Arthouse Imitates Life, Part II
June 30th 2008 01:03
It's very disconcerting to watch your community on the big screen. Or publically exposed for all the wrong reasons. Being "in the Shire, but not of the Shire", I was cringing around the time of the Cronulla riots. Here was a place not far me where racist rednecks boozed up and attacked any non-Aryan beachgoers and police with fists, glass and hatred (and as a heavily pregnant woman with non-descript ethnicity; frequently asked if I'm "FOB" or "Leb", I boycotted the beach that summer, for fear I'd be set upon). The world literally watched as the wonderful Sky News beamed our summer of shame across the world. It was public humiliation to be associated with the sort of people who tatoo their postcode on their torsoes, driving their utes between the bridges (but never over them, for fear their worlds may implode) festooned in the Australian flag, and who associate politically with the likes of John Howard and Danna Vale (the woman who brought us such eloquence as "We're (Anglo Australians) aborting ourselves out of existence").
Ironically, the riots happened the same day as the Woronora Christmas Carols by the River. Whilst we didn't attack anyone at our gathering, there was still quite a bit of public alcohol consumption. Never gives a community a good look. It was this very setting that the Edgerton Brothers chose as a major part of the drama in their film, "The Square". Whilst the community slowly got pissed, the protagonist caught wind that the scam he had attempted to abort had gone full term; delivering him a burnt corpse and a uteload of guilt when Santa and his firefighting mates failed to get the sled there on time. The character's life then spiralled more and more out of control, as his dishonesty in one part of his life became entangled in every other part. Like a bug caught in a web, the more he struggled, the more twisted and tangled he became.
It is a story repeated over and over again around here, though usually with far less tragic outcomes. The great exception though is the tale of Jeffrey Gilham, the man accused of killing his parents and brother before torching their Woronora home. It was eerie that this trial came up again as "The Square" website launched the movie trailer. This part of the plot is too close to home.
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Indeed, I'm living in a "sleepy little death-toll town"...
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Really Long Link killed parents jeffrey gilham
Indeed, I'm living in a "sleepy little death-toll town"...
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Jeannine Baird
Clean Green Neen
It is depressing, isn't it? It saddens me because we have no excuse, being in a safe, educated, and affluent society, to act like such moronic racist losers. "Fear" of anything different "invading" our turf; even if it's women wearing more than a bikini on the beach, or of people who choose not to mindlessly drink and sleep around (how un-Australian...), is what constitutes an unwillingness to assimilate into Australian culture, and what justifies such outbursts.
Imagine living somewhere that this sort of thing happens daily. Gaza, for instance. Or Zimbabwe. The problem is, you get Mugabes when racism festers and breeds hatred and antagonism towards "the other", who you deem as inferior because of their skin colour or country of origin.
Imagine where we'd be headed if Rudd hadn't won the election?
By the way, how on earth do you get 6000 readers?! Any hints?
Neen
Comment by katyzzz
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