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the perpetual crisis of Australian film

Dave Hoskin, from the current issue.

You might not be aware of this but there’s a crisis going on.

This particular emergency has been around so long it’s virtually a tradition − at least five years, on and off, and probably longer, if you believe the sterner commentators. We’ve now got to the point that, if you’re interested in Australian movies, life can feel like Groundhog Day. The latest Aussie film limps quietly into art house cinemas. No-one goes to see it. Film journalists scream about the ‘Crisis In Australian Cinema’. The filmmakers grumble that it’s not their fault, and everyone starts desperately hoping some messianic film will save the industry. The messiah has many names (Eucalyptus, Ned Kelly, Jindabyne, Australia) but each time it somehow fails to be the Second Coming, despondency sets in. And then the cycle starts all over again. ... read more

Written by Jeff Sparrow on 3-04-2009, No comments

the savagery of the Pacific War

Nearly got the whole issue online now -- and apparently it's OK to put the Bob Ellis piece up, too, which I'll do tomorrow. Anyway, I wanted to draw attention to Tom O'Lincon's polemic about the war in the Pacific during the Second World War. It begins like this:

Humour is revealing. Here is a joke from the Pacific War, related by three infantry veterans:

Typical of the laconic humour of the times was the story about the wounded Jap who said to the Aussie, in a sarcastic tone, ‘You think you’re going to be home for Christmas’ to which the digger replied, ‘And you think you’re going to hospital!’ ... read more

Written by Jeff Sparrow on 2-04-2009, No comments

a Lofo poem

The cartoonist Lofo has illustrated Overland for yonks. He also writes verse, as below:

Why I like Melbourne:A very old-fashioned poem

You'll find no shark
In Noble Park,
It's too far from the sea.
Snakes do not kill
In Yarraville
(another place to be).

And if you fear
The grizzly bear,
The tiger and the lion,
You safely go
To Ivanhoe
And find a bed to lie on.

Or you may dread the octopus,
The rhino or the nozerus,
The red-hot flowing lava,
The elephant,
The fire-ant -
You're safe in Balaclava.

No killer whale
In Armadale,
No giant anaconda,
No poisonous frogs,
Nor falling logs,
You're good in Moonee Ponda. ... read more

Written by Jeff Sparrow on 1-04-2009, 10 user comments

Louise Swinn on the state of the publishing industry

We're gradually getting the rest of the issue online and so I thought I'd draw attention to Louise Swinn's investigation into the health of writing and publishing in Australian. Overland 194 was very much put together in the shadow of the GFC but, after talking to various writers, publishers and agents, Swinn reports a degree of cautious optimism. Here's the beginning; the rest is here.

In the wake of the financial crisis, US publishing houses are announcing drastic staff cuts and a suspension on acquisitions. How will Australian books fare? It’s too soon to know and too difficult to tell. Kurt Vonnegut said, ‘If you make people laugh or cry about little black marks on sheets of white paper, what is that but a practical joke?’ and it remains to be seen whether the readers of the world will stop falling for it. ... read more

Written by Jeff Sparrow on 1-04-2009, No comments