tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/stan-15633/articlesStan – The Conversation2024-03-14T01:05:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2251732024-03-14T01:05:51Z2024-03-14T01:05:51ZLarrimah-inspired series Population: 11 is a charming watch – if a tad heavy on the Aussie cliches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581544/original/file-20240313-28-87bwma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C21%2C4724%2C3118&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ben Feldman leads Stan Original’s new 12-episode series Population: 11 as Andy, a hapless American banker who travels to a tiny, outback town of 12 in search of his estranged father Hugo, played by Darren Gilshenan. </p>
<p>Inevitably, things do not go to plan. </p>
<p>Upon his arrival at Bidgeegud – a town of “Outback UFO” tours with “guaranteed sightings”, a zoo comprised of a single crocodile, and a pub where the priest holds confessional – Andy soon discovers Hugo has gone missing. His subsequent search for clues is helped by fellow outsider Cassie (Perry Mooney).</p>
<p>The pair progressively uncover the innumerable secrets of the town, one suspicious resident at a time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581542/original/file-20240313-22-m5e05c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perry Mooney plays the role of Cassie Crick, a fellow outsider at Bidgeegud.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A fair go (at humour), mate</h2>
<p>Population: 11 is a comedic crime-thriller created by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0972716/?ref_=ttfc_fc_wr1">Phil Lloyd</a>, perhaps best known for his writing on 2014 miniseries The Moodys and 2016-17 series Here Come the Habibs! </p>
<p>It draws on the same heavy-handed comedy featured in Lloyd’s previous exploits. As an example, the Chinese restaurant in Bidgeegud sells “camel-toe pies”.</p>
<p>But most heavy-handed is the show’s revelling in Aussie stereotypes. Self-centred Andy is frustrated that “everything bites” after kicking a termite’s nest. He criticises the only person trying to help him in a mock Australian accent, and lashes out at the “dingo dollars or whatever you people call your money”. </p>
<p>Equally, the locals tell Andy “Americans always want something” and later on say “bloody yanks think you can buy everyone off”. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oBHd2kOM4-8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Australia through the eyes of international leads</h2>
<p>Australian-based streamer Stan <a href="https://www.reviews.org/au/entertainment/stan-review">is arguably best known</a> for its Australian content and local audience. </p>
<p>But Population: 11 appears to be part of an emerging trend of offering Australian content from an international lead’s perspective: think The Tourist (led by Jamie Dornan), Gold (led by Zac Efron) or Wolf Like Me (led by Josh Gad). </p>
<p>The push for international talent has long been an important strategy to draw wider audiences to local content, but it sits uncomfortably when this content is so heavily based – at least in places – on Australian stereotypes.</p>
<p>That said, after what is perhaps an inauspicious start, Population: 11’s finale offers a genuinely satisfying conclusion. It ties up a scatter-gun of loose ends, allows the charismatic Feldman to relax into a more fully realised version of Andy, and emphasises what wasn’t always obvious: this is a story about belonging. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581541/original/file-20240313-20-yxwftm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jimmy James (Tony Briggs) and Cedric Blumenthal (William Zappa) at the bar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Throughout its 12 half-hour episodes, one of the show’s strengths is its talented crew. Directors Helena Brooks and Trent O’Donnell work alongside a veteran supporting cast. </p>
<p>This cast includes the always-entertaining Katrina Milosevic as highly sexed local cop Geraldine, Stephen Curry as general store owner Noel, Tony Briggs as Jimmy the priest and Chai Hansen as station hand Gareth. </p>
<h2>Lost in … Larrimah?</h2>
<p>If the premise of Population: 11 sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because it was reportedly “<a href="https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/kimberley-plays-host-to-population-11-a-stan-series-inspired-by-netflix-doco-last-stop-larrimah-c-13396341#">inspired</a>” by the 2017 disappearance of Patrick “Paddy” Moriarty and his dog Kellie from the remote, 11-person town of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrimah,_Northern_Territory">Larrimah</a> in the Northern Territory.</p>
<p>While neither Moriarty nor Kellie has been found, the coroner <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/07/paddy-moriarty-and-his-dog-allegedly-killed-amid-feud-with-neighbours-northern-territory-coroner-finds">concluded</a> “Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours”.</p>
<p>Moriarty’s disappearance has been touted as Australia’s own “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/last-stop-larrimah-netflix-tiger-king-b2438457.html">Tiger King</a>” tale, after being made the subject of Kylie Stevenson and Caroline Graham’s Walkey Award-winning podcast <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/lost-in-larrimah/podcast/e85a9697854598a9b0e75512911e9be7">Lost in Larrimah</a> (2018), a subsequent book titled <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Caroline-Graham-and-Kylie-Stevenson-Larrimah-9781760877835/">Larrimah</a> (2021) and HBO documentary <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81716863">Last Stop Larrimah</a> (2023). </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581529/original/file-20240313-16-7h0veb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Larrimah (2021) tells the story of ‘an outback town, a missing man and 11 people who mostly hate each other’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Caroline-Graham-and-Kylie-Stevenson-Larrimah-9781760877835/">Allen and Unwin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there are clear links with Population: 11’s central mystery, quirky interpersonal drama and outback town of misfits, the show is otherwise only loosely related to the Larrimah mystery. Population: 11’s opening scene, for instance, shows Hugo seemingly being abducted by aliens. </p>
<h2>Screening the Kimberly</h2>
<p>Where Larrimah is more than 400 kilometres south-east of the Northern Territory capital Darwin, Population: 11 was filmed in Derby and the wider Kimberley region of Western Australia. Strikingly beautiful landscapes feature throughout the series.</p>
<p>Stan <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Western-Australian-outback-scene-for-new-comedic-crime-thriller-20240130">partnered with</a> Hollywood studio Lionsgate and Jungle Entertainment to film in the region, making it <a href="https://www.screenwest.com.au/news/latest-news/stan-original-comedic-crime-thriller-series-population-11-starring-ben-feldman-set-to-premiere-on-14-march">one of the first</a> Stan Original series to be filmed in the state. The other is the upcoming series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29353885/">Invisible Boys</a>. </p>
<p>The combined effect of its cinematography, real-life inspiration and genuinely likeable cast make Population: 11 – even when it stumbles – an engaging view. I hope it encourages Stan to bring more work to the region, and to other Australian regions it has yet to visit. Because local content is always worth encouraging.</p>
<p><em>Population: 11 premieres on Stan on March 14.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581543/original/file-20240313-28-y84qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trevor Taylor (Steve Le Marquand), Maureen Taylor (Pippa Grandison), Valerie Hogarth (Genevieve Lemon) and Noel Pinkus (Stephen Curry) stand outside the bar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly McWilliam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stan’s new comedy-crime series is loosely inspired by the mysterious disappearance of Paddy Moriarty from the tiny town of Larrimah, Northern Territory.Kelly McWilliam, Associate Professor of Communication and Media, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199632023-12-20T19:05:29Z2023-12-20T19:05:29ZTelemovies have dominated Christmas movies for 50 years – so why are the Aussie straight-to-streaming ones this bad?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566503/original/file-20231219-25-ca7lcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7313%2C4302&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">A Savage Christmas/Binge</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For some, December 25 is a solemn day, key on the Christian calendar, involving important traditions to be treated with reverence. But for many, Christmas is a time for unbridled fun: Santa, presents, and the random grump next door who suddenly decorates his house in an overwhelmingly delirious light display. For a month, we embrace with childlike delight things that for the rest of the year we would dismiss as kitsch, tacky, too bright, too shiny. </p>
<p>Christmas films reflect these differing approaches to the season. There are the solemn, wholesome type, the model for which is Frank Capra’s marvellous It’s a Wonderful Life. There are cynical big budget comedies, trying to skewer the consumerism with which the holiday is now associated while maintaining a sentimental “Christmas cheer for all” ending, like Surviving Christmas and Christmas with the Kranks. And there are sweet comedies, films such as Elf and The Santa Clause, that cloak their gags in a more or less touching sense of wonder. </p>
<p>And often the best Christmas films aren’t “Christmasy” at all. They either go against the cliches – Black Christmas by Canadian auteur Bob Clark, who also made possibly the greatest Christmas film of all time, A Christmas Story – or are positioned tangentially in relation to the holiday (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLR3gZrU2Xo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-christmas-movies-are-so-appealing-this-holiday-season-152222">Here's why Christmas movies are so appealing this holiday season</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Straight to the small screen</h2>
<p>The telemovie has dominated the genre for the past 50 years or so. Sometimes these are excellent. The House without a Christmas Tree, from 1972, is a fantastic film starring Jason Robards. But usually, like the Olivia Newton-John vehicle A Mom For Christmas, they offer, at best, pleasantly distracting images and sounds to have in the background while you wrap presents.</p>
<p>The reign of the Christmas telemovie (now the Christmas made-for-streaming movie) is partly the result of networks looking for cheap fodder to program in December. But there’s also something about the telemovie aesthetic – the plots ludicrous and maudlin, the low-budget design, the characters so cheerful you could scream – that fits the kitsch flavour of pop-Christmas.</p>
<p>Usually these films – with titles such as Trading Christmas, Christmas All Over Again, and The National Tree – feature hokey narratives, the endings mawkish to an extent unacceptable outside of the silly season, the aesthetic extremely low-rent. </p>
<p>Some deliberately play up their kitsch elements and explode into camp extravaganzas – like the inimitable (and limitlessly pleasurable) Santa with Muscles, in which Hulk Hogan dressed in a sleeveless Santa suit fights mad scientists in order to save an orphanage. Though Santa with Muscles was briefly released theatrically in the Unites States, it found its viewers through TV repeats. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CNAF2uf-_Y4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Netflix has made several made-for-TV Christmas movies in recent years, many of them unwatchable. For the ones that work, their success usually hinges upon the charm of the leads. Vanessa Hudgens in The Princess Switch, for example, is so infectiously likeable that we forget (or forgive) the absolute absurdity of the material.</p>
<p>There has been a slew of recent Australian Christmas movies made for Stan, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-ransom-i-quite-enjoyed-watching-this-terrible-new-aussie-christmas-film-194515">Christmas Ransom</a>, Christmas on the Farm, and A Sunburnt Christmas, each sparkling about as much as a lump of coal in a stocking. This year’s new offering from Stan, Jones Family Christmas, doesn’t fare much better.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-ransom-i-quite-enjoyed-watching-this-terrible-new-aussie-christmas-film-194515">Christmas Ransom: I quite enjoyed watching this (terrible) new Aussie Christmas film</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Jones Family Christmas</h2>
<p>From the opening ditty – Clive Smith’s extremely irritating “It’s Christmas in Australia and I am upside down” – Jones Family Christmas’ deliberate Australian dagginess is pretty hard to stomach.</p>
<p>We get it. This is Australian Christmas. There are “redbacks” and “mates rates”, people are “happier than a pig in shit.” </p>
<p>The narrative is predictable but unassuming. Matriarch Heather Jones (Heather Mitchell in a low-key, oddly touching performance) tries to hold her family together over Christmas in the midst of interpersonal turmoil and bushfires encroaching on their rural Victorian property. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hnpp57jm6C8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The film plods through such a plethora of dumb cliches – rusty tractors, joeys, laconic parents suppressing family tensions and tragedies – that it all feels terribly laboured. But the cinematography is effective and the acting solid, and the whole thing has enough charm balancing its silly humour to make a watchable if forgettable film, its schmaltzy, sentimental narrative bow appropriately wrapping it up. </p>
<p>In any case, one of the major redeeming features of these made-for-Stan Christmas movies is that they don’t imagine they’re doing anything more than they’re doing: providing some entertaining and cheerful Christmas pap. </p>
<h2>A Savage Christmas</h2>
<p>This year Binge is following Stan’s lead, securing the first rate <a href="https://theconversation.com/christmess-is-undoubtedly-one-of-the-best-christmas-films-to-emerge-from-anywhere-in-recent-years-218435">Christmess</a>, fresh from its cinema release, and the truly terrible A Savage Christmas, which fails to work across almost every element. </p>
<p>Writer-director Madeleine Dyer’s feature film debut, A Savage Christmas follows the children of rich Australian parents Brenda (Helen Thomson) and James (David Roberts) as they return to their family house for Christmas – mainly to secure their expected $10,000 Christmas cheque. </p>
<p>Davina (Thea Raveneau), their trans daughter, hasn’t been home for three years. She drags her trans boyfriend Kane (Max Jahufer) in tow. Jimmy (Ryan Morgan), the Savage’s son, is an ex-cop-turned wannabe rapper who owes money to a gangster, and daughter Leia (Rekha Ryan) is an Instagram-style princess-mum whose life is secretly falling apart. </p>
<p>Past resentments predictably arise amid the simmering tension in occasionally funny but mainly uninteresting and off-putting ways. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BeSbmFGUD2s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Like Jones Family Christmas, the film fits firmly in the “families are messy, everyone has issues” Christmas sub-genre – think of The Family Stone or Christmas with the Coopers. But while those films were buoyed by excellent stars, solid writing and a style that big budgets can buy, A Savage Christmas is characterised by amateurish performances, uneven comedy, and a repellently smug tone. </p>
<p>Its point is so obvious – everyone is messed up in their own way and those who appear less messed up are often more so – it feels about as subtle as an axe to the face. It’s trying to be a mixture of fresh, cynical, wry and edgy, but feels empty and mean-spirited. </p>
<p>The comedy is mostly puerile – a major gag is a sweet potato carved like a phallus knocking the head off a Baby Jesus ornament – and there are no believable moments, no character touches, to sustain any emotion or sense of drama. It completely lacks the dramatic heft needed to make it feel like these characters are worth caring about in any capacity – and it seems to want you to care. </p>
<p>There are a handful of moments where the film allows you to breathe, where it ceases to feel like a heavy-handed discourse machine willing to suspend all verisimilitude in order to make its point, and Darren Gilshenan gives a beautifully unhinged performance as the deranged Uncle Dick.</p>
<p>The cinematography and production design are efficient – there’s nothing technically wrong with the film – but it fails hopelessly as both a comedy and as a feelgood film of a broken family beginning to heal. A Savage Christmas would give Crackers a run for its money as the worst Australian Christmas film to date. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tNrCTxcwTvM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>If you feel like watching a new Australian Christmas film, Christmess is infinitely better than both A Savage Christmas and Jones Family Christmas, covering similar terrain with much more subtlety, intelligence, style and good humour. More evidence that a bigger budget does not necessarily equal a better film.</p>
<p>And if it’s simply Hallmark-style trash you’re after – true Christmas telemovies, warmly embracing the saccharine spirit of the holiday – there’s a plentiful supply of these across the major streaming services.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christmess-is-undoubtedly-one-of-the-best-christmas-films-to-emerge-from-anywhere-in-recent-years-218435">Christmess is undoubtedly one of the best Christmas films to emerge – from anywhere – in recent years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ari Mattes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A Savage Christmas would give Crackers a run for its money as the worst Australian Christmas film to date.Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173652023-11-15T19:04:18Z2023-11-15T19:04:18ZScrublands: not a whodunit but a ‘howcatchem’, a new suspenseful Aussie inversion of the genre<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559176/original/file-20231113-27-df7kn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C17%2C5937%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, Stan announced its endeavour to produce <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/stan-to-grow-original-production-schedule-to-30-a-year-20200821-p55o07">30 original series</a> filmed in Australia over the next five years. </p>
<p>A particular focus of the network is crime productions. Scrublands is just the latest, joining <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-snow-a-new-pacy-murder-mystery-addresses-the-complicated-legacy-of-slavery-in-australia-194347">Black Snow</a> (2023) and The Tourist (2023), in addition to remaking the popular Australian feature films Wolf Creek (2016) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/romper-stomper-reboot-is-a-compelling-investigation-into-australias-extremist-politics-89227">Romper Stomper</a> (2018).</p>
