Rjurik Davidson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Rjurik Davidson
Speculative Insight, 2024
Regrets, who doesn't have them? Who hasn't made mistakes? Relationships, jobs, passions, living l... more Regrets, who doesn't have them? Who hasn't made mistakes? Relationships, jobs, passions, living locations. Sometimes we took too long to end them or change them. Sometimes we jumped too early. Sometimes we never jumped at all and are now trapped in some hellish half-life. Sometimes we look back and think, I should have stayed. Palliative care worker, Bronny Ware, has famously listed the common regrets shared to her by dying patients:
Thesis Eleven, 2024
The King is dead, long live the King!" This ancient French phrase, dating to at least the Fifteen... more The King is dead, long live the King!" This ancient French phrase, dating to at least the Fifteenth Century, is the kind that might have set Fredric Jameson on one of his extended, languorous, alternately dense and playful, intellectually demanding examinations. Marxism's preeminent cultural critic for more than fifty years, Jameson was the foremost proponent of dialectical thought, in which two seemingly contradictory phenomena were shown to be united by some underlying logic. In this mode, the shells of appearance could be recast as a unity of essence. Originating in Georg Hegel, evident in the young Marx, it is perhaps Hungarian philosopher and critic, Georg Lukács, who stands as Jameson's most evident forebear. The influence here is not simply intellectual but stylistic. Inherent is a belief that the form of communication is constitutive of its content: the way you write something is essential to what is being written. In this way, Jameson could deploy seemingly irreducibly antithetical and antinomic systems of thought-structuralism and post-structuralism, Freudian psychoanalysis and Sartrean existentialism, Greimasian squares and DeManian discoursesand clash them together in one and the same piece. Arguably, this technique dances along a dangerous cliff: the risk of dissolving real antinomies, producing an eclecticism rather than integration into any coherent "totality." Is this just a sophisticated way of justifying the use of any old system or approach? If this was the risk, the reward was analyses of striking, often unparalleled, originality.
Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, 2007
Greg McLean's 'Rogue' is an action/thriller movie that has not risen to the expectati... more Greg McLean's 'Rogue' is an action/thriller movie that has not risen to the expectations of the box office in Australia. It's a story about a group of tourists whose boat gets struck by something and begins to sink.
Science Fiction Studies, 2016
In her follow-up to celebrated indie feature The Jammed, Dee McLachlan takes a surprising turn wi... more In her follow-up to celebrated indie feature The Jammed, Dee McLachlan takes a surprising turn with a satirical look at reality TV in the post-9/11 world. But this entertaining mockumentary mostly misses its target and, as Rjurik Davidson notes, highlights the risks involved in taking on a familiar comedy format.
The enduring popularity of the vampire figure has led to some truly creative and original films a... more The enduring popularity of the vampire figure has led to some truly creative and original films as well as some downright disasters. Rjurik Davidson examines the current fascination with this genre and explores why the latest Australian offering fails to deliver despite its very promising beginning.
Science Fiction Studies, 2016
The article explores the agenda of the three-day Robert McKee Story Seminar on script writing. In... more The article explores the agenda of the three-day Robert McKee Story Seminar on script writing. Infamous personalities have benefited from his seminars and gone on to win Academy Awards and Emmy Awards.
Matthew Zeremes and Oliver Torr are co-directors who also play protagonists in their film 'Bu... more Matthew Zeremes and Oliver Torr are co-directors who also play protagonists in their film 'Burke & Wills'. The film portrays a darker side to share house living where Wills is a jobless, talkative, annoying but likable loser who moves in with the lonely and antisocial Burke.
There is much to commend in Robert Connolly's Balibo, but the broader political context and i... more There is much to commend in Robert Connolly's Balibo, but the broader political context and its bitter legacy deserved greater screen time.
Mark Forstmann's debut feature avoids going into too much depth when it comes to both the cha... more Mark Forstmann's debut feature avoids going into too much depth when it comes to both the characters' interior experiences and the metaphysics of the Australian landscape, yet on other levels the film still satisfies, writes Rjurik Davidson.
The manner in which Gus Van Sant's 2007 movie 'Paranoid Park' portrays the silence an... more The manner in which Gus Van Sant's 2007 movie 'Paranoid Park' portrays the silence and isolation of a teenager is analyzed. The secret knowledge of a death marks the loss of innocence and childhood of the teenager and his introduction into the adult world.
Overland, 2014
There was a time in my early twenties when I found it excruciating to sit in front of the compute... more There was a time in my early twenties when I found it excruciating to sit in front of the computer. As a teenager, I'd been excited to write, and stories had flowed from me freely.
