Dr Sylvie Magerstaedt

Senior Lecturer, Film and Media

Email: sylvie.magerstaedt@nd.edu.au
Phone: 02 8204 4400

  • Biography

    Sylvie Magerstaedt studied Philosophy and Film and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig, Germany, before completing her PhD in Film Philosophy at the University of Westminster, UK, in 2011. She has since worked as a lecturer and later principal lecturer in media and film at the University of Hertfordshire, as well as a sessional lecturer at Imperial College London. She has published a number of monographs on the representations of myth, philosophy, ethics and religion issues in contemporary fictional cinema and television, from ancient epics to science fiction. Her current research explores, amongst other things, ideas and issues of virtues and character in film and television.

  • Teaching areas

    • Media Cultures
    • Film Studies

  • Research interests and current projects

    • Myth and Religion in Contemporary Film and Television;
    • Virtues and Character on Screen;
    • Contemporary screen adaptations of Arthurian myth and Roman Britain;
    • Mash-up Western myths

  • Research supervision

    I would be happy to supervise projects relating to Film and Philosophy; myth, fantasy cinema and television, fairy tales on screen,  representations of the ancient world and science fiction

  • Books

    • TV antiquity: Sword, sandals, blood and sand (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2019) (The Television Series)
    • Philosophy, Myth and Epic Cinema: Beyond Mere Illusions (London: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2015)
    • Body, Soul and Cyberspace in Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema: Virtual Worlds and Ethical Problems (Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)
    • Kultfilm und Zivilisationskritik - Verfall, Untergang und Neubeginn einer Gesellschaft am Beispiel der Mad Max-Trilogie (GRIN, 2008)
    • Philosophische Voraussetzungen von Gilles Deleuzes Arbeit über das Kino (GRIN, 2007)
    • "Characters create plot" - Lajos Egris “The Art of Dramatic Writing” als Drehbuchtheorie und seine praktische Anwendung am Beispiel von Billy Wilders “Sunset Boulevard” (GRIN, 2007)
    • Der tragische Gott - Über den Begriff des Dionysischen in Nietzsches “Die Geburt der Tragödie” (GRIN, 2001)

  • Journal articles and proceedings

    • ‘Humility and Greatness in Damien Chazelle’s First Man’, Film-Philosophy, Vol. 26(2), 130-148, 2022
    • ‘Riding East – Western myths, nostalgia and the crossing of generic boundaries in Hidalgo (2004)’, Journal of Film and Video, Volume 74(2), 48-60, 2022
    • ‘From Impulse to Action – Noah (2014) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) as secular bible epics’, Religions, Vol. 12(11), Special Issue: Religious Representation and the Philosophy of Film, 2021
    • 'Revival of mythic epics or epic failure? – On gods and heroes in the television shows Olympus (2015) and Troy: Fall of a City (2018)’, in Potter, A. and Gardner, H. (eds.) The Ancient Epic in Film and Television. Edinburgh University Press, 2021.
    • Love thy extra-terrestrial neighbour: Charity and compassion in Luc Besson’s space operas 'The Fifth Element' (1997) and 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets', Religions, 9, no. 10 (2018).

  • Curated exhibitions or events

    • Screening Virtue, Screening Vice: What can films and television shows teach us about virtues and vices? Two-day online workshop at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, Oct 2021
    • International Game of Thrones Conference, in collaboration with the School of Creative Arts, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK (Sep 2017)
    • Screening the Virtues - one-day workshop exploring the philosophical and religious dimensions of virtues as they are portrayed in cinema, in collaboration with the Philosophy group, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK (Feb 2017)
    • Bodies in Transformation - Interdisciplinary Symposium on fictional representations of bodies on screen, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK (May 2016)

  • In the media

    • Radio Interview with Alberta Morning News, Canada on ‘Dark Christmas Fairy Tales’, 23 December 2018, https://omny.fm/shows/alberta-morning-news/dark-christmas-fairy-tales
    • ‘Disney’s Nutcracker: the latest movie to explore the dark side of fairy tales’, The Conversation, November 2, 2018
    • ‘Thor: Ragnarok – the end of the world (but not as we know it)’, The Conversation, 30 October 2017
    • ‘Each era gets the King Arthur it deserves – and we got Guy Ritchie’s’, The Conversation, 24 May 2017

  • Professional affiliations

    • Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)
    • European Network of Cinema and Media Studies (NECS)
    • Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy (ASCP)

  • Community engagement

    ‘Images of Hope – Cinema and Religion’, Holy Week Lecture at Tring Parish, UK,  March 2015 (https://soundcloud.com/user-102737941-769115226/lent-lecture-2015) I have also previously organised an annual ‘Lenten Film Series’ for our local parish, recent topics have included Biblical Heroes and Heroines, Gender, Seven Virtues and the Deadly Sins.