Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
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Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
Posted via email from PunchyP
This is a pretty funny set of webisodes and it offers a great reflection on opportunities that are now available for film or TV producers who want to produce work and distribute it at a low cost. There is also some serious money available from cable networks in the US, who are willing to pay for these unique, short and entertaining productions. a thought for the future months, once I finish uni...
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Here are a few photos from my shoot at the Open House exhibition -an annual event in the Nicholas building where people open up their studios and display their art to the flock of people that trek up and down the stairs in this iconic Melbourne building. The atmosphere was electric and the art displayed was all entirely original and fantastically made - all by hand here in Melbourne in their Nicholas building studios. There was also a 'new world' in one of the studios, where you needed a visa to get in... The people (both artists and eager visitors) made it a really interesting and energising night - even if we were lugging our camera gear up and down the old staircases and close-the-door-yourself rusty lifts to see who we could interview next! It's a great building, with a great vibe and anyone interested in art, jewellery, books or any aspect of being alive- should really check out this next year. It was great to see a building full of artists and dreamers who had not been extradicted out of the city to produce their work in secret and 'more affordable' places that rich folk dont want to live in...yet.
Have a look at this blog for info - and this is also where our promo video will be posted to soon.
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This a little video of my observations of the construction of 'Waterhaven' along the highway between Melbourne and Geelong...it speaks for itself really. It says something on the current housing developments in the outskirts of Melbourne or anywhere for that matter, where planning departments and developers are allowing the installation of a fake lake in the middle of the highway to be the incentive for people to move here and isolate themselves further in their new 'community'. Any notion of building a sustainable development here or anywhere is a distant option for the money hungry corporate developers and government planning authorities - who care little about the potential residents, stuck in the middle of nowhere, driving in their cars for everything, and less about the environment which they are destroying. The 'water', a fake lake, is being formed by digging a giant trench in once prominent farmland on the outskirts of Melbourne and the 'haven' I'm assuming will be created in the surrounds of this trench and pseduo bridge which an array of families will no doubt move into, as it constitutes the only option they have in obtaining affordable accommodation. Yet its fake atmosphere and damaged environment is probably not something they would choose to be involved if other accommodation could be provided in sustainable and urban environments. It seems that when you drive through these spaces which are presented as pseudo 'places' you may think that people want to live in these cloned villages with identical brick houses, no backyards and cheap fittings made to look like an upmarket version of a fantastic furniture catalogue; yet it makes you think, where would people live if they had the option to have a different looking house, a backyard or dare I say it, even incorporate the existing farmland into their own backyard and allow them the opportunity to generate their own power and grow their own produce, rather than spend their limited disposable income at the single supermarket chain that charges them to import their banannas from asia or beyond. Is this where and how the next generation of home owners want to live?
This is a topic I will write more on and discuss more broadly at a later date, in the meantime, enjoy watching your farmland being sucked up by a multi-national developer and be replaced with roads to drive your 3 cars on and a far less expensive and less detailed copy of a film set from The Truman Show.
Just some thoughts people, where do you want to live?
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Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
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After our delectable dining at Hardware Lane, we stopped by Robot Bar for a quick drink and a reminder of life in the 80's...
We sipped on frothy and chilled Espresso Martini's while we played Galaga on the big old brown box game machine (official name unknown...however I am sure my disappointed boyfriend will comment with it). We played, yelled, consoled while we fondly remembered our childhoods. The only regrettable incident from the evening was that when I finally managed to win a game, post serious RSI to my right thumb and possible, no definite disturbance to the other more relaxed patrons, I entered my name on the list of winners as 'AAA'...not sure if that means I had started my own association of AA or perhaps needed to, but none the less it was a sign it was time to cease drinking cocktails and journey home. It is a quirky, neo-Tokyo bar found at the end of another of the funky lanes found in Melbourne. If anime was/is your thing, you can gaze at your childhood heros pinned up on the walls or you can place your $1 in the game machine for the reward of 3 lives - if only life was this simple. So when you feel the need to step away from your busy world consumed with worries of jobs, relationships, politics, money and tomorrows pop down to Robot Bar and remember the joy of being a child and only worrying about who wins the next game...
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#MSO #lovemelbourne Last night I had the pleasure of hearing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Town Hall...and it was free! It was the launch of the 2011 season, which looks like a fantastic line up with lots of free community events too. Beautiful way to end a busy and looong day in the edit suite.
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Well Keating may be losing it over who wrote his famous speech from 1992, but at least he had the courage, dignity and compassion to say it, all those years ago. And yet, now in 2010 the country is struggling to find an eligible Prime Minister that can stand up in front of the country and speak with honesty and intelligence. To think that a Prime Minister stood up proudly in front of the country 18 years ago and uttered the below words without questioning his popularity or how he would be perceived by the racists in the country, sadly shocks me now; in contrast to the backwards steps Australia took during the following 12 years of little Johnny and recently with both 'major'/minor parties campaigning with slogans of "we'll stop the boats" and no mentioning of ending the NT Intervention...
The correlation between what Paul Keating said way back then and what should still be an issue for potential political leaders to be discussing cannot be avoided.
It begins, I think, with the act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the disasters. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion.
It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us. With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds. We failed to ask - how would I feel if this were done to me?
As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us.
