Ciara Wardlow
Film School Rejects
United States
Contact Ciara
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Past articles by Ciara:
'Antebellum' Ending Explained
We can explain what happens at the end of 'Antebellum.' Why anyone thought this movie should be made, though, is a mystery for the ages. → Read More
The Most Annoying Mad Scientist Cliche is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Fault
‘Frankenstein’ brought it to the movies, but Mary Shelley’s not to blame. The author deserving the credit is Nathaniel Hawthorne. → Read More
The Mysterious Case of Vanishing Corpses, Explained
Sometimes when characters die in the movies, their bodies disappear. Let's talk about why with a look at the vanishing corpses trope. → Read More
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter: An Ode to a Quietly Great Performance
Sometimes a great performance is made in the quietest moments. That's true of Michael Shannon in Take Shelter, our latest celebration of Great Performances. → Read More
Why Zombies Never Go Out of Style: A History of a Movie Trope
Want an easy way to make your movie both accesible and marketable while also raising its narrative stakes? Zombies will never go out of style. → Read More
Ranking the Characters of Netflix's 'Dark' from Most to Least Messy
We take a deep dive into the convulted plot and characters of Netflix's Dark and rank them based on their messiness within the series. → Read More
Why Dead Birds are the Ultimate Warning Sign
It's all fun and games until the chirping stops. We explain the origin of the movie trope where dead birds signal danger of some kind. → Read More
The Strange Innocence of the Himbo
What is a himbo? We dig into the archetypal character's origins and examine why so many of us love these attractive yet unintelligent men. → Read More
The Ending of 'Inception' Explained
If you've still got questions about that spinning top, here are the answers. We explore the ending of Inception. → Read More
The Forgotten History of Cinema’s First Pandemic
Nobody knows what happens next, but here's what happened last time. → Read More
The Ending of Bong Joon-ho Movie Parasite Explained
Some truths are written in stone (pun somewhat intended). We break down the ending of Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's 2020 Best Picture winner. → Read More
Exploring the Many Faces of Parasitism with 'Parasite'
We explore Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning masterpiece, 'Parasite,' by breaking down the title and how it fits with the natural definition of parsitism. → Read More
Escape to 'Deadwood' and Stay Awhile
Thanks to 'Deadwood: The Movie,' this forerunner of peak TV is now prime binge material. → Read More
Have You Noticed This "Strong Female Character" Naming Trend?
She's not like those other girls because she's basically one of the guys. We explore a recent trend in Strong Female Character naming. → Read More
Why Mentors Have To Die
Some archetypes should really come with hazard pay. In this edition of Elements of Story, we consider the rule that mentor characters must die. → Read More
Why Movies Love Blue Butterflies Best
There are some good reasons we have warm feelings towards blue insects. → Read More
How the Devil Became a Dreamboat: Exploring the Byronic Hero with Kylo Ren
As it turns out, the popular problematic favorite and the OG problematic favorite are basically the same person. On Kylo Ren and the Byronic Hero. → Read More
No, We're Not About to See 'Contagion' Come True
Let's all just take a deep breath and talk science for a minute. The coronavirus situation doesn't necessarily mean we're about to live through Contagion. → Read More
Filmmaker of the Year: Martin Scorsese
This year, we celebrate a perennial favorite. Our Filmmaker of the 2019 is Martin Scorsese, and here's why. → Read More
The 50 Best Comedy Movies of the Decade (2010-2019)
Comedy is in the eye of the beholder. Trying to put together a definitive ranking is basically an impossible task, but we're trying anyway. → Read More