Gramsci and the far Right On 19 September 2018, Australian senator Fraser Anning tweeted an extra... more Gramsci and the far Right On 19 September 2018, Australian senator Fraser Anning tweeted an extraordinary attack on the controversial Safe Schools project, which runs anti-bullying programs in Australian schools. Safe Schools became a flashpoint for the Right, which loathed the project's focus on gender and sexual orientation. In his tweet - a summary of the speech he made in the Senate - Anning wrote that 'The real goal of the Safe Schools Commo perverts is absolutely nothing to do with safety in schools or compassion. It's all about destroying the traditional fabric of our society, corrupting our youth and creating Gramsci's nightmare vision of a Marxist utopia'.
Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. People are drawn mor... more Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. People are drawn more towards fantasy or science fiction due to the advances made in special effects and the films are successful because of the use of its defining characteristics of estrangement.
'Bastard Boys' is ABC's miniseries that has enacted a real life demonstration and whi... more 'Bastard Boys' is ABC's miniseries that has enacted a real life demonstration and while it does a fairly accurate job of representing the demonstration it is a departure from the actual historical event. It explores many of the important issues of the dispute effectively with sympathy to all involved.
The review and analysis of 'The Age of the Stupid' directed by Franny Armstrong is discus... more The review and analysis of 'The Age of the Stupid' directed by Franny Armstrong is discussed. The film is a visually enticing documentary on the environment and presents a systematic analysis of the way in which the world is moving into the future.
Cherie Nowlan is the director of 'Clubland', which is a typically Australian type of subu... more Cherie Nowlan is the director of 'Clubland', which is a typically Australian type of suburban comic drama based on relationship and the challenges faced. She talks about what attracted her to this particular script and how she managed to bring out some strong performances from young actors.
Speculative Insight, 2024
Regrets, who doesn't have them? Who hasn't made mistakes? Relationships, jobs, passions, living l... more Regrets, who doesn't have them? Who hasn't made mistakes? Relationships, jobs, passions, living locations. Sometimes we took too long to end them or change them. Sometimes we jumped too early. Sometimes we never jumped at all and are now trapped in some hellish half-life. Sometimes we look back and think, I should have stayed. Palliative care worker, Bronny Ware, has famously listed the common regrets shared to her by dying patients:
Thesis Eleven, 2024
The King is dead, long live the King!" This ancient French phrase, dating to at least the Fifteen... more The King is dead, long live the King!" This ancient French phrase, dating to at least the Fifteenth Century, is the kind that might have set Fredric Jameson on one of his extended, languorous, alternately dense and playful, intellectually demanding examinations. Marxism's preeminent cultural critic for more than fifty years, Jameson was the foremost proponent of dialectical thought, in which two seemingly contradictory phenomena were shown to be united by some underlying logic. In this mode, the shells of appearance could be recast as a unity of essence. Originating in Georg Hegel, evident in the young Marx, it is perhaps Hungarian philosopher and critic, Georg Lukács, who stands as Jameson's most evident forebear. The influence here is not simply intellectual but stylistic. Inherent is a belief that the form of communication is constitutive of its content: the way you write something is essential to what is being written. In this way, Jameson could deploy seemingly irreducibly antithetical and antinomic systems of thought-structuralism and post-structuralism, Freudian psychoanalysis and Sartrean existentialism, Greimasian squares and DeManian discoursesand clash them together in one and the same piece. Arguably, this technique dances along a dangerous cliff: the risk of dissolving real antinomies, producing an eclecticism rather than integration into any coherent "totality." Is this just a sophisticated way of justifying the use of any old system or approach? If this was the risk, the reward was analyses of striking, often unparalleled, originality.
Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, 2007
Greg McLean's 'Rogue' is an action/thriller movie that has not risen to the expectati... more Greg McLean's 'Rogue' is an action/thriller movie that has not risen to the expectations of the box office in Australia. It's a story about a group of tourists whose boat gets struck by something and begins to sink.
Science Fiction Studies, 2016
In her follow-up to celebrated indie feature The Jammed, Dee McLachlan takes a surprising turn wi... more In her follow-up to celebrated indie feature The Jammed, Dee McLachlan takes a surprising turn with a satirical look at reality TV in the post-9/11 world. But this entertaining mockumentary mostly misses its target and, as Rjurik Davidson notes, highlights the risks involved in taking on a familiar comedy format.
The enduring popularity of the vampire figure has led to some truly creative and original films a... more The enduring popularity of the vampire figure has led to some truly creative and original films as well as some downright disasters. Rjurik Davidson examines the current fascination with this genre and explores why the latest Australian offering fails to deliver despite its very promising beginning.
Science Fiction Studies, 2016
The article explores the agenda of the three-day Robert McKee Story Seminar on script writing. In... more The article explores the agenda of the three-day Robert McKee Story Seminar on script writing. Infamous personalities have benefited from his seminars and gone on to win Academy Awards and Emmy Awards.
