Great Australian Drama And Why It Matters

Over the past year, Australian televisions have been graced with what seems like an unusual amount of local drama. It's been high quality, gripping, devastating- and free-to-air. The ABC in particular have stepped up, providing us with telemovies and serials such as Mabo, Jack Irish and Redfern Now. Channel Ten's Puberty Blues and Nine's Howzat: Kerry Packer's War might not have had the same level of social importance as recent telemovies on the ABC (A Dangerous Remedy, Devil's Dust), but they were both great dramas showcasing real talent.

This is a good thing. Imports from Britain and the US are awesome, and there is much amazing storytelling from all over the world that we can appreciate. As any undergraduate arts student will know all too well, we are living in a globalised world where national boundaries seem to be becoming less and less important. So why does it matter whether we have good Australian drama?

It matters because there are stories here, both true and fictional, that need to be told. We need to know about Australian lives, like Bernie Banton's and those of everyone affected by asbestos. We need serials like Redfern Now, because Australia is not just one big extension of Ramsay St. These stories matter- and we have the talent to be able to tell them.

We have actors that deserve to be seen, who can make Australian storytelling great. People like Anthony Hayes (Devil's Dust), Deborah Mailman (Mabo, Redfern Now) and Don Hany (Devil's Dust) can do amazing things, and Foxtel should not be the only place we can see acting of this calibre.

Dramas like Devil's Dust can show us that our country has been far from perfect over its history, but that there are people out there who are capable of taking of a stand when something isn't right. We need drama like this, and drama that shows our diversity and makes sure we don't forget what has passed. You can mock our film and television industries all you want, but the past few months have shown that these industries are capable of greatness, and they deserve to be recognised.

Worse Things Happen At Sea

A Book Review for Kate

Worse Things Happen at Sea is a moving collection of stories, thoughts and general musings on family life written by actor William McInnes and filmmaker and animator Sarah Watt. It was released shortly before Watt passed away late last year.

Despite the success of both authors in their respective artistic fields and the public attention  that comes with that kind of success, the book is largely a picture of an everyday family. Trips around Australia and backyard antics give it a distinctly local feel and place the Watt/McInnes family among many other families you may know.

Although the authors wrote separately, every chapter is connected in some way. Their styles complement each other, and it is almost as though they are interacting throughout the book.  McInnes writes the way you would expect him to: thoughtful, funny and with a strong awareness of himself. His dry humour and stories of his tendency to get grumpy make him a very human and relatable voice. Watt's storytelling is equally warm, and will stir up emotions at many points. Both are incredibly honest in their writing about life's more difficult challenges. 

The people mentioned most often- the children and parents of both authors- become familiar over the course of the book and by the end a real sense of knowing and understanding this family is developed. The book is scattered with lovely photos of their lives and especially the ocean, which as readers will learn, is an important place for both authors. The final chapters are incredibly moving, and it is difficult  to do justice here to the power of Watt's writing as the book comes to a close.

Reading this book makes you feel very lucky that two such clever and thoughtful souls were willing to share their lives with you for a few hundred pages. It is funny, heart-breaking and thought-provoking all at once. This really is a very special book. 

Shrinking Newspapers: A Journalism Student's Perspective

It's a scary time to be a journalism student. When you tell people what you're studying, their reactions range from a kind-hearted but unconvincing 'oh, well I'm sure you'll be one of the few who gets a job' to an alarmed look followed by an awkward 'mm, it's an interesting time for the media, isn't it?'. It is easy to tell what they are really thinking- what is the point?

It seems that the closer I get to finishing my degree, the less likely it becomes that I will ever hold down a job with a traditional news outlet. As everyone knows, Fairfax is cutting 1,900 jobs and News Ltd is also promising to shed staff. Australian journalism is in transition. Newspapers all over the world are changing- they may even be dying. It's a story that's been around for a while, and saying that the media is not like it used to be is stating the obvious- but yet myself and many of my friends have chosen to study journalism at university. Are we crazy?

 The Australian looked into this earlier in the year, and articles like this only add to that niggling feeling that maybe we're setting ourselves up for failure. Are we ever going to use the skills we're learning in practical subjects? Will anyone care that we understand the concept of an inverted pyramid and will our knowledge of the theory of the Fourth Estate ever help us in a shrinking industry?

