tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/baftas-9421/articles
BAFTAs – The Conversation
2023-04-13T11:32:08Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203613
2023-04-13T11:32:08Z
2023-04-13T11:32:08Z
Vampire Survivors: how developers used gambling psychology to create a Bafta-winning game
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520244/original/file-20230411-797-kqe3wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C8%2C1848%2C609&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vampire Survivors won Best Game at the 2023 awards. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.igdb.com/games/vampire-survivors/presskit">Courtesy of Poncle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The independent game Vampire Survivors delivered a shock result at the 2023 Bafta Game Awards when it defeated blockbusters <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-of-war-ragnarok-breaks-new-ground-for-accessible-gaming-our-research-explains-what-more-developers-can-do-195401">God of War: Ragnarok</a> and Elden Ring to take home the best game prize.</p>
<p>The result was <a href="https://www.vg247.com/vampire-survivors-wins-best-game-bafta">met with surprise from many</a>, including <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-65135844">the development team themselves</a>.</p>
<p>While the developer, Poncle, may lack the budget of big studios, the effortless playability and clever design decisions tap into player psychology in ways that make it extremely satisfying to play.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Vampire Survivors.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This psychological appeal is not accidental. Game designer Luca Galante has applied <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/19/22941145/vampire-survivors-early-access-steam-pc-mac-luca-galante">his previous experience in the gambling industry</a> to Vampire Survivors. </p>
<p>The resulting game distils the essence of compelling, <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/just-one-more-go-science-and-psychology-destroying-your-sleep-patterns/">“just-one-more-go” game design</a> and provides a foundation for a new sub genre in the gaming landscape.</p>
<p>The aim of Vampire Survivors is to survive as long as possible against swarms of monsters. The gameplay only requires directional controls for moving your character. Attacking monsters is automatic, with attacks triggering at frequent intervals, while upgrades increase their frequency, power and range.</p>
<p>This deceptively simple structure creates a <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/game-feel-the-secret-ingredient">game feel</a> that may be best described as a dance between the player and enemy hordes. </p>
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<img alt="A screen from game play shows a character fighting off hordes of low res vampires." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520246/original/file-20230411-20-85dz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Vampire Survivors game play.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.igdb.com/games/vampire-survivors/presskit">Courtesy of Poncle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>With careful manoeuvring, players can shepherd enemies into groups for more efficient destruction. With no other controls to think about, players can fully focus on picking paths through even the tightest gaps between monsters.</p>
<p>The minimal learning curve and fluidity of the game controls means even novice players quickly feel they are conducting the apparent chaos on screen with elegant finesse. </p>
<p>Once Vampire Survivors has players hooked, its reward structure has them coming back for more.</p>
<h2>Power, flow and freedom</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://immersyve.com/white-paper-the-player-experience-of-need-satisfaction-pens-2007/">Player Experience of Needs Satisfaction Model</a> explains three key psychological needs games can fulfil and the player enjoyment and satisfaction experienced when they do. </p>
<p>Vampire Survivors efficiently addresses two of these: competence (a sense of power and mastery) and autonomy (a sense of freedom).</p>
<p>The game is built around multilayered rewards. In each run, players collect gold. Between runs, they spend that gold to enhance their character’s abilities.</p>
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<img alt="A game play screen showing a treasure chest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520249/original/file-20230411-26-t0wzqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gold can be spent to enhance character abilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.igdb.com/games/vampire-survivors/presskit">Courtesy of Poncle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>After a run, players gain different achievements, ticked off from a lengthy list. This encourages the use of different characters or gameplay strategies to try and unlock every achievement. </p>
<p>No run ever feels wasted as players feel a sense of increasing mastery and progression, even if they only gain a little gold.</p>
<p>The game balances power and challenge through clever pacing. Periods where players comfortably dominate enemies are followed by periods of increased tension as bigger enemy groups appear. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/god-of-war-ragnarok-breaks-new-ground-for-accessible-gaming-our-research-explains-what-more-developers-can-do-195401">God of War Ragnarök breaks new ground for accessible gaming – our research explains what more developers can do</a>
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<p>This ensures players spend a majority of their playtime in a <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/sense-time/202105/time-speeds-in-flow-states-when-playing-video-games">cognitively satisfying state of psychological flow</a>, where their skill and the challenge presented by the game are optimally balanced.</p>
<p>Vampire Survivors also allows players autonomy and freedom to shape their experience. With 49 playable characters currently available, there is huge scope for experimenting with different play-styles.</p>
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<img alt="A check list shows different challenges for players to complete." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520250/original/file-20230411-24-o6l3tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Challenges in Vampire Survivors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.igdb.com/games/vampire-survivors/presskit">Courtesy of Poncle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The game also allows players to reset their upgraded character builds for free and spend their gold differently, further encouraging replay and experimentation with different upgrade combinations.</p>
<p>Casinos thrive on encouraging players to push their luck and on making losses feel like they were nearly victories. Getting three different symbols on a slot machine is a loss. Getting two matching symbols and one other symbol is functionally the same but feels closer to a win, making players more likely to have another spin of the reels.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/%7Ealdous/157/Papers/near_miss.pdf">“near miss effect”</a> can be <a href="https://www.psychologyofgames.com/2016/09/the-near-miss-effect-and-game-rewards/">seen in many games</a>, but Vampire Survivors’ structure means that every run in which players don’t reach the 30 minute mark (considered a “successful” run) will elicit this feeling.</p>
<p>Players may have been close to reaching the next level, grabbing another treasure chest, or unlocking an achievement, encouraging another run to see if this time they can do better.</p>
<h2>Staking a claim to a new sub genre</h2>
<p>Vampire Survivors has thrown down a gauntlet in what may well become a new sub genre. </p>
<p>The label “<a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-soulslike-games">Soulslike</a>” is now accepted for games inspired by FromSoftware’s <a href="https://techguided.com/fromsoft-dark-souls-games-order/">Dark Souls series</a>. It indicates that, much like the Dark Souls series, the game will involve high levels of difficulty, have an emphasis on environmental storytelling and will usually play out in a dark fantasy setting. </p>
<p>There may be a similar acceptance of a “Survivorslike” label for the number of similarly styled games to Vampire survivors that are <a href="https://www.thegamer.com/vampire-survivors-games-similar-recommend/">now available</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, after <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/vampire-survivors-claims-the-breakthrough-award-at-the-golden-joystick-awards-2022/">winning the Breakthrough Award at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards</a>, Poncle fast-tracked the development of the game’s mobile version to <a href="https://gamerant.com/vampire-survivors-mobile-version-developed-in-house/">combat the wave of copycat games</a> being released.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_KjA4xpI2GU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vampire Survivors wins at the 2023 Baftas.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Moreover, Poncle actively avoided the monetisation tactics so often employed on mobiles. Players only see advertisements in the game if they choose to in return for in-game bonuses. This has probably contributed to the mobile version’s widespread success.</p>
<p>It’s clear that the game has had a big impact on its many fans and the industry more broadly. The Bafta award only emphasises that Vampire Survivors has set a high bar for others to strive for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Howell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Vampire Survivors distils the essence of compelling ‘just-one-more-go’ design to create an extremely satisfying game.
Peter Howell, Senior Lecturer in Game Design, University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/159102
2021-04-26T10:39:09Z
2021-04-26T10:39:09Z
Oscar winners: how the pandemic led to a record-breaking year of diversity
<p>After initial postponement due to the pandemic, the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony has finally taken place in Los Angeles. Continued restrictions caused by COVID-19 meant that the ceremony took place across several venues, and even had a UK “hub”. </p>
<p>Even aside from pandemic disruptions, the much-anticipated event was like no other, representing a <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/oscars-diversity-steven-yeun-riz-ahmed-1234928862/">record-breaking</a> year for diversity among <a href="https://www.oscars.org/news/93rd-oscarsr-nominations-announced">nominees</a>. Several prominent winners suggest a shift in attitudes for the Academy. For the first time in history, two women were nominated for the best director award, and Chloe Zhao become not only the first woman of colour to be nominated but also the first Chinese and Asian woman to win. </p>
<p>Youn Yuh-jung also made history by becoming the first Korean person to win an acting Oscar. She took home the best supporting actress award for her role in Minari. Emerald Fenell became the first woman to win for best original screenplay in 13 years for Promising Young Woman. And Daniel Kaluuya become the first non-white British person to win an award for acting for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah.</p>
<p>This doesn’t erase the broader lack of diversity that the Oscars and other big awards ceremonies have long suffered. For example, at least four men have been nominated for best director in every other year of Oscar history, women still only account for 6% of the nominees. No black person have so far won an Oscar for directing (although there have been winners of colour), and <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/celebrity/only-32-actors-of-colour-have-ever-won-an-oscar-a4354751.html">only 34 acting awards</a> have gone to performers of colour in 92 years.</p>
<p>But it does seem as though 2021 could be a year of change where the hard-fought gains of #OscarsSoWhite and #MeToo are beginning to emerge. This has also been helped along by the effect of a global pandemic on film release strategies, with streaming platforms now being the primary way that new movies are viewed. </p>
<p>Greater diversity was apparent this year from the announcement of the Oscar nominees. Numerous actors of colour were tipped for the big awards, with LaKeith Stanfield recognised alongside Kaluuya in the best supporting actor category and the late Chadwick Boseman a <a href="https://abc.com/shows/oscars/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2021-list">key challenger for best actor</a> alongside Riz Ahmed. Viola Davis and Andra Day were also nominated for best actress.</p>
<p>The BAFTAs, held earlier this month, also offered a more diverse suite of nominees and winners than in any previous year. Zhao, Kaluuya and Fennell won BAFTAs in their respective categories. And Bukky Bakray’s Rising Star award for her role in Rocks and Ang Lee’s BAFTA Fellowship were also evidence of a shift away from the 2020 awards, where BAFTA made headlines for its overwhelmingly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/09/bafta-to-review-voting-system-after-diversity-row">white and male list of nominees</a>. </p>
<p>Still, it seems that this season, the awarding bodies have taken heed of claims of discrimination and whitewashing and that just maybe this is a step forward for the film industry. Yet, before we’re too quick to celebrate these gains, it’s important that we reflect on the many ways in which this has been an atypical year for the film industry.</p>
<h2>The COVID-19 effect</h2>
<p>The pandemic has had a significant effect on the global film industry. Various “big” films of 2020/21 have either delayed release or opted to go straight to streaming services. As a result, COVID-19 seems to have worked as a great leveller in terms of opportunities for underrepresented artists. This has been helped by the fact that the Oscars has, for the first time, allowed entries from films <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21240422/oscars-streaming-theaters-rules-2021-netflix-digital-release-academy">not released in theatres</a>.</p>
<p>The dominance of streaming services in the pandemic has given greater visibility to those filmmakers who are more likely to make deals with these platforms. Women, filmmakers of colour, off-beat and niche films have higher profiles than in previous years when cinema releases have overshadowed smaller productions. Netflix ended up winning a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/26/netflix-snags-7-awards-nearly-doubling-its-all-time-oscars-tally-.html">record seven Oscars</a> this year, including for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and the short film Two Distant Strangers, both of which feature black lead characters.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-diversity-inclusion-usc-annenberg-study-1234916058">recent report</a> by the Annenberg Institute demonstrates, Netflix’s output is more diverse than the industry as a whole, offering opportunities to filmmakers who might struggle within the Hollywood system. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/netflix-oscars-2021-nominations-b1832631.html">For these filmmakers</a>, the pandemic hasn’t necessarily changed experiences of distributing films, but it has provided a more receptive audience unburdened by the mainstream fare of multiplexes. </p>
<p>Of course, the release strategy of a film doesn’t necessarily affect Oscar-worthiness. And the Academy has stated that films submitted for awards in future years will once again need a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52468176">brief theatrical run</a> in order to be eligible. As such, the levelling of the playing field seems to be accidental. The outcome, though, is that films that have their wide release on streaming platforms have not been overshadowed by big cinema releases this year.</p>
<p>The 2021 awards season marked an important shift at the end of an unprecedented year. There’s no doubt that a combination of industry initiatives and the challenges posed by the pandemic have led to this increased diversity. This may have been accidental - offering increased visibility to smaller films making deals with streaming services while the bigger releases wait for cinemas to reopen. If awarding bodies are able to continue to focus on those smaller, more diverse films once cinemas reopen this might just be the beginning of Hollywood’s new normal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Jenkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
After the embarrassment of #OscarsSoWhite in 2015, is this a new normal for Hollywood?
