The Long Lens Issue 06 by Long Road Sixth Form College

The Long Lens

EDITORIAL

A change of the guard is in process here at Long Lens HQ!

As the academic year draws to a close, we find ourselves looking back on the year and the times that have passed

It's no secret that these have been difficult times We've all been put through the ringer; emotionally, spiritually, mentally, politically and more. So why not take this time, whilst spirits are relatively high, to look back with fond memories on some of the films and entertainment that have stuck with us through our lives.

Massive congratulations to Leona Doran, Noorsath Chowdhury and Megan Rooke who are stepping onto the team to take us through the next year of changes, challenges, and whatever else life can throw at us We know they're going to do great! And well done to Marianna, Dounia, Grace and Jaz for a great run as our team this year

We would also like to take the chance to mark the passing of James Bentley, a great and valued member of the college up until his passing late last year He will be greatly missed

FEATURED ARTICLES

The Impact of Nostalgia in Film by Noorsath Chowdhury

Messages From London by Andrea Joyce

Nostalgic for Clay by Sam Young

Top Gun & Maverick: Then Vs. Now by Andrea Joyce and Sam Gamble

Staff Picks: Nostalgia

Intro by Elliot Norton

THE IMPACT OF THE IMPACT OF NOSTALGIA ON FILM NOSTALGIA ON FILM

by Noorsath Chowdhury

Nostalgia in cinema plays a significant role on how we perceive films and remember them. Countless classic pieces produced by large mass media companies, such as Disney, captured our attention from a very young age.

The magical atmosphere created by the cinematography of these films, such as ‘The Lion King (1994)’, make them mesmerising and memorable - even in adulthood. When films are associated with one ’ s childhood, it often leads to the films being further associated with nostalgia

The impact of nostalgia is heavily desirable by multimedia companies because sometimes audiences tend to desire the nostalgia of a film, over its storyline. For instance, no matter how cheesy or mediocre a RomCom film could be, some individuals still watch it over and over again because of the memories associated with the film. A film that comes to mind is ‘Mean Girls (2004)’. When the film initially came out, it was perceived well but it was also labelled as merely a ‘chick-flick’ As the years went on, people revisited the film and understood Tina Fey’s comedic portrayal of stereotypes within American highschool environments and audiences began to reference the film in cinema, including pop culture

THE IMPACT OF NOSTALGIA ON FILM

Nostalgia creates a warm, positive feeling and it provides the audiences with comfort However, it has also been overused in some cases and often ruined the magic for audiences, creating the complete opposite feeling. A recent article by the BBC named ‘Is Nostalgia Killing Cinema’ mentioned how the Ghostbusters franchise exploited the nostalgia of audiences, by creating a film which doesn’t have the same aesthetic and creative storyline as the original films from the franchise.

Some critics and audience members enjoyed ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)’, regardless of what they thought about the storyline because the nostalgia influenced the positive feedback That said, many were left disappointed by what some described as lack of creativity and ingenuity of the film. This left many individuals dissapointed and unsatisfied because of the high expecations of the highly regarded franchise not being met by filmmakers

Despite the countless arguments on whether nostalgia is important or exploitative, most can agree that nothing beats the feeling of coming back from a long, tiring day to re-watch your favourite film or TV series that inspired or influenced you. The warm feeling nostalgia creates in cinema is undeniably comforting.

By Noorsath Chowdhury

MESSAGES FROM LONDON

by Andrea Joyce

The BFi on London’s Southbank was host again to the Production Awards for Media Magazine. This was the first time, post Covid, that a physical event was held and the excitement to be back at the BFi was palpable.

NFT1 is their biggest screen and it was there that I got to hear the insights from fellow guest judge, Corin Hardy. An award winning filmmaker, illustrator, sculptor and writer he has an amazingly macabre and beautiful visual style

He grew up in a world steeped in creatures and creativity, beginning his early career aged 12 as a special FX ‘monster-maker’ in his parents’ bike shed. He studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art before hand-crafting his award-winning stop-motion short film Butterfly (2004) which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won the Brussels Animation Festival. He has directed a series of short films and music videos for a range of mainstream and underground bands including The Prodigy, Keane, Biffy Clyro, Olly Murs, Paolo Nutini and The Horrible Crowesculminating, in a 9 minute crime epic for Devlin and Ed Sheeran’s cover of ‘Watchtower’. His music videos have accrued over 300 million views and won numerous awards around the world

MESSAGES FROM LONDON

In 2015 Corin wrote and directed his debut feature The Hallow which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won international awards for directing, cinematography and effects, including Best Horror Film at the UK’s Empire Film Awards 2016 and 5 awards at the Los Angeles Scream Fest.

In 2018 he directed his second feature film The Nun, a terrifyingly Gothic horror spin-off from the ‘Conjuring Universe’ franchise for New Line/Warner Bros. Since 2020 he has directed and is currently working on Gangs of London, Series 1 and 2, for Sky TV and Now TV.

