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Petersen

Name: Petersen
Director: Tim Burstall
Released: 1974
Duration: 107 min

Representation Score

3.3/10

Limited

1974

Director

Tim Burstall

Runtime

107 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Jock Petersen serves primarily as a character study focused on social and interpersonal conflicts. While the film lacks significant diversity in terms of race or LGBTQ+ identity, it delves into the psychological changes experienced by its characters. The narrative achieves a moderate level of representation by challenging traditional gender power dynamics. By emphasizing the lecturer's professional success as a disruptive force against conventional domestic structures, the film goes beyond simple clichés. However, the film remains largely reflective of the demographic homogeneity of its time, providing a limited perspective on the social landscape.

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Category Breakdown

Does Petersen have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not include any explicit LGBTQ+ characters or situations involving non-straight relationships. The story centers on the relationship between a married man and a lecturer.

How does Petersen portray gender?

Fair

The film challenges traditional gender roles by highlighting the lecturer's professional autonomy and career ambitions, which influence the protagonist's emotional state.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Petersen?

Limited

The setting reflects the demographic homogeneity of mid-1970s academic institutions. There is no indication of diverse casting or intentional blending of different racial backgrounds.

How does Petersen represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story focuses on secular, psychologically complex views of human relationships rather than religious doctrines. It explores moral ambiguity through themes of infidelity and disrupted family structures.

Does Petersen include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no information available about characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender power dynamics by highlighting female professional success as a disruptive force.
Explores complex, secular themes of moral ambiguity and the breakdown of traditional stability.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight characters.
Reflects the demographic homogeneity of the 1970s with little evidence of racial or ethnic diversity.

Official Synopsis

Tony Petersen, a married electrician and ex-footballer, goes to university to study English. Petersen is odd man out at the uni. He receives extracurricular help from his stuffy professor's beautiful lecturer wife in her office. Their get-togethers there are quite rootine. The professor is also seeing one of his students after class. Petersen and the professor's wife talk about having a baby. But then she accepts an appointment to Oxford, provoking a rage in Petersen...

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