<p>Scrublands is also on familiar ground, joining several other adaptations of small town Australian crime novels like Peter Temple’s Broken Shore (written in 2005 and adapted in 2013) and Jane Harper’s The Dry (written in 2016 and adapted in 2020). </p>
<p>In his original novel, Chris Hammer masterfully presents an epic tale of a dying town. He meticulously details its struggles where the op-shop opens only twice a week, the hotel shuts down and the Black Dog Motel is the sole accommodation, with a strict “no animals allowed” policy.</p>
<p>With a backdrop rooted in the author’s non-fiction work on the Murray-Darling Basin – The River (2010), The Coast (2012) – Hammer weaves a crime novel that peels back the layers of fictitious Riversend, a New South Wales town grappling with economic decline, drought and the trauma of a devastating massacre just 12 months earlier. </p>
<p>As with the novel, this horrific and inexplicable traumatic act is where Greg Mclean’s gripping series begins. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bGTws8CZOt4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-snow-a-new-pacy-murder-mystery-addresses-the-complicated-legacy-of-slavery-in-australia-194347">Black Snow, a new pacy murder mystery, addresses the complicated legacy of slavery in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Secrets and suspicion</h2>
<p>In the town’s country church, Father Byron Swift (Jay Ryan), donned in white and purple robes, unexpectedly emerges with a rifle in hand. He commits a shocking act by opening fire on parishioners, resulting in the deaths of five men.</p>
<p>The clergyman is subsequently shot in self-defence by the local police officer, Robbie Haus-Jones (Adam Zwar), setting the stage for the unfolding saga of Scrublands.</p>
<p>It is a town full of secrets and suspicion of outsiders. The series follows burnt-out journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arriving 12 months later with a seemingly simple mission: to craft a human interest narrative on the aftermath of the mass shooting. His Sydney-based editor (Nicholas Bell) urges him to investigate how Riversend is faring one year after the horrific act.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and a woman talk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Martin Scarsden is tasked with crafting a human interest narrative on the aftermath of the mass shooting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The suspenseful narrative unfolds gradually across each episode, exposing the town’s hidden truths and pulling Scarsden deeper into the web of lies and secrets that have come to define this drought-stricken town.</p>
<p>All of the performances are strong, but Bella Heathcote who plays the grieving Mandy Bond is the standout.</p>
<p>As the audience is literally shown whodunit in this opening scene – replayed from different perspectives across the series – it is not a whodunit as much as a “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_detective_story">howcatchem</a>”. </p>
<p>A howcatchem is a crime narrative where the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The case then follows as the detective begins a hunt to restore the moral world by bringing justice to the community.</p>
<p>Scrublands offers a variation to this howcatchem sub-genre. The perpetrator is not at large but dead. The why of his violence, however, remains unsatisfactorily unanswered – and Scarsden intends to find out. </p>
<h2>An immersive story</h2>
<p>Further variations to the expected crime narrative continue with the victims being grown men rather than young women. Was the priest killing at random? Were his victims a calculated selection? </p>
<p>As Scarsden navigates the intricacies of Riversend, director McLean offers an expansive portrayal of the town. This gives viewers time to immerse themselves in the environment and multifaceted characters. </p>
<p>The story unfolds with a deliberate steady pace, allowing McLean to continue his interest in rural landscape stories (Wolf Creek, Rogue) where he has more recently branched beyond just Australia through international co-productions including Jungle (2017), set in the Amazon rainforest, and The Darkness (2016) about a family that visits the Grand Canyon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a baby, a man pushes a pram." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a wave of Australian crime drama exploring lives in small towns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The show is most successful through its links to rural crime noir with the emphasis on pulling apart the vulnerability and deception of this small town. All of these somewhat innocent characters are complicit in the criminality that was allowed to corrupt the town. </p>
<p>Scrublands is produced by Easy Tiger, the company behind adapting the Peter Temple Jack Irish novels for the ABC. Similarly, this is a detective story about a non-law-enforcement protagonist who has to rely on his own instincts rather than police intel. </p>
<p>Besides, the police here are just as suspicious as the crims being pursued. </p>
<p>The series builds at a nice tempo before the truth is finally revealed. Secrets are exposed, but nobody is less traumatised by the conclusion – including journalist Scarsden, whose own haunted past is equally exposed. </p>
<p>Hammer’s second novel, featuring the same protagonist, was the more impressive Silver (2019). There is another ready-made source work if Scrublands is renewed for a second series. </p>
<p><em>Scrublands is on Stan from today.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/roald-dahl-time-bending-crime-and-queer-pirate-comedy-the-best-of-streaming-this-november-215525">Roald Dahl, time-bending crime, and queer pirate comedy: the best of streaming this November</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Gaunson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new series on Stan is most successful through its links to rural crime noir, pulling apart the vulnerability and deception of this small town.Stephen Gaunson, Senior Lecturer in Cinema Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2080942023-06-20T20:13:07Z2023-06-20T20:13:07ZFinland in 1944, Kurdish ghettos of Bonn, and January 6: the top 5 films at the Sydney Film Festival in 2023<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532813/original/file-20230620-25-hxn1ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3532%2C2349&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Afire, directed by Christian Petzold.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sydney Film Festival</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Winter on Market Street, and it’s time to switch off one’s phone and retreat to the cinema cave for the 12 days of hibernation known as the Sydney Film Festival. </p>
<p>From the 50 or so films I caught this year, my top five (in no particular order) are below.</p>
<h2>Afire</h2>
<p>Afire is the latest from writer-director Christian Petzold. </p>
<p>Serial grump Leon (Thomas Schubert) and friend Felix (Langston Uibel) stay at a house near the Baltic Sea to spend time on their work removed from the distractions of city life (as though holidays don’t proffer more distractions!). </p>
<p>When they arrive at the house, they find out they will be sharing it with Nadja (Paula Beer). The scene is set for various dalliances and miscues – sexual and otherwise – as Leon tries to eke out a space to complete his second novel (it’s not going well).</p>
<p>Meanwhile, raging bushfires creep closer and closer, and the petty nature of the absurd mishaps in Leon’s life – and his blindness to the world – come into stark relief when the fires kill two of the group.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YHzpUE_FCeI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Much of the film is very funny, centred on the discomfort of pompous and awkward Leon. He’s the kind of person who wears a full suit of clothes to the beach, the kind of person for whom everything seems difficult – even the wind seems to be out to get him. The grace and ease of everyone around him only amplify his social and physical ineptitude. </p>
<p>At the same time, we empathise with Leon’s interior, muted longing, as he gazes at the happier denizens of the planet breezing by him.</p>
<p>Afire is a wicked comedy about everything going wrong and the capacity of “the quake of love” to transcend this, to pull us out of ourselves into a genuine engagement with the world. </p>
<h2>A Storm Foretold</h2>
<p>Trump’s former mover and confidant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/13/roger-stone-trump-ally-january-6-capitol-attack">Roger Stone</a> may be an easy target for this documentary from Danish filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen. </p>
<p>But the genius of Guldbrandsen’s film lies in its refusal to morally condemn Stone, and in its documenting of the fraught but (apparently) tender relationship that develops between Guldbrandsen and Stone over the course of the project. </p>
<p>Stone’s charisma is evident throughout – he is eminently watchable, as much as we may dislike him – as he plans and prepares for the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-rioters.html">Stop the Steal</a>” movement that leads to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/izphpZ0MjMI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>With Richard Nixon as his idol, he comes across as something of a lunatic, a poser, insecure and arrogant, childish, petulant – but also a man with a good sense of humour. At the same time, Stone’s capacity to organise is impressive. More than anything else, he appears as a canny political operator, cynical but effective.</p>
<p>When Guldbrandsen has a heart attack midway through the making of the film, Stone reaches out to him in a gesture of friendship that helps Guldbrandsen complete the film. But we also follow Stone as he becomes increasingly militant, surrounded by his thuggish cult of defenders, routinely appearing on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/07/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy">Alex Jones’ Infowars</a> to drum up paranoiac support. Once it becomes clear the “Stop the Steal” movement has failed, Stone bolts from DC. When his expected pardon from Trump doesn’t come, he unleashes in a burst of fury.</p>
<p>Guldbrandsen’s footage from camera and phone is intercut with archival material, some involving nasty explosions of street violence. The whole thing develops with the dreadful anticipation of an apocalyptic thriller or disaster film. </p>
<p>Guldbrandsen’s documentary is an intimate and effective image of a political operator, remarkable for what Stone allows him to capture on camera. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-congress-cant-curb-trumps-power-to-commute-stones-sentence-and-pardon-others-142621">Why Congress can't curb Trump's power to commute Stone's sentence and pardon others</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Rheingold</h2>
<p>Rheingold is an irreverent, riotous, rags-to-riches, macho gangster yarn from German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin. </p>
<p>Based on the true story of German drug dealer, bandit and rapper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xatar">Xatar</a> (real name Giwar Hajabi), we follow Hajabi from his birth to Kurdish parents in Iran to his youth in a Kurdish ghetto in Bonn to his move to Amsterdam to become a serious drug dealer. </p>
<p>Music remains the consistent thing underpinning his criminal life. While in prison for an outlandish gold heist, he writes and records commercially successful songs.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PdWyTpYyf2M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>A brilliant performance by Emilio Sakraya, who plays Xatar for most of the movie, anchors the character with humour and humanity. At times Sakraya plays Xatar like a ragamuffin street urchin comically out of his depth, at other times like a sensitive chap responding as best he can to the cards he has been dealt, strutting through life with a cheeky grin and twinkle in his eye.</p>
<p>Despite the absolute brutality of much of the violence, Hajabi never appears like a bloodthirsty maniac. This will rub many viewers the wrong way, though realism is far from the point of this film. </p>
<p>While other biopics often painfully try to recreate the sense of reality of the subject, Rheingold joyfully dispenses with any sense of reality from the beginning, delighting in its own absurdity and exploiting the fabulous nature of its premise for all its cinematic worth.</p>
<p>At the same time, the film does draw attention to the other continuity, along with music, throughout Hajabi’s life – imprisonment – and it is within this context of the life of the global refugee that all of the glee of the film should be read. </p>
<p>Rheingold is an amoral, violent and kinetic cinematic romp. It’s Akin’s most wilfully pleasurable film to date.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-films-that-will-help-you-understand-the-modern-arab-world-59348">Five films that will help you understand the modern Arab World</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sisu</h2>
<p>Sisu, from Finnish writer-director Jalmari Helander, is set in 1944. The war is winding down. The Nazis are retreating across Europe, leaving scorched earth in their wake. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, wizened, stoical goldminer Aatami (Jorma Tommila) strikes it rich and begins travelling with his gold and his dog back to the city. Alas, miner and Nazis cross paths. </p>
<p>The Nazis, led by equally stoical psychopath Bruno (Aksel Hennie), seize the opportunity and attempt to rob Aatami of his gold. </p>
<p>Their increasingly extreme attempts to kill Aatami continue to fail, while his vengeance exponentially ramps up. Bruno and company learn Aatami is a kind of living legend, a mythical ex-soldier who doesn’t seem to be able to die, no matter how many times he’s blown up, stabbed or shot.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d2k4QAItiSA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The premise of Sisu is patently absurd, but it works so well because it is played seriously for all its worth. </p>
<p>Every aspect of Sisu is well done. The score and soundscape add intensity to the action sequences without seeming overbearing. The violence is grim, bloody and brutal without feeling like a senseless gorefest. </p>
<p>The tone is just right – mythical and epic, like the best westerns, but also effortlessly kinetic, as action cinema should be. An immensely satisfying film.</p>
<h2>May December</h2>
<p>May December, from Todd Haynes, follows actress Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman) as she shadows middle-aged “American mom” Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore) and her much younger husband Joe (Charles Melton) as they live the dream in Savannah, Georgia. </p>
<p>Twenty or so years earlier Gracie and Joe were all over the tabloid headlines. Gracie, in her mid-30s, had a sexual relationship with 13-year-old Joe in the pet shop where they worked. She was convicted and sentenced to prison, where her daughter was born. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wTR-WT9JG2k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Berry is playing Gracie in a new Hollywood movie and wants to understand her character. Her arrival sheds light on cracks in the façade of Gracie and Joe’s “happy marriage”. </p>
<p>Gracie appears as a tyrannical and desperate matriarch. Joe appears stunted, naïve and terribly unhappy. This unfolds before Berry’s cold eye as she ingratiates herself into their world.</p>
<p>Like much of Haynes’ work, May December takes ostensibly “ordinary” scenarios – a family dinner or a high school graduation – and endows them with a strangely disturbing, off-putting intensity. </p>
<p>The whole thing has echoes of Gothic melodrama, but Haynes masterfully represses the expected contours of character and story, leaving us with a far stranger experience, with this containment of dramatic action generating much of the film’s pulsing energy.</p>
<p>May December is about the way people represent themselves and the way they are represented, confirming the value of art that exploits the banal and weird stories of everyday people for a higher purpose. Berry’s commitment to the recreation of events, feelings, desires – her remarkably focused manufacturing of desire with Joe in order to better embody and understand Gracie – amplifies both the feeling of exploitation and the excuse for it.</p>
<p>As we watch the final sequences – the melodramatic Hollywood treatment of the story of Gracie and Joe – we feel both amused and mildly disgusted at the shabbiness of it all.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hollywood-has-got-method-acting-all-wrong-heres-what-the-process-is-really-about-172568">Hollywood has got method acting all wrong, here's what the process is really about</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Other great ones</h2>
<p>The problem with top five lists is that great films are invariably omitted. This year this seems to be more the case than usual, with at least ten other films that could make the list.</p>
<p>Silver Haze, from writer-director Sacha Polak, is a tender working-class British drama, slow and atmospheric, following a burn victim as she falls in love with a younger woman and together they plot her revenge. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yliZXGj_PWA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBM0_6JJw1s">A Thousand and One</a>, starring Teyana Taylor as a mother who kidnaps her son from foster care and then raises him, stunningly recreates the feel of 1990s and early 2000s NYC culture, demanding our attention at every turn.</p>
<p>Aki Kaurismäki’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI3IASNvKeQ">Fallen Leaves</a> – a delightfully goofy romance exquisitely shot on 35mm film – and Wim Wenders’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTgWYojq-z8">Perfect Days</a> – a sleepy and cerebral, lyrical film following the day to day of a fastidious toilet cleaner in Tokyo who philosophically enjoys the simpler pleasures of his life – could easily be in the top five.</p>
<p>The Indian films <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23864864/">Joram</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtxDSTRwcc0">Kennedy</a> – big-budget, cinematic thrillers interweaving political critique with traditional genre tropes – are both exceptional, as is the Serbian film, The Happiest Man in the World, based on a bizarre true story in which a woman at a Sarajevo speed-dating event meets the sniper who shot her. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1VRfnQbMOd0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EeG7CPOqAI">The Mother of All Lies</a> – this year’s winner of the <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/sydney-film-festival-the-mother-of-all-lies-prize-1235648258/">Sydney Film Prize</a> – is a thoroughly immersive documentary from Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir as she elicits her family’s memories of the 1981 Bread Riots. </p>