Hardy arrived fresh from the edit suite to share his insights into each of the films shortlisted for three prizes: Best Short Film, Best Music Video and Best Trailers/Openings. Prior to giving out the awards he shared some of his insights into the world of film and television culminating in his top tips

Preparation - storyboards are vital and give you a sense of purpose on the day of the shoot.

Flexibility - as important as it is to be prepared and organised flexibility is key This will allow you to handle unforeseen situations and have capacity for new ideas

Trust your instincts and your collaborators - if you surround yourself with people you trust in key roles then it allows you to delegate

Do the learning - get to know and understand all of the key roles in different departments, the more armed you are with knowledge the better use you can make of time and the more creative you can be

Treat everyone with respect and kindness - You get much more out of people if they are treated with dignity and it also helps keep up morale on set Keeping up a good pace on your shoot is a way to make the process more enjoyable for everyone involved. Discuss and rehearse any complication scenes in advance with everyone involved, not just your actors

Ask for help - be as open as possible to help and advice.

Resilience was a topic Corin touched on when he retold the conversation he had with Ray Harryhausen, a pioneer of stop motion animation and special effects Harryhausen asked Corin if he was resilient and Corin reflected that directing is a marathon and not a sprint, that you need to take one step at a time and never give up.

making stuff until the people you want to take notice take notice

The winners of last year ' s Media Magazine Production Competition talked about the impact that winning had on them. They spoke about the confidence it gave them to trust their instincts, how good it felt to have their work appreciated, the drive it gave them to keep making stuff and how it helped them consider studying film at university. In previous years Long Road students have been winners of Media Magazine Production competition categories and we encourage students to consider entering for the 2023 competition

Keep an eye on the Media Magazine website for details on how to enter: https://www englishandmedia co uk/media-magazine

There are also opportunities to write for Media Magazine - more details on their website.

By Andrea Joyce

Nostalgia: A wistful or excessively sentimental yearning to return to or of some past period. To me, nostalgia evokes feelings of happiness when I think back on how animation, particularly stop motion animation such as Wallace and Gromit, shaped my childhood.

How something as short as a thirty-minute film set the course not only for my love of film, but for my future degree choice in Stop Motion and choice of career as well. It goes to show that though something might be deemed as small, it often has a great impact.

Wallace and Gromit are two characters that moulded me into the person that I am today. Whenever I watch Aardman’s earlier work with Wallace and Gromit, it immediately brings me straight back to watching them on VHS around my grandparent’s house Almost wearing out the VHS tape from how often I would watch them! Each time the familiar music from the opening credits would play, I could feel the excitement rising inside of me. A feeling that I still get from hearing the soundtrack to this day and brings me a great sense of nostalgia

Out of all the early short films that Aardman produced though, The Wrong Trousers (1993) has stuck with me the most The film has elements of what I enjoy about watching thrillers today: Suspense and mystery The narrative builds a sense of mystery around the character of the Penguin, making it seem like he is an innocent creature when in reality he is plotting to use...

NOSTALGIC FOR CLAY

by Sam Young

Wallace to rob a bank. The audience witnesses the Penguin’s devious manner being exposed alongside Gromit which adds to the growing tension during the film The audience is, rightly so, frustrated with Wallace as he fails to see the Penguin’s deceptive ways and sympathetic towards Gromit as they aware he will have to deal with the situation alone.

This ultimately builds suspense right up to the very end of the film when the Penguin is finally caught after an intense train chase scene, one that has the audience on the edge of their seat as they follow the windy train tracks all around Wallace’s house. The way these scenes were constructed was to purposefully make the train chase feel more intense then it actually is, giving the illusion that the train is rocketing around the entire house rather than in just a small hall way section that were built by the animators.

TOP GUN VS. MAVERICK: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF NOSTALGIA

by Andrea Joyce & Sam Gamble

36 Years. A lot can change in that time. Several US Presidents, kids born, grow up, move away. A minor global pandemic. But apparently, Tom Cruise does not change all that much.

Earlier this year, a movie that had no right to work as well as it did, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ released to incredible fanfare The movie broke several records, including being Tom Cruises’ most profitable film to date, the second film to gross $1 billion since the pandemic began, and was the last film left to be released; with its original date being July 2020 (after an initial 2019 delay) A follow up to the iconic 1986 original, the film picked up with Tom Cruises titular Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell as he’s recalled to Top Gun to train the bestof-the-best pilots for a top secret mission.

This is a story that has been done before The hotshot rookie grows up and becomes the teacher, with his students teaching him about himself as much as he does them. However, something about this film moved audiences in a completely unprecedented way, and that is its use (or weaponization) of Nostalgia

Again, the use of Nostalgia isn’t anything new. Jurassic World brought back the original cast just 3 weeks after ‘Maverick’s release The other billion dollar film, SpiderMan: No Way Home, brought a Spider-based trinity together, and Keanu Reeves returned to the leather and green-tinged world of the Matrix in December. The term ‘Legacy Sequel’ has become synonymous with this type..

of film. Be it bringing back old cast members or, in this case, returning to the story much, much later in time.