Matthew Zeremes and Oliver Torr are co-directors who also play protagonists in their film 'Bu... more Matthew Zeremes and Oliver Torr are co-directors who also play protagonists in their film 'Burke & Wills'. The film portrays a darker side to share house living where Wills is a jobless, talkative, annoying but likable loser who moves in with the lonely and antisocial Burke.
There is much to commend in Robert Connolly's Balibo, but the broader political context and i... more There is much to commend in Robert Connolly's Balibo, but the broader political context and its bitter legacy deserved greater screen time.
Mark Forstmann's debut feature avoids going into too much depth when it comes to both the cha... more Mark Forstmann's debut feature avoids going into too much depth when it comes to both the characters' interior experiences and the metaphysics of the Australian landscape, yet on other levels the film still satisfies, writes Rjurik Davidson.
The manner in which Gus Van Sant's 2007 movie 'Paranoid Park' portrays the silence an... more The manner in which Gus Van Sant's 2007 movie 'Paranoid Park' portrays the silence and isolation of a teenager is analyzed. The secret knowledge of a death marks the loss of innocence and childhood of the teenager and his introduction into the adult world.
Overland, 2014
There was a time in my early twenties when I found it excruciating to sit in front of the compute... more There was a time in my early twenties when I found it excruciating to sit in front of the computer. As a teenager, I'd been excited to write, and stories had flowed from me freely.
Gramsci and the far Right On 19 September 2018, Australian senator Fraser Anning tweeted an extra... more Gramsci and the far Right On 19 September 2018, Australian senator Fraser Anning tweeted an extraordinary attack on the controversial Safe Schools project, which runs anti-bullying programs in Australian schools. Safe Schools became a flashpoint for the Right, which loathed the project's focus on gender and sexual orientation. In his tweet - a summary of the speech he made in the Senate - Anning wrote that 'The real goal of the Safe Schools Commo perverts is absolutely nothing to do with safety in schools or compassion. It's all about destroying the traditional fabric of our society, corrupting our youth and creating Gramsci's nightmare vision of a Marxist utopia'.
Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. People are drawn mor... more Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. People are drawn more towards fantasy or science fiction due to the advances made in special effects and the films are successful because of the use of its defining characteristics of estrangement.
'Bastard Boys' is ABC's miniseries that has enacted a real life demonstration and whi... more 'Bastard Boys' is ABC's miniseries that has enacted a real life demonstration and while it does a fairly accurate job of representing the demonstration it is a departure from the actual historical event. It explores many of the important issues of the dispute effectively with sympathy to all involved.
The review and analysis of 'The Age of the Stupid' directed by Franny Armstrong is discus... more The review and analysis of 'The Age of the Stupid' directed by Franny Armstrong is discussed. The film is a visually enticing documentary on the environment and presents a systematic analysis of the way in which the world is moving into the future.
Cherie Nowlan is the director of 'Clubland', which is a typically Australian type of subu... more Cherie Nowlan is the director of 'Clubland', which is a typically Australian type of suburban comic drama based on relationship and the challenges faced. She talks about what attracted her to this particular script and how she managed to bring out some strong performances from young actors.
There are several problems with the use of the term, the 'Sixties generation.' To begin with, the... more There are several problems with the use of the term, the 'Sixties generation.' To begin with, the use of the term 'sixties' tends to play into the dubious narrative of youthful rebellion, followed by gradual conservatisation in the face of the realities of career, family life and disappointed hopes. It's a narrative which sees the sixties as both defining -ah, the glories of youth! -and long left behind. By linking the generation with the decade (or even the year: a '68er' or soixanthuitard), the term suggests that those years were the apogee of the participants' lives. The most recent cinematic expression of this view is Olivier Assayas's nostalgic 2012 film, Apres Mai.
Abstract: Acclaimed illustrator Shaun Tan has collaborated on a new short film of his book The Lo... more Abstract: Acclaimed illustrator Shaun Tan has collaborated on a new short film of his book The Lost Thing. Rjurik Davidson talks to him about his foray into film. ... To cite this article: Davidson, Rjurik. Painting a Motion Picture: An Interview with Shaun Tan [online]. Metro ...
'Romulus, My Father'is Richard Roxburgh's debut feature based on a young boy and h... more 'Romulus, My Father'is Richard Roxburgh's debut feature based on a young boy and his constrained relationship with his father as they struggle to survive physical and emotional hardship in rural Victoria. The film has all the elements of melodrama yet it is never ...
... Davidson, Rjurik 1. Abstract: Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by... more ... Davidson, Rjurik 1. Abstract: Stardust is a traditional fairy tale film based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. People are drawn more towards fantasy or science fiction due to the advances made in special effects and the films are successful because of the use of its defining ...
Science Fiction Studies, 2016
