2022 Reading List – The Film Magazine
6. Straightwashing Removes All Rainbows: Removing Bisexuals from Comic Book Films
Author: Paul Klein
Twitter: @paulkleinyoo
Superhero cinema has been the dominant box office force for over a decade now, and yet sexuality representation still seems to be lacking. In Paul Klein’s thought-provoking essay, the MCU, DCEU and beyond are put to task regarding the absence of bisexual characters, Paul making a range of exceptional points about how harmful that is.
7. Top Gun: Maverick Is in Love with Companionship, Familiarity
Author: Callum McGuigan
Callum McGuigan contextualises the cultural impact and popular appeal of 2022’s biggest box office hit Top Gun: Maverick in this insightful piece on how our everyday wants and needs are catered for in what is, on the surface, an action spectacle about violence.
8. Cineworld Is Dead. Long Live Content.
Author: Joseph Wade
Twitter: @JoeTFM
A damning indictment of how the film industry has cannibalised itself through shortening theatrical windows and sending many of its films directly to their self-owned streaming services, Joseph Wade chronicles the myriad of reasons why one of the industry’s largest exhibitors was able to fall into bankruptcy.
9. Making Sense of Alex Garland’s ‘Men’
Author: A. D. Jameson
Twitter: @adjameson
Alex Garland’s Men was one of the most provocative (and some would say confusing) releases of 2022. In this essay, A. D. Jameson breaks down the hidden messages within the film in an attempt to unlock Garland’s deeper purpose, unravelling an intricate web of meaning from one of cinema’s most authorial directors.
10. Where to Start with Powell & Pressburger
Author: Sam Sewell-Peterson
Twitter: @SSPThinksFilm
A lot of respect and adoration is poured into Sam Sewell-Peterson’s guide on where to start with the legendary filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The pair, who in many ways perfected classic Hollywood cinema, have a catalogue of must-watch films, and this guide is a useful tool on where to start.