But even so, ‘Maverick’ still managed to stand out It’s our belief that this is because of the films use of iconography Lifting images and events from the ‘86 classic, recontextualising them to fit the world of movie making.

The film wastes no time in reminding you of what came previously. The exact same opening crawl is displayed on screen (with a more inclusive update), with Harold Faltermeyer’s iconic theme kicking in over the cards. As we see air carriers lit by golden-hour sunlight, this is the first difference from the original Whereas the original film had a much more blue colour palette, Maverick has a more sepia, orange toned look, imbuing the film with a reverant feel, and also establishing the idea of Maverick being in the twilight of his navy career, foreshadowing his decision at the end to finally retire and settle down

TOP GUN VS. MAVERICK: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF NOSTALGIA

Less than two minutes in, we get the return of another iconic music track, this being Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’. In case you were unsure of what film you were watching, you now know for sure The familiar dance of the ground crew on the naval base as the jets launch and soar into the sky fades away as we return swiftly to Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, fixing a plane in his tight white t-shirt, before donning his classic aviators, patchcovered leather jacket, and jumping on a motorbike to race a jet engine along the runway

Less than ten minutes in, we ’ ve been enrobed in the comforting embrace of nostalgia.

At this point, you could accuse the film of pandering to its audience, but you can choose to read this in a different way It assures us, as an audience, that we are in safe hands. A lot of care and attention has been put into this film, not just in the selected iconography so far, but this level of detail has also been embedded into the narrative, as evidenced with the arrival of Penny Benjamin

A throwaway one-line joke in the original film, Penny Benjamin is here again, upon his return They’ve both changed in their time, some more than others, and their chemistry is immediately palpable She becomes a symbol for Maverick of not just what the past was, but also the potential for what the future can hold. The parallels between her Kerry McGillis’ Charlie from the original are apparent but not carbon copied Whilst both have an admirable level of sass, and both drive vintage Porsches, they represent different points in Mavericks life.

At Penny’s bar, we meet Maverick’s new students, all on a spectrum from cocky to arrogant, with the familiar masculine posturing to be expected to act as a 2022...reference point, and here’s when we ’ re introduced to Rooster The son of ‘Goose’, Maverick’s original wingman who died during the events of the original film, arrives, and here is where the central conflict lies. An immediate reminder for Maverick of the guilt and regret that he feels, with Rooster sporting a similar moustache, Hawaiian shirt and quickly adopts his old man ' s position at the piano for another musical callback to ‘Great Balls of Fire’

A key transition point of the film, this is where we move from the ‘remember this, isn’t this cool?!’ mentality to starting to build on what came before. We remember this scene fondly. But, for Maverick, this is a painful reminder of what he’s lost and what he blames himself for, underpinned by pulling footage directly from the original, as he looks into the bar from outside. A stark reminder that he is no longer one of these young, brash, aviators. He has loved and lost, and will never be able to quite make it back to those glory days which he’s been chasing There is also the obvious barrier between Maverick and Rooster as there is no fond reunion but an obvious tension between the two, a marked difference between the warmth a young boy has towards his Dad’s best friend in the original film

left blank. You know it’s a hostile state, and can make educated guesses on who those states might be, but they’re never given a face And that’s because both of these films are more about the internal struggles Both are character

TOP GUN VS. MAVERICK: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF NOSTALGIA

...driven films, but both approach the characters in different ways

This transition can be typified best during both films' beach scenes. These two scenes show us how much Maverick has changed as a character The original Volleyball scene, a two on two scuffle in which he and Iceman square off against each other and become quite competitive, is all about those two characters trying to one up each other. In ‘Maverick’ the game, which has been orchestrated by Mitchell, is being used as a bonding exercise, to form a team The music is moved away from throwbacks to the original to give way to an entirely new OneRepublic song, and the whole scene is imbued with a joyous and playful tone as we see this ragtag bunch of hotshots come together to work as a unit; a lesson Maverick knows would’ve helped him earlier on in his career

The film's third act, an insanely impressive spectacle of practical camerawork and a sublime exercise in tension building, is everything this film has building towards.

Over the course of the narrative, we ’ ve been told that this is it, that someone might not make it back, that maybe the mission is even impossible Everything has to be executed perfectly in order to stay alive A battle against time itself Not just the two minutes and thirty seconds to reach the target, but also the dwindling time left in Mavericks career.

Of course, these two characters that have been at odds with each other, with a deep and complex shared history, are forced to work together and eventually are able to reconcile their differences and forgive each other. Finally, Maverick can retire and rest.

