Down Under Rises Up: Nature's Revenge in Ozploitation Cinema

The Australian outback is a place of isolation. Harsh and uninviting, it seems to hold with in it the ghosts of past crimes and a will to destroy anyone who dare try to colonise and contain it. Yet, for the past two hundred years many have sought to dominate this land and in Australian horror cinema the land is beginning to take its revenge. ‘Ozploitation’ films such as Wake in Fright (1971), Long Weekend (1978), Roadgames(1981), Razorback (1984), Fair Game (1986), and Dark Age (1987), as well as post-2000 horror films such as Black Water (2007), Rogue (2007), and Dying Breed (2008), often have characters battling against the unforgiving environment and its inhabitants. In retaliation against the exploitation and abuse perpetrated by these white settlers, these films present nature as a presence that seeks to avenge and punish past wrongs. Through the analysis of several key films from Ozploitation past and present, this article will investigate how these films subvert many common Australian stereotypes and question Australian’s national identity as one that is predominantly white, male and rural, demonstrating that nonhuman animals and landscape play an important role in commenting on, and embodying, national history and identity

Image tube

An optical image is projected onto a planar surface of a photocathode that derives an electron beam replica of the image. A target electrode displaced relative to the photocathode so that it does not obstruct the optical image includes a planar surface for receiving and deriving an accurate replica of the electron beam image. The two planar surfaces are parallel. The electron beam image is focused on the target electrode by providing throughout a region that extends between the planar surfaces of the photocathode and receiving electrode, constant homogeneous dc electric and magnetic fields. The electric field extends in a direction perpendicular to the planar surfaces while the magnetic field extends along a straight line that intersects the photocathode and target electrode at an acute angle

A magnetically focused image tube employing an opaque photocathode

Image converter has been developed which uses opaque photocathode for improved efficiency. Device is easier to fabricate than previous semi-transparent photocathode converters and uses compounds from Groups 3-5 that are responsive to wave-lengths between ultraviolet (approximately 100 nm) and near infrared region (approximately 1000 nm)

Wide-angle flat field telescope

Described is an unobscured three mirror wide angle telescopic imaging system comprised of an input baffle which provides a 20 deg (Y axis) x 30 deg (X axis) field of view, a primary mirror having a convex spherical surface, a secondary mirror having a concave ellipsoidal reflecting surface, a tertiary mirror having a concave spherical reflecting surface. The mirrors comprise mirror elements which are offset segments of parent mirrors whose axes and vertices commonly lie on the system's optical axis. An iris diaphragm forming an aperture stop is located between the secondary and tertiary mirror with its center also being coincident with the optical axis and being further located at the beam waist of input light beams reflected from the primary and secondary mirror surfaces. At the system focus following the tertiary mirror is located a flat detector which may be, for example, a TV imaging tube or a photographic film. When desirable, a spectral transmission filter is placed in front of the detector in close proximity thereto

Atmospheric X-ray emission experiment for shuttle

An experiment designed to measure the spatial, temporal, and energy distribution of X-ray aurorae produced by precipitating electrons, is presented. The experiment will provide vital data on solar-terrestrial relationships that may lead to defining the transfer mechanism that causes certain terrestrial weather events and climatological behavior. An instrument concept is discussed, and is based on a spatially sensitive multiwire proportional counter, combined with collimators to produce X-ray images of the aurorae. An instrument pointing system, on which the counter can be mounted, will provide the required altitude control, and can be operated by a Spacelab payload specialist for full control over its observing and data taking modes

‘Why are there always three?’: The Gothic Occult in Dario Argento’s Three Mothers Trilogy

Thomas De Quincey’s essay ‘Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow’ provided Dario Argento with the spark of an idea, which was further ignited by tales from his then wife, Daria Nicolodi, who told him of her grandmother’s stay at a music school which was run by a coven of witches. From these sources Argento came up with the mythology of The Three Mothers, which were to feature in three of his films: Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and La terza madre/The Mother of Tears (2007). This article will examine the occult and esoteric sources of The Three Mothers trilogy, and explore how these references work to create a series of films that may superficially appear to use the supernatural and occult to create scares, but actually incorporate elements of Western Esotericism rather than traditional Christian images of evil. By doing this, these films transcend their apparent flaws (in terms of shallow plot and character development, a common complaint directed toward many Italian horror films) and instead imbue the mise-enscene itself with meaning, character and narrative. Although the films are situated within the Gothic genre, and in many respects follow traditional Gothic lines with witchcraft and the occult becoming synonymous with evil, I will argue that the films actually belong to the long tradition of art forms that have attempted to investigate the allure and the danger of occult exploration