Claire Jenkins, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, University of Leicester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112247
2019-02-22T14:14:48Z
2019-02-22T14:14:48Z
Oscars: audio description brings film to life for blind people, it deserves an award too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260410/original/file-20190222-195886-118un3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One category will be notably missing from this year's Academy Awards.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-ca-february-26-2017-675634225">Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Awards season is in full swing but as Oscars weekend approaches there is one group of cinema professionals who will not be preparing to take their place on the read carpet: audio describers. </p>
<p>For blind cinema goers, audio description is a crucial part of any film. It is just as important as acting, cinematography and score. Yet many sighted movie fans have no idea that audio description even exists – and it is not a skill that is awarded at the BAFTAs, Oscars or any other of the countless film institute ceremonies around the world. </p>
<p>Have you ever seen someone wearing a headset at the cinema? Chances are they are listening to a detailed description of characters, costumes, locations and actions cleverly timed to fit around dialogue and sound effects. By including essential details, such as characters’ names, facial expressions and actions, audio description gives blind audience members enough information to understand and appreciate what is happening on screen. </p>
<p>But it is more than just a description of what is on the screen, it enables blind people to enjoy cinema just as sighted people do. It is a mixture of description, interpretation and conjecture which must quickly and concisely take into account the cumulative effect of the work done by all the other facets of the film. Without it, a film barely exists for a blind person, with it, cinema becomes an extraordinarily immersive experience. </p>
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<p>When sighted spectators try audio description they are often pleasantly surprised. It provides information that sighted viewers may have missed, and tells them which shots are significant. Apparently some people like to switch on Netflix audio description so that they can consume box sets while cooking or driving <a href="https://netflixproject.wordpress.com/2017/09/01/non-disabled-customers-are-using-netflix-audio-description/">as they would an audio book</a>. During my recent trip to see <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083738/">The Favourite</a>, my (sighted) companion found it hard to distinguish between Nicholas Hoult’s <a href="https://www.goldderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Nicholas-Hoult-The-Favourite.jpg?w=620&h=360&crop=1">character Robert Harley</a> and <a href="https://media.wmagazine.com/photos/5bf5b0da36f439701a537dd4/2:1/w_1600/z00TF_00736.jpg">Samuel Masham</a>, played by Joe Alwyn. I was delighted to be able to whisper clarifications to him thanks to the voice in my ear who named each character just before they appeared. </p>
<p>Audio description began as an accessibility aid – but since then it has developed into an art form which can quite simply transform the cinematic experience. I had <a href="http://hannah-thompson.blogspot.com/2012/03/audio-description.html">my first experience of audio description</a> back in 2012 and it really did feel like I was watching a film properly for the first time in my life. The artistic decisions made by the audio describer mean much more to me and other blind viewers than decisions about costume design and special effects. </p>
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<p>As my <a href="http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/6487/5085">research shows</a>, audio description is a valid and valuable creative art. Why, then, are audio describers not even acknowledged, let alone awarded, at cinema’s most glittering ceremonies?</p>
<p>Making the first move to address this injustice, in 2018 the French Confederation for the Advancement of Blind People created an award to honour the writers of this essential component of the blind cinema-going experience. The first “<a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/cinema/ceremonie-cesar/2019/02/20/03020-20190220ARTFIG00201-on-aime-s-imaginer-les-images-pupille-recoit-le-marius-cesar-de-l-audiodescription.php">Marius de l'Audiodescription</a>” (named after Marius Pontmercy, the dashing young hero of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables) was awarded to Hubert Charuel’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6805302/">Petit Paysan</a> and the second was awarded this week to <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7543930/">Pupille</a> directed by Jeanne Henry. </p>
<p>To pick their winner, the jury of around 60 blind and sighted film fans, watched the seven films nominated for the best film César – awarded annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma – while listening to the audio description soundtrack. Everyone voted for their favourite description and the film with the most votes won. At the time of writing the 2019 best film César is yet to be announced but the 2018 winner, Petit Paysan, went on to win that prize too. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that the time has come to take audio description seriously as a key creative component of film. Audio describers are imaginative writers who use language in clever and inventive ways to translate between the visual and the verbal. As such they deserve to receive proper acknowledgement for their work from other institutions such as the BAFTAs and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It may be too late for this year but it seems only right that an audio describer is properly awarded at the 2020 Oscars.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah J Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Audio description began as an accessibility aid but has developed into an art form.
Hannah J Thompson, Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies, Royal Holloway University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111395
2019-02-11T14:59:44Z
2019-02-11T14:59:44Z
BAFTAs 2019: diverse set of winners led by The Favourite and Roma bodes well for the Oscars
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258191/original/file-20190211-174890-1mw7oxd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C588%2C3333%2C2539&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Olivia Colman winning best actress for The Favourite.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright: BAFTA. Digital Asset Management Software by Third Light</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was largely as expected. The 2019 <a href="http://www.bafta.org/film/awards/ee-british-academy-film-awards-nominees-winners-2019">BAFTA</a> film and television awards ceremony was dominated by two films – The Favourite, a romp through 18th-century British history, and Roma, a love letter to director Alfonso Cuarón’s home town of Mexico City.</p>
<p>The Favourite has been greeted with considerable critical acclaim in the UK and it was no surprise that it took home seven awards, including best British film. But the best film gong went to Roma and Cuarón also picked up best director. The Netflix film has already attracted several awards (including best director for Cuarón at the <a href="https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/all-winners-76th-golden-globes">Golden Globes</a>), but beating big British films The Favourite and Bohemian Rhapsody to the top prize is a considerable coup for the streaming service, a relative newcomer to the world of movie awards.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/roma-mexican-film-industry-blooms-with-oscar-nominations-a-century-after-its-origins-in-the-chihuahua-desert-110207">Roma’s</a> success cements <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-strikes-another-blow-against-the-old-school-film-industry-but-cinema-is-not-dead-yet-108447">Netflix’s</a> position as a place for original and high quality movies. It’s an unusual winner in several ways: a foreign language film shot in black and white and featuring <a href="https://theconversation.com/oscars-2019-roma-yalitza-aparicio-and-the-fascinating-history-of-non-professional-actors-111005">largely unknown actors</a>. Such films are often well-received but rarely pick up the biggest gongs. </p>
<p>Roma’s win means that the Oscar race for best picture is well and truly open. The Golden Globes awarded the big prizes to Bohemian Rhapsody, for best drama, and Green Book for best musical or comedy, and the <a href="http://sagawards.org/nominees/nominees-and-recipients/25th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards">Screen Actors Guild</a> (SAG) gave Black Panther a nod for best ensemble cast. But I wouldn’t rule The Favourite out of contention yet, either. </p>
<h2>The players</h2>
<p>Best actress awards have been a two-horse race this year between Olivia Colman (in The Favourite) and Glenn Close (in The Wife). They each bagged a Golden Globe, for example, due to those awards using different categories for drama and comedy/musical, while Close won the SAG Award. Now Colman has the BAFTA, too. It’s unsurprising that the British awards ceremony celebrated Colman – and it’s too close to call as to which will bring home the Oscar in a few weeks’ time. </p>
<p>Personally, I’m torn, because both genuinely deserve it – and it’s an exceptionally strong category this year (in any other year, Melissa McCarthy’s superlative turn in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/10/can-you-ever-forgive-me-review-melissa-mccarthy">Can You Ever Forgive Me</a>? would have been a strong favourite as well). But my heart says it should be Close, not only for her <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-47193122/glenn-close-and-jonathan-pryce-on-their-film-the-wife">performance in The Wife</a> – she is heartbreakingly good – but because it’s crazy that an actor of her stature has yet to win an Academy Award.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258205/original/file-20190211-174894-1wmseqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Rachel Weisz won best supporting actress for The Favourite.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Nik Hallen</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Rami Malek took the best actor award for Bohemian Rhapsody – with the British film again taking precedence over <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/vice-review-crazily-good-christian-bale-turns-dick-cheney-every/">Christian Bale’s outstanding performance</a> as former US vice-president Dick Cheney in Vice. As with Colman and Close, Bale and Malek have been in a close race for awards, with both picking up Golden Globes. But Malek’s triumph both at the BAFTAs and at the SAG awards must make his Oscar chances stronger.</p>
<p>Mahershala Ali – who is proving an astonishingly versatile performer – picked up another best supporting actor trophy for Green Book, while Rachel Weisz took the best supporting actress award for The Favourite. These wins highlight some of the issues with defining the difference between “lead” and “supporting”. Green Book is largely a two-hander between Ali and Viggo Mortensen, while Weisz, Colman and Emma Stone are equal leads in The Favourite. Colman herself pointed this out in her acceptance speech. </p>
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<h2>Talking points</h2>
<p>The biggest misses of the night were the presenters’ scripts. Unfunny joke after unfunny joke were greeted with awkward silences and gritted teeth. When even talented comedic performers such as Melissa McCarthy, Riz Ahmed and host Joanna Lumley can’t raise a smile, there’s something seriously wrong. Jettisoning jokes altogether would have been far less embarrassing than “gags” that were barely coherent, never mind amusing.</p>
<p>Last year’s awards season was all about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-oscars-inclusivity-riders-are-a-start-but-change-needs-to-come-from-the-ground-up-92946">big political statement</a>, with the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements and big speeches from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Frances McDormand. This year, there have been fewer grand gestures –nunless we count Rising Star winner Letitia Wright’s somewhat cringeworthy speech about God, which might have worked across the Atlantic, but in the British context just felt awkward. </p>
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<h2>Variety show</h2>
<p>But let’s not forget that the darlings of this awards season have included a film about a woman whose husband has kept her in the shadows taking back control (The Wife), a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-favourite-at-last-were-seeing-lesbianism-take-centre-stage-in-popular-culture-110045">female-centred power battle featuring lesbianism</a> and political satire (The Favourite) and a Spike Lee film about a black man infiltrating the KKK (BlackKKlansman, which won best adapted screenplay). </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258220/original/file-20190211-174890-3va33c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mahershala Ali won best supporting actor for his role in Green Book.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Nik Hallen</span></span>
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<p>We also had a critique of the political elite (Vice), a celebration of a queer idol (Bohemian Rhapsody), a multiracial buddy story featuring a gay black musician encountering racial hatred in the Deep South (Green Book), and two triumphantly diverse super hero flicks (Black Panther and best animation winner Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse). Not to mention Cuarón’s story of a Mexican housekeeper, set against a time of political upheaval, with clear messages about nation, gender and class (Roma). </p>
<p>It remains to be seen which films the Oscars will recognise – and what those choices might say about the Trump era. Awards for stories celebrating women, and the black and LGBTQ+ communities would send a message about the need for these voices to be heard (although there is still <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/awards/women-directors-shutout-2019-oscars-female-nominees-1203113429/">some way to go</a>), but as plans for the president’s beloved wall project are under intense scrutiny, I wouldn’t bet against another triumph for the Mexican film.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111395/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Deller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
No big political statements this year but plenty of strong roles for women as two films emerge as firm favourites for Oscar Best Picture honours.