In summation, Maverick is not only a film that plays with your nostalgia, but opens your heart to allow you to move forward. To remember the past with reverie, and be excited for what the future holds. It’s as much a film that pays respects to what’s come before, as well as telling you that it’s ok to move on As the closing image takes us back to the sky, but from ground level, watching Maverick and Penny fly off into the sunset, happy, content, and healed. For a franchise that already had a good ending, this has truly closed the book on Maverick

Another theme in this moment is that of doubt We’re left doubting if Maverick and Rooster have reconciled their differences, still not even convinced that the mission is possible, and over it all, the doubt that Maverick will pull through. All of these callbacks, his chances to reconcile with past mistakes, the chance for Rooster to forgive him, could all be lost in this moment We, as an audience, fear for his survival.

By Andrea Joyce & Sam Gamble

"Nostalgia" /nɒ ˈstaldʒə/ noun

STAFF PICKS: NOSTALGIA

a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Nostalgia is a word meaning excessive sentiment typically for a period or place with happy personal associations People often talk about Nostalgia in films, usually when comparing modern films to older ones For me that’s exactly what nostalgia is, Nostalgia means being able to celebrate what is new and popular in whilst still appreciating the films that came before it I Love the new directions films are going but that does not mean I do not miss the old style of film. A key example of this is two Top Gun films. If you haven't seen them, I would highly recommend them both. They both are loved by fans and for good reason, both films do a fantastic job with both storytelling as well cinematography I'm going to focus on the former as the stories in these two films are as similar as they are unique. The first is about a young hot shot pilot wanting to be the best and the second is about the same pilot years on having to train the next crop of aspiring young pilots for a dangerous mission. The reason the second film's story works despite the similarities is because of Nostalgia. The sequel brought back so many of the original's old fandom. It did this because like previously stated, People love seeing old in the new because they get the opportunity to reconnect to their past emotions from watching the original.

by Elliot Norton

Back to the Future – first date night film with my husband back in the day (1985) This was when there was a cinema on the market square in Cambridge I think where M & S is now. For our 35th wedding anniversary we went to see the stage production in the West End. Also brilliant ��

Karen Everitt, LRC Manager

by Andrea Joyce

Probably ET, because I went to see it more than once, as a young teenager, without parents and just with friends. Maybe it made me already feel nostalgic for the child I no longer was!

Jenny Kavanagh, Academic Support

The Haunting (1963)

My dad let me watch it for a Halloween party with some friends at junior school as it’s an old film and was classified PG. However, its super atmospheric and scared the poop out of all of us.

by Andrea Joyce

Michael Greenhalgh, Progress Coach

Two! Very important films to me, that I watched religiously as a young art student:

Francis Ford Coppola - Rumble Fish

Jan SvankMajer - Alice

These films inspired me in my artwork and also my passion for Japanese fighting fish of which I have two.

Jo Fernihough, CTL Graphic Design

l loved the 1987 film Baby Boom with Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard in. She was a single business woman who out of the blue inherits her cousins baby daughter after the parents are killed in a car accident. At the time I was expecting my first child a daughter as well. The film portrayed trauma, sacrifice and determination in this woman ' s life who wanted to show you can have a successful career find true love and have a family even when you didn't plan it the way it happened. A very memorable heartwarming film.

Bernadine Ray, Receptionist

So many to mention… I remember when I was maybe six or seven years old, sitting with a childhood friend watching E.T. at his house and wondering why he was crying so much, sad though it undoubtedly is… that memory has a bit of extra sadness as he passed away a year ago, a lot before his time I wasn’t allowed to watch TV much (as I was basically an addict) I had to wait til my parents went out and quickly put the video in the VCR and play Karate Kid, and then when I saw the car return pretend I’d just been reading whilst they were out. Stand By Me, Neighbours (the TV showwhich I found very emotional for some reason), the greed and brotherly love of Rain Man. Cities of Gold (animation again), a weird Channel 4 or ITV show with a scary lady called Teabag? And the properly scary Knightmare…

Simon Howarth, CTL Applied Media

by Andrea Joyce

For me it would be Titanic. Not that I met my great great grandad but he helped build it. He was due to sail on it but thankfully wasn’t allowed on when it left from Southampton. It makes me proud to be from Belfast!

My mum is a genealogist so he is well talked about, here's a story about him:

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/jonny-quinnstitanic-voyage-of-discovery-29624530.html

Gemma Snipes, CTL Business

Thanks once again to everyone who contributed!

REVIEWS

Thor: Love and Thunder by Sam Gamble

Obi-Wan Kenobi by Noorsath Chowdhury

Should Marvel call it quits?

Since my last Marvel review for this magazine, a lot has happened for the entertainment juggernaut 2 movies and 3 TV shows to be precise, and in 7 months, that feels like a lot. Up until recently, my fanboy persuasions have meant that I would die on the hill of anything Marvel created I have defended their practices in many a heated debate within the media department, and whilst they haven't pushed the boat out, they were never trying to.

When Spielberg coined the infamous term of 'Superhero Fatigue', I dismissed it as the grumblings of an old man who - let's face it - has had a decline in quality in recent years. His assessment was that over-saturation would kill the superhero genre I think the day may be arriving

'Thor: Love & Thunder' (Avoiding a 4hor joke, thankfully) is the 4th Thor film, 29th MCU film and 36th MCU property (including the main TV shows) to be released by the entertainment juggernaut, and charts the God of Thunder's journey as he tries to take down the latest slightly bland baddie who promises to 'kill all the gods'.