<p>The Mexican film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7u17en5Goc">Heroic</a> also deserves mention. Set in an officer training academy built around an Aztec structure, it follows a young officer in training from recruitment to graduation as he is subjected to bullying and hazing. The whole thing is interspersed with surreal, eerie nightmare set pieces. It is an exceptional film and will probably be one of the best of 2023.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/plIUJ-LF7JU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>All equally impressive are the extremely well-made thriller Reality, starring Sydney Sweeney, with all dialogue taken from FBI transcripts of the interrogation of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/25/reality-winner-leaked-file-on-russia-election-hacking-because-public-was-being-lied-to">whistleblower Reality Winner</a>; Australian horror film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14966898/">Late Night with the Devil</a>; Canadian coming-of-age film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbUl5Gx0E2s">Riceboy Sleeps</a>; and the intellectually charged experimental film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZssGPoBiAU">Connection of the Sticks</a> from Australian artist Kuba Dorabialski.</p>
<h2>Only two terrible films</h2>
<p>There were only two films I regretted seeing. </p>
<p>The Cape is an Australian true crime story made for Stan. While the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/mystery-double-murder-baffles-top-end-20030620-gdvwqf.html">original case</a> involving the disappearance/murder of a father and son in a fishing community on the Cape York Peninsula is certainly interesting, the film has nothing new to offer in terms of interpretation of the events or any kind of new evidence. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GYr7KFB9tgA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It is difficult to imagine why a project that unambitiously retreads a murder from 20 years earlier with no new information would have been greenlit. This kind of lurid true crime stuff is strictly bottom of the barrel. It may work on TV for true crime diehards, but it was a complete waste of time seeing this in a cinema.</p>
<p>How to Blow up a Pipeline is a more earnest, less cynical affair than The Cape, and it has the makings of an exciting eco-thriller, moving through the planning, execution and aftermath of an activist attack in Texas. But the dialogue is so laughably expositional, and the acting so amateurish, that the neat design (and good music) are completely undermined. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bSb585bGYmQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Because the acting is so bad and the dialogue even worse, the whole thing becomes very irritating to watch. I almost wished climate change had already done its worst, so I didn’t have to sit through this movie.</p>
<p>Alas, 50 films, around a third brilliant and only two duds? We would never find this outside of an international film festival, which is why, when winter rolls around next year, the hibernation will begin again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ari Mattes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>50 films, around a third brilliant, and only two duds. We would never find this outside of an international film festival.Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047642023-05-11T23:45:12Z2023-05-11T23:45:12ZWhat BBC and Stan series Ten Pound Poms gets right – and wrong – about the British migrant experience in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525551/original/file-20230511-19-qhnxgf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C0%2C4252%2C2848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first episode of Ten Pound Poms opens onto a bleak scene.</p>
<p>As snow falls against a grey sky in Manchester, Terry Roberts (Warren Brown) works to repair buildings damaged during the second world war. We can barely see him through the smog; the sound of hammering dominates the scene. As it gets louder, it triggers flashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war.</p>
<p>At home, his wife Annie (Faye Marsay) carefully scrapes used tea leaves into a jar, fed up with the sacrifices and depredations of post-war Britain.</p>
<p>That night, while tending to Terry – who has collapsed after another evening at the pub where he has spent their meagre income – Annie seizes on a newspaper advertisement offering her family the opportunity to “build a new life in sunny Australia” for only ten pounds.</p>
<p>Set in 1956, Ten Pound Poms, a co-production between the BBC and Stan, tells the story of British migrants as they struggle to build new lives in a distant and unknown land.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eF2kDWx23ZU?wmode=transparent&start=2" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Australia’s post-war migration program</h2>
<p>Migration to Australia offers the Roberts family the promise of a fresh start, “a bright future” in a “modern” country with abundant fresh food, and a brand-new whitewashed house and family car.</p>
<p>The “Ten Pound Pom” scheme was launched in 1945 and continued into the early 1970s. It was just one of Australia’s assisted passage schemes of the post-war era. Most of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1031461X.2018.1441608">1.5 million Britons</a> who came to Australia until 1981 were part of such a scheme. </p>
<p>Australia’s post-war migration program was driven by the imperative to “populate or perish”. The second world war had demonstrated Australia’s vulnerability to foreign invasion, and migrants were needed to fuel its burgeoning post-war industrial development and infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>But until the 1960s, the White Australia Policy was very much in place. Australia was still a British country and a proud member of the British Empire, with a preference <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us-subsite/files/immigration-history.pdf">for British migrants</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-changing-face-of-australian-immigration-14984">The changing face of Australian immigration</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A new life?</h2>
<p>Australia offered the Roberts family an opportunity to “work hard, prosper” and own their own home. But once they arrive in Australia, their dream of a new life is dealt a blow.</p>
<p>As assisted migrants, they are sent straight to a migrant hostel camp, where they will live while earning enough to pay their own way. Their dream of “white washed houses and huge gardens” dissipates as they take their first look at the “squalor” of the Nissen huts, outdoor communal showers and drop toilets. </p>
<p>“They lied to us,” says Annie.</p>
<p>Most assisted migrants who arrived by ship ended up <a href="https://able.adelaide.edu.au/humanities/hostel-stories/publications#hostel-stories">in these camps</a>, where they could stay while they looked for work and resettled. But those who had trouble finding work stayed for many months, if not years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shocked faces." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525553/original/file-20230511-19-5gbe8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Instead of new houses and huge gardens, the migrants are sent to a hostel camp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Terry, a qualified builder, must take any work he is offered as long as no Australians want it. His first job is digging ditches for a gas pipeline.</p>
<p>At work, he is subject to name-calling, ostracism and the threat of violence.</p>
<p>Under the scheme, migrants were obligated to stay and work in Australia for at least two years to repay their subsidised travel. After this, <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.616634846242757">up to 25%</a> chose to return home.</p>
<p>The challenges faced by British migrants were shared by those from many other countries. These migrants were not only subject to the same <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2867639">onerous visa conditions</a> and racist attitudes, but denied the privileges accorded the British: the right to vote, get an Australian passport, and receive social security benefits.</p>
<p>But in the series, these non-British migrants are used only as a backdrop. Their stories could have given us a much richer picture of hostel life. Instead they make only brief appearances, and even then, often as caricatures, such as the lazy and overly-emotional Italian, Maria (Sarah Furnari).</p>
<h2>An imperial past</h2>
<p>Ten Pound Poms is a pacy, character-driven story grounded in historical research. </p>
<p>The series is also very interested in examining the experiences of First Nations Peoples, which it does through war veteran Ron Mahoney (Rob Collins) and his community at an old mission station near the hostel.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rob Collins" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525552/original/file-20230511-17-5ofdrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The series also looks at First Nations experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But Ten Pound Poms gives us an idealised portrayal of the migrants’ relationship with Ron and the other Aboriginal characters. While the local Australian characters exemplify the racist attitudes of white Australia, the Roberts family’s many interactions with Aboriginal people are entirely friendly and enlightened.</p>
<p>“They’re just people,” Annie tells Terry’s racist co-worker. “They were here long before you were.”</p>
<p>The series largely skips over Britain’s role in the history of colonisation.</p>
<p>Series writer, English screenwriter and playwright Danny Brocklehurst, <a href="https://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/BBC1/view/327973/">rightly points out</a> these migrant stories are an important aspect of Australia’s past that have received little attention. But equally important is that this remembering takes account of both Britain and Australia’s imperial past.</p>
<p>Despite these flaws, Ten Pound Poms has a cast of characters you’ll want to follow to the end. It will especially appeal to the many British migrants – both “back home” and in Australia – who will see their own family histories reflected in these characters.</p>
<p><em>Ten Pound Poms is on Stan and the BBC from Sunday.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-times-devastating-always-powerful-new-sbs-drama-safe-home-looks-at-domestic-violence-with-nuance-integrity-and-care-204910">At times devastating, always powerful: new SBS drama Safe Home looks at domestic violence with nuance, integrity and care</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204764/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmel Pascale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This Australian/UK coproduction tells a story which has received too little attention – but it overlooks some of the more difficult parts of Australia’s migrant history.Carmel Pascale, Visiting Research Fellow, School of Humanities, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049102023-05-11T00:37:13Z2023-05-11T00:37:13ZAt times devastating, always powerful: new SBS drama Safe Home looks at domestic violence with nuance, integrity and care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525289/original/file-20230510-21-j7m5gb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C0%2C3870%2C2598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Phoebe Rook (Aisha Dee) is a 20-something starting work as communications specialist for the Family Violence Legal Service, a state-wide community centre providing free legal assistance for people escaping domestic and family violence in Victoria. </p>
<p>Tasked with raising the centre’s profile amid rumours of funding cuts, Phoebe is quickly confronted with her own assumptions of the policies and services used to protect victim-survivors.</p>
<p>While shadowing prickly lawyer Jenny (Mabel Li) at the magistrate’s court on her first day, Phoebe reads through a list of intervention orders. </p>
<p>“These people should be in jail!” she exclaims.</p>
<p>“Because jail has always worked so well at stopping violent behaviour,” Jenny drily responds. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uHf27H5smTE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The centre’s work in advocating on behalf of vulnerable people caught in cycles of abuse is urgent and vital. But as Phoebe settles into this new role, she is haunted by her complex past. </p>
<p>As Phoebe’s complicated relationships threaten to challenge her ethics, a series of gripping events attest to the ways violence is insidious and ingrained in systemic structures of power. </p>
<p>Safe Home, a new television series from SBS, is compelling, at times devastating, but always powerful in its commitment to articulating difficult truths around domestic and family violence with nuance, integrity and care.</p>
<h2>Domestic and family violence in Australia</h2>
<p>Safe Home offers an important critique of the assumptions and expectations that influence public understanding of domestic and family violence. </p>
<p>These abuses persist on endemic levels in Australia. On average, a woman is killed by an intimate partner <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr39">every ten days</a>. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release">one in three</a> women have experienced physical violence since they turned 15. These rates are even higher for <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/summary">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women</a> and women from marginalised groups.</p>
<p>While the Australian government has recently launched a <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children</a>, experts have emphasised the significant, long term funding needed to meet its goal to end violence against women “<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-plan-aims-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-in-one-generation-can-it-succeed-192497">in one generation</a>”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-plan-aims-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-in-one-generation-can-it-succeed-192497">A new national plan aims to end violence against women and children 'in one generation'. Can it succeed?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Telling stories of crisis</h2>
<p>Safe Home makes a timely contribution to a growing body of television that addresses socio-political crises through unflinchingly honest storytelling. </p>
<p>The BBC’s adaptation of NHS doctor Adam Kay’s bestselling memoir <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/feb/08/this-is-going-to-hurt-review-ben-whishaw-stars-in-a-realism-packed-adaptation">This is Going to Hurt</a> engages with the experiences of junior doctors who endure high levels of fatigue and mental health related issues amid a lack of resources and compensation for the difficult and necessary work they do.</p>
<p>Based on Stephanie Land’s memoir, Netflix’s limited series <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/arts/television/review-maid-netflix.html">Maid</a> centres on a young mother fleeing an abusive relationship who takes up work cleaning houses and critiques the class and economic structures that enforce social exclusion and poverty. </p>
<p>Safe Home was inspired by creator Anna Barnes’ experience working at community legal centres in Melbourne. The show depicts domestic and family violence with sensitivity and awareness. It is particularly authentic in its portrayal of victim-survivors who must navigate an exceedingly complex and overloaded system.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two women smile at desks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525296/original/file-20230510-17-iywtwz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Safe Home was inspired by creator Anna Barnes’ experience working at community legal centres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Jenny explains to Phoebe, looming federal funding cuts threaten to eliminate a fifth of the Family Violence Legal Service’s budget – the equivalent of four lawyers. This would force the centre to decline walk-ins and limit their ability to manage the volume of cases they receive.</p>
<p>Against the backdrop of these precarious conditions, Safe Home deftly weaves stories of victim-survivors to highlight the blind spots, inequities and failures of the sector in providing adequate and urgent intervention.</p>
<p>Diana (Janet Andrewartha) struggles to leave her controlling husband Jon (Mark Mitchinson), a retired teacher well-regarded in their small town. </p>
<p>Ry (Tegan Stimson) falls into an unstable intimate relationship after escaping her mother’s verbal and physical abuse at home. </p>
<p>In perhaps the most heartbreaking story, Cherry (Katlyn Wong) risks losing her children after reporting her husband’s life-threatening violence to authorities because of a language barrier. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-data-shows-1-in-3-women-have-experienced-physical-violence-and-sexual-violence-remains-stubbornly-persistent-201758">New data shows 1 in 3 women have experienced physical violence and sexual violence remains stubbornly persistent</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The personal becomes political</h2>
<p>In these stories, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2022.2102598">cultural, linguistic and economic diversity</a> of victim-survivors who seek help is powerfully depicted. </p>
<p>We encounter the spectre of strategies used against victim-survivors: physical abuse, economic abuse, verbal threats and put-downs, control and coercion, love bombing and revenge porn. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two young women, one white and one Black, in a waiting room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525294/original/file-20230510-15-mt2x11.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The diversity of victim-survivors who seek help is powerfully depicted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are confronted with perpetrators who evade common stereotypes to appear, on the surface, likeable, friendly, charming and sympathetic. </p>
<p>The situations faced by victim-survivors intersect with – and are exacerbated by – current crises surrounding housing, homelessness and the cost of living. These circumstances can force them to return or remain <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2016.1204684">in dangerous situations</a>. </p>
<p>Contrary to the show’s title, home is not safe for people experiencing domestic and family violence. But for many, it is preferable to being homeless, to losing access to their children, to becoming susceptible to other kinds of violence. </p>
<p>Telling stories is critical to humanise, to engender empathy, to bring awareness to issues often shrouded in silence. As Phoebe puts it, “We tell stories to change minds, to change legislation, and most importantly, to change behaviour”.</p>
<p>In Safe Home, the personal becomes political. The stories behind the case numbers sit in dialogue with the current crisis of domestic and family violence. </p>
<p>These are stories victim-survivors and those who advocate on their behalf know well, but the Australian public still struggles to understand. </p>
