The Dandenong Ranges, just on the edge of Melbourne, is full of Devonshire tea, tourists and the tallest flowing plants in the world. The other day I visited a particularly green and serene bit: William Ricketts Sanctuary. For decades this artist lived on the side of a mountain and dedicated his art and life to the … Continue reading Review: lessons on appropriation
Batman
Dead right & so wrong
I don't have the deep back ground knowledge and appreciation of the mythos behind the current Marvel and DC films. I didn't grow up with the comics or cartoons, except perhaps the occasional Superman film or Batman outing and before that Wonder Woman. The only comics I remember reading were the Asterix editions in the school library. But I'm not … Continue reading Dead right & so wrong
Be the Hero?
The new Hobbit trailer is out, partly because of this, and because of The Hobbit fan competition, and Halloween and 'cons' I've been thinking about the fan phenomenon. As The Doctor explained to Charles Dickens it’s about fanaticism. I was going to say such devotion is usually motivated out of a deep appreciation or love, … Continue reading Be the Hero?
Doctor Who and Childish Things
“This hobble of being alive is rather serious, don’t you think so?” ― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles This post is in response to Helen Razer's article in Crikey, which if I read it right, lamented too many adults - including critics - take too much from TV and books for children and warns … Continue reading Doctor Who and Childish Things
Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
Cooking up a story Writers are like chefs. They have ingredients: pop culture tropes, personal influences, knowledge of their audience, big themes and little obsessions. They also have recipe rules they can choose to follow or ignore when they cook up a story. They chuck everything into a mixture, have it whiz in their brains for … Continue reading Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
Writing Bec 