Ruth Deller, Reader and Principal Lecturer in Media and Communication, Sheffield Hallam University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/92090
2018-03-02T12:28:50Z
2018-03-02T12:28:50Z
Sexual violence may be in the Hollywood spotlight, but there are limits to speaking out
<p>The entertainment award season hits its peak with the 90th Academy Awards – the Oscars – on March 4 2018. Since the public outing of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/harvey-weinstein-44767">Harvey Weinstein</a> as a serial sexual abuser, award ceremonies have become spotlights to display solidarity and declare time on sexual harassment and gender inequalities in and beyond the film industry. </p>
<p>Beginning with the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/07/movies/golden-globes-2018-activists-metoo-red-carpet.html">Golden Globes</a> and repeated at the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/18/sisters-this-is-our-moment-to-say-times-up">BAFTAs</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sofia-helin-and-swedens-metoo-movement-aim-to-change-the-script-on-sexism-90962">others around the world</a>, high-profile actors have worn black to demonstrate solidarity and highlight the work of anti-violence activists on the red carpet as their plus ones. The <a href="https://www.timesupnow.com/">Time’s Up</a> movement aims to translate this awareness into practical support for all survivors, including a legal fund for working-class women to fight for equality and justice. </p>
<p>Given all this airtime, various commentators hold hope that this year’s Oscars will make history not only in terms of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-oscars-diversity-breakthroughs-20180123-story.html">nominations</a> and awards for black, women, transgender and young stars but also in continuing a united stance against sexual violence.</p>
<p>Breaking the silence around sexual violence has been an important strategy for this movement. Take <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/15/me-too-founder-tarana-burke-women-sexual-assault">#MeToo</a>, originally a campaign created by woman of colour activist Tarana Burke 12 years ago, which has in more recent times gone viral, resulting in 12m survivors sharing their stories on social media. The impact of breaking the silence on sexual violence in and beyond Hollywood has been lauded as Hollywood actors, alongside hotel housekeepers, activists and agricultural workers, collectively known as <a href="http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers/">the silence breakers</a>, became Time magazine person of the year for 2017. </p>
<h2>Speaking out</h2>
<p>The importance of speaking up and telling the truth is stressed more and more. In <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/01/full-transcript-oprah-winfreys-speech-at-the-golden-globes/549905/">her speech</a> as the first black women to receive the Cecil B. de Mille award at the 2018 Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey claimed that “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have”. She then shared the story of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/29/recy-taylor-alabama-dies">Recy Taylor</a>, who died ten days earlier. Recy Taylor was a black woman who was raped in Alabama by six white men in 1944. The case drew national attention as a key moment of injustice for black women as two all-white, all-male juries failed to indict the white men.</p>
<p>With the world watching, the stories of sexual violence are being illuminated in the Hollywood spotlight. But, as the story of Recy Taylor suggests, there are limits to speaking out within a deeply unjust world. Not all survivors are safe to speak out. Some survivors are not believed and can face harmful consequences. After years of feminist campaigning and legal reform, many still see their rapists and abusers avoid being held accountable.</p>
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<p>We need to be mindful that the act of speaking out in public is risky, far from safe for all victims and survivors. As such, the history of sexual violence activism is entwined with black, queer and working-class resistance to the state, including police, prisons and the criminal legal system.</p>
<p>Research has demonstrated that survivors that come forward to report sexual violence <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1466802504042222">struggle to be seen</a> as credible victims of crime by police officers. Reporting sexual violence is particularly challenging for communities who are targets of state harassment, including poor and working-class <a href="https://rapecrisis.org.uk/userfiles/FINALBetweentheLinesresearchbriefingJuly2015.pdf">black and minority ethnic</a>, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838015585318">queer, transgender and non-binary</a> groups and <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-koster/16-facts-about-sexual-ass_b_8711720.html">sex workers</a>. Negative consequences are amplified. These can include loss of homes, family, friends, jobs – as well as risk of arrest, imprisonment or even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/28/victim-arrested-on-immigration-charges-after-going-to-police">deportation</a> if a victim has insecure immigration status.</p>
<h2>Legal promises</h2>
<p>There is a drive to increase legal powers to solve sexual violence in the fight against gender-based violence. This is a strategy known as “<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/2/1/16952744/me-too-larry-nassar-judge-aquilina-feminism">carceral feminism</a>” (literally: relating to prison). Legal reform may seem progressive, but the protections that legal solutions offer survivors become harmful when we recognise that they extend from a deeply unequal system. </p>
<p>In the US for example, mandatory arrest policies requiring the police to make an arrest when responding to a domestic violence call-out led to many <a href="http://www.incite-national.org/sites/default/files/incite_files/resource_docs/2883_toolkitrev-domesticviolence.pdf">survivors being wrongfully arrested</a>. This pattern has also been identified in the UK by the <a href="http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Domestic_abuse_report_final_lo.pdf">Prison Reform Trust</a>, who found that domestic violence victims were repeatedly arrested, rather than their abuser. Women reported committing offences to protect a partner, support a partner’s drug use, or under pressure from their partner. Meanwhile, case work by <a href="http://prostitutescollective.net/2018/01/ecp-cases-update/">English Collective of Prostitutes</a> has demonstrated how sex workers are being failed by the police. </p>
<p>The scholarship and activism of <a href="http://www.thefeministwire.com/2014/01/how-anti-violence-activism-taught-me-to-become-a-prison-abolitionist/">Beth E Richie</a>, a professor at the University of Illinois and founding member of <a href="http://www.incite-national.org/">INCITE!</a>, has highlighted how domestic violence is a key pathway to prison for black working-class women. Likewise, in the UK the <a href="http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Domestic_abuse_report_final_lo.pdf">Prison Reform Trust</a> has found that 57% of women in prison have experienced domestic violence. </p>
<p>Despite all this – and even though the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-officer-complaints-domestic-abuse-sexual-assault-cases-rise-watchdog-figures-a8214201.html">number of complaints</a> made against police handling of sexual and domestic violence cases have soared in the UK – the drive to increase police powers and conviction rates lies at the heart of Theresa May’s new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-ministers-plans-to-transform-the-way-we-tackle-domestic-violence-and-abuse">Domestic Violence and Abuse bill</a>. This bill is similar to the landmark <a href="http://www.legalmomentum.org/history-vawa">Violence Against Women Act</a> in the US that has subsequently set the expansion of legal powers to address sexual and domestic violence into motion during the 1990s. </p>
<p>As black feminist poet and activist Audre Lorde <a href="http://www.poconlineclassroom.com/blog/2016/6/7/rad-reading-the-masters-tools-will-never-dismantle-the-masters-house">warned us</a>, “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”. The point here is that the legal system has been built to protect the powerful. Reforming this system will never lead to justice for all. We therefore need to re-imagine justice beyond the criminal legal system.</p>
<h2>A solution?</h2>
<p>The criminal legal system, then, fails to make all survivors safe. And it is counter-intuitive to invest in and expand a criminal legal system that extends the violence it promises to protect all victims from. There are clear limits to speaking out for some victims and survivors. Taking this into account, the <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/timesup">Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund</a> that encourages working-class women to engage with the criminal legal system looks shortsighted.</p>
<p>As Ericka Hart and Ebony Donnely, hosts of the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-501838661/the-golden-globes-was-performative-bs-in-defense-of-those-who-dont-defend-rich-white-folks-oprah">Hoodrat to Headwrap</a> podcast, spell out in their discussion of the Golden Globes: “We need to change the conditions in which the truth is told.” This means also imagining diverse strategies beyond the criminal legal system and drawing public attention to the violence of state welfare cuts to specialist services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. </p>
<p>Much of this slow and difficult work is happening outside the spotlight by survivors of colour in organisations such as <a href="http://www.incite-national.org/">INCITE!</a>, <a href="http://www.sistersuncut.org/">Sisters Uncut</a>, <a href="https://www.imkaan.org.uk/">Imkaan</a> and <a href="http://www.creative-interventions.org/">Creative Interventions</a>.</p>
<p>The strategy of speaking out can only take us so far. Power inequalities mean that some survivors in marginal groups will never be safe to speak out. Instead of protecting victims, legal solutions can exacerbate violence and harm for the most vulnerable. </p>
<p>We should seize this moment to recognise the pitfalls of the criminal legal system, invest in independent specialist services and solutions that place the most marginalised victims and survivors at the centre. Speaking out demands us all to take responsibility to nurture a culture in which we can support and believe all survivors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Downes is affiliated with Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre and the Salvage Collective. </span></em></p>
Speaking up and telling the truth is important, but we need to be mindful that it is risky, far from safe for all victims and survivors.
