Articles by author: pmcilroy

  • Professor Emeritus Barry Grant Releases New Book About Director Peter Jackson

    Wednesday, April 08, 2026 | By

    A photo of a man next to the cover image of his book that features a photo of director Peter Jackson

    Dr. Barry Grant, Professor Emeritus from the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has released a new book – Peter Jackson: Film Authorship in a Global Hollywood.  Tracing Jackson’s trajectory through detailed textual analysis, Dr. Grant examines how he mobilizes the conventions of Hollywood film genres to speak to audiences in his home country of New Zealand, as well as engage audiences around the world. Dr. Grant is an internationally known film critic and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His book delivers thoughtful close readings of every Jackson film.

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  • Associate Professor Duncan Koerber Releases New Book on Social Media Crisis

    Wednesday, April 08, 2026 | By

    A photo of a man in a suit jacket, sitting in a backyard setting.

    Dr. Duncan Koerber, Associate Professor of Business Communication in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has released a new book – Crisis in a Tweet: The Rise of the Social Media Crisis.  “Unlike traditional emergencies caused by natural disasters or product failures, social media upheaval originates in the digital realm but leads to real world consequences – job losses, reputational harm, and public shame – disproportionate to the original act.”  Dr. Koerber’s research and teaching focuses on crisis communication theory, writing pedagogy, and media and journalism history.

     

     

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  • The 2026 CPCF Campaign Challenge

    Tuesday, March 03, 2026 | By

    Three students pose for a photo while holding a oversized check and a trophy. Behind them is a red wall with the Brock University logo.

    The 2026 CPCF Campaign Challenge was held on Friday, February 27th at Brock University.  It brought together industry experts and three amazing teams of students who pitched their marketing ideas for how to attract young people to take the GO Train’s Toronto-Niagara route.  The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film would like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s successful challenge.

    The panel of judges – Elizabeth Beale, Chris Giles, Dharmi Gohil and Claire Terrio, all of whom are CPCF grads who have gone on to prove themselves in the world of communication, marketing and media, were very impressed by the interesting pitches made and the professionalism of the three finalist teams.

    At the end of the day, the event’s fantastic MCs Harmon Kaur and Solomon Mike, who were last year’s winning team, handed off the O’Malley Cup to this year’s victors.  Congratulations to Mercedes Agahzadeh, Arianne D’Arcy, and Sydney Miller who impressed with their professional ad mockups tied directly into a focus on specific seasonal marketing.

    Finally, a special thanks to the cup’s original owner, and the constant patron of the competition, Terry O’Malley who joined us for the day’s festivities.

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  • Dr. Barry Grant Helps Celebrate 50 years of BUFS

    Monday, January 19, 2026 | By

    Th movie poster for avid Cronenberg's Shivers features an illustration of a woman in a bathtub with blood running over the side. Best to the poster is a photo of Dr. Barry Grant.

    Professor Emeritus and Internationally Recognized Horror Scholar, Dr. Barry Grant, will be in attendance to introduce the next film in this year’s anniversary series: Shivers (1975)!

    The Brock University Film Society’s “Festival of 50” continues Thursday, January 22 at the Niagara Artist Centre’s Microcinema, with a screening of David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975). We’ve been revisiting some of the most important films that were released in 1975, the year BUFS was founded, and this is the first of two screenings co-sponsored by the Centre for Canadian Studies that are focusing on Canadian cinema (Canadian exploitation cinema, or Canuxploitation, to be more accurate).

    Shivers, of course, was the film that launched Cronenberg as a horror specialist and set him on a path to becoming one of the great auteur filmmakers of the last half century. It’s the film that prompted fans and critics to nickname Cronenberg “the Baron of Blood” and “the King of Venereal Horror.” It’s also a film that caused a furor when it was released in 1975 because of the fact that it had been financed in part by the Canadian Film Development Corporation. As Robert Fulford put it to his Canadian readers in the pages of Saturday Night, “You should know how bad this film is. After all, you paid for it.” How “bad” is Shivers? There’s only one way to find out.

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  • New Spaces available in Film History II (FILM 2P99)

    Thursday, January 08, 2026 | By

    A collage of images. A black and white image from the Film Citizen Kane, in which a man in a suit is standing on top of a sea of newspapers. A black and white image from Roshomon, showing two samurai in a forest. The third is a colour image from Bonnie and Clyde featuring the two main characters smiling and driving in their car.

    Film History II (FILM 2P99) has just opened up a few more spaces! If interested contact [email protected]

    The class runs Monday 8:00-9:00am and Friday 9:00-12:00pm in STH 215.