Drink Full and Descend: The Horror of Twin Peaks: The Return

Throughout the work of director and co-creator David Lynch images of horror recur, as the mundane and the ordinary becomes ominous and terrifying. The home and the self–central to feelings of safety and security–are destabilized in Lynch’s works, revealed as inherently unstable and subject to constant change. The fragmented self destabilizes everything around it, reverberating throughout the home and even further still, destabilizing deep-rooted ideas about America’s sense of itself as a place of steadfast reason and righteous justice. This paper explores the use of horror in Twin Peaks: The Return, from its employment of common genre tropes to its engagement with deeper philosophical ideas about horror as something that goes deeper than just thrills and scares

May the Giant Be With You: Twin Peaks Season Two, Episode One and the Television Auteur

The premiere of Season Two of Twin Peaks garnered some of the highest ratings of the series, with celebrated filmmaker and co-creator David Lynch stepping back into the director’s chair. Yet, within this episode many traditional television conventions are flouted, and in response the following week the ratings dropped dramatically. From its slow-paced opening scenes in which an old man admonishes the wounded, bleeding protagonist to drink his warm milk before it gets cold, followed by a vision of a giant speaking in riddles, this episode not only tested its audience’s patience but also seemed to set out to deliberately confuse them. In this essay I will explore how this episode is an example of auteur television, an episode in which the director expresses a consistency of style and theme that is similar to their other work, as well as examine how Lynch’s approach to televisual aesthetics has influenced the way that contemporary film directors have crossed over into the television medium. However, when taking into account the differences in the two media of film and television notions of authorship, with regards to the position of the director, become complicated, especially when considering contemporary television and the rise of the showrunner as key creative force. Even when looking back at Lynch’s contribution to Twin Peaks it becomes clear that the series was deeply collaborative, with Lynch absent during parts of the filming. Yet, when examining the extensive material that has been written about Twin Peaks there is still a continuing tendency to place Lynch as the sole author. The placement of Lynch as author can be argued in relation to the episodes he directed (as will be explored below in relation to the first episode of Season Two), but cannot be attributed to him alone when considering the series as a whole. Finally, I will discuss how the figure of the television auteur has become a central element of television reception rather than production, an integral part of a viewer’s search for narrative meaning in a medium where complexity and mystery are now expected and enjoyed. Just as fans scrambled to uncover the many secrets and mysteries of Twin Peaks by looking to Lynch’s other works for answers, a similar process is experienced by fans of television shows existing today

Touching the Colour and Sound of Your Body’s Tears: Affect and Homage in the Neo-Giallo

Produced in Italy throughout the sixties and seventies, giallo films were murder mysteries presenting stock characters and by-the-numbers narratives. What really drew audiences to these films were the scenes of explicit violence and titillating nudity, with the act of murder presented in lurid and graphic detail. Dismissed at the time as exemplifying the traits of low culture and ‘bad’ filmmaking, these films have since become subject to critical re-evaluation and interest. Along with this renewed critical attention, several contemporary filmmakers have produced new gialli, or what have been referred to as neo-giallo films. These filmmakers are not influenced by the giallo’s narrative structure, but the ways in which these films evoked immediate sensory responses through vivid expressionistic colour schemes, psychedelic soundtracks, and an approach to violence that is deeply visceral and tactile. In this essay I will discuss how, through the use of affect theory, a new avenue of exploration is opened up when examining the neo-giallo, a shift away from discussion about whether these films are “good” or “bad”, instead uncovering how these contemporary works are embodied events. Through stylistic excess, repetition, and intertextual references, the neo-giallo is experienced corporeally, a stimulating overload arousing all five senses

The neural correlates of regulating another person's emotions: an exploratory fMRI study

Studies investigating the neurophysiological basis of intrapersonal emotion regulation (control of one's own emotional experience) report that the frontal cortex exerts a modulatory effect on limbic structures such as the amygdala and insula. However, no imaging study to date has examined the neurophysiological processes involved in interpersonal emotion regulation, where the goal is explicitly to regulate another person's emotion. Twenty healthy participants (10 males) underwent fMRI while regulating their own or another person's emotions. Intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation tasks recruited an overlapping network of brain regions including bilateral lateral frontal cortex, pre-supplementary motor area, and left temporo-parietal junction. Activations unique to the interpersonal condition suggest that both affective (emotional simulation) and cognitive (mentalizing) aspects of empathy may be involved in the process of interpersonal emotion regulation. These findings provide an initial insight into the neural correlates of regulating another person's emotions and may be relevant to understanding mental health issues that involve problems with social interaction