Julia Downes, Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy, The Open University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/89816
2018-01-09T15:08:23Z
2018-01-09T15:08:23Z
Why Hollywood has its eyes on the BAFTAs – and the British industry is looking back
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201367/original/file-20180109-36037-pabo3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shape of Water – the US film leading the BAFTA nominations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twentieth Century Fox</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I have to confess that until recently, I’d never really got the BAFTAs. <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/bafta-2018-complete-list-nominations-1067881/item/film-bafta-nominees-2018-1067929">The coverage</a> of the British Academy Award nominations in the US trade press, though, alongside other pre-Oscar awards like the recent Golden Globes, indicates that they matter to Hollywood as much as to the British film industry. The fact that many of the films’ stars and directors turn up for the big night, held in the Royal Albert Hall, underlines this point too.</p>
<p>But if, as is often the case, the BAFTA film awards seem like a trial-run for Hollywood’s main event, what exactly are they for?</p>
<p>The BAFTAs go back over seven decades, so it’s not as if they’re an opportunistic latecomer to the awards season. Yet the decision in 2001 <a href="https://heritage.bafta.org/moment/2001/forward-thinking-film-awards-move-to-february/55">to switch the ceremony from April to February</a> – and therefore, to be held before rather than after the Oscars – was an important strategic switch. Instead of a more enclosed domestic ceremony, the BAFTAs are now a part of the media “buzz” building up to the US Academy Awards, most intense in the first two months of the year. In turn, the potential for the BAFTAs to be eccentrically different is superseded by the desire to pursue and generate hype. This may be why, with some exceptions, the BAFTAs <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2017/02/baftas-vs-oscars-what-winning-means">often “predict” the eventual Oscar gongs so accurately</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201320/original/file-20180109-83559-fbx1mh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">BAFTA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/it/download/confirm/402428932?src=CMEnQqL4_yfJx8Ib6YK3eg-1-19&size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This certainly gives flavour and glamour to an event that is televised live by the BBC at home and on its worldwide channels. But given that it increasingly promotes Hollywood as much as its own films, what is at stake for the British film industry – in principle, <a href="http://www.bafta.org/heritage/history">the very thing BAFTA exists to celebrate and promote</a> – in all of this?</p>
<p>For one thing, feeding the awards season buzz is always hyping British films. Because the latter are lucky enough to share the same language as Hollywood, they can compete alongside them, and history indicates how frequently a certain type of “quality” British film, from Chariots of Fire and The English Patient, to Shakespeare in Love and The King’s Speech, finds favour at the Oscars. Given that many of these “British” films are actually financed and distributed by American companies makes this a win-win situation for both US and British producers.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201372/original/file-20180109-36012-oijpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gary Oldman plays Churchill in Darkest Hour. He’s nominated as best actor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkest_Hour_(film)#/media/File:Gary_Oldman_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg">Gage Skidmore</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/09/full-list-of-nominations-for-the-baftas-2018-film">best movie nomination</a> for the Churchill drama Darkest Hour, produced by Working Title (whose parent company is Universal), is therefore unsurprising, as these kinds of actor-driven period films fare well at the Oscars. Working Title’s last big awards hit, indeed, was The Theory of Everything in 2015, which scooped a BAFTA and an Academy Award for Eddie Redmayne (as Stephen Hawking). Gary Oldman’s jowly turn in Joe Wright’s film is highly anticipated to do the same.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, BAFTAs’ unique award for outstanding British film, while perhaps damning with faint praise, is also an opportunity to highlight lower-scale, critically lauded productions that might otherwise be overlooked by the big awards. God’s Own Country and Lady Macbeth are the stand outs here, as well as Armando Iannucci’s anarchic The Death of Stalin. </p>
<p>Yet a commercial and promotional logic runs through all the awards. Nominees in both the main and outstanding British categories, like Darkest Hour or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (co-produced by Fox Searchlight and the UK’s Film4), are being released on January 12 in UK cinemas. This is an important indication of the synergy between industry production and awards. </p>
<p>Early-autumn festival screenings at Toronto or Venice, followed by quiet US releases, put films like these in the nominations spotlight. Releasing them in Britain immediately after the nominations, as well as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/08/golden-globes-2018-three-billboards-ebbing-missouri-oprah-winfrey">the Golden Globes</a>, helps these “smaller” films at the box office, exploiting the quiet time between the big blockbuster releases in December and early summer. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201322/original/file-20180109-83547-1vathe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Box office receipts count.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/it/download/confirm/788845807?src=ZHJJwHXBD1hnI-0QHv4gvw-1-16&size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The somewhat hidden agenda of the BAFTAs, though, is that the promotion of all films, whatever their origin, is good for the British film industry. <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/awards/bafta-film-award-nominations-race-1201955906/">The awards season gets people talking about films</a>, which they then want to go and see in cinemas, or buy to watch at home. Healthy cinema audiences are the lifeblood of the business after all. So the best film nomination for Guillermo Del Toro’s romance The Shape of Water (released in the UK, cannily, on Valentine’s Day), though not a British movie, also stimulates commercial benefits for British film more generally if the nomination drives domestic audiences to see it.</p>
<p>But much of what the industry and the exchequer recognise as “British film” is from one point of view Hollywood cinema investing in British studios and crew. So it is that recent reports <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/14/the-force-is-strong-with-british-film-industry-as-revenues-soar">highlighting boom years for the British film industry</a> focus mostly on the income generated by films like <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/highest-grossing-films-uk-box-office-2016">Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them</a>, or Christopher Nolan’s best film-nominated Dunkirk (partly filmed in Britain and financed by Warner Bros). Bolstering the critical recognition of such films creates positive feedback for an industry so reliant on the “inward investment” they bring in, and the box office receipts they generate.</p>
<p>What this suggests is that, besides any celebration of artistic achievement, there is also a hard economic pragmatism underpinning the BAFTAs. And having finally understood the point of these awards, I’ll now be watching the results more closely come February 18.
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Archer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The British Academy Awards are a trial-run for the Oscars – but also a win-win situation for both US and British film producers.
Neil Archer, Lecturer in Film Studies, Keele University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78046
2017-05-19T17:44:19Z
2017-05-19T17:44:19Z
Darkest taboos: how Fleabag busted unrealistic portrayals of women on TV
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170124/original/file-20170519-12266-19zl3rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fleabag+images&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYxsLe6PvTAhVlDMAKHRj4DUAQsAQIJQ&biw=1440&bih=713#imgrc=IvDNJVB98Z1PNM:">BBC</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cringeworthy moments, eye-watering sex scenes, gleeful swearing, naked vulnerability and vulgarity of every stripe: groundbreaking BBC sitcom <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/05/fleabag-a-hilarious-sitcom-about-terrible-people-and-broken-lives">Fleabag</a> fully deserved its recent BAFTA award.</p>
<p>Fleabag (2016-) is part of an extraordinary new trend in television that kicked off a few years ago with Netflix prison drama <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/03/netflix-orange-is-the-new-black-accurate-prison">Orange is the New Black</a> (2013-). Both are shockingly stark and deliberately vulgar when it comes to exposing the taboo corners of female psychology, biology and anatomy. Both are realistic to the extent of being naturalistic in terms of visuals, dialogue and narrative.</p>
<p>This is writing by women which promises to show female characters as they really are, and not through society’s obligatory filters that exist to pigeonhole women.</p>
<p>Fleabag’s titular protagonist, played by its writer <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/fleabag-star-phoebe-waller-bridge-on-unlikable-women-and-sexual-validation">Phoebe Waller-Bridge</a> and adapted for the screen from her one-woman play <a href="http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/touch/">Touch</a>, is a twenty-something Londoner struggling to find meaning in life. She is a promiscuous, pornography-watching sex-addict juggling a string of grotesque relationships and random encounters with managing a failing café business.</p>
<p>She is also trying to come to terms with the death of her best friend who committed suicide after her boyfriend cheated on her. Halfway through the first season, we learn he cheated with Fleabag herself.</p>
<h2>Defying expectations</h2>
<p>Waller-Bridge’s character comes from an upper-middle class family, but defies all expectations that normally come with this kind of background. For example, she is a compulsive liar and a thief. The stealing bit comes from a deep sense of insecurity and the need to attract the attention of her emotionally unavailable father.</p>
<p>Fleabag’s entire life is a series of shameful mishaps, ranging from taking her top off at a bank interview to stealing a statuette of a naked woman, made by her infuriating stepmother (wonderfully played by <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/broadchurch/extras/an-interview-with-olivia-colman">Broadchurch actress Olivia Colman</a>) who considers herself to be an artist. Fleabag’s unpolished “neglected orphan” image (the opposite of what a young woman is expected to be) is partly the result of her mother’s death from breast cancer. </p>
<p>Traditionally, female protagonists in TV dramas have been “presented” to us rather than speaking for themselves. We can’t hear their real voices as they are obscured by various societal roles and expectations collectively reflected in narratives: passive, objectified sexuality, longing for a partner and a family, looking elegant and groomed, emotional maturity, readiness to provide emotional support, sacrificial motherhood, and so on. They are “clean” characters.</p>
<p>This “cleanliness” is both internal and external – the purity of character and body. A “proper” woman does not steal, or lie to your face, or swear, or talk about inappropriate things at the table. Likewise, she does not sweat or smell, does not have hairy legs, is not seen to have periods, or use the toilet.</p>
<p>Nudity on screen has become so common that it no longer shocks. Yet filmmakers are still reluctant to show a female character who wakes up looking terrible; who has spots or rolls of fat (particularly outside comedic settings). Fleabag offers true naturalism; this is what is truly groundbreaking – not the increasingly dull sex scenes involving toned bodies to which film and TV audiences are treated to every day. </p>
<p>Of course, there were the four heroines of <a href="http://www.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city/about/index.html">Sex and the City</a> who candidly discussed sex and the perils of modern dating, but they were beautifully made up, successful, and fashionable. None of them evoked associations with a “fleabag”. Waller-Bridge’s creation is much closer to Lena Dunham’s series <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/04/how-lena-dunham-show-girls-turned-tv-upside-down">Girls</a> (2012-2017), but still deliberately avoids HBO’s polish. Everything about Fleabag is rough and raw, from the music and camerawork to the POV (point of view) and monologues. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170187/original/file-20170519-12221-i2irfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sex and the City girls: candid but glossy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kim-cattrall-cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-183449639?src=4q5sfBjQxt316s-Od6g3SQ-1-55">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, cinema and TV are generally still operating along the lines of these stereotypes for both female protagonists and secondary characters, making any deviation from the norm look refreshingly gritty. A “proper” woman is therefore so sterile she practically smells of chlorine.</p>
<h2>Blundering and failing</h2>
<p>It is this sense of blank sterility that Waller-Bridge defies with her depiction of a blundering, failing young woman. Her hilarious asides to the camera, often including candid, uncensored remarks on uncomfortable subjects such as anal sex, masturbation and survivor guilt, show that not only she is not ashamed of her behaviour – she is proud of it.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Kr6MDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=hyper+naturalism+in+drama&source=bl&ots=2BuQ9J4_Nq&sig=mNlQZ2q9la8DP3zPvDMM3F9qftw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjgpaa3vvTAhUDI8AKHY4_DHQQ6AEIejAS#v=onepage&q=hyper%20naturalism%20in%20drama&f=false">hyper-naturalism</a>, which is the hallmark of the series, is the result of this pride. After all, male protagonists in TV and film have been allowed to be make mistakes for decades. Men on screen are allowed to be funny, ridiculous, ugly, promiscuous and terrified of settling down. Why can’t women? </p>
<p>When asked what constitutes the “female journey” (that is, the difficulties the female protagonists have to overcome on their path in narratives), the American mythologist and author <a href="https://www.jcf.org/">Joseph Campbell</a> allegedly replied that there was no such thing as a female journey as a woman didn’t have anywhere to go in the first place.</p>
<p>In his books Campbell explored the path of the male hero in world mythology. The path consists of multiple steps, and is full of problems to be dealt with, puzzles to be solved and monsters to be killed. A woman need not bother to activate her agency like a man would: she is already “there”, already perfect. She is born at peace with herself, whereas the man has to endure trials and tribulations to become the true hero of his own story.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170130/original/file-20170519-12266-vmbe8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fleabag is imperfect and unhappy and aching to go on her own journey to fight her demons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fleabag+images&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYxsLe6PvTAhVlDMAKHRj4DUAQsAQIJQ&biw=1440&bih=713#imgrc=V5wBoAzz6laxmM:">Soho Theatre</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This view implies that a woman does not have to face the journey of finding who she is, blundering and looking for meaning through trial and error, let alone looking stupid in the process. Her chlorine perfection stays unchanged through her life and guarantees happiness – particularly if she finds the right man with whom to start a family. </p>
<p>Fleabag’s rebellious naturalism successfully challenges this vision of the female protagonist (of whom we still have very few, although their number is growing – particularly on TV). Fleabag the woman is imperfect, unhappy, itching to go on her journey and fight all sorts of internal and external monsters: addictions; insecurities; the neglectful father; the dead mother; the chilly sister; the fake pompous stepmother; the weird arsehole guy; the rude bank manager. This is her way of becoming herself, of finding her own voice. </p>
<p>At last there is a trend that frees women from the bland stereotyped portrayals of feminine perfection and the need to conform to good girl expectations. We should be grateful to Fleabag for showing female characters who are not ashamed of being imperfect and real.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Bassil-Morozow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
BBC sitcom Fleabag rewrites the rules on depicting women in drama, freeing the female character from the mindless stereotyping that has straitjacketed women for so long.
