Australia - The Cultural Edition

Since the thrills of my travel lifestyle have ebbed significantly this past month, I present to you a few cultural observations gleaned from my daily neighbourhood strolls, my watching of the four channels on our television, my kitchen endeavours, and my perusal of Australian news media.

In the News

Last week, there were two major stories competing for the public's attention. The first was Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's release of the new Federal Budget, which amounted to a $58 BILLION deficit. The second was renewed allegations against a retired Rugby League star named Matthew Johns who was involved in a group sex scandal seven years ago in New Zealand. Guess which one got the most coverage? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with Batthew Pohns.

Lingo

"To Glass": a common Australian verb denoting the action of attacking another person, generally in the face, with a broken beer bottle (see Winnipeg Handshake). Most commonly associated with (though not limited to) the geographical area of the Gold Coast. (Yes, this terrible phenomenon happens often enough that they developed a verb to describe it. It's almost a weekly event on the news.)

Lax TV standards

I am constantly amazed at what they can get away with on television here. Two and a Half Men is on every night for instance. And the other day I heard the news anchor make the following comment on air: "that would really be a pain in the bum". I cannot imagine Peter Mansbridge or Kevin Newman ever saying that in Canada. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The commercials like to toe the line. Here are two run of the mill examples (for the more risque, google the Red Bull nude beach or Advanced Medical Institute bedroom cop ads):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNKS3S5h8yQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frP3RqaCHAI&feature=related

Food

1) Like New Zealand, the most common type of cheese in the grocery store is "Tasty" (actual cheese variety name). It's a bit like medium cheddar. Notably one brand of Tasty cheese is produced by the company Coon Cheese. That's how P.C. they are around here.

2) While you may be familiar with Australians' affinity for the infamous Vegemite, you may not be aware that they also have pumpkin on the brain. To be fair, their pumpkin is not the same as the giant orange North American Jack O' Lantern pumpkins. It's a bit closer to a butternut squash. But it's used as commonly as carrots or potatoes. Pumpkin scones, roast pumpkin, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin curry, and so on and so on. And yet, no pumpkin pie.

Cinema

While I generally associate Australian cinema with anything ever made by Baz Luhrmann, it turns out he is not the only Australian movie maker. Mick has been talking up a film called "The Castle" pretty much since the day I met him, but we never had any success in tracking it down. They didn't carry it in Halifax, Ottawa or Toronto. I thought it would be easier to find in Australia, but that was not the case. The first video shop didn't have it; the second had broken their copy. It wasn't available in stores. We missed catching it on tv twice in two months. It just seemed it wasn't meant to be. So we cheated and ordered it online and it arrived yesterday. After so much build up, you might expect disappointment with a film. But I have to say the movie was funny and very charming. It's a low budget movie about a family fighting airport bureaucracy to keep their home, packed full of Australianisms, and very enjoyable. I'd recommend you go rent it, but if you're in Canada, you're probably out of luck. I can't even buy a copy here to take home, since the DVD format isn't universal. Alas.

Music

I do highly recommend you download the Hamish and Andy podcasts, which ARE available in Canada.

And just in case you thought I was being paranoid about threats to my life in Australia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_TB6onHVE&feature=related