterise city life. Filmic and literary texts alike have long since depicted cities along these lines, juxtaposing opposites such as freedom and restriction, crime and safety, or loneliness and connection. Two texts which contrast these themes… Continue reading
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Lamenting the lack of elevation in Cambridge: climbing the White Cliffs of Dover
The chalky ground beneath me threatens to crumble away. I am some 80 metres up the White Cliffs of Dover, using tufts of grass as ladder rungs to haul myself further into the sky. The top of the cliff lies just a few metres above, but getting there means a sideways traverse, away from the stable… Continue reading
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Beyond the Linear: Temporality and capitalist critique in La Jetée (1964) and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010).
Introduction The notion of slow cinema’s opposition to the inherent speed of capitalist ideology is well-established within film scholarship. In this essay I aim to draw upon existing scholarly work on this topic to assert that this form of resistance to capitalism is not limited to merely films that have slow temporalities, but any films… Continue reading
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The Feel-Bad Film lecture
The following was a guest lecture delivered at University of Cambridge, Film and Screen Studies faculty, in November 2024. I wanted to preface my speech by asking: have you ever walked out of the cinema feeling somewhat unsettled or unsatisfied? I’m sure we’ve all had out fair share of films we’ve been disappointed by, but… Continue reading
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Gender in Boxing film guest lecture, University of Cambridge
The following lecture was delivered at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in October 2024. It was part of a student-led guest lecture series, the ‘Seminar Supper’, based on my journal publication: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10509208.2024.2355833 Introduction Today, I’m going to be talking about a topic that probably isn’t your typical Cambridge University topic, and indeed, for many of you,… Continue reading
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Sit Down with a Screenwriter – A conversation with Nick Willis
Below is the transcription of an interview I conducted with Nick Willis, director of recent short film Speak For Herself. The film was created as part of the BBC Arts New Creatives talent development scheme, and can be watched here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0chtfnx Callum: Welcome to Sit Down with a Screenwriter. Today I’m joined by Nick Willis,… Continue reading
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‘1984’ or 2023? How applicable is Orwell’s vision of technological surveillance to today?
Guest essay written by Ottavio Pagliaro, final-year English and Drama student at the University of Kent, Canterbury. In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell envisioned a world that was split into three superstates, each perpetually at war, each totalitarian, with Britain part of the superstate of Oceania and renamed “Airstrip One”. In Oceania the ‘Party’ maintains… Continue reading
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Book Appraisal: See Me Rolling by Lottie Jackson (2023)
Penned with candour, this profound memoir by disability rights activist Lottie Jackson offers a thought-provoking assessment of the challenges faced by disabled people. By way of introduction, Jackson poses a series of philosophical questions, the answers to which ‘hold the key to obliteratingdisability inequality’ (Jackson 2023, p.10). In eight subsequent essay-chapters, Jackson seeks to answer… Continue reading
about the author – Callum mcgrath
Recent English graduate of Loughborough University, passionate about film and literature. On this site, I post my academic essays and related writing.
Recent Posts
- Fabulated Fauna: Anthropomorphism, Spectacle and Narrative Construction in the Nature Documentary.
- Spatial constraint: the metamorphosis of props in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) and Rear Window (1954).
- Urban extremes: Authoritarianism and freedom in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
- Lamenting the lack of elevation in Cambridge: climbing the White Cliffs of Dover
- Beyond the Linear: Temporality and capitalist critique in La Jetée (1964) and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010).
The Ventriloquist 