February 24 – March 2, 2018
News
Comment
Comment
Guy Rundle
Judgement day for progressives
“Like the Skynet computers of the Terminator films – which mythologised the rise of this class and the cultural sidelining of the Western working class – the knowledge class became self-aware some time around the 2000s. This new class coming to prominence has always conceived of itself as transformative and transgressive, as a group fighting the power. But what do you fight when you are the power?”
Comment
Paul Bongiorno
New order to follow Joyce division?
“If the Nationals were paralysed by fear that if they sacked Joyce he would set about destroying the government from the back bench, they will now see if his own resignation spares them that. As one National MP told me before Joyce’s announcement: ‘If you think Tony Abbott is bad, Joyce would be much worse.’”
Letters, Cartoon & Editorial
Culture
Profile
Tamara Dean’s dusk photography
For photographer Tamara Dean, nature functions as a watermark in her work, immersing the viewer in both the personal and universal. Now she takes her melancholic and mysterious pictures to the Adelaide Biennial. “I started delving into allegory and more universal, personal stories. I learnt a different type of patience. I went from spending all my time shooting to all my time planning. I’d wait months or years for images to take shape.”
Television
‘The Good Place’
Kristen Bell and Ted Danson’s satirical comedy The Good Place portrays a middle-managed afterlife where inauthentic goodness makes for a kind of hell.
Portrait
Artist Stuart Ringholt
“On the wall are some snapshots of his family, a collection of empty drink cans, a bottle of sunscreen, a brass statue of a grazing deer, and a painted wood figure of a buffoonish peasant, grinning ruefully. Stuart Ringholt, mid 40s, with a freckled Flemish face and deep eyelids and rough short dark hair, wears shorts and Blunnies with thick socks, and offers me a cup of tea. The metal roller doors of the studio shudder and boom in the wind.”
Books
Life
Health
Tattoos and skin cancer
The trend among young people to get large, elaborate tattoos could seriously hinder future detection of skin cancers.
The Quiz
Quotes
MIGRATION
“Tony Abbott is wrong. To criticise the experts and say that somebody who’s not an expert knows better is not the right approach.”
The acting prime minister dismisses Tony Abbott’s suggestion that migration be halved to improve cost-of-living pressures. Coming from a government minister, this is proof that sometimes you can be a hypocrite and right at the same time.
EMPATHY
“I hear you.”
The United States president holds a note reminding him how to empathise with survivors of a school shooting. The other option was just to write down what the NRA was offering and ask the kids to match it.
SONG
“I’m a risk-taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best.”
The singer responds to criticism of her baffling performance of the US national anthem at the NBA All-Star game. Frankly, “I tried my best” is about as good as American exceptionalism gets at this point.
PRIVILEGE
“Why did he do it? He did it as an error of judgement. He did it in a jovial mood. He didn’t do it to shock anyone.”
The lawyer representing singer Kirin J. Callinan on a charge of wilful and obscene exposure asks himself about his client’s behaviour, which is more than his client has done. For those playing at home, the correct answer is: unchecked male privilege masquerading as social commentary. Callinan got off, which is sort of what exposing your penis to journalists trying to work is all about.
VALUES
“In my view, there is a place for the pledge in a broader rejuvenated civics effort with school-aged children.”
The Home Affairs minister expands on his plan to have children pledge their allegiance to Australia, first reported in The Saturday Paper. He was silent on what to do with kids who had smelly lunches or the appropriate time to force someone to kiss the flag.
AFFAIRS
“The tide will turn because people will get bored of it.”
The deputy prime minister expresses confidence that people will lose interest in his affair and associated use of public money. Because people are notoriously indifferent to the ocean.