If we needed a reminder of this, we received it this year. The Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody showed with devastating clarity that the past lives on in inequality, racism and injustice in the prejudice and ignorance of non-Aboriginal Australians, and in the demoralisation and desperation, the fractured identity, of so many Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml
And in relation to the racist political campaigns broadcast by both Gillard and Abbott in connection to their slogans "we'll stop the boats", one can also refer back to Paul Keatings words and his acknowledgment of Australia's multicultural past and the history of playing our part in helping a small number of the world's refugees.
We non-Aboriginal Australians should perhaps remind ourselves that Australia once reached out for us. Didn't Australia provide opportunity and care for the dispossessed Irish? The poor of Britain? The refugees from war and famine and persecution in the countries of Europe and Asia? Isn't it reasonable to say that if we can build a prosperous and remarkably harmonious multicultural society in Australia, surely we can find just solutions to the problems which beset the first Australians - the people to whom the most injustice has been done. http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml
When reviewing this speech (and ignoring Paul Keating's current rants on ownership of the writing) it really is incredibly shocking to see how our once progressive, compassionate and intelligent leader uttered these words and how much since it, Australia has regressed to its racist, fearful and parnoid past. The only politician that speaks with such pride, intelligence and compassion now is the new Greens MP Adam Bandt and all I can hope is that his presence in the HoR now can mean a shift back to Australia's promising future.
As Paul Keating said,
I think what we need to do is open our hearts a bit.
All of us. http://australianpolitics.com/executive/keating/92-12-10redfern-speech.shtml
Now that's not too hard is it Australia? You made your stance in the recent election and increased your votes for the Greens, which means they can now play a larger role in implementing progressive policy into the Australian Parliament, which clearly resulted from them being the only party that actually presented policy and contributed to intelligent debate prior to the election. The added advantage of this movement and the lack of any difference between the two minor leaders creating a hung parliament, also means for the first time that the fakeness, deceit and manipulation that occured in the campaign will be closely scrutinised by the independents before Australia is given the result...so isn't it time to help promote the start of another new era in politics and society? To start a call to action, that demands a strong leader, one who can stand up in front of the nation and say what they think, without questioning if it is popular, without editing themselves to see if it will get votes, but a leader that simply sees the racisim, the deceit, the regression of Australia and decides to make it stop! As Paul Keating said, "the past lives on in inequality, racism and injustice in the prejudice and ignorance of non-Aboriginal Australians" so let's start a future for Australia that does not include any of those traits.
Paul Keating's famous speech from 1992 can be read here and listened to here. Let's hope there are more speeches like this to come in the future of Australia...
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I went out into the Corangamite electorate to examine what was happening in this marginal seat on Election Day 2010. In sum, there was much confusion, little motivation or enthusiasm and some people did not know who to vote for before and after they had visited the polling booths! The election night was as dull as the one and only debate and any resulting hung parliament is clearly a consequence of having such an insincere, rushed and pseudo election campaign by both major parties. So watch for yourselves the thoughts of one marginal seat here in Corangamite. What's to come? A serious suck job by both party leaders and hopefully some sincere self reflection into what went wrong and why Australians did not buy their fakeness and fear campaigns. At the end of the day, it is a time to celebrate with the first Greens seat in the lower house and the beginning of a parliament that is truly reflective of what the people want from their leaders and their government - diversity, compassion and intelligent debate!
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Jay Rosen's latest blog covers the idea of having a 'Citizens Agenda in Campaign Coverage' and something that could take the frustration of never having questions answered substantially on our only hope #qanda (Q&A, ABC). Have a read and see what you think yourselves, I feel it is something we should work towards for the next election (with whatever happens on Saturday, it will certainly be time for a change by then and having an intelligent and meaningful campaign could lead to having intelligent, compassionate and informed political contenders?) Let's hope.
As Jay suggests, community consultation to decide on what the campaign's focus is a very good start and a voting system of whether the questions posed to the potential leaders were actually answered would be fantastic. This would also avoid the current situation where racist and defamatory political slogans such as "we'll stop the boats" become a focus for voters and politicians alike. And not many people seem to notice that this contradicts our international and humanitarian obligations to the UN Treaty we signed in 1973, yet it is broadcast across TV ads, no journalists have raised its seriousness (in relation to racism and our UN agreements) and yet the politicians themselves choose these random non-issues to create fear in our society and distract from the fact they have no real policies in the nation’s interests or credibility to even be running. Perhaps we can get it started for 3 years time and plan for a better future in politics, media and society in 2013!
Also this essay by Jay which discusses 'Journalism as Civic Leadership' should be considered an essential part of journalism and could be the way of the future in resolving Australia's current media meltdown.
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Sue Bolton speaking at the Rally for Refugees, Friday 13 August 2010. Check out my previous blogs for more information.
Sue is explaining the shameful history of Australia's treatment of refugees. Need I say more? I think not. Watch the video and ask yourself if it is ok if Australia's racist policies are continually sustained or is it finally time to change, find some humanitarian policies and well if they doesn't grab you, maybe we should in the very least not ignore international laws and just abide by our legal obligations with the UNHCR Treaty which we signed in 1973.