My immediate reaction this film was mildly positive I enjoyed it enough Some of the jokes landed, the action scenes were good enough, and the third act had more..

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

heart than expected with some deep cut comic lore for uber-nerds such as myself.

But, in true MCU fashion, the moment you go away and think about it, and it starts to fall apart before you The jokes that had been mildly amusing have become irritating. The action sequences which had some sense of peril before devolved into a mangle of animated limbs and faceless bad guys that we ' ve seen before The performances, which had been goofy but enjoyable, gave way to irritating and grating.

The one thing I did appreciate was that there was an element of fun throughout the whole thing You could tell that everyone involved on-set was having fun making the film. Chris Hemsworth, as always, has bundles of charisma, and works well when contrasted with Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher, who is in a completely different movie for most of the time he's onscreen

Natalie Portman gets a chance to pilot her own franchise as 'The Mighty Thor', following on from the comics run, and she's serviceable in the role But something about the way this was shot (which was at the height of the pandemic), leaves everything feel a little vacant and empty. Sometimes, eye lines don't match or something about the characters clash against the backgrounds

The film also tries very hard to be funny. Taika Waititi returns to directing duties after revamped the character during 'Raganarok' and this film carries over some of those choices very well Certain shots create that 'splash panel' feel and the third act delivers on the visual splendor that Waititi delivered on with his first MCU film. But the jokes just aren't there this time. A lot of it feels improvised, and running gags come back too often

In particular, the running gag of the screaming goats, which has been admitted to have been inspired by a certain 10-year old Taylor Swift, got a chuckle on establishing, a chortle when they were shoved into a tight space to cause chaos Then it kept going The rule of three in comedy was widely ignored for a total of six screaming goat moments throughout the film, and began to grate on me in a big way

In the films defence, I'm probably making it sound worse than it is. At the end of the day, I don't think this one is for me. It feels like it's aiming for a younger crowd, with its silliness and goofball nature, it doesn't deliver for me But I'm sure it works for 10 year olds, and is flashy enough to keep them entertained for a joyfully brief 90 minutes. And next time, chill with the goat jokes.

Disney+'s latest foray into a galaxy far, far away...

One of the greatest franchises of all time, Star Wars, has recently released an exceptional and long-awaited look at one of the stories strongest characters, ObiWan Kenobi The limited series takes the audience on a journey set a decade after ‘Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith’, featuring familiar faces such as General Kenobi himself and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, as well as new faces like Third Sister Reva. In this article, I am going to discuss how the prequels led to this series and the pros / cons of the show Here’s an honest review on the series

Over the past few years, Star Wars has released fantastic shows such as ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ These exceptional shows set a high standard for any future Star Wars series. Canadian filmmaker, Deborah Chow, directed Obi-Wan Kenobi and used many filming techniques that were adapted from her work on ‘The Mandalorian’ The beautiful cinematography of the series particularly captured my attention because of how much it resembled the two animated series ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ and ‘Clone Wars’. The reminiscent parallels in the scenes undeniably created an overall emotional experience for the audience because of the nostalgia tied to the franchise.

OBI-WAN KENOBI

The beginning of the series was a little slow-paced, but I believe that Chow did this to allow the audience to absorb the initial atmosphere of Tatooine. The pace later picked up when we were introduced to young Leia Organa and Reva Throughout the series, the impactful adrenaline caused by The Empire gave me a genuine sense of terror as Reva was portrayed as hungry for vengeance and was willing to push her limits to any extent In contrast, we were introduced to a strong developing bond between Obi-Wan and Princess Leia Their bond made me feel sympathetic towards the two, as we already know their fate in the future. In particular, the series helped me understand the context of key plot moments from the first Star Wars film, for example when Princess Leia calls Obi-Wan for help This was intriguing because of how neatly the series matched up with ‘A New Hope’.

with the plot points of the series. Regardless of that, the limited series was a pleasure to watch because after many years we finally got to see McGregor and Christensen playing their iconic roles again It was especially a joy because the two actors were warmly welcomed this time compared to the negative feedback received during the prequels back in the 2000s Obi-Wan Kenobi is definitely worth watching - I highly recommend it

In the middle of the series, we are introd Vader. His introduction gave me goose iconic breathing sound was sensed by Ob unpredictability of the series kept throughout. In the series, we see Vader in The Empire. His strength is determined b power but also his anger. In the finale Vader’s anger becomes prominent In th duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, the immensely emotional dialogue made many viewers, including me, teary on a Wednesday night. Personally, I think that the phenomenal performance of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen combined with the harsh but classic neon red and blue lighting, amplified the whole experience of the series.