Helena Bassil-Morozow, Lecturer in Media and Journalism, Glasgow Caledonian University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77643
2017-05-15T12:22:49Z
2017-05-15T12:22:49Z
BAFTAs 2017: BBC sweeps the board as Netflix challenge fails to materialise
<p>The big question of this year’s BAFTAs was how many awards Netflix would romp home with. Most of the industry attention was focused on the way the various subscription video on-demand services have grown to prominence over the past few years and most people expected Netflix’s much-lauded £100m drama, The Crown, to walk away with a hatful of awards – after all, it dominated with five nominations, including best drama, and for three of its actors.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t to be. On the night the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/14/baftas-bbc-has-last-laugh-happy-valley-beats-100m-netflix-drama/">spoils went to the BBC’s Happy Valley</a>, which was made on a fraction of The Crown’s budget and which walked away with best drama series, while Sarah Lancashire won best actress. Damilola, Our Loved Boy – the BBC true-crime drama, which retold the story of Damilola Taylor’s tragic murder and his family’s fight for justice – also won two two awards. It was part of a dominant night for the public broadcaster which won awards in 18 categories, putting paid to predictions that this would be a trophy year for Netflix and its subscription stablemates.</p>
<p>But these are new big players in blue-chip content and their time will surely come. Gaining millions of new viewers each year and producing ever more of their own award-winning productions, Netflix, the market leader, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/22/netflix-amazon-sky-uk-subscribers-streaming">now in nearly a quarter of British households</a>. BAFTA’s decision to remove the rule that 50% of all funding for a series and creative control <a href="http://awards.bafta.org/sites/default/files/images/british_academy_television_awards_rules_and_guidelines_2017_0.pdf">had to come from the UK</a> meant that dramas such as The Crown could compete on a level playing field whereas previously it could only have featured in the international category. </p>
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<p>Not all viewers were happy about these changes. After the nominations were announced, many took to Twitter to argue that The Crown and others should be in a new streaming category. But I think the impact these blockbuster series are having is hard to ignore if a contemporary award programme is to stay relevant. The best must compete with the best.</p>
<h2>Keeping it nice</h2>
<p>Most of the recent controversy had been got out of the way by the night itself. There had been much comment when Tom Hiddleston, who earlier won a Golden Globe for his starring role in The Night Manager, failed to garner even a nomination at the BAFTAs. Similarly there was a deal of head-scratching that the stand-out hit series Line of Duty – which attracted 8m viewers for its final episode – was only up for one gong.</p>
<p>According <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/12/bafta-tv-awards-2017-who-will-win-and-who-deserves-to">to the Guardian</a>, some of the seemingly strange nominations were down to the rule that only one piece of material could be submitted by each contender. This meant that, while a one-off TV drama could be entered in its entirety, judges were only allowed to view and assess a single episode of a multi-part drama. This might shed light on why Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for his title role in Richard III, while Hiddlestone was not – judges had only seen a sixth of his work on The Night Manager. </p>
<p>Anyone hoping for overtly political speeches in this election year would have been disappointed. One wonders whether the reports that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39883744">BAFTA had emailed nominees</a> asking them to offer “a short anecdote or an interesting detail about the production in their victory speeches” might have had something to do with that. As it turned out, host Sue Perkins – of Great British Bake-Off fame – had the best line of the night, introducing the best leading actress category: “This award represents what so many actresses aspire to – being paid just under the same amount as the leading actor”. </p>
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<p>Meanwhile, James Nesbitt – who presented the award – made an impassioned speech to promote the cause of <a href="http://equalrepresentationforactresses.co.uk/">Equal Representation of Actresses</a> and noted that inequality on screen (there are three male leading roles for every female role) “is an inequality that is absorbed by everyone on their screens every day”. He added: “As the father of two children - two girls - this should change.” Hear hear.</p>
<h2>Ed Balls, Gangnam-style</h2>
<p>Just over a year after BBC3 went online only, it was feared that the channel’s knack for developing such little gems as Gavin & Stacey might have been lost, but a win for its scripted comedy, People Just Do Nothing, will go some way towards proving the doubters wrong.</p>
<p>The other highlight of what was actually a fairly tame night was Virgin TV’s “must-see moment” gong which gave us, among other highlights, Ed Balls dancing in “Gangnam-style” on Strictly Come Dancing as well as Michelle Obama doing Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and the great snake vs iguana chase from Planet Earth II. Great news for iguana fans everywhere as the thrilling death chase carried off the honours.</p>
<p>So it was actually a pretty life-affirming night for those people who consider that the “entertain” part of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values">BBC’s mission</a> to “inform, educate, entertain” should remain at the centre of the broadcaster’s core values. We will, of course, continue to see the rise and rise of Netflx and video on-demand, there’s simply too much money involved for this not to happen. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B3OjfK0t1XM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>But I went to bed happy in the knowledge that the BBC can still create vivid, powerful and popular programmes. And, of course, with the indelible image of Ed Balls dancing Gangnam-style burned on to my eyelids. And that’s going to be hard to shift.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77643/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndsay Duthie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Police drama Happy Valley beat off the challenge of high-profile streamed dramas to carry off the big prize.
Lyndsay Duthie, Programme Leader for Film & Television, University of Hertfordshire
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72554
2017-02-09T11:22:48Z
2017-02-09T11:22:48Z
I, Daniel Blake reveals the rich complexity of literacy – and why it matters
<p>The <a href="http://www.bafta.org/film/film-award-nominees-2017">Bafta nominated</a> film I, Daniel Blake portrays the often brutal experiences of those attempting to navigate the British welfare system. Director Ken Loach <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTeGscfMfFo">has said of his film</a>, however: “It’s for those people who are struggling against the cruelty of bureaucracy, whatever country.”</p>
<p>The film gives us insights into the ways in which today’s world can be particularly alienating for those without the specific skills it demands. Viewing the film through the lens of literacy, we see how letters, booklets and forms accrue as pillars of a system decried by Daniel Blake as a “monumental farce”. </p>
<p>Within a knowledge economy, literacy is bound up in a wider suite of policy based on an economic/financial model of <a href="http://www.academia.edu/23270640/More_Powerful_Literacies">human development</a> and a narrow view of how people make use of literacy in their everyday lives. As is shown in the film, this both compounds the challenge for those in need of access to vital resources and renders their everyday experiences invisible.</p>
<p>Daniel Blake is not “illiterate” – he is resourceful, creative and willing to work, and we see him using his skills and sharing his knowledge. He is told that the benefit system he is forced to navigate is “digital by default”. Daniel’s riposte that he, as a craftsman, is “pencil by default” reflects one of his key challenges. The pencil is associated with versatility and being open to change. However, it can also be rubbed out and replaced, like the generations of workers Daniel represents in post-industrial society.</p>
<p>When he is asked to “run the mouse up the screen” of the computer in his local library, where he has sought help with his benefit form, he tries to do so physically. When he is told his screen is “frozen” he replies: “Can you defrost it?” The unfamiliarity of these processes place this man, who has never before needed state support, in an alien world.</p>
<h2>A world moving on</h2>
<p>New technologies may be moving on, meaning people like Daniel can be left behind, yet the film demonstrates how digital technology is a key resource for creative and collaborative responses to economic challenge. Daniel’s neighbour has been forced to use his initiative to supplement a meagre income from a zero-hours contract by ordering counterfeit trainers through a contact in China. </p>
<p>Daniel is left incredulous at the Skype conversation he witnesses – his disbelief at the fact that this conversation is taking place at two different ends of the globe emphasises how the world is moving on around him, leaving him without access to <a href="https://newleftreview.org/II/36/nancy-fraser-reframing-justice-in-a-globalizing-world">resources, recognition or the means to participate in society</a>. It is this neighbour, China, who is finally able to complete the Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) form online for Daniel, after days of his thwarted attempts in more official institutions.</p>
<p>Despite the stranglehold placed on claimants by the bureaucracy depicted in the film, the two most powerful texts in Daniel’s story are his own. His spray-painted graffiti makes public the individual struggles that take place within a hidden maze of official texts. The note Daniel prepares to read at his appeal, handwritten in pencil, also challenges the system he has been forced to navigate. Announcing himself as “I, Daniel Blake” in both of these texts, Daniel is defiant in reclaiming his identity from those who have sought to define him.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155854/original/image-20170207-30921-sqdvub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Pencil by default, digital by design.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjbdesign/14478725981/in/photolist-o4rfNz-9DBQyi-bzH2FN-5YGWQH-dGRTu2-bTHZWe-4m7eMU-4nmQsq-5fKy45-6MMZT4-6zuWk-bpfy6a-riBgbD-5Xjkxs-73BpCS-9rLyhQ-bTJ12M-cwDyTQ-7HeuZy-dcWCdD-bVzm8n-dGRTHM-8YXU95-a3BHid-c5FyjY-6bV1Pv-cssvEU-bTJ144-dH6W29-dLPAst-azXW3i-9qUmLf-cj4Pjb-dP3648-jFeMFb-rzXuLR-r7pg1p-bTJ11c-df2Q9r-bTHZNV-5ApzLr-bEPeTJ-5RuzvL-4cTJ17-9et5ir-83dTuE-dt1u7d-9CJ2vz-4DgP4r-5ApzQk">Ricky B/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Insecure times</h2>
<p>The benefits system with which Daniel grapples is the result of the most significant reform of the British welfare state in half a century: that is, in the time since Loach directed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xky8ZqhNAlo">Cathy Come Home</a>. However, the challenge for those made vulnerable by poverty is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/31/cathy-come-home-50-years-homelessness-mental-health-problems">even more acute today</a> than it was five decades ago, and media-friendly epithets of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/23/skivers-strivers-200-year-old-myth-wont-die">“skivers” or “strivers”</a> hark back across centuries to notions of the feckless and undeserving poor. </p>
<p>Researching for his Bafta nominated screenplay, screenwriter Paul Laverty heard stories across the UK of insecure housing, zero-hours employment contracts, inflexible fitness to work assessments and punitive sanctions. Katie’s desperation at the food bank is one of the film’s most powerful depictions of the impact of recent welfare reform on personal dignity, and it reflects the reality of <a href="https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/">an eight-fold increase</a> in their use in the last five years. </p>
<p>A close focus on literacy in I, Daniel Blake highlights the impact of welfare policies which are based upon a narrow view of people’s lives. It also shows how this impact is compounded when such policies rely upon narrow ways of viewing literacy and the rich complexity of its role in everyday life. Literacy education and research can and should continue to challenge reductive models of what it means to be literate, and to critically explore the implications of this for social justice. This can provide valuable space for voices, such as that of Daniel Blake, to be heard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Pencil by default: the digital skills demanded by the welfare system may baffle Daniel Blake, but he is resourceful, creative and willing to work.