And watch below for footage of the rally itself, that was uplifting, energising and thankfully marched in by a very large and diverse crowd on Melbourne's streets. I just hope that one day, this rally will seem unnecessary and bizarre, as there will be no racist politicians continuing Australia's shameful past and refugees will be treated with the dignity, respect and compassion that they deserve. Read previous blogs for further comments, links and videos from the rally.
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Well the pressures of new and final university assignments, concerns with the current election campaigns by our major parties and film shoots for my documentary are preventing me from focusing on any further journalism research at this stage. I am going to a talk with Jay Rosen on Tuesday 17 August and will endeavour to make a little post about that, however, I will get back to my journalism site after the above tasks are finished. Check out my favorite links on my blog, which have very informative and current information on all things media!
Hope you enjoyed the research report and if you feel the need to read my daily rantings about the above issues, feel free at http://punchyp.posterous.com/
See you soon.
Clare
The second speaker at the rally was Gary Anan, a Tamil Refugee who escaped persecution and arrived in Australia in 1996, where he was sent to a detention centre.
He spoke of his false arrests, suffering and pain as a Tamil in Sri Lanka and how he finally escaped to Australia after much abuse and fear for his life. He spoke of his pain in the detention centre in Australia as a 17 year old refugee (and his experience now as a counselor for refugees) and he highlighted the fact (already obvious to me but apparently confusing for the LCD's who continue to mention some form of a queue that is supposed to be lined up in) that refugees do not have a choice, they do not have any other options and that they are escaping persecution and threats of violence.They are running from, not running to.
He also mentioned an experience he had on a tram one day, when a woman came up to him and said,
"If all the migrants left we would have some space"
which he replied "yeah maybe we should all leave and let the aborigines have their land back."
Gary ended his speech with ‘open your hearts, that is all we’re asking.’
Now that’s not that hard is it? Is it Australia? Make a stance against the derogatory terms being publicly broadcast by the major party contenders Spillard and Abbutt. Refugees are not “boat people”, the only real use of the term should be how former Prime Minister Bob Hawke recently used it, “we’re all boat people, that’s how we found the place.” And on the front cover of the Big Issue magazine this week, there was a photo of surf life savers in a boat with the title "boat people, Australia would not be the same without them!" These are the only appropriate uses of the phrase 'boat people', any association with this phase and asylum seekers is immoral, inhumane, illegal, racist and unacceptable.
Refugees are people, they are fellow humans, they are mothers, fathers, children, they had homes that they loved and lost due to war, persecution and violence, they have friends and loved ones that they miss, they have no belongings, no tangible assets, all they have is their strength, their hearts and their torturous memories of where they have come from and what they have been through to get to a land and beg for help, some of them have spent their entire lives in refugee camps and prisons, with no clean water, no food, no clothing, they left everything to merely try and survive and make it through one more day without being killed or dying of disease. Come on Australia, open your hearts and at least form your political decisions on facts, our proven racist past and not on propaganda, lies and campaigns that focus on causing fear and hysteria in our society.
To see some photos and information from this rally check out melbourne protests blog
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Adam Bandt opens his address at the Rally for Refugees on Friday 13 August 2010 with the point that "despite what you see on the television and despite what people may want you to think, there is a very strong undercurrent in Australia and especially here in Melbourne, that says 'we are going to stand up for compassion and we are going to stand against racisim'". Adam Bandt states that the creation of hysteria and the political ads by both Spillard and Abbutt which contain images of boats highlights the disturbing arguments they are both presenting. The deceitful correlations between population, immigration and refugees - "which are entirely separate issues" needs to stop. Adam made the important point that what Spillard should be stating to the LCD Australian public in regards to the very small numbers of refugees that are arriving in Australia (it would take 20 years to even fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground) is "I understand that you feel anxious but there is no need to be." Instead she and Abbutt continue to spread fear and paranoia through our society and fail to draw attention to our international obligations (in signing the UNHCR 1967 Protocol) and humanitarian obligations to help fellow humans who are seeking assylum from persecution and homelessness from war, famine and torture.
UNHCR 1967 Protocol is a legally binding treaty and a milestone in international refugee law. The majority of member states in the UN have accepted responsibility in providing protection for persons obliged to flee their country because of persecution. Australia ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention on 22 January 1954, and the 1967 protocol on 13 Dec 1973.
And in a country so large, we only host 0.013% of the world's refugees. Adam's speech was truly relieving to finally hear and can be heard in my attached video. This is why Australia should give The Greens to make a difference in parliment and show political leaders that people do care about the treatment of refugees and the indigenous communities that we (the only actual 'boat people') stole their land from and now have spread our racism and hatred across. As Bob Hawke recently said, 'we're all boat people, that's how we found the place' and this is the only appropriate use of this phrase. Refugees are not "boat people", they have names, they have mothers, children, fathers, they had homes that they lost, that they miss, that they loved, that were taken from them or destroyed, they have friends and loved ones that they miss, they have horrible memories from their torturous past and devastating stories to tell about their time in Australia since they somehow survived long enough to make it here, through no other way possible, with no other options, with all the risks involved, it was their only hope to live. Please open your hearts Australia and all over the world and help these fellow humans that only want to be able to live and work somewhere safe, where their lives are not at risk every second of every day.
