For this episode our Associate Producer Paige Smith has relieved Devan and Will of hosting duties so that she can talk about Eighth Grade’s depiction and use of the Internet — and she’s brought on two friends who survived eighth grade with her, Bronwyn Henderson and Brietta Stewart. It's both a dive into how the film interweaves screens and scrolling with its characters and dramatic presentation, and a personal reflection on how strange and hard it is to grow up — and how much "growing up" has changed.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Eighth Grade created the content on screens differently from other productions
The symbiosis and melding of the Internet with youth identity.
Internet as an ally of self-actualization for kids; Internet as an enemy of self-actualization for kids
Mortifying moments in sex-ed class!
How the lighting of Eighth Grade both persuades us of its reality and generates meaning.
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Additional Resources:
Image Gallery
Works discussed during this episode:
Eighth Grade
Sherlock
The Fault in Our Stars
brietta stewart
brietta completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto with a major in cinema studies. She has special interests in intermedial, experimental and feminist film. Her first publication "An Integration of Cinema and Literature: Towards Intermedially Reading the Screen Like a Page'' (Camera Stylo) examines various modes of sexual storytelling through animation. Currently, she is completing her JD at Thompson Rivers University where she is the co-founder of the Law & Film Club.
Twitter: @briettastewart
Instagram: @brietta_
Bronwyn Henderson:
Bronwyn is a theatre, voice & film actor based in Vancouver. Recently, she appeared in La Cartographe (dir. Nathan Douglas) which is streaming now on CBC Gem. Some of her recent theatre credits include:The Russian Play (Lovecat Theatre/ Vancouver Fringe Festival), Tiny Replicas (Tremors/Rumble Theatre),girls!girlsgirls! (Excavation Theatre), and The Imaginary Invalid (United Players). Bronwyn is a graduate of the UBC BFA in Acting program.
Instagram: @bronnyhenderson