Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018) implicitly explores queer themes through intense, emotionally charged female relationships among students. These subtextual bonds contribute to the psychological depth and atmospheric tension, reflecting themes of desire and repression within a Victorian boarding school without explicit affirmation or denigration.

The series adapts a novel where the characters were established as white. The portrayal of Marion Quade, a significant character, by an Indigenous Australian actress constitutes a race swap.

The film depicts a girls' boarding school where rigid Victorian societal norms and surrogate parental authority are subtly questioned and undermined, rather than affirmed, leaning towards a progressive stance on traditional structures.

The film portrays Christian-influenced institutions and figures as rigid, oppressive, and hypocritical. The narrative critiques the repressive Victorian morality, showing it as a source of suffering and ineffective against the inexplicable events. The headmistress, Mrs. Appleyard, embodies a harsh and unyielding authority often justified by a veneer of piety.