By Noorsath Chowdhury

However, I wish that more of Darth Vader’s side was shown because although the storyline focused on Kenobi, Reva and Leia, I hoped to see how Darth Vader dealt

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA

Riots, Rats and Race

Wars: How 'Oz' Changed

Cable Forever by Marianna Kouznetsov

Twin Peaks- David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Collective Dream by Henry Lee

“Oz… The name on the street for the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, Level Four.”

This coming 12 July will mark 25 years since the first episode of ‘Oz ’ Let’s set the scene: it’s 1997, and HBO has just made a risky move by launching its first ever one-hour series, a prison drama set in a men ’ s maximum-security facility. If you know your TV, you might be making a scandalized expression. Not surprising – it’s colloquially known as ‘the show with all the rapes ’ Hold on, though, it gets better; but it also gets a whole lot worse Now considered one of the most important shows in US TV history, critics were divided at the time, with the Los Angeles Times calling it ‘the most violent and graphically sexual series on TV ’

RACE WARS: HOW 'OZ' CHANGED CABLE FOREVER

HBO took full advantage of the freedoms oflate-night premium cableto display coarse language, drug use, homosexuality, graphic violence,frontal nudity,and of course, rape, as well as complicated ethnic and religious conflicts that would have been unacceptable to traditional advertiser-supported American broadcast television. The show’s cast even acted as a proving ground for new American stars like Edie Falco, J K Simmons and Harold Perrineau, as well as featuring familiar faces like West Side Story’s Rita Moreno as the prison’s resident nun-psychologist Sister Peter Marie, and Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson as Leo Glynn, the chief warden

Inside the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary lies a new experimental cellblock created by the ambitious unit manager McManus. Ironically and almost cruelly, it is named Emerald City, inspired by the prison’s nickname, Oz Yes, exactly like the beloved children’s movie about a hidden country at the center of the universe with enchanted grounds where strange creatures possess powers. Except instead of talking animals, Oz is a menagerie of dangerous prisoners; amongst them an old man who claims God speaks to him, a homicidal Nigerian imprisoned for beheading a police officer with a machete, the ruthless boss of an Aryan prison gang, a young Mexican looking to ascend the ranks of the Latino drug ring, and an Irish street thug whose elaborate manipulation of the other inmates proves that you don’t just need muscle to survive. To prevent fights breaking out, McManus has the brilliant idea to divide the cells up between the Aryans, the Latinos, the Homeboys, the Italians, the Irish, the Christians, the Muslims, the Gays, the Bikers and the miscellaneous Others (characters who bear no loyalty to any group). Of course, this kind of segregation won’t lead to gang mentality at all, right? Right? Wrong.

The show’s main protagonist, Tobias Beecher, is introduced as a surrogate for the white, middle-class audience whose greatest fears are exercised when he is arrested for vehicular manslaughter while drunk driving. One seemingly small mistake, ending in a fatality, is enough to cost a respectable family man six years of prison time Oz, in this regard, is a cautionary tale far more effective than any Scared Straight program. Lying in wait are Schillinger and the Aryan Brotherhood, who will soon turn Beecher's nightmare into a hellish reality

Unlucky inmates are murdered on-screen more frequently than Game of Thrones ever dared to show, fights break out over checkers, escapes are attempted, guards are bribed, drugs are snorted, and riots are started To make life even worse, all the cell walls are made of glass, meaning everyone can see each other at all times. A serious inconvenience, whether you ’ re just trying to light one up, or if you ’ re committing the much more serious crime of fraternizing with the enemy. The temporary solitary confinement cell requiring prisoners to strip naked, known as ‘the Hole,’ became watercooler talk with viewers of the show – though many people who have served time in max security often criticize this aspect, among many other parts of the show, as an exaggeration of reality.

RIOTS., RATS AND RACE WARS: HOW 'OZ' CHANGED CABLE FOREVER

And yet, in such a hopeless place as Oz, the desire for human connection persists In a cramped melting pot where race, religion and sexuality clash against each other, bonds are formed with one common goal: survival. It may come as a surprise that the show culturally defined for its hypermasculinity was nominated for a GLAAD award in 2000 – indeed one of the storylines that begins in the second season revolves around the brilliant, dramatic and toxic romance between two main characters, and continues throughout the rest of the show as part of the central narrative.

However, the real genius of Oz, after its characterizations, is how the show is put together Acted and directed like a stage play, the only way to digest this show without becoming frustrated over its lack of authenticity is to think of it as a big, old-school tragedy. Oz is a morality play which eschews realism as a literary tool in order to provoke the audience’s ideas about the US justice system Though Beecher is the main protagonist, the show utilizes the character of Augustus Hill not just as an inmate, but a narrator, to break up the interpolated storylines of the show. Hill provides respite from the heavier scenes with humor but also breaks the fourth wall with face-to-face segments to talk to the audience on philosophy, literature and politics, or whatever the hell he wants, often related to the wider themes within the episode On shaping a narrator, Tom Fontana, the series’ creator, was keen to have him be uniquely marginalized – a Black man with a motor disability, who can see things as others cannot, and who remains firmly neutral in a show brimming with cliques, seemed the most sympathetic in a cast of all villains Furthermore, the added complication of see-through plexiglass walls and the limited physical space of the cellblock meant that all actors had to be in character regardless of whether they were the focus of the scene or not.

