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Someone now cast in forgetfulness, out cold – dumped down in a sleeping bag moulded like a burial mound. And by their side neatly aligned, threads of an abandoned bedside.
Once omnipotent night slid over the campsite to reveal nothing beyond a black more dazzling than any darkness could contain, all we could do was inhale an immense presence touching everything, which we called faith.
The Tsunami is recreated in spectacular fashion, but robbed of significance, except as a catalyst for one white-skinned European tourist, who survives despite the deaths of hundreds of thousands of brown-skinned Indonesian villagers. This is exploitative in the extreme.
A lot of people say they committed Facebook suicide – deleting their profile – after seeing the new American documentary Catfish. 'Even I've scaled back,' says co-director Ariel Schulman. 'If a "virtual relationship" affects you emotionally, then it's not virtual at all.'
The youths take fearful strides into adulthood, embracing responsibility through necessity, unprotected by parents, teachers or mentors. Like many fictional 'chosen ones', Harry Potter is an allegorical Christ figure.
Tyler Cassidy was a very upset, masked child on the day he was shot dead by police. They saw a boy who sounded like a man, playing 'dare' with a deadly weapon. Any parent will know that confronting an enraged teenage boy and advancing on him with threats is not likely to result in submission.
Lacking the wisdom of experience and anything resembling a positive adult role model, Owen is guided by a yearning for companionship and a budding adolescent libido. These are very human impulses, but no substitute for wise adult guidance or a fully formed moral compass.
As Meredith approaches, two boys appear on the cliff and call for the boat to turn back. This allegory for the asylum seeker experience is not entirely out of place: Meredith seeks asylum from personal horrors that lie in her wake. But the curdled milk of human unkindness flows readily.
From Pullman's His Dark Materials and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to Lewis' Narnia novels or the tale of Mr H. Potter, the series is often where young readers enter the seething and delightful universe of books, in a way that sets them up for life as readers.
Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David plays a lovable misanthrope in Woody Allen's latest film. The character's fatalistic views on romance take on an uncomfortable air when you recall the seedy aspects of Allen's personal life.
Gay equality is a touchstone by which to measure politicians' moderate credentials. Turnbull's support is not totally altruistic: the inner-Sydney seat he represents has one of Australia's largest gay and lesbian populations.
Famous for being famous, the Duchess of Devonshire is an independent woman in a man's world. A more substantial script might have evoked the subordinate role of women in Western politics, or slyly spoofed the cult of celebrity.