Maybe it's about adjusting expectations, which doesn't have to mean downgrading them. It might not be the case that we all see our names in print every day for a forty year career at a major daily, but that doesn't mean that we won't find work that is fulfilling for similar reasons that a job at a newspaper might have been. This might be writing for a website, working in social media or Public Relations, or for a lucky few, gaining a highly coveted position with a revamped but healthy traditional news outlet.

It's also worth pointing out that skills in communication are valuable in a range of areas (well, pretty much every area ever).The subjects I have studied in my Journalism major aren't just about how to write a news article: they are also about analysis, understanding the media in society and appreciating new trends in a globalised world. Surely, these skills could be useful in many contexts. So even if we don't become journalists, this doesn't necessarily mean that we are wasting our time. Isn't the idea of basing your career on what you studied during your three years at university a little out-dated anyway?

Next time you meet a journalism student, don't shudder and show them pity. They are, no doubt, aware of how volatile the job market in their chosen profession is becoming. Maybe they have accepted that their future isn't going to look exactly the way they thought it would when they first selected journalism as a major. But giving up all hope of ever gaining a fulfilling job isn't going to help anyone.

Being a journalism student in 2012 is scary, but it isn't hopeless.

The Rum Diary

The latest movie I've reviewed for lipmag is The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp. You can see it here!

More posts after pre-Easter homework subsides!

lipmag Film Reviews

My latest film reviews for lipmag:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

My Week With Marilyn

Weekend

The Descendants


Have a read if you like! As I mentioned below, My Week With Marilyn is definitely the best film I've seen in a while, but all of these films had something to offer in their own way.

More to come!

welcome back

Well, hello, dear blog. It's been a while. I have to admit that between beach trips, live music adventures and watching plentiful amounts of Dawson's Creek, I forgot about you this summer. Who knows if the revamped template will inspire me to visit you more often, but perhaps a little spruce was all that was needed for a revived existence of posts, pop culture and pics. I hope you can forgive me for my neglect, because now that uni is back in full swing, I definitely need somewhere to rant about things that don't belong in essays or primary source analyses.

I'll start things off again with a very quick post. I have not forgotten writing altogether, though- I've still been doing regular film reviews for lipmag. The best movie I've had the pleasure of seeing and reviewing for some time was My Week With Marilyn- you can read my review here. While you're there, check out what else lip has to offer- it's become a daily visit for me.

I recently got a new and cool camera, so hopefully you'll be seeing some photos on here in the near future. For now, I'll just share a few of my experiments with the ego-boosting indie app Instagram. I hope you find them as hipster as I feel when I take them.

The ever-indie Elizabeth St, North Hobart.

A little bit of Japan in the Botanical Gardens.

A teapot so cute that I haven't actually used it yet.

The Slap and ABC's Latest Ad Campaign

When a program is as heavily promoted as The ABC's The Slap, it's hard not to become skeptical before the opening credits even begin. After seeing an ad for what seems like the thousandth time, it can feel like you've already seen the whole series and already know all the lines off by heart. Despite this, I was still somewhat hopeful that this eight-part Aussie drama would have something in it worth watching. Friends of mine have read the book and swear by it, and as I've already said, there's always that chance that it will be a good old fashioned home-grown classic.

So what was the verdict?  The cast is full to the brim with familiar names and faces, raising expectations high. All in all, they didn't disappoint.  Most notably, Melissa George has graced us folk down-under with her television prescence again as Rosie, the mother of the child that is slapped at Hector's (Jonathan LaPaglia) birthday BBQ. Aside from bringing attention to the program, the cast's major achievement seems to be portraying characters that you instantly hate, yet not in the way that makes you want to stop watching. As each episode is from the perspective of a different one of these characters, there's an incentive to watch again and find out more about what's going on behind the insufferableness.

Of course,  William McInnes' occasional snippets of narration are a highlight. What more do you need?

The Slap screens on ABC1 at 8.30 on Thursdays (it stole Crownies' spot, sigh).

Image from Borders.