Beneficial Shock!, Issue 4 – War & Peace

Beneficial Shock! is a new bi-annual magazine for film lovers and design enthusiasts, with accompanying screen based motion features that will champion progressive thinking from contemporary illustrators, graphic designers and photographers. Rather than your standard film magazine full of reviews, celebrity news and press images, Beneficial Shock! aims to use illustration, visual documentation and design in humorous and irreverent ways to expressively interpret film related content.

In short, film is just the beginning.

In each thematic issue we will explore a chosen topic, looking at its relationship to film in surprising and often unconventional ways.

In this issue:
Statistics indicate that of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8% of recorded history. This makes it plainly apparent that our penchant for brutality is very much at odds with a desire to live in peace and harmony.

It’s not all doom and gloom however, as to counter every act of terror, torture or takeover there is a redeeming act of courageous heroism. Movies let us experience these dichotomies from the safety of a cinema seat – seeing the ebb and flow of conflict and resolution at arms length. But what can we learn from these films that can inspire a change of behaviour? We’re hoping that the wide and varied collection of features and comics in this issue will provide some insights into our particularly volatile human condition. From alien invasions and the motivations of cinematic deserters, to the ties that bind crime families together and the topical relevance of Casablanca in contemporary America, it’s time to head for the front line to see what we’re all made of.