Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

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Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 12

July 2025

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Culture

Film Review of Wicked Little Letters

By

Vincent

Vincent writes from Long Bay Correctional Centre in New South Wales.

StudioCanal

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Set in the period following ‘The Great War’ (World War I), Wicked Little Letters is a comedic re-telling of true events that took place in Littlehampton, England. It follows the tale of a mischievous letter writer with a penchant for obscenities as the wide-spread receipt of profanity-laden letters spark a public uproar, police investigation, and a high-profile court case. The investigation to uncover the culprit and the relationships between the ladies of Littlehampton is captured utilising peppery and tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

A significant theme of the film is gender relations and Christian conservatism, as the story frames the town’s gender dynamics within the Christian belief system and its associated social structures. The defects of patriarchy are revealed through the battles faced by the film’s primary protagonists. Edith (Olivia Colman) is shown to live in complete servitude and subservience to her overbearing father. Rose (Jessie Buckley) is constantly asserting her independence as a single mother while deflecting taunts and digs at her supposed lack of modesty and morality. Power relations in the workplace are seen through the experiences of Gladys (Anjana Vasan) and how she contends with male colleagues and superiors in the police force.

Wicked Little Letters is a fascinating story of how profanities alone disrupted and confronted the public moral consciousness of a small English village. A slight downfall of the film is its almost too-simplistic portrayal of male dominance and conservative naivety. The viewer does need to suspend their critical thought to fully enjoy all that this movie has to offer.

Review:

3.5 jailbirds – “A foxy film!”

Set in the period following ‘The Great War’ (World War I), Wicked Little Letters is a comedic re-telling of true events that took place in Littlehampton, England. It follows the tale of a mischievous letter writer with a penchant for obscenities as the wide-spread receipt of profanity-laden letters spark a public uproar, police investigation, and a high-profile court case. The investigation to uncover the culprit and the relationships between the ladies of Littlehampton is captured utilising peppery and tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

A significant theme of the film is gender relations and Christian conservatism, as the story frames the town’s gender dynamics within the Christian belief system and its associated social structures. The defects of patriarchy are revealed through the battles faced by the film’s primary protagonists. Edith (Olivia Colman) is shown to live in complete servitude and subservience to her overbearing father. Rose (Jessie Buckley) is constantly asserting her independence as a single mother while deflecting taunts and digs at her supposed lack of modesty and morality. Power relations in the workplace are seen through the experiences of Gladys (Anjana Vasan) and how she contends with male colleagues and superiors in the police force.

Wicked Little Letters is a fascinating story of how profanities alone disrupted and confronted the public moral consciousness of a small English village. A slight downfall of the film is its almost too-simplistic portrayal of male dominance and conservative naivety. The viewer does need to suspend their critical thought to fully enjoy all that this movie has to offer.

Review:

3.5 jailbirds – “A foxy film!”

Book Review: The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou

Book Review: The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou

Book Review: The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou

By Alexander
By Alexander

The genre is crime fiction, set in the Australian outback, in rural, sometimes insular communities where everyone seems to know everyone else. This is set in the outback NSW town of Cobb where a woman, a local school teacher, has been stoned to death.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 7

3 MIN READ

Locked Up on Screen: The Enduring Appeal of Prison Movies

Locked Up on Screen: The Enduring Appeal of Prison Movies

Locked Up on Screen: The Enduring Appeal of Prison Movies

By Benjamin Aitken
By Benjamin Aitken

Even before going to prison, I was drawn to prison movies. Now, after my time inside, I’m even more captivated.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 11

4 MIN READ

Aussies Bring Home the Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Aussies Bring Home the Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Aussies Bring Home the Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

By Mia Abrahams
By Mia Abrahams

The 2024 Paris Olympics started with a splash (literally). The Opening Ceremony featured 90 boats, filled with country teams waving flags, all floating down a rainy river Seine, as the crowd of 300,000 cheered from the riverbanks.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 3

6 MIN READ

What’s on TV Today?

What’s on TV Today?

What’s on TV Today?

By Grace
By Grace

Stuck with free-to-air TV? Here are some great shows to help time fly by.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 13

2 MIN READ

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Sports Round Up!

By Goal Mouth

A collection of sports news from the past month, including Brisbane possibly being our new sporting capital, Aussie women finding lots of wins in Cricket and loutish crowd behaviour marring the Ryder Cup.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 16

5 MIN READ

Games in Prison: An Interview with Bull Press

By Edith McLellan

We’re Bull Press. We make games – conversational tabletop games – for a prison environment. Most of us have spent time in prison, and we’re based in the USA.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 16

3 MIN READ

Artists With Conviction Celebrates 15 Years!

By Sara

Prison is a noisy place, yet at Risdon Prison, in Tasmania – nestled near bushland and close to the Risdon Brook Dam – the sounds of nature still break through. Despite the din, the calls of native birds are unmistakable.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 15

2 MIN READ

Australia’s First Picture Book About Parents in Prison

By Jacqueline Dinan

A new children’s book addresses the incarceration of parents. It’s titled My Dad’s Gone Away and was written by Andrew Krakouer and Jacqueline Dinan.

Culture

ISSUE NO. 15

2 MIN READ

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