<p><em>Safe Home is on SBS and SBS On Demand from today.</em></p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In immediate danger, call 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shannon Sandford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Safe Home attests to the ways violence is insidious and ingrained in systemic structures of power.Shannon Sandford, Lecturer, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2029592023-04-19T20:08:25Z2023-04-19T20:08:25ZNew Aussie black comedy Totally Completely Fine explores suicide, grief, isolation – and the power of human connection<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521218/original/file-20230417-20-quld15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C1607%2C1076&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chaotic 20-something Vivian (Thomasin McKenzie) can’t believe her luck when she inherits her granddad’s Sydney waterfront house. Decked out with grandpa-chic mid-century décor that suits Vivian’s vintage rocker aesthetic, the art deco home backs onto a stunning cliffside vista looking out over the ocean. </p>
<p>But it comes with a catch: Vivian’s cliff, with its sheer drop into the sea, is known as a place where people come to end their lives. </p>
<p>Vivian’s grandfather has left her in charge of saving these lost souls and preventing their deaths – a responsibility that seems insurmountable for Vivian, who can’t even seem to curb her own self-destructive ways. </p>
<p>It becomes clear if Viv is to take on the property she must face the trauma of the childhood accident that claimed the lives of her parents, repair her relationship with her brothers, and stop pushing away those who try to connect with her. </p>
<p>This six-part black comedy explores suicide, grief, isolation and the power of human connection. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0FNOuQCWmsg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Complicated grief</h2>
<p>Through the character of Vivian, Totally Completely Fine looks at something called <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-prince-harrys-memoir-spare-tells-us-about-complicated-grief-and-the-long-term-impact-of-losing-a-mother-so-young-197611">complicated grief</a>, also known as Prolonged Grief Disorder. </p>
<p>Complicated grief occurs when the effects of grief remain pervasive and overpowering, interrupting the lives of bereaved people. As expert Katherine Shear <a href="https://prolongedgrief.columbia.edu/blog/complicated-grief-is-dsm-5-prolonged-grief-disorder/">describes it</a>, those living with complicated grief often feel like they are facing a bleak future, can criticise themselves when they do feel pleasure, struggle with relationships, and may deal with suicidal thoughts.</p>
<p>Plagued by distorted flashbacks of the moments leading up to her parents’ death, and the accompanying shame and guilt, Vivian uses alcohol, drugs and detached sex to distract herself. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thomasin McKenzie, Brandon McClelland and Rowan Witt sitting in a lawyer's office" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521219/original/file-20230417-22-ntt3gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The three siblings face their grief in different ways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>She takes on destruction as part of her identity, explaining to other characters she is “a ruiner”. </p>
<p>She pushes away everyone who could be a source of support for her. </p>
<p>Her siblings have their own particular responses to their grief. Viv’s oldest brother, John (Rowan Witt), locks down his emotions and becomes a control freak. Her emotionally open brother, Hendrix (Brandon McClelland), throws his life into creating the perfect family, even at the cost of his wife’s happiness. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-prince-harrys-memoir-spare-tells-us-about-complicated-grief-and-the-long-term-impact-of-losing-a-mother-so-young-197611">What Prince Harry's memoir Spare tells us about 'complicated grief' and the long-term impact of losing a mother so young</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Human connection</h2>
<p>The show’s ironic title echoes through the lives of the characters as they each struggle with their own difficulties while trying to appear to be totally, completely fine. </p>
<p>Highly strung PhD student Dale (Devon Terrell) struggles with anxiety. Charming paperboy Louis (Max Crean) has more going on than his chipper demeanour lets on. Hendrix’s wife, Laura (Mia Morrissey), hides how unhappy she is with motherhood. And Amy – a “jumper” (as the show describes those attempting suicide on the cliff edge) Vivian saves – hides the coercive controlling nature of her “perfect” fiancé. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thomasin McKenzie on the couch with a bottle of beer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521222/original/file-20230417-24-875i6w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The characters become increasingly isolated, adding to their distress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In each of the characters’ lives, the show hints the support they need is right next to them, but none seem able to reach out for help. They become increasingly isolated, adding to their distress. </p>
<p>But John’s boyfriend, the handsome and emotionally intelligent Alejandro (Édgar Vittorino), models the compassion these characters need.</p>
<p>Where the relationships between Viv, John and Hendrix are weighed down by the baggage of their past, Alejandro shows the value of actively reaching out, listening – really listening – to people, and affirming their value as individual human beings. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-ask-someone-youre-worried-about-if-theyre-thinking-of-suicide-100237">How to ask someone you're worried about if they're thinking of suicide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The taboo of psychological struggles</h2>
<p>An old friend of Viv’s grandpa talks with her about suicide and the alienation felt by those who have attempted to take their own lives. </p>
<p>“Lots of people think that the line between them and what happens out there [on the cliff] is a thick one,” she says. </p>
<p>“Makes them intellectualise it, treat people like they’re fuckin’ aliens. When really you and I know that that line is as thin as the fucking wind.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Zindzi Okenyo stands on the cliff edge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521221/original/file-20230417-26-wtmdba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Support is out there – but it can be hard to see.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/suicide-prevention">One in six</a> Australians will have thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives. It is common for people <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-people-thinking-about-suicide-dont-tell-anyone-heres-why-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-197402">not to tell anyone</a> about suicidal thoughts, and it remains a taboo in contemporary society. This can compound effects of psychological distress by increasing feelings of shame and isolation. </p>
<p>Totally Completely Fine opens up this discussion in a human, heartfelt way without ever being cheesy or didactic.</p>
<p>As Vivian stumbles through a journey to healing, she makes mistakes and hurts the people she cares about. But the series ultimately shows the value of friendships, family and chosen family. Even though the characters all have their own pain to cope with, they find ways to be there for one another even when things seem hopeless. </p>
<p>This is a black comedy with huge doses of heart and hope. </p>
<p><em>Totally Completely Fine is on Stan from today.</em></p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-people-thinking-about-suicide-dont-tell-anyone-heres-why-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-197402">Most people thinking about suicide don't tell anyone. Here's why and what we can do about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Maguire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vivian can’t believe her luck when she inherits a clifftop house – but the house comes with unexpected responsibilities.Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Writing, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983972023-02-17T02:14:58Z2023-02-17T02:14:58ZNew Aussie drama Bad Behaviour gives us a complex portrayal of girlhood and queer stories<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509689/original/file-20230213-22-7knae0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C6221%2C4138&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jane Zhang/Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Review: Bad Behaviour, directed by Corrie Chen.</em></p>
<p>Bad Behaviour is a gritty, intense psychological drama that follows the haunting teenage experience of now 20-something Joanna Mackenzie (Jana McKinnon), who revisits the year she spent on scholarship at Silver Creek. </p>
<p>The exclusive girls’ boarding school, in the remote Australian wilderness, fosters independence, strength and resilience through survivalism and marathon training. </p>
<p>With teachers located off campus, the quiet, sensitive Jo soon finds herself in an environment more Lord of the Flies than kumbaya.</p>
<p>Jo and her classmates are tormented by charismatic bully Portia (Markella Kavenagh). Soon finding herself in the favour of the cruel and unpredictable Portia, the two begin a highly charged, intimate friendship. Jo experiences the first inklings of her queer sexual awakening. </p>
<p>When Portia suddenly moves on to a new bestie, Jo, now on the outer, never recovers from the rejection.</p>
<p>Driving the story is the mystery of Jo’s role in the suffering of Alice Kang (Yerin Ha), a fellow scholarship student. </p>
<p>Alice is the target of relentless and severe bullying. The first episode opens with her in tears, setting herself alight. Flash forward to the present where she is a successful cellist performing at the concert hall where Jo works as a cleaner and cocktail waiter. </p>
<p>Jo’s surprise meeting with Alice is the catalyst for her distressing mental revisitation of Silver Creek.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1qiqDcI8Bv8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Complex girlhood</h2>
<p>Bad Behaviour, based on Rebecca Starford’s memoir of the same name, shows a disturbing side to teenage girlhood we don’t often see represented in such a brutal, truthful way. A melting pot of sex, power, manipulation and cruelty, this story runs counter to dominant tropes of girlhood such as sweetness, naivety and innocence. </p>
<p>Figures of complex girlhood have become more widely represented on screen in recent years: think of Anya Taylor-Joy’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/02/robert-eggers-the-witch-female-empowerment/470844/">Thomasin</a> in The Witch; Katherine Langford as Miki in <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-murder-mystery-savage-river-is-a-gripping-new-take-on-the-australian-gothic-188739">Savage River</a>; and Antonia Gentry’s <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2023/01/11263276/black-teen-girls-tv-ginny-georgia-euphoria-gossip-girl">Ginny</a> of Ginny & Georgia. </p>
<p>These characters go beyond the often maligned “strong female character” who sometimes simply resembles a male hero archetype with a female body (think Katniss Everdeen).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two school girls in half dark." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509695/original/file-20230213-28-kdvt05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Normally a ‘good girl’, under Portia’s influence Jo is pulled into bad behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jane Zhang/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instead, Jo and other complex feminine characters are intriguing for their contradictions, flaws, vulnerabilities and psychological depth. </p>
<p>Jo is not easily “likeable”: she is unemotional, participates in bullying, and is unkind to her adoring non-binary housemate Saskia (Daya Czepanski), having sex with them and then discarding them. </p>
<p>A troubled psychology is revealed piece by piece over four episodes. </p>
<p>These kinds of female protagonists tell more varied and diverse narratives of femininity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/leon-at-25-representations-of-girlhood-need-to-be-real-and-relevant-not-distorted-by-the-male-gaze-141262">Léon at 25: representations of girlhood need to be real and relevant – not distorted by the male gaze</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Complicated queer narratives</h2>
<p>At the heart of this series is the spectre of abuse and long-term effects of trauma on victims. Queer experiences of intimate partner abuse, including coercive control, have been largely invisible in the popular imagination. </p>
<p>Representations of abusive heterosexual relationships are not uncommon, even if they often draw on inaccurate stereotypes that warp public perception of how such dynamics play out in reality. </p>
<p>Queer narratives of intimate partner violence and abuse are rare, with dire consequences on real lives. A <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/resources/practice-guides/intimate-partner-violence-lesbian-gay-bisexual-trans-intersex-and-queer">2015 Australian Institute of Family Studies</a> report found:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there has been an invisibility of LGBTIQ relationships in policy and practice responses and a lack of acknowledgement that intimate partner violence exists in these communities. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This makes such dynamics difficult to detect, a problem taken up by Carmen Maria Machado in her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/05/in-the-dream-house-carmen-maria-machado-review">memoir</a> about struggling to make sense of an abusive relationship with a “charismatic and volatile” woman. Machado argues heteronormative definitions of partner abuse equate masculinity with violence and femininity with passivity, making it difficult to recognise “queer abusers and the queer abused”. </p>
<p>Bad Behaviour works against this cultural blind spot. It fills in detail and unpacks dynamics of power and control in the relationship between Jo and Portia as teenagers, and later when they meet up as young adults who are both “out”.</p>
<p>To adults, Portia’s behaviour looks like bullying, misbehaviour or cliquey exclusion. The drastic change in the victimised Jo, who becomes increasingly withdrawn and aggressive, looks like disobedience and a bad attitude. </p>
<p>But there is something much more sinister at play. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A girl stands on a bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510731/original/file-20230216-1999-nix1y9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is a revolutionary story of control, abuse and girlhood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jane Zhang/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The sexually charged nature of some of the abuse is unmissable. In one scene, Portia corrals her cronies into helping her ambush Jo. They lift her by her underwear so she is left bleeding and bruised. </p>
<p>Bad Behaviour shows Portia motivated by the power and control she has over others. She takes pleasure in being able to control their emotions through giving her attention and enacting public and private cruelties on her victims. </p>
<p>If she is difficult to identify as a domestic abuser, Jo is even more difficult to identify as a victim.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-gender-lgbtiq-abuse-shows-its-time-to-shift-the-debate-on-partner-violence-50238">Beyond gender: LGBTIQ abuse shows it’s time to shift the debate on partner violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The myth of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2008.00749.x">perfect victim</a> plagues real and fictional narratives about victimhood. Jo doesn’t recognise herself as a victim, having internalised perspectives of onlookers she is “bad”, “weak” or “trouble”. </p>
<p>Jo is closed off from her emotions. She keeps going back to Portia, craving her affection even as an adult. She manipulates others using the same techniques she learned from Portia, continuing the cyclical nature of abuse. </p>
<p>But the fact is real victims are imperfect, and they are more likely to resemble Jo than <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-long-american-history-of-missing-white-woman-syndrome">Gabby Petito</a>.</p>
<p>This limited series is an absolute must-watch, offering performances that crackle with tense chemistry, eerie and beautiful landscapes, and a revolutionary story of control, abuse and girlhood. </p>
<p><em>Bad Behaviour is on Stan now.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Maguire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stan’s new series adapted Rebecca Starford’s memoir gives brutal and honest insight into the consequences of bullying.Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Writing, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1943472022-12-26T20:51:22Z2022-12-26T20:51:22ZBlack Snow, a new pacy murder mystery, addresses the complicated legacy of slavery in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501467/original/file-20221216-15-8fo681.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3537%2C2344&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1994, the Australian federal government finally <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/australian-south-sea-islanders-century-race">extended recognition</a> to Australian South Sea Islander people as a distinct cultural group. This recognition was important: racism put Australian South Sea Islanders at a disadvantage, yet there was little public recognition of the unique circumstances they and their ancestors had experienced and survived.</p>
<p>The same year opens Black Snow, a six-part drama on Stan. Isabel “Izzy” Baker (Talijah Blackman-Corowa) is murdered on the way home from her school formal. Local cops decide the murderer was likely a seasonal worker passing through town, and drop the case. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6gCM4Yhk-yc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>But when a time capsule created by the school leavers is opened 25 years later, a letter from Isabel provides new leads.</p>
<p>The action unfolds in the shadow of a bronze statue of sugar planter James Ashford – a stand-in for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Towns">Robert Towns</a> for whom Townsville is named. </p>
<p>Isabel’s death, the botched investigation and cover-up reflect that 1994 was only the beginning of a much-needed reckoning with the history of forced labour in Australia.</p>
<h2>An Australian history of slavery</h2>
<p>Isabel’s letter brings detective James Cormack (Travis Fimmel) to town. He’s a cold-case specialist from the city with baggage of his own. Cormack butts heads with the local senior sergeant who would rather the skeletons of the past stay firmly in the closet.</p>
<p>But Cormack befriends the town’s rookie cop, Dale Quinn (Gulliver McGrath). Quinn conveys to the audience both police procedure, and the appalling labour practices of the 19th century and the more recent past. </p>
<p>Despite having grown up in the town, Quinn has to google James Ashford when the statue is vandalised. “I never knew we had slavery in Australia,” he says mournfully.</p>
