Vol 34 No 9

06 May 2024

ARTS AND CULTURE

Please, not Bridgerton again
- Juliette Hughes
- 17 May 2024
What can you say when faced by another season of Bridgerton – that posing, poncing, irony-defying travesty of all history, literature and human relationships? Bridgerton took the Barbara Cartland romance/mild erotica ethos and dumbed it down to fifty shades of fluorescent polyester.
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INTERNATIONAL

The two worlds of Eurovision
- Michael McVeigh
- 16 May 2024
Millions around the world tune in for Eurovision each year, making it one of the world’s most-watched non-sporting events. It’s a mess of all that is funny, camp and bizarre. And yet instead of exploring the boundaries of our collective imagination, it's often overshadowed by regional politics and conflict.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Realities
- Paul Williamson
- 16 May 2024
Could a storm burst / because butterfly wings beat / a thousand miles away / to tip dominos of change / so the future emerges / like in the Chaos theory we use / to estimate future weather?
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RELIGION

Can today’s church overcome division?
- Andrew Hamilton
- 16 May 2024
The Week of Christian Unity encourages the healing of divisions between churches, and is intended to restore unity among Christians. However, we should wonder at how realistic that vision is in a society where division provides most of the news of the day.
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CARTOON

Sub-standard housing
- Glen Le Lievre
- 15 May 2024
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RELIGION

Does Vatican II offer a blueprint for political healing?
- Julian Butler
- 15 May 2024
Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. What lessons might our contemporary democratic community take from the Church over that period that might that help our common conversation?
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ARTS AND CULTURE

What's the deal with Unfrosted?
- David Halliday
- 14 May 2024
Jerry Seinfeld makes his directorial debut Unfrosted, a gleefully silly family comedy about the invention of the Pop-Tart. But the problem with this film is whether the sheer weight of comedic talent involved translates to actual laughs. Packed with countless cereal-based gags, it raises the question: Are disposable, pointless things worth anything?
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INTERNATIONAL

Can Australian diplomacy temper Chinese bravado?
- Jeremy Clarke
- 13 May 2024
The recent mid-air encounter between an Australian naval helicopter and a Chinese fighter jet over the Yellow Sea had the usual reactions, but ultimately failed to strain economic relations between the two states.
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AUSTRALIA

Under pressure from High Court and Dutton, government rushes immigration bill
- Frank Brennan
- 13 May 2024
The Albanese government’s refugee and asylum policy is in a mess. When Minister Giles introduced his Migration Amendment Bill, they bypassed typical parliamentary procedures, wanting to be seen as tougher than Peter Dutton in getting unvisaed non-citizens out of the country. It’s time for the government to return to due process in this whole field.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Taller when prone: The contradictions of Les Murray
- Paul Mitchell
- 10 May 2024
Les Murray once confessed it was his mission to 'irritate the hell out of the eloquent who would oppress my people,' by being a paradox that their categories can’t assimilate: the Subhuman Redneck who writes poems. And therein lies the ‘poem’ of Les Murray: complex, contradictory, sublime, and sometimes ready to whip his enemies with a scorpion’s tail.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Sixty-five South
- Geoff Page
- 09 May 2024
Today we leave Antarctic proper; /we’ve seen the penguins and the whales, /the icebergs in their convolutions /and thought about the Age of Sail /whose heroes nosed around down here /sniffing out a sort of fame. /Or was it just the golden oil /that burned with such a lambent flame?
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ECONOMICS

War is bad economics but very good business
- David James
- 09 May 2024
There is money to be made in war, especially from making weapons, and what we are witnessing at the moment in Ukraine and the Middle East is simply the latest episode in a story that goes back centuries.
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AUSTRALIA

Advocating against the wind
- Andrew Hamilton
- 08 May 2024
With the Queensland Government changing the Youth Justice Act, detention of children will no longer be seen as a last resort, causing widespread dismay among youth justice advocates. It invites reflection on what we should expect when we advocate for a cause, ranging from climate change to perceived injustice, and how we should evaluate our efforts.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Courtship rivalry
- Eddie Hampson
- 08 May 2024
What at first appears to be a light-hearted romantic comedy glosses over the dark intensity of Challengers. The tangled and obsessive nature of the relationships within a love triangle mirrors the sport at the centre of Luca Guadagnino's latest.
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EDUCATION

When does a protest become intimidation?
- Erica Cervini
- 08 May 2024
Echoing their US counterparts, many Australian universities have also set up Gaza solidarity encampments with flags and signs like ‘From the River to The Sea Palestine Will Be Free’. Jewish students and staff have begun telling stories about feeling intimidated on campus.
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AUSTRALIA

Thoughts and prayers
- Warwick McFadyen
- 08 May 2024
'Thoughts and prayers': Is it now a tired, worn-out cliché, its usefulness questionable? It is now used so many times to render its meaning, its core message, void. Sometimes more than words are needed.
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AUSTRALIA

An old problem, a new conversation
- David Halliday
- 06 May 2024
The national conversation is very much spotlighting domestic violence and violence towards women. As a nation, we need to consider hard questions around the abundant factors within our society with connections to violence. Over three decades, we have made gains, but there’s more work to be done.
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Vol 34 No 9