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It was Friday 13th and it was a dark day for Australia. When people need to organise a rally to send a message that racism is not acceptable and that the current political campaigns which are focused on fear campaigns, lies and the promotion of racial wars are unacceptable it is a sad day. And this was evident to many intelligent and diverse people who reside in the stolen land which is Australia.
The Rally for Refugees which started at the State Library in Melbourne was organised by the Socialist Alliance and The Greens to make a powerful statement prior to Australia voting next weekend. I was excited and refreshed after seeing so many people turn up and make a stance against the long history of racism and abuse that this country's potential leaders are continuing to promote in Australia and elsewhere. As you can see in my previous blog I feel very disturbed and saddened by the continuation of political campaigns (as seen with johnny for 12 years) based on lies, manipulation and racist propaganda. I was excited to finally hear a politican (the Melbourne Greens candidate, Adam Bandt) say aloud and in public on Swanston Street in the CBD that the deliberate and deceitful propaganda that the major parties are promoting needs to be addressed and argued against.
Watch the videos (will be posted in separate blogs) and hear the powerful words yourself and hopefully be temporarily relieved by the fact that there are people (many people) that are willing to "stand up for compassion and stand against racisim" (Adam Bandt) now and always in Australia. With a week to go in the 2010 election, its unlikely one of our two abhorrent major party contenders will reverse their fear campaigns and racist policies but with a few more Greens holding seats and Socialist Alliance senators we will make a difference and one day, not too far way, I hope, a Prime Minister of Australia will speak with honesty and dignity, as Adam Bandt, had the intelligence, compassion and motivation to speak, on this black Friday 13th in Melbourne.
*And I apologise for the quality - as I filmed on my iPhone, at least the message remains a powerful and poignant one!
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Well the Liberal Ads are on the air spouting the words "we'll stop the boats" and the latest polls are out today proving this and Labor's equally racist approach to the campaign is working well. When I spoke to someone from the Socialist Alliance last week, he asked me 'why do you think racism is part of the election campaign?' I considered a number of factors in my response. Firstly it is obvious that Australia has a bland history of racism from the arrival of the english deplorers (who arrived on boats) and instigated a long, painful history of brutally killing the indigenous natives of this country. This of course culminated in the fascist approach of immigrant politicians (who arrived on boat) who created the White Australia Policy in 1901, which was activated until 1973. Interestingly, the wikipedia entry on this policy only mentions it as a ban on non-white immigration, however it was also the policy and practice that led to the abhorrent treatment of the indigenous Australians, which saw indigenous children being stolen from their parents and the intentional breeding of indigenous mothers with white immigrant fathers (or mostly raping of indigenous mothers), which afterwards the children were then stolen again and given to white families or institutions, in attempts to wipe out the indigenous race. A sensational film that addresses these actions is Tracey Moffat's 'Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy', 1990 and a review of this which mentions Australia's "shameful policy" can be read here. Robert Manne wrote a fantastic essay on this tragic past (and present) of Australia and Tim Richardson comments on Robert's essay and the recurrent issue of Australia's treatment of refugee's below:
I was deeply moved and shocked by this essay. Until I read it, I had little knowledge or understanding of the actions of Australian governments that separated children from mothers for several generations. The way normal people became little cogs in this horrible machine is almost terrifying. Revelations about the mistreatment of British children sent to Australia, often under the lie that their parents were dead, show how easily governments can hide cruelty from us, or perhaps only when we don't look hard enough. At around the same time these policies were happening, Australia was denying entries to Jews trying to escape an increasingly uncomfortable Europe. This is why we in Australia should challenge the treatment of boat-bound assylum seekers. Do we want our treatment of these people to be a story to shock our children in years to come? This shows the relevance of this essay ten years after it was first published.
Need I mention the 12 years of little johnny's racism to finish this historical tale? If you cannot remember or were trying to forget, take a quick peek as it is critical that Australia comes to terms with its racist and brutal past and starts to find the light of a non-racist future. It is obvious that there is a long history of racism in Australia and more frightening than this horrid past is that in 2010 Australia is still trying the racist card to win elections and to develop policies on how to 'stop the boats' of refugees who are escaping their worn-torn countries (mostly the ones the original white boat people keep bombing). If our treatment of jewish refugees surrounding the fascist regimes in Europe is not lesson enough, need I remind Abbutt and Spillard that they too are living in this country because their families arrived via boats (whether they were criminals, 10 pound poms or from any of the other select countries that Australia thought had worthy immigrants that would work 60 hour weeks for minimum wage and pay taxes) the point remains the same. Why is it that Australians, in general, only accept the people that arrived on boats before themselves and not afterwards. Afterall some of the most prominent hero's of our past all arrived on boat; the first and foremost Captain Crook, the paraded Jessica Watson and the renowned boat Australia II for its famous victory in the 1983 America's Cup.
And most importantly, refugees are not immigrants. There is a very large difference. And need I remind the racists yet again that the terms currently being blown around in the political dryer such as "boat people" are derogatory and unacceptable in today's vernacular. These people are assylum seekers, which Spillard and Abbutt if you are not sure what that exactly is, particularly when you started writing your ill-prepared policies in an all-nighter cram session with your clearly ignorant political advisors, the definition of this term is:
Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.