<p>There was plenty of forced labour in Australia, not least of <a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Indigenous people</a>. Also at the heart of Australia’s history of slavery are the lives of South Sea Islanders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photo from 1890, a group of Islander farm workers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">62,000 South Sea Islanders were shipped to Australia to work on plantations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of Queensland</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some 62,000 people were shipped to Australia between 1863 and 1904, mostly to Queensland, where they worked mainly in the sugar trade. </p>
<p>These workers <a href="https://www.assipj.com.au/australian-south-sea-islander-historical-chronology/">hailed from islands</a> in what are now New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and east of Papua New Guinea. Some were abducted, while others came after signing dubious contracts. </p>
<p>All were <a href="https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/violence-and-colonial-dialogue-the-australian-pacific-indentured-labor-trade/">treated</a> somewhere between poorly and viciously. They suffered the <a href="https://blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2016/05/27/australian-south-sea-islanders-in-queensland/">highest death rate by far</a> of any contemporaneous immigrant group to Australia.</p>
<p>Such ignorance of this history is not for a lack of trying on the part of Australian South Sea Islander people. </p>
<p>In the nearly 30 years since government recognition, they have made a concerted effort to <a href="https://www.assipj.com.au/australian-south-sea-islander-historical-chronology/">educate</a> people in Australia and beyond about their <a href="https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders">history</a> and <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/slq/sets/72157678971001148">culture</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn't even be up for debate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The voice of the community</h2>
<p>The creator and initial producers, who are white, strove to make Black Snow a genuinely collaborative effort. </p>
<p>Kaylene Butler, a descendant of a trafficked man from Vanuatu, signed on as a producer. Boyd Quakawoot, of mixed Indigenous and South Sea Islander ancestry, joined the writing team. Cinematographer Murray Lui was born and raised in the Torres Strait. Marion Healy contributed her valuable expertise as a cultural and historical consultant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two Islander girls play on in a teenager's bedroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a sense of a genuine collaborative effort behind Black Snow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The involvement of Australian South Sea Islander creatives is evident right from the title sequence, co-designed by Australian South Sea Islander visual artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby. </p>
<p>Singer-songwriter Ziggy Ramo, who also appears as the character Ezekiel, created the music with composer Jed Palmer. Their work included a recording trip to Tanna Island, Vanuatu. </p>
<p>The cast includes 14 Australian South Sea Islander actors. Considering that 12 of them are appearing on screen for the first time, the power of the acting – especially leads Talijah Blackman-Corowa (Isabel) and Jemmason Power (Hazel) – is remarkable.</p>
<p>The show portrays the central place of faith and the church in the community. And although the pastor is Isabel’s father, the community really revolves around the Australian South Sea Islander women. </p>
<p>The gentle and deep friendship between Isabel’s mother (Seini Willett) and aunt (Lisa Blackman), and the way they resolve conflicts between others, is particularly affecting.</p>
<h2>A fight for recognition</h2>
<p>The scenes in 1994 showcase the Australian South Sea Islander community, but in the present-day scenes Cormack takes centre stage. The casting of Fimmel risked a problematic “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-white-savior-obsession-colonialism">white saviour</a>” narrative, but the show carefully balances the two timelines to centre the stories of the Australian South Sea Islanders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A policeman at a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Snow steers away from a white saviour narrative.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It has been a long fight for recognition in Australia. </p>
<p>Women like Faith Bandler and Patricia “Patsy” Corowa were a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/decolonisation-and-the-pacific/black-internalising-decolonisation-and-networks-of-solidarity/8F4EDE2FDAE80D0145FCEAC47B2D693A">part of</a> an intricately connected global Black Power movement. From the late 1960s, activists in Australia collaborated with Black activists in the Pacific, Caribbean, United States and elsewhere to fight for rights and power.</p>
<p>This struggle is ongoing and remains global. Isabel includes a Black Power salute in a mural she paints in her last weeks alive. In the present-day, Isabel’s niece Kalana (an excellent Eden Cassady) expresses solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. She leads a small group of teenage activists to repeatedly graffiti Ashford’s statue with red paint and the chilling figure of 62,000.</p>
<h2>Our hauntings</h2>
<p>The show has an important message about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-better-conditions-not-shaming-for-pacific-farm-workers-171404">conditions</a> today for Pacific workers who are vital to Australia’s farming sector. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-offers-more-flexibility-for-employers-172385">labour regulation</a> prioritises employers’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/underpaid-at-home-vulnerable-abroad-how-seasonal-job-schemes-are-draining-pacific-nations-of-vital-workers-194810">profit</a> over seasonal Pacific workers’ rights. </p>
<p>This pacy murder mystery reminds us slavery and exploitation are not safely in the past. Their legacies remain, and should haunt us all.</p>
<p><em>Black Snow is streaming on Stan from January 1.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-offers-more-flexibility-for-employers-172385">New Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme offers more flexibility ... for employers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Corbould has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Australian Greens. She has collaborated previously with artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby, mentioned in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilary Emmett is a member of the UK Labour Party. She has collaborated previously with artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby, mentioned in this article.</span></em></p>Black Snow, a six-part drama on Stan, puts the stories of Australian South Sea Islanders in frame.Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin UniversityHilary Emmett, Associate professor, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1945152022-11-29T19:10:29Z2022-11-29T19:10:29ZChristmas Ransom: I quite enjoyed watching this (terrible) new Aussie Christmas film<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497781/original/file-20221128-16-c18y6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5973%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s something about the wintry quality of so much Christmas iconography – snow, mistletoe, fireplaces – that just doesn’t gel with the Southern hemisphere. So it’s not really that strange that Australian Christmas films have been so few and far between. </p>
<p>There is, of course, the classic adventure <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc211ZCnu7U">Bush Christmas</a> from 1947, starring Chips Rafferty, its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e4UQ6R083Q">remake</a> from 1983 starring Nicole Kidman, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3McQzpzIaE">Crackers</a> from 1998. But until a few years ago, aside from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_with_Dot">handful of cartoons</a> and solid Christmas <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzX8GICRWo">horror thrillers</a>, festive offerings have been rare in Australia.</p>
<p>Stan have been doing something about this, with 2020’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-IOp3msyqc">A Sunburnt Christmas</a> followed in 2021 by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_oEqfyLpMQ">Christmas on the Farm</a>, and now Christmas Ransom.</p>
<p>Derrick Harrington (Matt Okine) is the proprietor of a toy store that has seen better days. </p>
<p>When crooks Nan (Genevieve Lemon) and Shez (Bridie McKim) hold Derrick and his lead employee Pete (Ed Oxenbould) at gunpoint, demanding a ransom from Derrick’s well-heeled sister Terri (Vivienne Awosoga), it is up to pregnant security guard Gladys (Miranda Tapsell) and shoplifters Brady (Tahlia Sturzaker) and Wombat (Evan Stanhope) to foil their evil plans and save the day. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MhLCQbHYlqE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>You can tell from the character names how hard Christmas Ransom strains to seem Australian. The opening sequences involve Santa hat wearing koalas and a giant blow up kangaroo Santa, Christmas letters deposited in her pouch.</p>
<p>There are some quirks about Christmas in Australia and, sure, everyone might have a koala ornament or two, but most of the paraphernalia in Australian Christmases is of the generic Northern hemisphere kind. So the effect seems inauthentic, straining too hard. </p>
<p>This is the film’s major weakness – it just tries too hard. It tries too hard to be funny, to be light-hearted, to be Australian and, most of all, to be a cheesy Christmas film. It’s not particularly effective in any of these aspects. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-love-actually-to-christmas-on-the-farm-how-rom-coms-became-a-festive-season-staple-171819">From Love Actually to Christmas On The Farm: how rom-coms became a festive season staple</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Straining to be clever</h2>
<p>There is something endearingly lame about many of the best Christmas movies. Even critically-acclaimed films like It’s a Wonderful Life and the brilliant 1945 version of Christmas in Connecticut are schmaltzy to a degree that would be seen as a fault in a non-holiday film. The cheesy quality is a major source of their charm.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t work if a film is simultaneously trying to be clever. Christmas Ransom wants to be both a heartfelt cheeseball Christmas film and a witty, knowing take on the Christmas film genre. The mix doesn’t work.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6240%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two people being held up." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6240%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497780/original/file-20221128-16-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christmas Ransom wants to be both a heartfelt film and a witty take on the Christmas film genre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are numerous “wink-wink” moments to other Christmas films for viewers in the know – Harrington’s father is named Clarence, for example, recalling the angel in the Capra film. But Christmas Ransom feels the need to take things one (irritating) step further, making already obvious references explicit. </p>
<p>At one point, Gladys throws a Santa out the window to get the attention of the fire engine who think they’ve been mistakenly alerted, directly recalling the similar moment in Die Hard. Later, Gladys says “so this is what it means to die hard,” spelling out the reference to the infinitely better Christmas ransom film. It’s hard to understand the point – is this meant to be funny? Clever? Is it being deliberately stupid?</p>
<p>Some of the material would have worked well on paper – it’s Home Alone meets Die Hard with a dash of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avqzNZdoIoE">The Ref</a>, filtered through a daggy Aussie sensibility – and you can understand why the script would have been greenlit. </p>
<p>There are some funny and cute ideas: an assault with a swimming noodle; thieves hiding in a ball pit; hostages tied up with tinsel and Christmas lights. As the camera pulls back to reveal the very ordinary building at the beginning of the film, Gladys’ voiceover tells us Harrington and Sons is “the greatest toy store in the whole wide world – or at least in the greater metropolitan region.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The thief holds a pool noodle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497786/original/file-20221128-21-6d5d8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are cute ideas, like an assault with a swimming noodle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Christmas Ransom could appear fresh, engaging, sweet but also clever in its approach to the Christmas movie. There’s romance. There’s action. There’s fractured relationships between partners and siblings overcome by the end. There is a general waning of Christmas spirit that is remedied – a common trope of the genre – with the toy store transformed into the kind of thriving wonderland of movie-world (think the toy store in Home Alone 2) in the final sequences. </p>
<p>But it all seems rather forced. The kind of comedic overacting that works in films like the Hulk Hogan-starring Christmas masterpiece <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWyh6_-qFrw">Santa With Muscles</a> doesn’t pay off here. The numerous fart jokes may appeal to very young children, but probably not many others. The music labours to keep us engaged, but also seems deliberately hammy and thus pointless in a film that isn’t quite committed to being a spoof. </p>
<h2>The good and the bad</h2>
<p>This is not to suggest it’s not worth watching. In fact, I quite enjoyed watching this terrible Aussie Christmas film.</p>
<p>For aficionados of Christmas cinema, the good and the bad, Christmas Ransom is light-hearted and silly enough to be bearable. There are some endearingly daggy zany moments and the lameness of much of it isn’t necessarily a problem for this kind of fare. But it just doesn’t work as well when it tries to be clever, because it’s not.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A ball bounces off Miranda Tapsell's pregnant belly." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497787/original/file-20221128-24-nq66tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Christmas Ransom is light hearted and silly enough to be bearable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And even if its 83 minute run time seems overlong, it compares favourably with much of the other straight-to-streaming Christmas films – next to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OnvdECygtY">Santa Girl</a> it looks like Vertigo – and it’s fun watching a bad Christmas film from Australia for a change.</p>
<p><em>Christmas Ransom is on Stan from December 1.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christmas-movies-that-time-of-year-when-home-is-where-the-heart-is-129085">Christmas movies: that time of year when home is where the heart is</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ari Mattes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For aficionados of Christmas cinema, the good and the bad, Christmas Ransom is light hearted and silly enough to be bearable.Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1895382022-09-22T20:16:30Z2022-09-22T20:16:30ZSome survivors will find peace and healing in Bali 2002 – but others may find the series triggering<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485506/original/file-20220920-20-fmh48f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5559%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around 11pm on October 12 2002, the first of three separate bombs detonated when a suicide bomber entered Paddy’s Bar in Kuta, Bali.</p>
<p>Another bomb detonated shortly after outside the Sari nightclub, before a final explosion in front of the US consulate.</p>
<p>Stan’s new series, Bali 2002, takes a look at these attacks and their aftermath. The physical and emotional traumas play out with desperation and intensity.</p>
<p>The series also shows how our humanity comes out to shine in desperate and violent times. It shows friends helping friends, people helping strangers, doctors on holiday rushing to the hospital to lend a hand and the Australian Federal Police’s directive to help everyone – and not only prioritise Australians.</p>
<p>While the series creators should be lauded for their close consultations with attack survivors in making the series, this dramatisation highlights the very public nature of terrorism. This public nature can have highly personal impacts.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2392">my research</a> into the events of this night and their aftermath, I have spoken to many people who were there or lost someone in the attack. </p>
<p>Some survivors will find solace in this sharing of their stories; others will struggle with the public commemoration. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1qvr4xlBJ90?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Sharing stories</h2>
<p>Some people affected by terrorism find telling their story can be harmful to their health and wellbeing. It locks them into a time and place of pain and suffering.</p>
<p>For others, telling their stories and of loved one’s experiences, lives and deaths is an important part of their healing processes.</p>
<p>Kev Paltridge lost his son Corey in the Bali bombings. He told me closure is “bullshit” and he still has “shit bad days”.</p>
<p>But he also said every time he tells his story, it helps him.</p>
<p>Kev doesn’t shy away from the darker side of his healing pathway – the three years of excessive drinking, his continued suffering and grief for Corey – because he knows there are some who were there who are still drinking and haven’t found an alternative pathway yet. </p>
<p>He hopes his story will help others as much as it helps him.</p>
<p>Journalist Nick Way was at the site of the Sari Club bombing hours after it occurred. He later worked as one of the producers on the documentary Cry Bali. During this process, working closely with survivors and their families, he told me “I learnt that very often, expressing feelings is part of the healing journey.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-site-of-the-bali-bombings-has-been-a-vacant-lot-for-16-years-its-time-to-build-a-proper-memorial-116725">The site of the Bali bombings has been a vacant lot for 16 years. It's time to build a proper memorial</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Before and after</h2>
<p>When a terror attack occurs, the <a href="https://dartcenter.org/global/en/how-to-make-difference-for-survivors">media can create</a> a sense of a “victim” identity, which divides a person’s life into one before and after terror, as if they came into being at that moment.</p>
<p>Bali 2002 buys into this division. It gives scant time to our survivors before the event, and these characters feel shallow.</p>
<p>The series also struggles in finding the right balance between the stories of the terrorists and the survivors. Too much focus is given to the individuals who undertook these attacks. More important are the stories of the victims, survivors, family members and first responders.</p>
<p>For some survivors I have spoken to, the trailer alone has triggered traumatic responses. Their capacity to watch the series is doubtful. </p>