Susan Jones, Assistant Professor in English Education, University of Nottingham
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/64159
2016-08-22T06:03:21Z
2016-08-22T06:03:21Z
The price of victory: comparing the cost of Olympic gold to an elite arts prize
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134912/original/image-20160822-18708-1udy3mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mark Mangini (left) and David White hold this year's Oscar for Sound Editing for Mad Max: Fury Road.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Buck/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Olympics is almost over now for another four years, and beyond the glorious highs and heartbreaking lows of participants and spectators, there’s the ritual of the cost-benefit wash-up where we calculate the public cost per medal, and collectively wring our hands at the expense of it all.</p>
<p>For Australia, that cost will be about <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/is-australias-disastrous-olympic-campaign-really-340-million-well-spent/news-story/b6d9d7211136bbc8309939e42ec6e471">A$12 million</a> per medal. This is the cost of funding the federal contribution to Olympic preparation, largely through the <a href="http://corporate.olympics.com.au/the-aoc/programs-and-funding">Australian Institute of Sport</a> ($380m) divided by the number of medals won (29). (Compare the 58 medals won at the Sydney games.) But when you factor in state and local government spending, the cost could be as high as <a href="http://thenewdaily.com.au/sport/rio-olympics-2016/2016/08/19/rio-medals-australia/">$20m</a> per medal. </p>
<p>All countries go through this ritual. Even after a highly successful Olympics, the British are wondering whether it’s really worth spending <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rio-2016-team-gb-olympic-medals-55m-each-can-we-justify-brits-slump-sofa-a7198906.html">£5.5m</a> per medal.</p>
<p>The economic argument is, of course, whether these public funds might be better spent elsewhere; say on children’s hospitals. But in a sense that’s not a fair comparison, because Olympic support will always look bad next to sick children or other essential priorities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134914/original/image-20160822-18708-14sdfw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chloe Esposito competes on her horse Equador Itapua in the modern pentathalon, where she won gold.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edgard Garrido/Reuters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So let’s compartmentalise and allow that this public money is already earmarked to support elite Australian performance on the ultra-competitive world stage. A better and more interesting comparison isn’t between elite sports and sick children, but between elite sports and elite culture.</p>
<p>What’s the comparable cost-per-medal for Australia’s elite artists and cultural producers, who also compete on world stages? And do Australia’s artists perform comparatively better or worse than our athletes? We decided to find out.</p>
<h2>The parameters</h2>
<p>We limited our investigation to just a few of the major cultural domains – music, film, books, and videogames – and then examined every major internationally recognised and widely known award, including the Cannes Film Festival, Academy Awards and BAFTA for film, the Grammy and BRIT Awards for music, the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel prize for literature, and the Game Awards for videogames. </p>
<p>The idea was to compile a suite of awards comparable to the Olympics, with most major artists represented. In order to compare the full Olympics medal count, we’ve considered nominations to be the equivalent of silver or bronze medals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134913/original/image-20160822-18731-axpowb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tame Impala, who won Best International Group at the BRIT awards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A few issues complicate this analysis. One is the obvious skew toward English language representation. Another is that unlike sports, where competitors match-up on the day, arts awards are often for work actually done in previous years or earlier. </p>
<p>We considered awards just for two years – 2015 and 2016 – as unlike the Olympics, most major arts and cultural awards are annual. Obviously, we only then consider annual public funding too.</p>
<p>There is also the problem that Australian public funding for the arts and culture is less targeted than sports funding, so we’ve had to make some assumptions to arrive at a comparable quantum of federal funding that is directed toward elite arts and culture on a global stage.</p>
<p>The main vehicles for federal funding of the four cultural sectors we focus on are Screen Australia and the Australia Council. (Both organisations fund cultural activities that go way beyond our scope as in addition to their support of elite culture, they also invest in the development of young talent; initiatives intended to increase cultural diversity; and other cultural sectors and types than the ones that are in our scope.)</p>
<p>In total, the two organisations report funding of just over $300m, of which we generously estimate about half could be considered to support elite cultural production (i.e. of internationally recognised quality). We also added in tax incentives for big budget screen productions (like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392190/">Mad Max: Fury Road</a> (2015)). Total government support for the four sectors amounts to $273m in 2015 and $382m in 2014.</p>
<p>If you accept these approximations, here’s what we find. </p>
<h2>The results</h2>
<p>First, music and films are the swimming of Australian elite culture. Sia Furler is one of Australia’s most internationally commercially successful musicians, and was nominated for MTV Video Awards in 2015 and 2016. In 2016 she was nominated for a BRIT Award in the category International Female Solo Artist. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134911/original/image-20160822-18737-1nb7cv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sia performing in Hungary this month.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Balazs Mohai/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another successful Australian musician is Courtney Barnett, who in 2016 was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best New Artist category, and a BRIT Award in the International Solo Female Artist award. </p>
<p>We also have 5 Seconds of Summer; a band that has been nominated and won several prestigious international music awards along with Australian acts such as Tame Impala, Hiatus Kaiyote, Keith Urban, Nicholas Milton, Chet Faker and Iggy Azalea (who we count as Australian although she moved to the US when she was 16).</p>
<p>Australia also excels in the film category. Over the two years we looked at the Academy Awards, The BAFTA Awards, The Cannes International Film Festival and The Golden Globe Award, the awards and nominations for Australian productions were dominated by Max Max: Fury Road. </p>
<p>The Australian production won <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-mad-maxs-six-oscars-mean-for-the-australian-film-industry-55564">six Academy Awards</a>, was nominated for an additional four and did almost equally well in the BRIT Awards by winning four awards and being nominated in another three categories. Other Australian productions or Australian artists that were awarded or nominated are Cate Blanchett for her work in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402927/">Carol</a> (2015) and Animal Logic for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1490017/">The Lego Movie</a> (2014).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134916/original/image-20160822-18711-1vi78ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cate Blanchett at the BAFTAs this year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jake Saville/Newzulu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia does okay on books and literature (we included the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker Prize and the Neustadt Awards), but did less well in our sample years. Australian author Richard Flanagan was nominated for a Man Booker award in 2014. And we have only won one Nobel Prize for literature (two if you count J M Coetzee). Helen Garner also won a Windham-Campbell Prize for Non-fiction in 2016, but this prize is so recently established we decided not to include it in our study. </p>
<p>Video games are somewhat contentious to locate (we included The Game Awards, British Academy Games Awards, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and Prix Ars Electronica). We decided to include the video game <a href="http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/">Monument Valley</a>, which received numerous awards and nominations in 2015. Its lead designer, Australian Ken Wong, works for game developer Ustwo in London and Sydney, and Britain would perhaps have as much right to claim those awards as Australia.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NFfdw/2/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="227.60938"></iframe>
<p>In total, Australian productions and creatives received 82 award wins plus nominations (the equivalent of gold, silver and bronze) during the two years. In these cultural Olympics, the average “cost” of a medal is approximately $8m.</p>
<p>This compares to the cost of an Olympic medal in Rio, which clocks in at roughly $12m. </p>
<p>Now <a href="http://www.essentialvision.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Essential-Report_160816.pdf">a majority of Australians</a> believe public Olympic funding support is about right or should even be increased. And proponents also point to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality">externalities</a> that accrue, including Olympic success benefiting sporting activities on a grass root level and general public health; improved cultural cohesion; and strengthening Australia’s brand overseas. But similar claims also are made about elite cultural funding.</p>
<p>If we’re just concerned about the most economically efficient way of achieving these goals, then culture might actually be a better deal than sports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Potts receives funding from the Australia Research Council. He is affiliated with The Institute of Public Affairs. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrik Wikström receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Cunningham receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>
Amid the hand-wringing about the price of an Olympic medal, our experts crunched the numbers on the cost of success in the arts. And at A$8 million per international award, it turns out that elite culture is a lot better value than sport.