Hence, the plight of refugees is not connected in any way to the 'queues' of immigrants who would like to come to this country because they like the weather or the thousands of visitors who arrive freely on planes each year and decide not to leave because the beach at Bondi is cool or anyone else who has the money, leisure and freedom to arrive in this country (by plane or any other means) for holiday or post finding a suitable queue to join. As Julia Gillard's family once did and Abbutt's equally Anglo-Saxon journey here. The point that needs to be highlighted here is that these people, the assylum seekers are escaping persecution, mostly from the countries that our country keeps facilitating wars in.
As it is pointed out below, these fellow humans are running from persecution and torture, not running to Australia because they have decided they want to live here and want to take 'our' jobs and land and money.
Refugees often have little idea about where they are going. They are running away, not running to. Those who come to Australia often have scant understanding about our country and the nature of society here. They have had no opportunity to prepare themselves physically or psychologically for their new life in Australia.
A significant proportion of refugees have experienced severe trauma. Many have been tortured. Arrivals to Australia have included survivors of the Balkan internment centres and "rape camps" and prisoners of war from the Gulf War.
Many refugees have also spent years (for some up to 15 years) in refugee camps that provide limited protection. For some refugees, particularly children, the refugee camp environment is the only one they have ever known. Refugee who do not live in camps are often in urban areas where they face serious threats such as arbitrary arrest and detention and severe discrimination. Educational opportunities for refugees are often very limited and schooling is frequently interrupted.
The scenario broadcast by political leaders in 2010 of these people arriving on boats who had other choices and whom are 'jumping the queue' to get here is completely ignorant and racist. As you can see from the definition above, one of the requirements to be classified as a refugee is that they are outside their country, thus there is no queue anywhere for them to line up in, they are escaping regimes that our ever-so reliable imperialists George Duh Bush and his fellow groupies Johnny and Blair labelled as the "axis of evil" way back then in 2002 when they were desperately finding excuses to bomb some countries, displace millions of people they will later turn away and label 'terrorists' and steal their oil. So how can their following leaders, who have continued this 'war on terror' say that these asylum seekers are not escaping the terror and evil that is the cause of these wars to begin with? In addition, more refugees actually arrive via plane each year, as seen in Claire Harvey's article below, so what are the political contenders planning on doing about that...
A total of 4768 "plane people" - more than 96 per cent of applicants for refugee status - arrived by aircraft in 2008 on legitimate tourist, business and other visas compared with 161 who arrived by boat during the same period, the Sunday Telegraph reports. And plane people are much less likely than boat people to be genuine refugees, with only about 40-60 per cent granted protection visas, compared with 85-90 per cent of boat people who are found to be genuine refugees.
Thus, I have pointed out Australia's past and current obsession with racism as the first reason political campaigns are still being centred around 'stopping the boats' and spreading fear throughout society, I think the second reason is centred around why these sort of campaigns seem to work. The latest polls today are showing a primary vote lead by the Liberal party and their racist, sexist and homophobic leader Abbutt.
GhostWhoVotes tweets that Newspoll gives Labor a morale-boosting 52-48 two-party lead from primary votes of 38 per cent for Labor, 42 per cent for the Coalition and 13 per cent for the Greens. Julia Gillard is up a point on both approval and disapproval, to 42 per cent and 40 per cent, while Tony Abbott has gone backwards: approval down three to 41 per cent, disapproval up three to 41-49. Preferred prime minister is essentially unchanged, Gillard and Abbott both down one to 49 per cent and 34 per cent. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/08/08/newspoll-52-48-to-labor-3/
And despite spillard slowly having just hidden her racist edge evident in the one and only debate, she is still preferred PM (just) and has been slowly loosing popularity since moving to more important and valid campaign issues, such as Education. I am interested to know why these leaders choose these racist paths in campaigns or end up dropping them? Is it that they are essentially racist and cannot even see that what they are saying is ill-conceived and inhumane or is it that racism is a proven winner in election campaigns. It pulled little johnny through in 2001 when he created the children overboard scandal to win votes from the fellow racist Australians who don't want different people coming to their country, especially if they are cruel to their children (which was of course false) and more importantly if they try and arrive on boat, after they did. It is pretty clear that the double standards that exist in our society in relation to arriving via boat and the abuse of children (which the asylum seekers were not even doing) is outrageous. Going by our history, it would have made more sense if we did allow the asylum seekers who were allegedly throwing their children overboard into our country and not making it an excuse to send them back. As seen with political partners such as the Catholic Church and government organisations, abuse of children has long been acceptable in our country, so I'm even more sure the scandal created by johnny in 2001 had nothing to do with the safety of children and far more to do with racism in general. Although I am sure Australia's history of white people from England abusing indigenous children and adults was more acceptable to the general public than any false allegations of Middle Eastern parents throwing their children off a sinking vessel; the abuse of indigenous australians was simply because the white immigrants did not want people with different color skin to remain in the country that was theirs wasn't it? What about our long history of the Catholic Church sexually abusing children or Catholic and Anglican nuns physically abusing children in homes and schools, yet they are still applauded by Abbutt and are no doubt large financial partners in his hideous political campaign. However worse than the desperate and tyrannical leaders who create these fear campaigns and fictional excuses to stir racism throughout our society are the people who believe it and too contribute to the promotion of this behaviour.