<p>The series weaves together a dramatisation of the events alongside real footage. This raw footage adds realism, but the use of this footage is not signposted, and it could be triggering even to survivors who might feel up to watching a dramatised version of events.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CKewu-w28vU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Endurance</h2>
<p>Bali 2002 is being released in advance of the 20th anniversary of the attacks.</p>
<p>In my research, I found recognising and remembering these events on fewer, more “significant” anniversaries we disavow the experience of living with terror after the experience of an event. </p>
<p>All the survivors I have spoken with endure every day. Kev told me he speaks to his son “every morning without fail”. </p>
<p>This endurance must be acknowledged and recognised. </p>
<p>The stories of their survival could have been stories of vengeance and hate and promoting more violence. </p>
<p>Instead, I have overwhelmingly found these stories are about hope and responsibility. </p>
<p>Nick told me he thinks “about building a new future for the people who feel oppressed and disadvantaged so that they might be [less] open to radicalisation”.</p>
<p>These are not saccharine stories about closure or forgiveness or forgetting. They are about living with and promoting an awareness of the effects that these attacks have upon everyday individual lives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remembering-the-bali-bombings-ten-years-on-10040">Remembering the Bali bombings ten years on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Lasting impacts</h2>
<p>Every person I have talked with is still deeply affected by their experience.</p>
<p>Bali 2002 takes us from the weeks before the bombing to the 2005 death of the bomb maker, Husin. Viewers with little connection to the event will more than likely come away without an understanding of how survivors, their family members and first responders are still impacted two decades on. </p>
<p>A terrorism bombing is a moment where one is made powerless. They are subject to the will of the terrorist. It is so far outside the normal daily experiences it can cause a deep identity shift.</p>
<p>My research shows survivors of terrorism, their family members and first responders must find a way to fold the experience into their ongoing lives. </p>
<p>Sometimes they walk the tightrope gracefully and are well-balanced, at other times they can’t find their footing and are swaying dangerously over the abyss.</p>
<p>I hope some will find peace and healing in the airing of Bali 2002 and the sharing of these stories, but this won’t be true for all.</p>
<p><em>Bali 2002 is streaming on Stan from September 25.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-wrong-to-make-a-film-about-the-port-arthur-massacre-a-trauma-experts-perspective-151277">Is it wrong to make a film about the Port Arthur massacre? A trauma expert's perspective</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmen Jacques would like to thank Kev Partridge, Nick Way, Gill Hicks and Andrew Wallace for their contributions to, and collaborations in, this research. </span></em></p>In my research into the Bali bombings and their aftermath, I have spoken to many people who were there or lost someone in the attack.Carmen Jacques, Research Officer, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1895412022-09-13T20:03:18Z2022-09-13T20:03:18ZWho was Catherine de’ Medici? The Serpent Queen gives us a clever, powerful and dangerous woman<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484152/original/file-20220912-26-s7gcpn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the last week, I’ve been contacted by several friends and colleagues telling me if you type #catherinedemedici in Twitter, a snake emoji automatically appears. Designed to sync with The Serpent Queen, the serpent now appears even with hashtags made in tweets years ago. </p>
<p>This new Catherine is now the old Catherine.</p>
<p>In a life lived across most of the 16th century, Catherine de’ Medici was Queen of France, the mother of three kings and two queens, and the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots. </p>
<p>Anyone with that degree and longevity of access to influence across Europe was bound to attract attention.</p>
<p>In The Serpent Queen, we get a clever and powerful Catherine (played by Liv Hill as a teenager and Samantha Morton as the woman in her 40s), beguiling and dangerous, forged in the violence of her childhood and as an emotional response to the rejection of her love by her husband Henri (Alex Heath as the young Henri and Lee Ingleby in adulthood). </p>
<p>This Catherine decides to govern aided by the dark arts, determined to teach her enemies a lesson. She is also playful, musing “it feels good to be bad,” to a backing track of rock guitar.</p>
<p>But do we actually have a new interpretation? Here, a familiar story of one of history’s favourite bad girls strikes again. And in the process, Catherine de’ Medici is again diminished.</p>
<p>It seems the well-crafted propaganda of her own century – and additions of those since – remain as compelling as ever. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8D53XNCCZm4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>A woman of power</h2>
<p>Catherine was never the ruler of France, but she was intimately acquainted with politics at the highest level. </p>
<p>She was an assiduous networker. Her remaining letters (some 6,000 survive) give us just a sense of the enormous reach of the relationships she maintained over a long and well watched life. </p>
<p>Hers was a remarkable trajectory. The Medici were not a dynasty of royal blood, but she nonetheless became queen of France, served as regent for her husband and was governess and advisor to her sons.</p>
<p>Her access to influence as a wife and mother, while conventional, was perceived by political men and commentators beyond the court as dangerous because it sat outside formal mechanisms for regulating power.</p>
<h2>Multiple versions of Catherine</h2>
<p>Catherine was at the height of power when the French kingdom was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Wars_of_Religion">at war with itself</a>. The French Wars of Religion, lasting from 1562 to 1598, pitted Catholics and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots">Huguenots</a> against each other, fighting for the soul of France. </p>
<p>Widowed in 1559, Catherine remained close to the throne as the advisor to her three sons who became king.</p>
<p>Although Catholic, Catherine’s recommendations for her sons generally favoured a middle course that aimed to maintain the integrity of the realm, and the reputation of the dynasty she had married into.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Production image" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484154/original/file-20220912-22-yusclr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Medici were not a dynasty of royal blood, but Catherine nonetheless became queen of France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This pleased few among the ardent on either side, who turned to the pen to respond, creating multiple versions of Catherine as suited their cause. </p>
<p>Sexualised tropes presented Catherine as a danger to men of either side in this conflict. A pamphlet of 1575 versified:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>She unmans cocks, tearing off their crests and testicles, a virago holds sway over the French. An unbridled woman dines on the testicles of cocks, and as she devours this food, she smacks her lips and says: ‘Thus, I castrate Gallic courage, thus I unman the French, thus I subdue them!’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This version of Catherine was catchy.</p>
<p>There were <a href="https://brill.com/view/title/36179?language=en">many versions</a> of Catherine. Some were the versions she made with her allies for public consumption: versions made in art, ceremony, palaces and acts. </p>
<p>Others had their own ideas about who Catherine was, or what version of Catherine best suited their objectives. Not all had the same reach and not all have been reproduced through to the present day. </p>
<p>Catherine knew the high stakes for women. She had a fraught and complex relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots, but she defended her to Elizabeth I’s courtier Francis Walsingham, telling Walshingham she “knew very well how often people said things of a poor afflicted princess that did not always turn out to be true.”</p>
<p>After her death, dozens of Catherines took free flight in novels. Alexandre Dumas’ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine_Margot_(novel)">Queen Margot</a> (1845) has Catherine dissecting the brains of a chicken whose head she has severed with a single blow, for prophetic analysis. She conducts herself with a “malignant smile”.</p>
<p>She fared little better among 19th century scholars. The influential historian Jules Michelet, a Huguenot, famously termed Catherine “the maggot from Italy’s tomb”. </p>
<p>This version of Catherine was also catchy. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mary-queen-of-scots-was-a-poet-and-you-should-know-it-29645">Mary, Queen of Scots was a poet – and you should know it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Women in the public eye</h2>
<p>Catherine’s treatment throughout history reflects our problematic relationship with women’s roles in public life. There has been <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Mary-Beard-Women-and-Power-9781788160605">a long history</a> of hostility to women of power and women in power.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GfwZ9HG1V-I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The Serpent Queen traces Catherine’s life from the trials of her childhood to the beginning of what would become almost 30 years as a central figure in the reigns of her sons. Here we have an engaging Catherine with agency, narrated by Catherine herself. Her lines even echo speeches recorded by contemporary ambassadors. </p>
<p>Does Catherine at last have the final word?</p>
<p>This Catherine seems to seek our sympathy. She looks and speaks directly to us, seemingly eliciting our understanding of her decisions. “Tell me what you would have done differently?” she asks us.</p>
<p>But it is perhaps our collusion in the making of a familiar version of Catherine the series seeks to elicit. </p>
<p>Is this a new Catherine for new times, complex, contextualised, freed from the “bad girl” reputation that has followed her through time? Or a dangerously attractive, lavish rehash of Catherine as “bad girl” all over again?</p>
<p><em>The Serpent Queen is now airing on Stan.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Broomhall receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is the author of the book, The Identities of Catherine de' Medici, published by Brill in 2021.</span></em></p>Catherine de’ Medici was Queen of France, the mother of three kings and two queens, and the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots.Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women's History Research Centre, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1817802022-04-26T05:01:51Z2022-04-26T05:01:51ZIn a market swamped with streaming services, Netflix’s massive loss of subscribers is a big deal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459636/original/file-20220426-18-8gb6hg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5499%2C3639&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Netflix’s recently released first quarter earnings for 2022 reported <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2022/q1/FINAL-Q1-22-Shareholder-Letter.pdf">a shocking loss of 200,000 subscribers</a> – a worrying shift for a business that had previously only seen sustained growth since 2011.</p>
<p>The New York Times headline: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/business/netflix-earnings-q1.html">Netflix loses subscribers for the first time in a decade</a> was catchy – however, a little bit of nuance is required. The company’s withdrawal from Russia as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions saw a loss of 700,000 subscribers attributed to the quarter. </p>
<p>The net result, taking into account the Russian loss, was a growth of 500,000 subscribers – a number still short of the <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/19/netflix-shares-down-more-than-20-after-losing-200000-subscribers-in-first-quarter/">expected growth of 2.5 million subscribers</a>. </p>
<p>Far worse in the report was Netflix’s estimation of a further 2 million subscribers to be lost by the second quarter. </p>
<p>As a result, Netflix signalled cutbacks in content expenditure, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/streaming/netflix-cancels-inproduction-titles-after-subscriber-loss-and-stock-price-plunge/news-story/6cdebf691e2c64f9366f311ab3fd4695">cancelling the Bright sequel and comic adaptation Bone</a>, and flagged potential cuts to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-04-24/netflix-losing-subscribers-may-also-cost-it-star-employees">employee numbers and discretionary spending</a>. </p>
<p>So what has caused this loss and where does Netflix go next? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-whole-new-set-of-horny-lords-and-ladies-how-bridgerton-brought-romance-book-serialisation-to-television-180303">A whole new set of horny lords and ladies: how Bridgerton brought romance book serialisation to television</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Platform proliferation</h2>
<p>Netflix is increasingly challenged by a streaming landscape populated with a growing number of platforms – a fact the company recognised in their letter to shareholders. Referring to the robust competition from other players, the company <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2022/q1/FINAL-Q1-22-Shareholder-Letter.pdf">noted</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>over the last three years, as traditional entertainment companies realized streaming is the future, many new streaming services have also launched.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The launches of Disney+ in 2019, HBO Max in 2020, and Paramount+ in 2021 has seen these US-based entertainment companies step into streaming. There are a growing number of players in the market. Every major studio that launches a platform means less content Netflix can distribute – when the major studios launch they remove their content from Netflix. </p>
<p>The Netflix license for Friends – <a href="https://people.com/tv/the-office-beats-friends-most-watched-licensed-show-netflix/">once one of Netflix’s top watched shows</a> – was not renewed by rights holder Warner Brothers Television in 2020. As a result, Friends is disappearing from Netflix markets around the world, instead streaming on Warner Brothers’ Discovery platform, HBO Max.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459641/original/file-20220426-24-4da6wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friends was one of the most popular licensed shows on Netflix, but is now exclusive to streaming service HBO Max.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Global streaming platforms have also made inroads with popular originals. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/feb/18/severance-review-ben-stillers-workplace-fantasy-might-make-your-mind-explode">Severance</a> on Apple TV+, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/24/halo-review-hit-sci-fi-game-tv-series">Halo</a> on Paramount+, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/arts/television/raised-by-wolves-hbo-max.html">Raised by Wolves</a> on HBO Max have all been popular with audiences. This success is no doubt forcing a more savvy approach from consumers increasingly hit with the reality of high monthly bills when paying for all services.</p>
<p>Netflix and others are also competing for attention with local Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) services, like <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1749602018798158">Stan in Australia and Blim in Mexico</a>, and regional services, like Viaplay in Northern Europe and VIU in Asia. </p>
<p>These services hold unique value propositions in their markets and often trade upon pre-existing relationships in local media ecosystems. Viaplay has a long history as a satellite television network in Sweden while Stan is a venture of local Australian free-to-air broadcaster Nine Network.</p>
<p>It is becoming increasingly difficult for global streaming companies like Netflix to compete against not just other global media companies, but also compete with local and regional services as well that have deeper ingrained relationships with audiences.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459642/original/file-20220426-18-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s most-watched Originals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why Netflix needs subscriptions</h2>
<p>How can a drop of only 200,000 subscribers from a total of 220 million subscribers <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflix-stock-price-plunges-premarket-after-subscriber-loss-11650449002?mod=hp_lead_pos1">crash a share price by 35%</a> and instil fear across the broader streaming sector?</p>
<p>Netflix is a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pureplay.asp">pureplay</a> SVOD service and they are relatively unique in the marketplace. They focus on a single product and delivery method – subscription television. <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2021/q4/da27d24b-9358-4b5c-a424-6da061d91836.pdf">In their 2021 annual report</a>, Netflix said 99.4% of all revenues came from subscription fees (a paltry 0.6% came from the dying DVD business).</p>
<p>Given the uniqueness in the market of this pureplay focus, streaming scholar Amanda D Lotz termed Netflix <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/2020/09/14/media-release-netflix-a-zebra-among-horses-qut-researcher/">“a zebra amongst horses”</a> to describe the company’s relationship to other SVOD services.</p>
<p>Almost every competitor of Netflix has another aspect to their business. <a href="https://www.amandalotz.com/netflix-and-streaming-video-the-business-of-subscriberfunded-video-on-demand">In her 2022 book</a> Netflix and Streaming Video, Lotz refers to the SVOD component of Disney for example as a “corporate extension” of the underlying media business and of Apple TV+ as a “corporate complement” to their technology business.</p>
<p>For companies like Disney, the SVOD service can leverage and cross-subsidise the broader business. Apple TV+ itself is under little to no pressure to turn a profit, as Apple’s major growth driver is the iPhone.</p>
<p>But for Netflix, all of the eggs are in the same basket. Even small changes to subscriber numbers, and certainly a negative growth outlook, forces a conceptualisation of their future, without other business areas that can offset these losses. </p>