Jason Potts, Professor of Economics, RMIT University
Patrik Wikström, Principal Research Fellow: Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology
Stuart Cunningham, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/38762
2015-03-16T15:18:14Z
2015-03-16T15:18:14Z
Indie insurgency fails to topple old guard at Games Baftas
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74951/original/image-20150316-9208-1hp0ycq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Destiny: big budget, but what about the gameplay?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferino_design/15750362994">Ferino Design / Bungie</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.bafta.org/games/awards">Bafta Games Awards</a> showed a promising future for independent developers, as they went toe-to-toe against multi-million dollar behemoths at the little brother of the academy’s established and prestigious <a href="http://www.bafta.org/film/awards">film awards</a>. Judging by the results, though, it’ll be years until the efforts of small studios in the games industry are acknowledged as anything but exceptions to the continued rule of the big publishers. </p>
<p>There were undoubtedly some notable successes for the independent games scene. The most surprising victory was innovative two dimensional skateboarding game <a href="http://www.roll7.co.uk/#!olliolli/c1ic0">OlliOlli</a>, which bested annual instalments of <a href="https://www.easports.com/uk/fifa/products">FIFA</a> and <a href="http://www.footballmanager.com/">Football Manager</a> in the Sports Game category. The M C Escher-inspired puzzler <a href="http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/">Monument Valley</a> picked up prizes for Best Mobile and Best British Game. The beautiful paper craft visuals of <a href="http://www.luminocitygame.com/">Lumino City</a> got a deserving nod for Artistic Achievement, and <a href="http://ethancartergame.com/">The Vanishing of Ethan Carter</a> won for Game Innovation, likely because of its unique use of realistic photo-scan technology for its visuals.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2FcQVo8MPvY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Fun in just two dimensions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Annual awards bring annual success</h2>
<p>While these are impressive wins, much of the night was inevitably spent noting the work of traditional studio-publisher models, including the praiseworthy likes of <a href="https://www.shadowofmordor.com/">Shadow of Mordor</a>, <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/uk">Titanfall</a>, and <a href="http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/">Hearthstone</a>. </p>
<p>A good deal of respect was paid to the inevitable franchise instalments of the past year, too. This was particularly clear in the nominee list for some categories – puzzle darling <a href="http://asherv.com/threes/">Threes</a> was the only indie in the running for Game Design. Monument Valley stood alone for Best Game. The Multiplayer, Audio, Music, Family and Performer categories showed no nominations for independent studios at all. </p>
<p>Part of the challenge for indie studios to get nominations and wins is how BAFTA categorises its awards. This is a change from the film awards, which mark out clear categories for technical skills such as Cinematography, Set Design, and so on. This means that despite (or perhaps because of) how games are made, <a href="http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-gb/games/assassins-creed-unity.aspx">Assassin’s Creed Unity</a>, a rushed release plagued by bugs which made the game at times <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSd8VD0-NLI">look laughably bad</a>, was nominated in the Artistic Achievement category when smaller, less technically impressive works failed to make the list. </p>
<p>Even in areas where indies triumphed, the strangeness of how Bafta arranges its nominees meant shortlists sometimes seemed incomparable. When <a href="http://ethancartergame.com/">The Vanishing of Ethan Carter</a> was given the victory for Game Innovation, it was against titles that showed creativity in completely different ways. How can Shadow of Mordor’s brilliant <a href="http://shadowofmordor.wikia.com/wiki/Nemesis_system">nemesis system</a>, which generates semi-random foes unique to each player, be meaningfully compared with Ethan Carter’s new way of creating game visuals in terms of innovation? The two are as different as apples and orcs. Categories which separated technical and artistic achievement would avoid much of this problem.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74954/original/image-20150316-9198-dbvfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shadow of Mordor creates ‘nemeses’ unique to each playthrough.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/15103432181/">Monolith / Bago</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In another example of the oddity of categories, survival horror game <a href="http://www.thelastofus.playstation.com/">The Last of Us</a> won two awards this year that it won last year as well –Best Performer and Best Story – because it released a downloadable prequel called <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/video-game-reviews/10668770/The-Last-of-Us-Left-Behind-review.html">Left Behind</a> early in 2014. As good as The Last of Us was, it’s hard not to feel that a separate category for downloadable content might have been a good idea. On a different release schedule, Left Behind would have been covered by last year’s victories. </p>
<h2>Destined to win</h2>
<p>The most stand-out result of the night was undoubtedly <a href="http://www.destinythegame.com/uk/en">Destiny</a>, if only for dubious reasons. The first-person shooter by the makers of Halo won Best Game despite failing to take home Best Multiplayer, Best Persistent Game or Best Game Design – all qualities on which its success as an online, multiplayer based shooter should hang. The game, which received a <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/destiny">muted</a> critical reception, is reminiscent of the oft-stated adage that Best Picture awards tend not to go to the best film but the least controversial one. </p>
<p>Worse still, aside from the breakout Monument Valley, the other nominees for Best Game were all marquee releases for major publishers, including licensed monsters Shadow of Mordor and <a href="http://www.alienisolation.com/age-gate">Alien: Isolation</a>. Also featured were franchise instalments <a href="http://www.dragonage.com/en_GB/home">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a> and <a href="http://mariokart8.nintendo.com/">Mario Kart 8</a>, the latest in a series which began in 1992.</p>
<p>Of course, awards in any artistic medium are a matter of opinion. A majority of Bafta’s voters and jurists may genuinely feel that Destiny was the finest game 2014 had to offer. The results seem to suggest that most indie titles can only compete with the big-budget monsters in one or perhaps two narrow areas, leaving bigger games to claim most of the biggest awards by sheer force of wallet size.</p>
<p>It seems the still-fledgling ceremony needs to develop its structure to better fit the industry before it can truly stand alone. There’s nothing wrong with giving prizes to inoffensive instalments of well-loved, long running series, but at the same time we should think carefully about how we compare the qualities that games possess so that some can win a small gold award.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Hackett is Producer at Antimatter Games, an independent games studio. He did not work on any games that were submitted, or eligible for, entry into the 2015 Games BAFTAs.</span></em></p>
Annual awards bring annual success for the industry’s traditional giants.
Jack Hackett, PhD student, Falmouth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/37818
2015-03-12T06:15:21Z
2015-03-12T06:15:21Z
The best video games need not imitate films to be worth a Bafta
<p>With the spectacle delivered by increasingly photo-realistic video games with budgets running into tens of millions of pounds on a par with that of the film industry, it seems only right that video games should be offered awards by the same organisation, <a href="http://www.bafta.org/games">the Baftas</a>.</p>
<p>On the list of nominees for the British Academy Games Awards this year are many “AAA” titles such as <a href="https://www.shadowofmordor.com/">Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</a>, <a href="http://www.alienisolation.com/age-gate">Alien: Isolation</a> and <a href="http://far-cry.ubi.com/en-gb/home/index.aspx">Far Cry 4</a>, each demonstrating extraordinarily realistic visual representation involving soundscapes and inspiring technical ambition. These are massive, detailed open worlds to explore, with expansive multi-player options.</p>
<h2>Not so novel</h2>
<p>Yet there is much that is familiar in these nominations. Franchises such as <a href="https://www.easports.com/uk/fifa">FIFA</a> football, the <a href="https://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/">Call of Duty</a> first-person shooter and the <a href="http://www.forzamotorsport.net/en-us/">Forza</a> racer are commercial goldmines that are revisited annually to generate predictable profits. But this discourages risk-taking. Each new iteration of an established title is often little more than a re-skin, a buff-and-polish. This is as much to do with audience expectations of the game they’re getting as it is testament to the development costs required to exploit the technical power of the latest consoles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atmosphere? Alien: Isolation has it in spades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Creative Assembly</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course such valuable pieces of intellectual property require a safe pair of hands. Game developer studios can’t afford for an instalment to fail, and this commercial need encourages a very conservative approach. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the industry, as the profits from established titles can be reinvested in developing new ideas. For example Bungie, the studio behind the hugely successful <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-gb">Halo series</a>, also created <a href="http://www.destinythegame.com/uk/en">Destiny</a>, which expands a typical first-person shooter into a multi-player online game with role-playing elements in an immersive, persistent game universe.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Far Cry 4: good, but more-of-the-same good.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ubisoft</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet despite the technical accomplishment of next-gen games such as Destiny and the mechwarrior-style <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/uk">Titanfall</a>, many players look for novelty and a different type of challenge. Some games nominated for an award represent very traditional concepts of play. For example, incarnations of classics such as Nintendo’s ever-popular <a href="http://www.mariokart.com/wii/launch/">Mario Kart</a> (now up to the eighth instalment), and a simplified version of the retro-themed <a href="http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Console_Edition">Minecraft</a> for games consoles illustrate the enduring appeal of old school game mechanics and characters over games that sell themselves on photo-realistic environments.</p>
<p>Still, as in the world of film, it often seems that once again we’ve been seduced by the polish of sequels and derivatives rather than risky new ideas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Minecraft’s retro appeal has found stella success.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AdultsOnlyMinecraft</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indie invasion</h2>
<p>So I’m pleased to see much smaller games from indie developers among the shortlist. The explosion of computing power in our pocket via mobile phones and tablets has prompted a new wave of creativity throughout the game industry. With far lower costs to develop games for mobile platforms, the opportunity is there for smaller studios and independent developers (often individuals) to enter the market with interesting, unusual, or downright idiosyncratic games. Big budget games may be technically impressive with their realistic physics engines and lighting, but it’s often the smaller studios with tiny budgets that deliver real innovation.</p>
<p>Some of the nominations this year challenge the orthodoxy in a beautiful way. <a href="http://www.stateofplaygames.com/work/lumino-city/">Lumino City</a> by Camberwell-based State of Play is a great example of a novel approach to graphic style. The painstaking effort to cut and construct a paper-based set provides a truly refreshing environment. It reminds us of the simple pleasures of classroom craft but enhanced in ways we could only dream of as children.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/97832046" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Nominated in four categories, Inkle’s adventure game <a href="http://www.frogwares.com/game/80days.html">80 Days</a> has been lauded for its elegant storytelling and rich interactive narrative. The game isn’t ashamed of its pedestrian pace, using it as a device to enhance the unravelling of the story. </p>
<p>Compelling gameplay doesn’t have to mean breakneck speed and bullet-dodging action; nor, as the regular use of self-deprecating humour in 80 Days demonstrates, do contemporary games need to take themselves so seriously. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74485/original/image-20150311-24209-wevna7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Oliver’s journey in 80 Days involves some unlikely characters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frogwares</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The intricacies of the game’s plot – to travel round the world in 80 days, like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048960/">Phileas Fogg</a> – creates a world that can be explored repeatedly not just to improve on a score, but in order to continue discovering new elements missed on previous run-throughs.</p>
<p>The 25% industry tax breaks for games with a British “cultural value”, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/27/ed-approves-tax-breaks-video-games-industry">finally awarded last year</a> after a seven year legal battle, should encourage more newcomers to the games industry. And as mobile platforms spread more widely, we will hopefully see fewer blockbuster sequels in the future and more small but perfectly formed sensations like Lumino City and 80 days.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether the games enjoy a large or small budget, the Games Baftas should serve to remind us of the enormous versatility, skills and innovation within Britain’s creative industries. Each year UK talent produces some of the world’s most successful video games, which contributes billions to the economy. The British video games industry is a homegrown success story dating back to the 1980s, but which is continually enriched by the range of excellent design and development courses at UK universities today – long may it contiune.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlton Reeve does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Awards ceremonies need to celebrate the small and beautiful, not just the big and bold.