Though, it contributes very well to the feeling of the characters being an ensemble cast of an elaborate production The last episode of the series, titled ‘Exeunt Omnes,’ also demonstrates Fontana’s vision of the show as a fictionalized play rather than the gritty serial drama it has become known as, with the suggestion that all the surviving characters are finally leaving the stage as it ends

Whatever your opinions of explicit on-screen violence and sexuality, Oz was undoubtedly and absolutely fearless, innovative, and insane in every regard, paving the way for all the hour-long dramas that sprung up in the new golden age of television like Sopranos and The Wire around the turn of the new millennium Watch Oz, if not only for the scene of B D Wong singing ‘Leather’ in a priest collar in Oz's notorious musical episode. But be warned, you won’t be the same person once you ’ ve finished.

By Marianna Kouznetsov

Twin Peaks was the brainchild of legendary directory David Lynch, who in the early 90's was known for a strange and uneven run of movies.

His debut cult his Eraserhead, the academy award nominated drama The Elephant Man, his disastrous adaptation of Dune and then his reinvention of the Hitchcockian mystery thriller, the sex and profanity filled Blue Velvet. In the late 80s, he met television writer Mark Frost, who was most known for his work on the cop drama Hill Street Blues The two formulated an idea for a movie about Marilyn Monroe before scrapping it and settling on making a murder mystery TV show, inspired by a real life murder that Lynch remembered reading about as a boy.

The result was a 90 minute pilot, dubbed Northwest Passage It centred around FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, who had previously starred in both Dune and Blue Velvet. Agent Cooper arrives in the town of Twin Peaks to solve the murder of High School Prom Queen Laura Palmer, who has washed up on the beach dead, wrapped in plastic. Upon his arrival, Cooper finds that both Laura Palmer, and the town itself is more than it first seems, and the mystery runs much deeper than it first appears

TWIN PEAKS: THE COLLECTIVE DREAM OF DAVID LYNCH AND MARK FROST

The pilot was shot with two endings, one featuring a cliffhanger to lead into the rest of the first season, and another where Cooper and the local Sheriff Harry S Truman - for some reason named after the former American president - apprehend the killer with the help of a mysterious One Armed Man. The alternate ending was for insurance, in case the pilot failed to get picked up so it could be released internationally as a standalone film Fortunately, it was picked up and commissioned for 7 more episodes as a mid season replacement for one of the many indistinguishable soap operas on American screens at the time The first season further explored Cooper’s investigation into the central murder, as well as a plethora of subplots involving affairs, industrial espionage, high school love triangles and drug trafficking across the canadian border, all linking back to the central question that took viewers by storm: Who killed Laura Palmer?

answer to that question, intending for the initial hook of the show to lead into a deeper and varied set of mysteries that would overshadow that original question Unfortunately for them, Twin Peaks was a sensation It was one of the most popular shows on tv and the definition of Water Cooler Television. Halfway through the shows second season, the network executives forced Lynch and Frost to reveal the identity of Laura Palmer’s killer Lynch had felt disenfranchised with the show for some time, and this was the final push, as he essentially left the show, favouring his work on the movie Wild at Heart. Almost immediately the ratings plummeted, and the show was left rudderless for the remainder of the second season Lynch and Frost returned for the final episode, leaving audiences with one of the most infamous cliff hangers of all time in an effort to push for a third season, but the effort was unsuccessful Lynch wrote and directed a prequel film

after this concerning the last days of Laura Palmer’s life, leading up to her murder, but this was the last word on Twin Peaks for 25 years until in 2017, when Lynch and Frost returned with an 18 episode series on Showtime called Twin Peaks The Return, revisiting the characters of the original show and offering closure for that cliffhanger that plagued audiences for nearly 30 years.

The question is, why has Twin Peaks endured? There are a few main reasons. Primarily, it was the way Lynch and Frost were able to tap into the minds of audiences. Twin Peaks was initially conceived to be partially a parody of soap operas that dominated American television at the time In fact, there is a fictional show within the show of Twin Peaks that plays in scenes throughout the first season called ‘Invitation to Love’ that further hammers home Lynch and Frost’s mockery of the state of television at the time Perhaps then part of Twin Peaks’ success was unintended, and this is what led to the show’s downfall Audiences weren’t in on the joke and saw it just as another murder mystery soap opera, and so the more experimental and idiosyncratic aspects of the show that came to the forefront at the second season alienated them

The question is, why has 'Twin Peaks' endured?