<p>Indeed, that is partly why Netflix has been making inroads into other businesses, through the acquisitions of <a href="https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/netflix-acquires-scanline-vfx-stranger-things-1235116974/">Scanline VFX</a>, a visual effects company in 2021, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/24/22995286/netflix-games-boss-fight-entertainment-acquisition">Boss Fight Entertainment</a>, a gaming company in 2022. We can expect some greater urgency across these acquisitions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459643/original/file-20220426-14-c2o3ho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Historical romance series Bridgerton has been one of Netflix’s recent successes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s next for Netflix?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/streaming/what-netflix-advertising-and-password-sharing-crackdown-means-for-customers/news-story/67ea3f314f0ceb417912b0a8bc02ea0a">Netflix is proposing two key measures</a> to alter the negative subscriber trajectory – a lower cost, ad-supported subscription tier and a crackdown on password sharing between households.</p>
<p>Neither of these suggestions does anything to offer a reason to stay subscribed. There is no promise enjoyable original series won’t be cancelled too soon, like Sense8, Altered Carbon, or The OA for example. Rather than adding new features or content, the Netflix answer is removing key cornerstones of the service.</p>
<p>For Netflix, its recent subscriber loss could warn of a less promising future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Eklund owns shares in Apple, Disney, and Netflix. </span></em></p>Netflix’s subscription losses are a worrying shift for a business that had previously only seen sustained growth since 2011 – however there’s more nuance to the issue.Oliver Eklund, PhD Candidate in Media and Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659752021-08-19T04:18:12Z2021-08-19T04:18:12ZRutherford Falls: a laugh-out-loud funny TV show about colonisation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416264/original/file-20210816-21-aohint.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2560%2C1437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NBCUniversal</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In a new series, writers nominate the TV series keeping them entertained during a time of COVID.</em></p>
<p>As the lockdown continues, I find myself looking for Indigenous content to watch on TV to feel a sense of nourishment and joy I miss from seeing my extended family, my friends and my fabulous <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/faculty-of-arts/departments-and-schools/department-of-indigenous-studies">work colleagues</a>. </p>
<p>While Zoom has almost become an everyday activity, chilling out watching a series or movie has filled my evenings. I have exhausted the full range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/collection/1150">on iView</a>. I thoroughly enjoyed the second watch of one of my favourite actors, Aaron Pedersen, in Mystery Road, and catching up on episodes of <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/black-comedy">Black Comedy</a>. </p>
<p>But I have also been indulging in Indigenous films and series on streaming services, particularly from North America. One I have enjoyed recently is <a href="https://www.stan.com.au/watch/rutherford-falls">Rutherford Falls</a> (2021), currently streaming on Stan. </p>
<p>Set in a fictional town in New York State, neighbouring the fictional Minishonka Nation, Rutherford Falls is ostensibly about Indigenous-settler relationships, through the story of the friendship between Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms) and Reagan Wells (Mniconjou and Sicangu Lakota woman Jana Schmieding).</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zX3ph5T-yek?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>At the centre of the titular town is a colonial statue of Lawrence Rutherford, said to be the founding father of Rutherford Falls. </p>
<p>The statue is fondly referred to as “Big Larry” by his descendant Nathan — but is derided by the many drivers who crash into it each day.</p>
<p>The story reveals how settler politics continue to uphold the unequal distribution of power that plays out in themes such as how we remember or commemorate the past. And it does so while being full of insider jokes, good humour and joy. </p>
<h2>Whose history do we celebrate?</h2>
<p>Monuments such as Big Larry serve as a permanent marker. They are a link between present and past generations, committing particular figures to memory and assigning them with importance and meaning — regardless of whose lands they stand on and the often brutal histories they represent. </p>
<p>The series makes fun of the ludicrous nature of some of these monuments. Big Larry is situated in a hazardous position in the middle of the main road but, regardless of car crashes, Nathan continues to fight to ensure the statue remains in this position of prominence.</p>
<p>It is, he argues, about history. </p>
<p><img width="100%" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/YD7DlKyHrlAAuoGi7M/giphy.gif"></p>
<p>Reagan and Nathan are best friends. Nathan has had a relatively privileged life, as a member of the founding family of the town.</p>
<p>Reagan, as an Indigenous person, is not subject to the same privileges as her friend. While Nathan’s relative stands tall in the middle of town, Reagan has to work incredibly hard to raise funds to create a museum commemorating her ancestors.</p>
<p>In an episode that stands out for me, Nathan’s friend gets drunk and vandalises a local historical site. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Characters stand in a 'cultural centre'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416265/original/file-20210816-27-1fyiz4l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Both Nathan and Reagan want to tell the stories of their ancestors, but they have very different resources available to them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NBCUniversal</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nathan, while taking his friend home, asks Reagan to leave a note for the state parks official to “give him a call” in the morning about the defacing of the historical site. </p>
<p>“Vandalise public property and leave a note?” Reagan mutters to herself in disbelief. </p>
<p>“Oh, to lead that white dude life!”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-taking-a-wrecking-ball-to-monuments-contemporary-art-can-ask-what-really-needs-tearing-down-140437">Friday essay: taking a wrecking ball to monuments – contemporary art can ask what really needs tearing down</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Humour and joy</h2>
<p>This series is particularly interesting to me because it involves a number of Indigenous writers and a large cast of Indigenous actors. </p>
<p>Four of the first season’s 10 episodes were directed by Sydney Freeland, a Diné (Navajo) person. Indigenous actors are cast in leading roles, including Schmeiding as Wells, and Plains Cree actor Michael Greyeyes as Terry Thomas, CEO of the Minishonka’s casino.</p>
<p>While Terry may be an avowed capitalist his intentions are always grounded in the collective benefit of the Indigenous community in what he describes as “Tribal capitalism”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fyCUYCGQ83M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Rutherford Falls features Indigenous lives in all of our complexities. It shows strained relationships between Indigenous people and settlers, but also friendships. It tells stories of young Indigenous people: how they are engaged in maintaining and sharing cultural practices, and the happiness they experience in doing so. </p>
<p>The long history of oppressive policies targeting Indigenous people globally has meant that Indigenous fun, joy and humour are invariably political. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-so-funny-about-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-humour-38484">What's so funny about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander humour?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As Torres Strait Islander scholar <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/publication/35550">Martin Nakata has written</a>, Indigenous humour </p>
<blockquote>
<p>reveals the ignorance of outsiders of how we operate in and understand our world and many a merry laugh we have all had at whitefellas’ expense. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indigenous comedy is where we make fun of each other and, most importantly, make fun of colonisation. Rutherford Falls, like Black Comedy, does this by having Indigenous writers, actors and storytellers telling the realities of our lives and histories. </p>
<p>Fun and joy are a big part of our lives. As actor Jana Schmeiding <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/jana-schmieding-rutherford-falls-peacock">told Vanity Fair</a>: “our joy is as vast and sacred as the land we’ve inhabited for thousands of years”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Carlson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rutherford Falls shows strained relationships, but also friendships. And above all, it features joy.Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Indigenous Studies, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572332021-03-17T03:55:02Z2021-03-17T03:55:02ZHow local content rules on streamers could seriously backfire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390001/original/file-20210317-19-185l2a8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=208%2C108%2C5351%2C3592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Actor Simon Baker at a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday calling for a local content quota on streaming services.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, actors such as <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/aussie-actors-simon-baker-bryan-brown-marta-dusseldorp-and-justine-clarke-take-demands-to-canberra/news-story/435d91c55f8e36c824e01cc7a96c9864">Simon Baker, Bryan Brown and Marta Dusseldorp were in Canberra</a>. Their aim was to convince parliament to introduce rules requiring streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/stars-lobby-for-netflix-to-face-20-per-cent-local-content-quota-20210316-p57b4y.html">to spend 20% of their local revenue</a> on new Australian drama, documentary and children’s content.</p>
<p>Many of Australia’s film and television organisations see <a href="https://www.meaa.org/mediaroom/screen-creatives-visit-canberra-to-call-for-action-on-local-content/">local content rules</a> as a key way of tackling significant changes that have disrupted business norms and revenue streams. The federal government <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/new-rules-new-media-landscape-modernising-television-regulation-australia">has indicated it supports quotas</a> for some services at least.</p>
<p>Requirements on global services seem an easy answer — and who doesn’t want more Australian TV? — but this call ignores complex realities of how the TV business and its funding have changed.</p>
<p>Before exploring the key differences of 21st century television, let’s consider why pursuing content requirements on streaming services is a high risk, low reward campaign.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389759/original/file-20210316-19-14qog9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson Jr. in Bump, one of Stan’s new original Australian programs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">idmb</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Global streamers could leave Australia</h2>
<p>Aggressively pursuing local content expenditure or special “taxes” may lead global streamers to cease Australian operation, risking a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-02-26/facebook-google-who-won-battle-news-media-bargaining-code/13193106">replay of last month’s Facebook fiasco</a> in response to the overreach of the mandatory bargaining code. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/facebooks-news-blockade-in-australia-shows-how-tech-giants-are-swallowing-the-web-155832">Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Global streamers are precisely that: services making a business of circulating content globally, not producing it for all countries with subscribers.</p>
<p>Netflix, for instance, is now in roughly 60% of Australian homes. Yet those 6 million subscribers amount to less than 3% of its total subscriber base. At some point, the cost of producing content for such a small part of a service’s subscriber base becomes unfeasible from a business perspective.</p>
<h2>2. New services might not come to Australia</h2>
<p>Australia has consistently been one of the first markets entered by new streaming services — our low adoption of cable TV means we are hungry for more video options.</p>
<p>Although much attention focuses on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/mar/14/disney-forecast-to-steal-netflix-crown-as-worlds-biggest-streaming-firm">Netflix and Disney+</a>, several smaller global services such as <a href="https://au.acorn.tv/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrsGCBhD1ARIsALILBYqq8ytGiy2cIBbyPD1oeUoi27X2VAZkNFt3VJ8N_dw9Ne-kr9GSN5MaAhWBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">Acorn</a>, <a href="https://www.britbox.com/au/">Britbox</a>, and <a href="https://www.discoveryplus.co.uk/">Discovery+</a> are also available here. Many of these offer a particular kind of programming, drama and mysteries in the case of Acorn, and British series for Britbox. </p>
<p>Creating Australian content is contrary to the business of these services. Rules requiring local content will discourage the next stage of streamers offering more specialised services from launching here, leaving Australians with less choice — <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-a-vpn-and-how-does-it-work/">VPNs</a> notwithstanding.</p>
<h2>3. Netflix could become more like Stan, reducing Stan’s key value proposition</h2>
<p>A curious part of the plan for local content requirements on streamers proposed in the federal government’s <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/new-rules-new-media-landscape-modernising-television-regulation-australia">media reform green paper</a> is that Australian content requirements would apply to global streamers but not Stan.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nineforbrands.com.au/investors/financial-reports/">Stan reported</a> 2.2 million subscribers in 2020, roughly 22% of Australian households. Stan offers more Australian content than any other streamer. Last year, 7.38% of its library was Australian programs - although <a href="https://theconversation.com/crunching-the-numbers-on-streaming-services-local-content-static-growth-but-more-original-productions-125804">this is a decline on 2019 when the figure was 9%</a>.</p>
<p>Offering a substantial amount of Australian content makes sense for a domestic service and distinguishes Stan from global providers. According to the government’s Media Content Consumption Survey, commissioned in November 2020, Stan is the second most subscribed service in Australia behind Netflix.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WLMz8Qeg4A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for I Am Woman, a Stan Original.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, if global streamers are forced to make Australian content, they become more direct competitors, potentially eroding Stan’s point of difference.</p>
<p>Recent data from Ampere Analysis shows the percentage of Australian titles in Australia’s six most subscribed services (plus newcomer Binge). Stan leads, followed by Foxtel Now (just under 5%), Binge, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Australian services have more Australian content than global ones, but less than domestic services in other countries. Most of the titles included here were originally created for television or cinemas so only account for new production activity in a few cases. Stan’s library includes 20 Australian commissions, less than 1% of its offerings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389970/original/file-20210316-13-xv21a4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of Australian Content in Australian Streaming Libraries, January 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data from Ampere Analysis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, it makes no sense to exempt Stan from local content requirements. As an Australia-only service, 100% of Stan’s reason for being is to provide content for the Australian market, while for the global services, providing content for Australians is 3% or less of their business.</p>
<h2>4. Global streamers are likely to make programs in Australia but not about Australia</h2>
<p>Global streamers aren’t likely to make content that is very Australian. They need stories with universal legibility. </p>
<p>Consider the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/netflix-australian-originals-2020-7">Australian titles produced to date by Netflix</a> such as Tidelands and children’s drama The New Legends of Monkey. Was Tidelands, with its story of mythical part-human, part siren Tidelanders, one that resonated with the fabric of Australian culture? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389760/original/file-20210316-23-n9o1yo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Charlotte Best in Tidelands (2018), which could have been set anywhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hoodlum Entertainment</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite the rhetoric of Australian stories, this industry campaign is chiefly about jobs. It is about securing new sources of funding for Australian productions in response to commercial broadcasters struggling with diminished advertiser spending. Industry subsidies in the face of such change may be warranted, but effective policy solutions must deal separately with the issues of sector support and cultural policy — such as the need to tell Australian stories.</p>
<p>Let us be very clear, we care a lot about the future of Australian stories. We are deeply concerned with the many policy developments of the last two decades that have allowed <a href="https://www.if.com.au/federal-government-unveils-400-million-location-incentive-fund/">industry priorities </a>to subordinate the cultural goals of ensuring Australians see themselves and their lives reflected on screen.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-million-in-government-funding-for-hollywood-but-only-scraps-for-australian-film-142979">$400 million in government funding for Hollywood, but only scraps for Australian film</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But Australia needs <a href="https://theconversation.com/tv-has-changed-so-must-the-way-we-support-local-content-139674">21st century policy solutions</a> that reflect the contemporary media landscape. </p>
<h2>Complex realities</h2>
<p>Streamers aren’t broadcasters. They are paid for by subscribers, not advertisers. They do not use public spectrum, which is a basis of local content requirements on broadcasters. A more direct analogue with streamers is the video rental store, which never faced requirements to offer Australian content.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tv-has-changed-so-must-the-way-we-support-local-content-139674">TV has changed, so must the way we support local content</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Global streamers are a part of the marketplace viewers find valuable enough to pay for, but they aren’t the cause of the faltering Australian TV industry. The problem there — much like for print journalism — is that advertisers have found more effective ways to reach potential consumers.</p>