Carlton Reeve, Senior Lecturer in Creative Technology, University of Bradford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/37082
2015-02-09T12:37:33Z
2015-02-09T12:37:33Z
An antidote to the ‘true story’ – why Boyhood’s Bafta success is deserved
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71450/original/image-20150209-24679-spcd04.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ellar Coltrane grew up whilst Boyhood was filmed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Universal Pictures</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Richard Linklater’s Boyhood has beaten off the competition to scoop the Best Picture Award at this year’s Baftas. Filmed in sections over 12 years, Boyhood is in some ways the ultimate cinematic take on reality. It tells the story of a fictional family, but draws on the lived experience of Linklater and the actors. </p>
<p>And it was a risky venture, given that the younger stars might have chosen to opt out during their teenage years. At one point, Lorelei Linklater, the director’s daughter, asked to be killed off, at another she was keen for filming to restart because <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/11/boyhood_movie_explained_how_they_made_it_whose_boyhood_inspired_it_and_more.html">she wanted an iPhone</a>. In the end, both stayed and the film is a triumph. However, this was not a confessional “true story” but followed its own logic over time – which gives the film its artistic integrity.</p>
<p>Reality has inspired most of this year’s top movies. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-theory-of-everything-is-inspiring-despite-a-hackneyed-treatment-of-hawkings-work-35348">The Theory of Everything</a>, the British biopic based on the life of Stephen Hawking, was awarded four Baftas and <a href="https://theconversation.com/imitation-game-will-finally-bring-alan-turing-the-fame-he-so-rightly-deserves-34324">The Imitation Game</a>, the story of Alan Turing and the Enigma code, was nominated in nine categories (but missed out on any wins). Both are tipped for Oscar success. Of the eight films that have been Oscar nominated for best film, five are either biographical or autobiographical. In the best actor category four of the five nominees are playing a real person.</p>
<p>This isn’t new: factual stories are a staple of cinema. One of the earliest films ever made, produced in Australia in 1906, was based on reality – <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000574/">The Story of the Kelly Gang</a>. Meanwhile the biopic has been popular in various incarnations since the 1930s. But there does seem to be an increasing trend for “true stories” in Hollywood. Three fact-based movies were nominated in 2013 when CIA thriller Argo won best picture Oscar and six in 2014 when 12 Years a Slave triumphed.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gYzauKmPvYQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Digital narcissism</h2>
<p>So why is this? One theory is that Facebook and Twitter play a part – users see their own lives as a visual narrative, constantly posting picture of their holiday destinations, cute cats, restaurant meals and (inevitably) sharing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/mar/13/selfie-social-media-love-digital-narcassism">smiling selfies</a>.</p>
<p>If you see yourself as the star of your own movie, it’s gratifying to see “real people” doing the same thing on the big screen. News and global gossip is the life blood of social media. Many studios are hiring consultants specialising in “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/business/media/hollywood-tracks-social-media-chatter-to-target-hit-films.html">social listening</a>” to help publicise their movies, using algorithms to analyse activity on social media.</p>
<p>Equally, true stories breed controversy which can go viral on Facebook and Twitter – a gift to film publicists. The recent complaints about inaccuracies or distortions in films such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/americas-tragic-journey-from-selma-to-american-sniper-37071">American Sniper</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-dangerous-to-draw-parallels-between-selma-and-today-37235">Selma</a> and <a href="http://time.com/3632635/the-true-story-behind-big-eyes/">Big Eyes</a> are fuelling the media frenzy that help Oscar winners pull the crowds. </p>
<p>The dispute between Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz, played by Channing Tatum in <a href="https://theconversation.com/haunting-examination-of-class-in-america-foxcatcher-warns-of-the-problems-of-privilege-36095">Foxcatcher</a>, and director Bennett Miller is a case in point. <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foxcatcher-subject-mark-schultz-lashes-760842">Schultz has strongly criticised Miller</a> after reading reviews which assumed the film showed he had a sexual relationship with John du Pont, a relationship which never happened.</p>
<p>So perhaps such deviations suggest that audiences hungry for fact-based stories are being short changed. What is the value of the “true story” if the narrative parts company with the source reality? New Yorker reviewer Christian Caryl, for example, <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/dec/19/poor-imitation-alan-turing/">thinks</a> that the portrayal of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game stereotypes him as the nerd-as-genius and ignores both his complexity and the collaborative nature of the code-breaking work at Bletchley Park.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2jRs4EAvWM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Ethics of the true story</h2>
<p>Fact-based films have their literary equivalent – creative non-fiction. And it’s a genre that operates within clear rules. As writer <a href="https://www.creativenonfiction.org/what-is-creative-nonfiction">Lee Gutkind puts it</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘Creative’ doesn’t mean inventing what didn’t happen, reporting and describing what wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean that the writer has a licence to lie. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But it seems that this code of ethics doesn’t apply to films.</p>
<p>If the facts are too constraining, then why not dream up an original idea? It’s not just about escapist fantasy either: invention can reveal more than re-engineered facts. <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/magazine/1999/minnesota-declaration-truth-and-fact-in-docum">Werner Herzog once stated</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are deeper strata of truth in cinema, and there is such a thing as poetic, ecstatic truth. It is mysterious and elusive, and can be reached only through fabrication and imagination and stylisation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The desire for the actual, lived narrative is understandable – yet there can be profound truth in fiction. Pawel Pawlikowski’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-unique-exploration-of-polands-unspoken-unspeakable-history-ida-is-spectacular-32301">Ida</a> has been nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film and took the best foreign film BAFTA this year. This is the fictional story of a Polish novice nun in the 1960s who discovers that she is Jewish. It has a real historical context, but its reach is much wider. Pawlikowski said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I wanted to make the film very specific and very concrete, and at the same time universal and poetic … Audiences in Brazil, Spain or Finland respond to it because it transcends the time and the place where it is set.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A made-up story can carry more weight than re-cooked “reality”. So strong is the air of authenticity and verisimilitude in Linklater’s mesmerising Boyhood that it’s like looking at childhood, adolescence and the passing of time with an emotional magnifying glass. Linklater tells an invented story freed from biographical “fact”, yet he uses the cinematic form to illuminate the changes in family life in a way that would be impossible in any other medium. It’s no biopic – but it tells us something true.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally O'Reilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood has beaten off the competition to scoop the Best Picture Award at this year’s Baftas. Filmed in sections over 12 years, Boyhood is in some ways the ultimate cinematic take on…
Sally O'Reilly, Lecturer in Creative Writing, The Open University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/24319
2014-03-13T14:32:53Z
2014-03-13T14:32:53Z
BAFTA wins reflect British flavour in modern gaming
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43843/original/36r7cf7j-1394712605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Come on old chap, let's get you a nice cup of tea and a bourbon cream.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smademediagalleria/9271565273/sizes/o/">smademedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As early as 2009, Keiji Inafune, then head of R&D at games company Capcom saw the writing on the wall. “Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished,” <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/capcom-inafune-japan-games-industry%5D">he warned</a>. And the 2014 <a href="http://www.bafta.org/games/awards/">BAFTA Games Awards</a> might just have proved him right.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43850/original/zs5qzk9p-1394715467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The papery world of Tearaway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://tearaway.mediamolecule.com/">Mediamolecule</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The headline winner on the night was US title <a href="http://www.thelastofus.playstation.com/">The Last of Us</a>, which won best game, best story and a host of other awards, but a number of other big successes were British made. Grand Theft Auto V took best multi-player game while [Tearaway](<a href="http://tearaway.mediamolecule.com/">https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftearaway.mediamolecule.com%2F&ei=fa4hU6SILOrR7Ab774CoDQ&usg=AFQjCNF0utX3ioSTjxyzamsSm9_1xeTRNw&bvm=bv.62922401,d.ZGU</a>, a game which gets players to navigate a world made entirely of paper, was named best family title. And across the nominees and awards, the rise of a quintessentially British flavour is evident.</p>
<p>The current trend for games with a quirky edge, satirical humour and offbeat story lines is in contrast to the old days in which Japanese games ruled the roost. Something is changing and it raises the question of the relationship between games and national identity.</p>
<h2>Global games, national quirks</h2>
<p>It has been suggested that there are particular national styles of game. The British are renowned for their humour, Scandinavian games for gore and French games, according to journalist David Crookes, for a “<a href="http://www.nowgamer.com/news/912422/videogame_nation_interview.html">wide stylistic range and emotion</a>”.</p>
<p>Japanese games, on the other hand, are known for artistic graphical style and a heavily stylised form of the portrayal of violence, as can be seen in No More Heroes, Mad World or Devil May Cry. It seems that gamers have become a little tired of these values and are on the hunt for something different.</p>
<p>Tearaway and Grand Theft Auto V both offer outstanding gameplay and have been celebrated for their technical prowess but also celebrate what may be seen as quintessentially British whimsy and humour. Next to its controversial story lines, Grand Theft Auto is perhaps best known for its satirical edge as evidenced in the in-game radio stations, billboard advertising and its outrageous portrayal of American capitalism. </p>
<p>This is not necessarily a new feature of British gaming. Classic retro games such as Manic Miner and the quirky humour within the Lego Star Wars series are other examples, as are some <a href="http://www.rare.co.uk/games">Rare</a> games and <a href="http://littlebigplanet.playstation.com/">LittleBigPlanet</a> (from the makers of Tearaway), which is narrated in thoroughly British fashion by Stephen Fry.</p>
<p>But the success of games like these in the 2014 BAFTAs suggest it is in playing to such national characteristics that videogames can succeed both critically, commercially and artistically.</p>
<h2>Play like a Brit</h2>
<p>The shift is not just about artistic style either. The type of gameplay that was popular while Japan ruled the roost is on the way out too.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43857/original/rg835tvm-1394717087.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Animal Crossing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spike55151/4205252262/sizes/o/">Spike55151</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Japanese games are known for their promotion of story lines that centre on a culture of collection, such as that seen in the hugely successful Pokemon series, or for letting players simply enjoy play rather than having specific objective or goal, like in the Animal Crossing series.</p>
<p>These different mechanisms of play are indeed seen by many as a distinctive art form but while the traits that made Japanese games so popular remain, there has not been much innovation. It’s a characteristic frequently seen in the broader Japanese political economy – iteration and improvement are more prevalent than radical innovation.</p>
<p>The rise of British games in recent years not only suggests that there is a bright future ahead for nationally distinctive innovative teams but also speaks to a bigger political picture. Defining games as nationally distinctive is, in part, a political act. In doing so, we make games part of our national heritage and might start to look at them as we would look on the work of our national artists. It’s all part of the growing place of gaming in our cultural and economic identity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Robinson receives funding from the Swedish Research Council.</span></em></p>
As early as 2009, Keiji Inafune, then head of R&D at games company Capcom saw the writing on the wall. “Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished,” he warned. And the 2014 BAFTA Games…
Nick Robinson, Associate Professor in Politics, University of Leeds
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.