Watch a NZ Film.

I think that as New Zealanders we can be proud of what we are achieving in the cultural fields.
New Zealand music has improved out of site over the last few years, we have gone from cringe worthy to something to be proud of.
As performers there are more and more outlets for them to be seen, and things such as the Tui awards are an amazing thing for people to aspire to. New Zealand music week is great also. Ten years ago it would have been very rare to hear New Zealand music on the radio. But now we as a nation are becoming proud of what we are achieving.
New Zealand Film is going from strength to strength also.
Studios are seeing New Zealand as a great destination to film and produce movies, because of its amazing scenery, fantastic crews and supportive communities.
I think that having a Prime Minister who is also the arts minister is an amazing thing, because you know that the one at the top is rooting for your team.
I think that if the trend continues the way it is with the arts in New Zealand we will continue to develop as a nation culturally and maybe finally rid ourselves of the Rugby, Racing and Beer image that we have.
We still have strong roots with tall poppy syndrome, which I believe needs to cease, we need to praise people who are doing what others could only dream of, as opposed to cutting them down to size, why don't we elevate them even more. So that our youth and future have something to aspire too.

To blog or not to blog? [...] Ay there's the rub!

Thanks for the invitation to blog with you Chris. Such a wondrous word. You can use it as a verb, as a noun or as a web diary. It's up there with my favourites whose illustrious company includes such gems as sashay (as opposed to the bland sachet), funeral and frottage. And blog has the added advantage of being more easily slipped into conversation!

They say in the London papers that the first significant snowfalls have already arrived in New Zealand. Judging by the inclement weather here, you could be forgiven that London is in the grip of autumn. What's even more depressing is that the locals would tend to agree! I shall be interested to see how your view of wintry Wanaka changes with the arrival of full monty snowfalls. I remember a feeling of being entrapped in Chamonix during the winter. There was certainly nothing more liberating than skiing or boarding there but the colder temperatures and lower snowline made the mountains appear impassable. That affects your mood, I'm not saying you'll be like The Shining's 'Jack with all work and no play' chasing your students round hedge mazes with a fireaxe though I dare say that would make for entertaining viewing. But your mentality does change. Not for better or worse but there is something more to it than just the colder weather!

I feel that New Zealanders have much less of a cultural cringe nowadays. Literature and film continue to produce quality works. The homegrown music industry is thriving and I remember the calls of indignation when rules were set in place for a certain percentage of New Zealand music to be played on air. Any style of radio station would happily accommodate that quota now. We've come a long way since the days of Ricky Nelson! And yet New Zealand has always been a country fiercely determined to prove itself on the international stage. We've readily embraced our sporting heroes on the rugby pitches and Olympic fields but not so much our cultural icons. I remember seeing Attack of the Clones and hearing the groans from the audience when Temuera Morrisson spoke his lines. OK it was an awful flick yet we lauded his performance in Once Were Warriors. But the Kiwi accent did not stand up well to the American, British and Australian accents in that particular film. It's one thing to embrace our homegrown talent but it's another thing to see them in an international light.

Oh well I have blogged on enough. I will try again for the umpteenth time to post this entry. Please excuse the crude Shakespearean input but I just wanted to test if the thing worked! So enjoy your last week on holiday Chris and may it be as equally productive as it is enjoyable (notice how I didn't put that the other way round just in case?! Now that's confidence!)

• April 2005
• May 2005
• June 2005
• July 2005
• August 2005
• September 2005
• October 2005
• December 2005
• January 2006
• March 2006
• April 2006
• May 2006
• July 2006
• September 2006

You can also read my old journal that I wrote in 2001 when I threw everything up in the air and did a road trip of New Zealand to help me make some decisions.

You can also subscribe to the RSS feed of this journal