Trailer
BATMAN & ROBIN + DISCUSSION
SCIENCE.ART.FILM.
Wed
8
Wed 8 Nov 6:00 PM
Selling Fast
Arc Cinema
Allocated Seating
125 Mins
1997 | DCP | US | D: Joel Schumacher
Science, art and film are among the most powerful cultural institutions we have developed to understand, shape and envision our world.
Screening monthly for FREE at Arc Cinema, SCIENCE. ART. FILM. is a new series that uncovers wacky, weird and wonderful facets of science and art in films.
Films are screened in discussion with artists and ANU scholars from different disciplines.
Presented by the National Film and Sound Archive, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and ANU Humanities Research Centre.
The DC universe is populated with scientists. From Harley Quinn to Swamp Thing, scientists appear as troubled and troubling vaude-villains, as suspicious Frankensteinian creature-creators and enigmatic alchemists engaging in violent delights. Joel Schumacher’s 1997 American superhero film Batman & Robin features two spectacular examples: Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – and thus science galore! This evening is not only about the biologist behind Poison Ivy and the cryogenicist behind Freeze, but also about why they are so insanely, deliciously ridiculous and (thus) worth a closer look from both a science and humour perspective. The introduction to the film will introduce you to the research on science in comics and popular film being undertaken at the ANU and take you on a journey through the mesmerising scientist narratives of the DC universe. After the screening, there will be plenty of time for your thoughts, comments and questions about the film. There is good reason to expect a wildly entertaining and amusing film night and discussion!
‘An amiable, almost farcical Batman episode, with George in Nespressso mode.’ - The Guardian
SPEAKERS
Dr Erica Seccombe
Erica is a practicing artist with 30 years' experience working, teaching and contributing to the sector, and is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU School of Art Design. Her interdisciplinary art/science practice spans traditional lens-based imaging, print media and drawing, to experimental digital platforms using frontier scientific visualisation software. A continuing theme arising in her work is the complex human relationships we have with nature and our natural environments, whether through social, cultural, or with a techno-scientific focus. www.ericaseccombe.com.
Philip Meddows
Philip Meddows was once well known as DyslexicBeanie, a local Canberra documentarian who would cover local events on his YouTube channel via his daily Vlog. He has more prominently been involved in creating award winning interactive educational programs for the Canberra Institute of Technology and the Australian War Memorial, as well as having written, directed and produced a TV Pilot called "Tradies" about a family involved in the criminal underworld of blue collar workers. This year he became the programer for the Emerging Films Festival, showcasing emerging artists with unique visual storytelling talent and is a resident of the Films Plus collaborative space supported by the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE).
Moderator
Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens is a Lecturer in Popular Entertainment Studies at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and the Head of the Popsicule – ANU’s Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub. Her research explores the cultural meanings of science.
Special event!
As part of this film night we will launch a special episode of Sci_Burst! Sci_Burst is a monthly science communication podcast about science, popular culture and entertainment, co-hosted by Isabel Richards and Ella McCarthy. Episode 15 will explore science through the medium of comics and their adaptations, including Batman & Robin.
Isabel Richards is a Science Communication graduate and Research Officer at the Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics. She studies science in popular fiction, the cultural meanings of science and the relationships between humans, the environment and emerging technologies.
Ella McCarthy recently graduated with a double Bachelor of Arts/Science with majors in Science Communication, Biological Anthropology, English and Digital Humanities. She is Operational Lead at ANU Solar Racing and currently completing her Honours year in science communication.
Science, art and film are among the most powerful cultural institutions we have developed to understand, shape and envision our world.
Screening monthly for FREE at Arc Cinema, SCIENCE. ART. FILM. is a new series that uncovers wacky, weird and wonderful facets of science and art in films.
Films are screened in discussion with artists and ANU scholars from different disciplines.
Presented by the National Film and Sound Archive, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and ANU Humanities Research Centre.
The DC universe is populated with scientists. From Harley Quinn to Swamp Thing, scientists appear as troubled and troubling vaude-villains, as suspicious Frankensteinian creature-creators and enigmatic alchemists engaging in violent delights. Joel Schumacher’s 1997 American superhero film Batman & Robin features two spectacular examples: Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – and thus science galore! This evening is not only about the biologist behind Poison Ivy and the cryogenicist behind Freeze, but also about why they are so insanely, deliciously ridiculous and (thus) worth a closer look from both a science and humour perspective. The introduction to the film will introduce you to the research on science in comics and popular film being undertaken at the ANU and take you on a journey through the mesmerising scientist narratives of the DC universe. After the screening, there will be plenty of time for your thoughts, comments and questions about the film. There is good reason to expect a wildly entertaining and amusing film night and discussion!
‘An amiable, almost farcical Batman episode, with George in Nespressso mode.’ - The Guardian
SPEAKERS
Dr Erica Seccombe
Erica is a practicing artist with 30 years' experience working, teaching and contributing to the sector, and is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU School of Art Design. Her interdisciplinary art/science practice spans traditional lens-based imaging, print media and drawing, to experimental digital platforms using frontier scientific visualisation software. A continuing theme arising in her work is the complex human relationships we have with nature and our natural environments, whether through social, cultural, or with a techno-scientific focus. www.ericaseccombe.com.
Philip Meddows
Philip Meddows was once well known as DyslexicBeanie, a local Canberra documentarian who would cover local events on his YouTube channel via his daily Vlog. He has more prominently been involved in creating award winning interactive educational programs for the Canberra Institute of Technology and the Australian War Memorial, as well as having written, directed and produced a TV Pilot called "Tradies" about a family involved in the criminal underworld of blue collar workers. This year he became the programer for the Emerging Films Festival, showcasing emerging artists with unique visual storytelling talent and is a resident of the Films Plus collaborative space supported by the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE).
Moderator
Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens is a Lecturer in Popular Entertainment Studies at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and the Head of the Popsicule – ANU’s Science in Popular Culture and Entertainment Hub. Her research explores the cultural meanings of science.
Special event!
As part of this film night we will launch a special episode of Sci_Burst! Sci_Burst is a monthly science communication podcast about science, popular culture and entertainment, co-hosted by Isabel Richards and Ella McCarthy. Episode 15 will explore science through the medium of comics and their adaptations, including Batman & Robin.
Isabel Richards is a Science Communication graduate and Research Officer at the Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics. She studies science in popular fiction, the cultural meanings of science and the relationships between humans, the environment and emerging technologies.
Ella McCarthy recently graduated with a double Bachelor of Arts/Science with majors in Science Communication, Biological Anthropology, English and Digital Humanities. She is Operational Lead at ANU Solar Racing and currently completing her Honours year in science communication.