Let’s Use Cinema To Explore Genuine, Healthy Relationships
January Wrap Up and February Writing Contest.
Happy February Everyone (my least favorite month to spell),
I hope everyone had an okay start to the new year, I know “okay” is the best to hope for with the current craziness that is our world. Sending virtual hugs to everyone.
One of the greatest and most challenging things about running this publication is I’m constantly exposed to films and TV shows I’ve never heard of that I immediately want to dive into. So thank you amazing authors for keeping my watchlist perpetually long, I appreciate you. Although I’ll probably never get to all of them, a person can hope. I hope Cinemania readers have the same experience with their watchlist!
Our publication’s goal remains a place for writers to have nuanced, interesting, and fun dialogues about all things Cinema. But I also urge readers and writers to challenge cinema…to seek out film that progresses our society towards justice and explores what makes us human.
But without further ado, here is January’s wrap up and things to look forward to!
January Writing Contest Winners!
Thank you to everyone who participated in Cinemania’s January writing contest, I loved reading all of your wonderful work:) Here are the winners:
- In first place is Christina Sng’s wonderful exploration of Netflix’s 2020 hit show: The Queen’s Gambit Got Me To Play Chess Again
- In second place is Mikhail L. Skoptsov’s personal history with a cult classic: Mulholland Drive Inspired Me to Become A Film Scholar
- In third place is Simon Dillon’s critique on some hard truths from the Star Wars universe: The Real Reason Some Star Wars Fans Hated The Last Jedi
February Writing Contest
The other day I was watching Grace and Frankie, and while I love that show, a realization hit me. Their relationship is entertaining to watch but it really isn’t healthy. There is lots of love but it gets expressed poorly and they hurt each other in the process. It got me thinking, so much of our cinema intake surrounds unhealthy relationships, whether than be romantic, platonic, or familial.
So this month (which has a “holiday” dedicated to romance), I want to challenge writers to watch and explore healthy interpersonal relationships in cinema. So that as a society we can learn and love better. I know it's a harder challenge but I think it’s a worthwhile topic that needs more earnest discussion. I also encourage writers to intersect Black History Month with this contest, if possible.
As always the contest will run until the last day of the month: February 28th, 2021. Winners are announced about 4–5 days into March to give late admissions a fair chance.
This month’s writing contest prompt:
Write an article about a movie, TV, or stage production that shows healthy, genuine, and positive interpersonal relationships. This prompt is very loosely defined, so be creative with it! The author with the most views and highest interaction will win a $20 gift of their choice. The top three submissions will be featured in the next newsletter.
Some prompts to get you thinking:
- A movie or tv show that showed you a healthy way to interact with a loved one (or perhaps a healthy way to interact with yourself, i.e. intrapersonal)
- A piece of cinema that shows toxic relationships so blatantly that it almost becomes a roadmap of “what not to do if you want to have a healthy relationship”
- An exploration of why healthy relationships are rare in cinema
- Or a counterargument defending cinema, maybe you feel there is a good representation of healthy relationships!
The only requirement for submissions is you Tag “February Contest” before submitting your article to the publication. This way, all of our February Contest articles can show up on the homepage in one place! If you’re unsure how to do so, just leave a comment on your article indicating the article is part of the monthly contest.
You can tag up to three articles for the contest! Good luck everyone, I look forward to reading all your wonderful submissions.
Interested in becoming a writer for our publication?
We are currently accepting applications for new writers. If you’re interested in joining the Cinemania writer’s community, check out our submission guidelines.
That’s all from us! Have a wonderful rest of your week:)
-Faith Ann
