Steven Fernandez

Why Protagonists Must Have Some Virtues

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In my past essays I have explained how Australian feature film stories could be improved by paying attention to originality, substance, and universal themes.  Today I will focus on another consistent weakness I see in Australian features:  Central characters who are unimpressive, unheroic, and quite often dubious. by Steven Fernandez Some writers may try to … Read more

How Indigenous Films Could Be More Universal

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In my last essay I explained how Australian feature stories lack universality. Today I will focus on the one sub-category where I see this lack at its most blatant:  In the case of films that depict indigenous characters and culture. by Steven Fernandez For the purposes of this essay, I will define an “indigenous film” … Read more

How Australian Films Could Be More Universal (2/2)

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Australian feature film stories are too parochial.  I have already written about how our stories could be made more original and more substantive.  Today I will advance why our stories need to be universal as well. by Steven Fernandez A second story concept about racism could be set in a contemporary urban setting. Suppose we have … Read more

How Australian Films Could Be More Universal (1/2)

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Australian feature film stories are too parochial.  I have already written about how our stories could be made more original and more substantive.  Today I will advance why our stories need to be universal as well. by Steven Fernandez Some (if not most) local screenwriters see themselves as champions of local culture when they write loads … Read more