When is a person going to have the courage and determination to stand for election as a humane and intelligent leader, who can stand up and say this incessant racism has to stop and has to stop right now. To say proudly and confidently to the Australian public that these people, the refugees who are fleeing persecution and torture need our help and then have the patience and strength to create policies that will play our part in fulfilling our obligations to the UNHCR and better still, make Australia a country to be proud of, a country that cares for people, all types of people and that shares the universal obligation to ourselves, as humans, to help and love all the other humans in the world and to share this enormous and diverse stolen land of ours with all the people that are homeless, tortured and brutalised for simply not being born in the "lucky" country of Australia.
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I watched this film, as part of the Doco shorts selection at MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival) on 31 July 2010. It was an incredibly moving and emotive call for action, if only action at this stage could return the children lost to corruption, prejudice and bureaucratic inaction. As the synopsis explains: "For those grieving for the 70,000 who died in the Sichuan Province’s 2008 earthquake, justice is just one more thing they’ll have to live without."
Directors Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill work for DCTV, which is a community Television centre in New York. The film captured the sorrow and pain caused by the Sichuan Province earthquake that occurred on May 12 2008. However, more painful than this natural disaster was the corruption and inaction of the government that led to the deaths of 10 000 children that were killed when their badly built school rooms collapsed and who were then left under the rubble in the aftermath. For days afterwards they were trapped and slowly dying while no government rescue operations were instigated by the local government organizations. The corruption, cover-ups and the painful obsession by the government to be more concerned about their international reputation than that of the parents who lost their only children was at times difficult to watch. I was astounded by the difference in what occurred in China and what may occur in my own country if the similar disaster was to unfold. I thought of Stuart Diver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Diver and his burying in rubble in Thredbo in a landslide in 1997 and how for days rescue teams carefully searched for survivors, which after 67 hours Stuart was found and brought to safety. Then I listened to the father who told of his primary school age only daughter (due to China’s one child policy) phoning him from the rubble and begging him to come and rescue her and to call the fire brigade. She was not rescued, as there were no operations conducted by the government at all. I began to consider that as the victims involved were villages and farmers they were treated as not deserving the same respects and rights, the wealthy classes in the city might receive. After the earthquake, the government told them to take care of the situation themselves. One mother explained how she dug her child out at 3 am in the morning and she tried to carry her deceased daughter home on the back of their motorbike, until it broke down, leading them to carrying her home on foot. They buried her in their own land. I could not help but be disgusted with this treatment and the resulting conclusion that no follow up investigation or final report was ever given to the parents, despite them marching for hours to protest and beg for an investigation to occur, which on camera the officials agreed to.
Hence the documentary was covering a very controversial and political issue that I was not aware of and that disheartened me greatly. The state corruption that led to the buildings being built to such a low standard was devastating enough, but to see how the government then offered the parents an extra $8000 for their loss, if they agreed to not bring China into disrepute was horrifying. I could not help but wonder how the farmers and villages all over the world are given less human rights than people who live in the city and this concerned me greatly. Where did this prejudice and ill treatment stem from? Where do the government officials and wealthy citizens in the large cities all over their world think their own rice and other farming produce comes from? Why would these people deserve any less than anyone else in their country? And if the government (as seen in the documentary) was so concerned with how their international counterparts would perceive them, why did they not take the appropriate action after this dreadful incident and show the world that they do care about their people, in particular their children and in the very least have an appropriate investigation into the cause and resulting inaction of this ‘unnatural disaster’ in the Sichuan Province.
The documentary was filmed on the go in the early aftermath of this disaster and I would love to know how the American filmmakers even had permission to film, which I will follow up on. The cinematography was fitting with the cinema verite style it was shot in and it goes to show you that the story alone can be more powerful than any carefully designed set. The long close ups of the mourning parents was very emotive. The opening scene, before the title of the film or any detailed description of the subject matter, was an emotionally charged beginning. The young child who had somehow survived in one of the school buildings that had collapsed and killed all of her friends visited the site with her parents. She cried and wished her friends good luck in their journey.
I left the cinema with a mixture of emotions. I was disturbed with what I had witnessed, I was grateful for cinema and its power of being able to spread these stories and make people aware of the pain and suffering people all of the world go through in our very different lives; and I left bewildered and concerned that there was nothing I could do to ensure something like this does not happen again. Except of course to continue to make films myself and somehow contribute to at least making people aware of people’s actions and perhaps one of these days the people responsible will start to worry more about their people, than their reputation that only stems from their ill treatment of their people to begin with.
You can buy a copy of this film here.
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Sorry delayed reaction...was waiting for something interesting to be discussed but has not happened so far.
Had nothing to say about #debate from last Sunday and still don't really. Found it utterly boring on both sides
and if it wasn't for the #greens I would be lost for who to vote for. It was full of deceitful games, side-stepping and racial slurs. There
was no mention of traditional debate topics or critical election campaign issues such as Education, Health or god forbid the
Environment (which apparently the corporate honcho's still have free reign of.)
Both of their persona's (#abbutt and #spillard) are unappealing to me and it's a sad day when you choose a PM from the list of who you despise slightly less.
