I can quite simply and easily tell you why I don’t care an iota about the new film Australia. It has been hyped up to something so monumental, so great, so fantastic that as a reaction to this over-the-top, Australia-obsessed (no pun intended), single-eyed media, and their goo-goo gaa-gaa-ing over this film, I have resolved myself to dislike it. I might not have seen it, I probably never will, but as long as the media continue on about how great it is, I will ensure that I think ill of the film.
Could it be at all possible that the film might not be the greatest film ever? I heard ‘Oscar contender’ on the news and felt sick. Why? BECAUSE THE REPORTER HADN’T EVEN SEEN THE FILM!!! I hate it when Americans do it to their own films. Thankfully, we don’t get much of their hype over here. But bring along an Australian movie, with a couple of Australian actors, and film it in Australia, and by gum! It’s the greatest film ever!
How could it not be!? It’s freaking called Australia!!! How more Australian can it get!?
I understand that the media and the film industry share a bed 6 out of 7 days of the week. But far out, every time an Australian film comes out, or an actor from Australia is in a film, or some blow-in from Broken Hill walks in camera shot for 1.275 seconds in some Hollywood release, then it’s made out to be the next ‘must see’ film of all time.
There is an obvious intent by the media to replicate the culture of Hollywood. They want to bring stardom and super-hype to our shores. It seems they must be succeeding too – closing George Street for a freaking movie presentation!? Are you kidding me??? Come on! If I had my car towed, or had to get through the bum-fight to get home that was that afternoon, I’d have probably started voodoo … or worse … on anyone associated with the film.
I just don’t understand why the media hype any Australian film to no end without even a possibility that it might be bad. I could only find independent critics before and after the film that said it wasn’t the latest Empire Strikes Back (by the way, that’s the greatest film ever made). I mean come on – there’s a good chance that the film will blow because Hugh Jackman is in it! That intrinsicly means the movie has a 50:50 chance of sucking or blowing. Couldn’t those talking heads (empty, I assume) just acknowledge that spending $130 million (… *sigh* I’m running out of pissed-off-ness to even go into this atrocity) is a big gamble because there’s always the chance it will flop?
No, of course not. And why? Because it’s Australian. How could anything Australian ever be bad?
Thomas.
Deus Lo Vult 