Month: December 2008

“The Black Balloon” wins awards…but

liligans So you think you're cultured?, Society, T.V

This year’s winner of six awards at the Australian Film Industry event was “The Black Balloon”. It’s exactly the sort of film that is keeping audiences away from Aussie films. In my previous blog I gave my views on that and “The Black Balloon” only reinforces my opinion.

I wish that Aussie film makers would face reality and get beyond blue, for a change.

Here is a typical scenario of a potential cinema goer. It’s Saturday night and you decide to take your girlfriend to the movies. Would you choose a film about a dysfunctional family—aren’t we all dysfunctional, anyway? Would you want to watch autism tearing a family apart? Would you want to munch cheerfully on pop corn while an autistic adolescent is ranting and raving in public on the screen?

Would you leave the cinema feeling happy and romantic and perhaps hoping for more than a cup of coffee at her home? Or would you just want to sit in silence wishing that you had chosen a different film?

Autism is a reality and yes, it is a tragedy, but during recessions and people losing jobs and homes, audiences need relief, unless they are some sort of sado-masochists who get off on other people’s suffering.

During the Great Depression, the American musical comedy was thriving. People went to see Shirley Temple and Charlie Chaplin, just to experience some moments of hilarity in their gloomy lives.

Here we are in the midst of a recession or depression or whatever you want to call it and people are hurting out there. So what does the Australian film industry produce? Misery, guilt and tragedy. That should brighten up a date!

I’m amazed that Australian film producers don’t include a whip with every ticket sold. A few scarlet welts should guarantee a perfect evening, for some people perhaps, but not for the average movie-goer.

Perhaps these films are made to win awards rather than box office success. In that case, the producers have achieved what they wanted. Lots of pretty little statues in their display cabinets!

Telstra Problems

liligans So you think you're cultured?

I have no idea how long my internet connection will last this time so I have to write as quickly as possible. You see, I am one of the unfortunates who have an ISP account with Telstra. In Australia, Telstra is one of the most reviled companies. It is virtually a monopoly and is the ultimate example of the danger of monopolies.

My internet service is sporadic and you can imagine how frustrating that is. Yesterday we complained to Telstra via a call centre in the Philippines. This poor guy is getting paid a pittance; he can’t speak or understand English very well and has informed us that a Telstra technician will come in four days’ time, or so we think…

So here we are at the mercy of a huge company which is now trying to blackmail the government into giving them a free ride in a new tender to supply broadband to the rest of Australia (as if).

If Telstra’s past reputation is any indicator, the service will cost a fortune, be unreliable, and have no interest in its customers. Since it is now outsourcing anything it can, as my conversation with the guy in the Philippines proves, it doesn’t even do much for our economy.

My computer man tells me that he ditched Telstra years ago and has had no problems since then. He also pays a lot less for his internet service. Unfortunately, we have tied ourselves up in a contract combined with cable and telephone provision, so we are stuck, for the moment.

Who knows when I will be able to write a prolonged blog? We have a third world service and it’s because Telstra was given too much free rein in the past.

I wish that our prime minister would have the guts to tell Sol Trujillo (head honcho of Telstra) and his mob to get lost.