The day after the debate, I did however have a concerning discussion with some gen Why's? when I suggested we do our horror animation on political leaders in our present and past, however they responded with "I don't know anything about politics, have no opinion on it and wouldn't have anything to say"... which 3 weeks out of a Federal Election obviously left me a little bewildered. I was marching in anti-war rallies in first year uni and knew every economic policy of current and past political leaders in Australia through high school economics (and due to my teen crush on Keating and my economics teacher who lived next door to Keating's brother - however the point remains the same!)
Thus, I'm a bit concerned that there will be more donkey votes and racism induced voting in the next election to really justify any pre-election discussions from me at this point. I might instead pack my bags for Spain and leave the Gen Y's or as I say the Gen WTF's and the racists to their own demise in Australia. It's a scary time in politics and society in general at the moment. I hope some intelligent and humanitarian #debates can occur soon prior to #ausvotes
Need I remind you of the horror of the PM these people chose only a few short years ago? If so, please remind yourselves http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3087922/portfolio/
Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
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From my good friend Maria, I found this video on why we should all reflect, engage and of course blog!
MAKE MEDIA MATTER from MAKEMEDIAMATTER.COM on Vimeo.
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In my first attempt to see a film at the Nova, Carlton every Monday (during my university commitments and conveniently on their $6 movie day), I had the pleasure of viewing Greenberg, 2010, Dir. Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale). It was written by Noah Baumbach (screenplay) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (story) who plays a small but poignant part in the film, as Roger's ex-girlfriend who has moved on with her life. This writing partnership resulted in what I consider a very funny, entertaining and strangely heartwarming comedy. In an observation that was quite scary, poor old Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) reminded me of an exaggerated version of myself in certain stages of my life; in his cynical, narcissistic, post nervous breakdown persona he offers a comedic reflection of a has-been musician who is getting older and questioning his past decisions and his place in the world right now. The buy line is "he's got a lot on his mind" and this is certainly reflected in his incessant need to write complaint letters to every organisation his encounters on a daily basis (a similar passion of mine, if only I had time!) My favorite line from the movie was on Roger's 41st birthday, when he sat with his only remaining friend and was reflecting on his much younger 'like' interest and the moments of youth that they both admit have passed them by. His friend, Ivan Schrank (Rhys Ifans) who plays a fellow ex-rocker, now running an IT business and married to what Roger insanely describes as a "racist", comments that "youth is wasted on the young", which Roger replies in his nonchalent depressive tone stemming from a true cynic, "I'd go further, I'd go, life is wasted on people."
Greenberg follows the story of Roger who has just arrived back in his hometown, Los Angeles, to housesit his wealthy and professional brother who seems to care more about his dog then of Roger and his recent admission to a mental hospital. Along comes the brother's assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig) who takes care of Roger's needs in more ways than one. Despite, at least Roger's best efforts (if not spontaneously aggressive yet amusing attempts) to distance himself from falling for Florence, the couple in the very least bond over their shared notions of feeling lost and searching for their place in the world. There are consistent laughs found in the film, from punchy observational humor of Roger and his narcissistic reflections of others; to the once best-friends relationship of Roger and Ivan; the brother's phone calls to check up on Roger and the strange couple that arrive at the backyard pool every other day.
I left the cinema feeling satisfied with watching an intelligent, comedic effort, added with the new offering of Ben Stiller playing a dramatic role and not a characiature. It's philosophical edge, without being a heavy drama, offers a delightful film to enjoy with others or in ones own time grabbed between other commitments. Go and see it, I ensure you, if you have any reflective enquiries on your own past, like watching obsessive cynics write hysterical complaint letters or enjoy the notion of people finding love in unexpected places, you will sit through certainly without yawning or checking the time and even come out with a smile on your face!
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says it all really. money money money whereever he can get it and take it back out of actual needs i.e. education and public health (which he took $1 billion out of while he was 'health' minister for little johnny. If people can ignore these facts http://abbottfacts.com.au/video/tony-abbott-hooked-donations-tobacco-companies then they really do deserve this person as their leader...and if they do, I will remember fondly the small 2.5 years I had with a labor leader while I live in Spain post August 21 2010. All I ask, is that some real thought is taken by the voters. Look at the facts and form your decision on real facts and not mere campaign lies that anyone can tell. After all Abbutt did state that
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Clare Peterson
Punchy Productions
Posted via email from PunchyP
Posted via email from PunchyP
TIPS AND TRICKS for becoming a prominent journalist
Below is a list of our interviewees for this research project. You can also read the full Interview Summaries and Case Studies on the following people and their modes of journalism in the INTERVIEW SUMMARIES chapter.
David Hastie, journalist, Herald Sun
Jay Savage, reporter, Nine MSN
Jesse Hogan, sports reporter, The Age
Rafael Epstein, investigative reporter, The Age
Louise Connor, Vic branch secretary, Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
Stephen Carey, news director, Seven News
Colin McKinnon, editor, training and development, The Age
Robin Jacklin, former deputy news editor, ABC
Jason Whittaker, Deputy Editor, Crikey
Catherine Deveny, Ex Age columnist / freelance writer
Belinda Hawkins, Producer, Australian Story, ABC http://www.abc.net.au/austory/aboutus.htm
Steven Quinn, Assoc. Prof. Journalism , Deakin Uni
Robert Carey, journalism lecturer, Monash University
Edward Li, ex South China Morning Post (HK)
Billy Clarke, Offkey Productions (HK)
The tips and tricks that these industry heads and prominent journalists gave us have been compiled under the following headings:
INTRODUCTION
All interviewees agreed that the journalism industry is becoming very tough and competitive. More and more people are starting blogs each day, so you need to now do much more than this! if you want your blog and other social media sites to stand out you’ll need top stories and interesting content as well as following the additional steps that need to be taken, which I have explained in detail in the Social Media chapter.