    The course looks at Hollywood and international cinema from WW2 to the modern era.

  • The CPCF Campaign Challenge is Back for 2026

    Thursday, December 18, 2025 | By

    A group of people pose for a photo in front of the Brock University wall in the Rankin Family Pavilion with CPCF Campaign Challenge winners Solomon Mike, who holds up a giant cheque, and Harman Kaur, who holds up the O’Malley Cup trophy.

    The CPCF Campaign Challenge is back for 2026! The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film will once again host the event on Friday, February 27.

    Teams of students will attempt to solve a contemporary communication issue by developing and presenting a creative pitch that offers a compelling solution. Finalist teams will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry expert judges. The winning team will take home $1,500, with additional cash prizes for the second and third place teams.

    This year’s challenge asks: How do you get 18–24 year-olds to switch from cars to the new Toronto–Niagara GO Train route? How would you make the train more attractive than the alternative?

    For more information and official contest rules, be sure to check out the Campaign Challenge site. Also, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for updates.

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  • Karen Louise Smith Introduces High School Students to Communication Studies

    Thursday, December 11, 2025 | By

    A professors stands amongst a group of seated high school students

    Do we need a ‘nutrition label’ for our internet plans?

    This was one of the exercises given to prospective students on Dec. 5 at Brock University.  The Faculty of Social Sciences hosted high school students from all over the Niagara Region, giving them the opportunity to experience University learning, explore potential career paths and participate in interactive activities led by current students and faculty.

    In the session facilitated by the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Professor Karen Louise-Smith and attendees explored some of the common complaints Canadians have made about their home internet service. They then worked in groups to prototype a nutrition style label for internet plans to provide clearer information to Canadian consumers in the future.

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  • A Feature Course for Winter D3: Film Music, MUSI 3P50

    Tuesday, November 25, 2025 | By

    close up on hands playing a violin. Behind is some sheet music.

    The Department of Music is offering a course on Film Music next term & has waived the prerequisites for all students who have completed first year studies.

    Feature Course: Film Music, MUSI 3P50 – Winter D3

    Do you love watching movies and listening to music? Consider taking Film Music (MUSI 3P50) with Dr. Nina Penner, running Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00-10:20 a.m. this Winter term at MIWSFPA. You’ll study one film a week, analyzing how the music contributes to the storytelling. The focus will be on the science fiction genre, but final projects can explore any genre of film. Films included on the syllabus are Metropolis, The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Alien, Battlestar Gallactica, Interstellar, Arrival, and Black Panther.

    Assessment includes in-class participation, reading annotations, a presentation, and a final project, which could be a creative project such as rescoring a scene from a film. This course is open to all students in second year and above, no musical experience required. If you are interested, please email Dr. Penner ([email protected]) to request an override.

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  • The Film Production Class Starts Rolling

    Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | By

    A close-up of hands holding a film slate with info on it referring to the current scene, shot and take. In the background a group of students can be seen handling production equipment, and setting up the camera.

    After spending the last few weeks familiarizing themselves with the department’s camera, lighting and sound equipment, Andrew Martiniuk and his class of young filmmakers started shooting a scene as a crew.

    Every take required the students to work as a team.  Everyone had their part to play: gear to check, lines to learn and directions to follow.  As they moved through each setup, students found themselves drawing on the theory and history they have studied in their coursework. Film concepts were no longer abstract ideas. Instead, they became practical tools that guided the students’ creative decisions.

    With Martiniuk’s guidance, the class navigated everything from blocking actors to adjusting light levels, and they discovered how collaborative and dynamic a working set can be.

    Check out the Gallery to see the crew at work.

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  • Senator Andrew Cordozo Meets With the Communication and Media Policy Class

    Monday, November 17, 2025 | By

    A screen shot from a virtual meeting. It is split with one half being the Senator in his office, and the other a class rom full of students in a lecture hall. everyone is giving a thumbs up.

    The Honourable Senator Andrew Cardozo participated in a video call with the Communication and Media Policy (Comm 3P19) course on Oct. 31st, 2025. The students learned about the work of a Senator including reviewing bills and hearing from witnesses when studying them in a committee. Senator Cardozo shared some of their experiences of applying to be a Senator, and the implications of Senate reforms from 2015, which have increased the number of Senators who are not affiliated with a political party. The class also benefited greatly from learning about Senator Cardozo’s work to contribute to policies related to the future of the CBC, and some of his previous experiences as a CRTC Commissioner.

    Thank you to Senator Cardozo and the SENgage program for making this visit possible.

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