TWIN PEAKS: THE COLLECTIVE DREAM OF MARK FROST AND DAVID LYNCH

Another reason for why it is such a historic show is the way it deals with a dark and controversial subject matter With Blue Velvet, David Lynch cemented his work as having a strong, darkly erotic nature His next film, Wild at Heart, which came out around the same time of Twin Peaks, shows this further. Wild at Heart is a violent and erotic film with an aloof, ironic and idiosyncratic tone that is offputting to many viewers. With Twin Peaks, Lynch and Frost explored issues of sex, drugs, abuse, prostitution and more that were shyed away from in shows at the time this willingness to indulge in the darker, more unsightly aspects of small town America, whilst also maintaining a dreamlike tone, with episodes filled with surreal and comedic imagery and ideas that makes Twin Peaks such an enduring show The way it navigates both the light and dark side of its world is unique for the time and why it is still relevant today. The large ensemble cast of memorable and clearly defined characters makes the show feel alive and populated, whilst it also has a strong focus on Agent Cooper, who has endured as one of the most memorable and popular TV protagonists of all time

In addition, Lynch brought his trademark surrealism into the homes of thousands of unwitting TV viewers Twin Peaks changed the idea of how dreams could be shown in the media, and the role dreams could play within a story Lynch introduced an audience who thought they were watching a quirky murder mystery to one of the most defining explorations of the subconscious and supernatural of the 90s. He blended drama, mystery, comedy and horror in a story that was thematically dark and joyful It is for these reasons that Twin Peaks shaped the sort of experimentation and cult status that TV shows could achieve when they strived for true creativity and aimed to go against the grain This spirit is continued into Twin Peaks The Return, which proved that even 30 years later Lynch and Frost could still use Twin Peaks to reinvent

The influence of Twin Peaks can be felt far and wide. It defined the idea of a small town with a mysterious dark secret for years to come, with shows like Stranger Things modelling themselves after it's format The album 'Floating Into The Night' by Juilee Cruise was made in conjunction with David Lynch and his composer Angelo Badalamenti, and was released along side the show, with Cruise appearing in multiple episodes performing songs from it It's synonymous with Twin Peaks and is one of the most formative and influential dream pop albums of the early 90s. Most importantly, more or less every single drama show with a high school setting, from '13 reasons why' to 'Euphoria', owes a debt to Twin Peaks and it's watershed depiction of the character of Laura Palmer, a seemingly perfect and happy girl who harboured secrets of abuse, drug use and sexual exploitation

David Lynch fell in love with the character of Laura. Between the first and second seasons of the show, he

TWIN PEAKS: THE COLLECTIVE DREAM OF MARK FROST AND DAVID LYNCH

commissioned his daughter, author Jennifer Lynch, to write a full novel from the perspective of Laura Palmer, giving her side of the story, spanning from her early childhood to the morning of the day she died. Whilst there are continuity errors with the show and subsequent Prequel movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer gives an unflinchingly dark, raw and heartbreakingly in-depth insight into the psyche of a character who was written off by most viewers at this point as merely a wordless victim, a corpse on a beach that served as nothing more than a striking image and a mystery to be figured But Laura haunts every second of Twin Peaks.

"One of the most iconic and prominent pieces of Angelo Badalamenti's timeless soundtrack for twin peaks is "Laura Palmer's theme"

a beautiful blend of dark synths and emotive, almost romantic descending piano chords. The track plays multiple times every episode, reminding the audience that even though she isn't on screen, this is still Laura's story Lynch was so struck by Sheryl Lee, the young unknown actress who played Laura's lifeless body in the pilot episode that he wrote a her character for her- Laura's inexplicably identical cousin Maddy, who arrives in town for Laura's funeral before getting pulled into the mystery herself Indeed, within the funeral episode itself Lynch and Frost answer the shows primary question within the first five episodes, when Bobby Briggs, Laura's rebellious and angry occasional boyfriend lashes out, criticising how nobody in the town helped Laura: " you wanna know who killed Laura? You did! We all did!" Despite the shows comedy, it's horror, it's surrealism, moments like this remind us of just how committed to telling a genuinely emotional and pertinent story Lynch and Frost were.

Again, in the recent revival of the show they kept the same integrity Amongst a plethora of nostalgia driven revivals of 'classic' 90s shows, Twin Peaks the Return could almost be seen as a criticism of nostalgia itself, with Lynch and Frost meticulously deconstructing everything that made the original show so beloved in its day It's an unparalleled example of creators reclaiming their creation and an unmatched level of catharsis when taken into account how the original show suffered and died as a result of network interference and demands and constraints placed on the showrunners It challenges audiences with their perception of Twin Peaks as a story and the cultural impact it left in its 30 year hiatus, and can definitely be seen as Lynch's magnum opus, the culmination of his entire career.

Many have hailed the enigmatic episode "Part 8: Gotta Light?" As the single

greatest hour of television ever aired.

It's format breaking examination into the nature of man made evil through a truly abstract audio visual experience that evokes the end of Kubrick's 2001 Whereas the original run of Twin Peaks could be summed up with the question "who killed Laura Palmer?", the 2017 revival can be most accurately represented through a line that David Lynch's own character within the show, FBI Director Gordon Cole, says came to him in a dream: " we are like the dreamer, who dreams, then lives inside the dream. But who is the dreamer?"