Creating an online presence will help with your portfolio. This will enable your networking possibilities and show you have a hunger to write which is important when applying for a job. It will also showcase how well you can keep your fans entertained by the amount of followers you have is evidence your work has quality which adds bonus points when applying for a job. It is very important to not give up and keep working at your goal. Be prepared to take criticism and be positive about it. The Herald Sun emphasized the fact that even though you may get turned down numerous times, it is important to stay confident
Your folio as well as your blog is part of the recipe for becoming a journalist. Working on a folio shows dedication and initiative. It is evidence to your employer of what you have to offer, are capable of and what you are prepared to do. Everyone interviewed emphasized the same number one message, which was get your work published anywhere that you can.
When you go for an interview, these companies expect you to know some background about them as a sign of respect and also to show initiative. You can impress them and show them how keen you are for the job by talking about different writers styles and how you can understand the way they write and adapt if you need to. It helps to have an understanding of the target audience. The company will expect you to be able to do a good job about any story thrown in your direction, whether or not it is in your field, and you can’t be fussy in this business. Being able to adapt is one of the most important qualities you will need, as you will be expected to fill in at different areas within the company.
Be confident if you know your right and don’t be afraid to make your voice heard. It helps to pester a few bosses in order to get your way as this can show determination and motivation, however don’t come off as arrogant or a stalker!
Getting known and meeting people is a key task in gaining employment and finding stories. It is essential that people who want to be journalists create as many contacts as they possibly can and never loose them. You never know whom you will need to call up for a job, an interview, a lead or a contact suggestion. This includes networking, attending events and joining the MEAA http://www.alliance.org.au/
Make sure you work is good, clear, valid and punctual. Is it backed with the correct facts? And are there enough of them? These are questions journalists should constantly be asking themselves. It also helps to have your own particular style and genre and writing on subjects that you are passionate about will always make for your best writing.
A few interviewees mentioned that keeping their rejection letters was a good idea as they could read back on them and laugh later on when they were employed and successful. It also shows how well you’ve done and can keep you motivated, which was quite an interesting tip.
So read through the tips in their separate categories and start your journalism career now!
GETTING STARTED
The main point is to write every day. Getting published is far easier with the array of social media sites that writers can self publish on now but you also need to try and get your work published in university papers, newsletters, community newspapers, independent media (and mainstream if you have a breaking story), TV (free-to-air, community and cable), online publications, literary magazines and journals.
And GETTING CONTACTS IS A CRITICAL STEP - it really is ‘who you know.’ However, leading industry heads highlighted the difference between being determined and being a stalker - so use your journalistic instincts to judge reactions and know when to back off!
HOW TO WRITE
The key point is to create good, clear, crisp copy in a unique voice and write what you know - it will always be your best writing!
WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT
I spoke to Catherine Deveny post her sacking from the Age and she stated the following in advice for what to write about…
“No do. Write from your heart, the truth is a rare delicacy, people want to hear the truth, edit it later if you need to get it published but never edit yourself when you’re writing”
And we also gathered the following more general tips for topics to write about
HOW TO GET A JOB
Don’t worry where you start, small regional places are the best places to start. All of the major editors said this is now an essential step before they will hire you. With budget cuts, they want someone else to train you before they poach you from them. Also, don’t bluff your way through if you are a novice – admit what you don’t know – people appreciate honesty and determination to succeed is more valuable than a ‘know it all’
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
With interviews - the most critical steps are adjusting your portfolio for the job that you are going for - don’t bring 2000 word features if it is a sports reporting job!
And prepare properly beforehand - Channel 7, and The Age were amazed that candidates came to interviews and knew no current headlines and had not read the papers that morning…. This is considered a Big NO NO.
Also, the news director at Channel 7, Scary (as he is commonly known) - said people even came to him for interviews and said ‘gee Hitchner is going well isn’t he’ - which he replied ‘yeah, maybe you should get a job at 9’…! So know your product and prepare thoroughly beforehand.
Be confident BUT don’t be arrogant
SKILLS NEEDED
Multimedia skills are the absolute must in today’s media industry and you also need to be energetic, flexible and resilient! But above all the technical skills you need - you also need to be passionate - if news and writing are your passions - this is the career for you!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Of course, there are certain elements that you need to be weary of if thinking about a career in Journalism.
Most journo’s start with instructions from their editor to do “death knocks” on a grieving family or other member of society…this is a hard task and you may be against it but u need to be strong, stay respectful and read signs for when you need to back off from the interviewees. You also cannot be too precious – as you will get abused from readers and/or the Chief of Staff when they are stressed – so don’t take it personally!
At the end of the day, if writing and news is your passion, MOST Of the time it will be a fun, fast paced, rewarding and interesting job!
And don’t forget our Social Media chapter for extensive advice on how to create your powerful online presence to gain employment.
So there is no more for me to say, there are the tips so go and make it happen!