<p>Netflix reports that it <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/17/netflix-how-many-people-watch-bird-box.html">accounts for 10% of viewing</a> in the US, that’s far from dominance or crowding out others. The new video marketplace is complicated and offers Australians more choice — but global streamers can’t save Australian television.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Lotz receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Programme (DP190100978 and DP210100849) </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Potter receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Programme (DP210100849)</span></em></p>Pursuing local content requirements on streaming services is a high risk, low reward campaign. The reality is global streamers can’t save Australian television.Amanda Lotz, Professor of Media Studies, Queensland University of TechnologyAnna Potter, Associate Professor, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1433442020-08-25T20:05:45Z2020-08-25T20:05:45ZI Am Woman review: Helen Reddy biopic captures the power and excitement of women’s liberation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354480/original/file-20200824-16-wp0nbx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C9%2C613%2C411&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars as Australian singer Helen Reddy in a new film.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lisa Tomasetti/Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Review: I am Woman, streaming on Stan from August 28.</em></p>
<p>There’s a scene in Unjoo Moon’s debut feature <a href="https://www.stan.com.au/watch/i-am-woman-2020">I Am Woman</a>, out this week on Stan, where Helen Reddy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) confronts an all-male row of record executives intent on dropping her signature song from her debut album. </p>
<p>Some are balding and sweaty-faced, others have big hair and handlebar moustaches. Some are dressed in brown suits with polo neck sweaters, others in flamboyant shirts with flyaway collars – and they snigger. </p>
<p>“It’s kind of angry,” says one. “It’s man-hating,” says another. “Wait until all this campaigning leads to unisex toilets. See how she feels then.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rfQCiDCIZVI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Helen Reddy singing I am Woman in 1972.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s a shock to hear Reddy’s jazz-tinged, pop melody about female empowerment and self-belief described in such terms. But this is what makes Moon’s film resonate. </p>
<p>We’ve come so far, and yet we haven’t.</p>
<h2>A song for 1972</h2>
<p>Reddy’s I Am Woman was released at the zenith of the counterculture era. It <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/helen-reddy/chart-history/hot-100/song/579048">reached number one</a> on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1972 and went on to sell an estimated 25 million copies. </p>
<p>It climbed the charts the year Gloria Steinem <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/gloria-steinem-ms-magazine-history.html">founded Ms magazine</a> and Ita Buttrose <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/ita-buttrose-on-kickstarting-a-sexual-revolution-20110411-1d9zg.html">founded Cleo</a>, the year <a href="https://theconversation.com/before-kamala-harris-became-bidens-running-mate-shirley-chisholm-and-other-black-women-aimed-for-the-white-house-143655">Shirley Chisholm</a> made her bid for the US Presidential ticket, backed by the Black Women’s Caucus, the year Martha Griffiths put the <a href="https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/march-22-1972-equal-right-amendment-for-women-passed-by-congress/">Equal Rights Amendment</a> back on the political agenda – seeking legal equality between US men and women in divorce, employment, financial and property matters.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gFn5_VD3TEo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/before-kamala-harris-became-bidens-running-mate-shirley-chisholm-and-other-black-women-aimed-for-the-white-house-143655">Before Kamala Harris became Biden's running mate, Shirley Chisholm and other Black women aimed for the White House</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The feeling of history erupting over the threshold of the present makes Moon’s film compelling viewing.</p>
<p>The opening credits show Reddy arriving in New York City from Melbourne with her three-year-old daughter, Traci, having won an audition with Capitol Records in an Australian Bandstand competition. She walks by a billboard declaring “Even I can open it” – a nod to <a href="https://www.myconfinedspace.com/2009/06/27/you-mean-a-woman-can-open-it/">Alcoa Aluminium’s ads</a> for twist top bottles marketed to 1960s housewives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354484/original/file-20200824-24-1v3w2bb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Alcoa Aluminum advertisement for twist top bottles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a crushing counterpoint, the executives at Capitol tell her “I can’t do anything with a female singer”, and Reddy ends up singing in small bars in Syracuse for cash.</p>
<h2>All in the details</h2>
<p>Moon has a fantastic eye for period detail. The halter neck pants suits, vintage Lurex knits, the bold diagonals. The pale pink Hoover in the living room of a Los Angeles bungalow is an amazing touch, as is the Hockney-esque swimming pool, and a 1970s Hollywood Regency mansion with a Spanish theme.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4951%2C3935&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tilda Cobham-Harvey as Helen Reddy sits on a shag rug surrounded by cassette tapes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4951%2C3935&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353541/original/file-20200819-43015-rxsbp4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The film’s period detail is fabulous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lisa Tomasetti/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moon intercuts archival footage to map the extraordinary history of the Women’s Movement: The New York <a href="https://time.com/4008060/women-strike-equality-1970/">women’s marches</a>, the 1989 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/10/us/right-to-abortion-draws-thousands-to-capital-rally.html">march on Washington</a>, even conservative activist <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/obituaries/phyllis-schlafly-conservative-leader-and-foe-of-era-dies-at-92.html">Phyllis Schlafly</a>.</p>
<p>As Moon tells it, Australian music critic <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/lillian-and-germaine-in-new-york/">Lillian Roxon</a> (Danielle MacDonald) draws Reddy into the nascent world of feminism. </p>
<p>Roxon had moved to New York in 1959, and her personal and controversial report about the 1970 women’s rights march in New York was published in the Sydney Morning Herald under the title “There is a tide in the affairs of women”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Movie still, Helen sits in Lillian's lap at a bar as they laugh." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353564/original/file-20200819-43015-10v5e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Central to Helen’s feminist journey in the film is her friendship with the journalist Lillian Roxon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lisa Tomasetti/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s a scene in which Reddy and Roxon riff on Sandy Posey’s 1966 hit <a href="https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/8830779/Sandy+Posey/Born+a+Woman">Born a Woman</a>, with lyrics saying “you’re born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on and treated like dirt” and, alarmingly, “I’m glad it happened that way”. </p>
<p>In response, Reddy pens I Am Woman using her daughter’s textas. </p>
<p>I am Woman is one of the few songs Reddy co-wrote. She is best known for her covers, dark pop songs about marginalised women like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afsp7MU-nTI">Delta Dawn</a> or the eerie and heartbreaking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQKyGt_I5L4">Angie Baby</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/afsp7MU-nTI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Helen Reddy singing Delta Dawn.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These darker songs acknowledge the flipside of the self-belief in I am Woman: not every woman can be strong and invincible in every situation. </p>
<h2>Not your burning diva</h2>
<p>There are moments in the film where the dialog and the action feel forced, as Moon and writer Emma Jensen try to find their feet in all this amazing material. </p>
<p>But there are so many great moments, notably Reddy’s 1973 Grammy win when she thanked God, “because <em>she</em> makes everything possible”. The deft use of Roxon’s liner notes from Reddy’s debut album I Don’t Know How to Love Him will make you tear up. </p>
<p>Too often, diva films feel like a spectacle about women being punished for living their dreams: they crash and burn like Bette Midler in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079826/">The Rose</a>, or they struggle under Pygmalion “man makes star” themes like Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand and Lady Gaga in <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/4/17902424/star-is-born-versions-what-price-hollywood-streisand-cukor-garland-cooper-gaga">A Star is Born</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354479/original/file-20200824-16-22tuq5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Helen Reddy with her Gold ARIA at the 2006 ARIA Hall of Fame.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Castro/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The strength of I Am Woman is in the way Reddy comes through. There’s no crash and burn. There’s no selling out. </p>
<p>The film ends with the 1989 women’s march on Washington, and the placards and posters cut to the heart of now. It’s hard not to think about the political zealotry of our own times and the passage of regressive <a href="https://theconversation.com/delaying-nonessential-abortions-during-coronavirus-crisis-endangers-womens-health-and-financial-future-135288">anti-women legislation </a>throughout America. </p>
<p>Alice Cooper once called Reddy the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/02/cult-heroes-helen-reddy-i-am-woman-angie-baby-delta-dawn">Queen of housewife pop</a>”. Reddy took this as an accolade, and maybe this was her secret. She took rock songs full of gritty vocals and emotion and gave it a gleaming pop sound, bringing women’s equality into the mainstream. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>I Am Woman is available to stream on Stan Friday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camilla Nelson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Too often, diva films feel like a spectacle about women being punished for living their dreams. The strength of I Am Woman is in the way Helen Reddy comes through.Camilla Nelson, Associate Professor in Media, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047732018-10-14T19:06:23Z2018-10-14T19:06:23ZLocal film and TV content makes up just 1.6% of Netflix’s Australian catalogue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240350/original/file-20181011-154549-102jvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While local content makes up a small proportion of the Australian Netflix catalogue, Netflix has also heavily promoted Australian shows overseas, such as Hannah Gadsby's standup show Nanette. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the last few years we have been studying the catalogues of Netflix and Stan to see how much local screen content each service carries and how this compares to <a href="http://rm.coe.int/the-origin-of-tv-content-in-vod-catalogues/168078f2b5">international benchmarks</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://apo.org.au/node/134926">first report</a> in 2017 found that the Netflix Australia catalogue carried around 2-2.5% local content, much of it licensed from the ABC. Stan’s local content level was slightly higher, at 9.5%. </p>
<p>Our <a href="http://apo.org.au/node/196611">latest report</a> finds that Netflix’s local content level has fallen to 1.6% (82 Australian titles out of 4,959). This is due to Netflix’s overall catalogue growth, rather than any significant decrease in the absolute number of Australian titles available. Stan’s local content level has risen to 11.1% (172 titles out of 1,548).</p>
<p>While these figures may seem alarming, we should remember that, unlike free-to-air TV, subscription video-on-demand services are not regulated for local content. Netflix also plays a big role in promoting Australian content overseas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240361/original/file-20181012-154577-51f75t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Behind the figures</h2>
<p>Digital access to local content, particularly on services like Netflix, has become a big issue for policymakers around the world. The European Parliament recently approved a minimum <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20180920STO14026/audiovisual-media-meps-approve-new-rules-fit-for-a-digital-age">30% European content quota</a> for video-on-demand services operating in the region.</p>
<p>In Australia, groups such as <a href="https://www.screenproducers.org.au/assets/Uploads/SPA-SVOD-Paper-130217.pdf">Screen Producers Australia</a> and <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au">APRA AMCOS</a> (a music rights organisation) are calling for <a href="http://www.screenproducers.org.au/assets/Media-Release/20180711-Joint-submission-SPA-APRA-AMCOS-Senate-Environment-and-Communications.pdf">new regulation to be introduced here</a>. This could include local production spending requirements for video streaming services, or playlist quotas for music streaming services.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240349/original/file-20181011-154542-1ito9sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tysan Towney in Stan’s reboot of Romper Stomper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this context, Netflix’s 1.6% local content ratio might seem alarming, especially when compared to the minimum 55% local content quotas that apply to free-to-air television in prime-time hours. But there’s more to the story. Comparing free-to-air TV and video streaming services is like comparing apples and oranges: one is regulated for local content while the other is not.</p>
<p>Netflix’s local content figures are arguably more in line with other parts of the screen industry. On pay-TV channels, where a local content <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/Australian-content/new-eligible-drama-expenditure-scheme-results-i-acma">expenditure requirement</a> rather than an hours quota applies, local content levels are generally lower. At the local cinema box office, Australian films have historically made up around <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/cinema/industry-trends/films-screened">9% of releases</a> and <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/cinema/australian-films/feature-film-releases/box-office-share">4% of takings</a>. </p>
<p>Australia has long been an importer of screen content, and subscription video streaming simply extends that tradition into the digital age.</p>
<h2>The changing TV ecology</h2>
<p>Another way to approach the problem is to think about such services as part of a wider audiovisual ecology, with some parts regulated for local content and others not. Despite all the hype about the streaming revolution, Netflix and Stan do not simply replace free-to-air TV; they complement and interact with it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-local-networks-retreat-netflix-is-filling-the-gap-in-teen-tv-81624">As local networks retreat, Netflix is filling the gap in teen TV</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our research found, for example, that the ABC remains a very important supplier to both Netflix and Stan. Almost 60% of the licensed local television content on Netflix and 37% of the local television content on Stan was initially commissioned and distributed by the ABC.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240351/original/file-20181011-154586-rjmriz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rachael Blake and Susie Porter in Stan feature film The Second.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The algorithms that determine how content is displayed to viewers on streaming services also complicate things. Users of Stan and Netflix experience the catalogue as a curated, personalised library rather than as a raw list. Hence, the visibility of Australian content in each portal will vary from user to user, depending on viewing history.</p>
<h2>The bright side</h2>
<p>There is a bright side to this story. Our research also looked at the availability of Australian content in Netflix’s international catalogues. We found, for example, that Netflix’s US catalogue contains more Australian content than the Australian Netflix catalogue does (both in the number of titles and the overall proportion of the library).</p>
<p>What’s more, Netflix markets a number of its Australian co-productions and exclusive acquisitions as Netflix originals in international territories, even though these are not available in the Australian Netflix catalogue (because the local co-production partners and commissioners typically have exclusivity).</p>
<p>So, the low levels of local content in the Australian catalogue must be considered alongside Netflix’s significant capacity to distribute and promote Australian content internationally. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5aE29fiatQ0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Nanette, an Australian production that has travelled internationally via Netflix.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do the platforms have to say?</h2>
<p>We invited both Stan and Netflix to check our figures. Netflix’s global public policy manager, Josh Korn, responded and provided some interesting context.</p>
<p>Emphasising Netflix’s international distribution function, Korn confirmed that Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette – Netflix’s first Australian stand-up original title – had been viewed by Netflix subscribers in over 190 territories. Similarly, he noted that 95% of Netflix viewing hours for the Australian kids show, Mako Mermaids: An H20 Adventure, were from outside Australia, with similar numbers claimed for the dramas Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Glitch.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240348/original/file-20181011-154549-7t7gn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mako Mermaids is one of the Australian shows Netflix has promoted overseas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Netflix also points to the Australian shows in its production pipeline, including Pine Gap, Tidelands, Motown Magic, an untitled Chris Lilley project, and live stand-up comedy performances by Joel Creasey and Nazeem Hussein.</p>
<p>Stan, which was the first streaming video platform to commission local original content, has also recently released a new Romper Stomper reboot and its first feature, The Second, which add to the service’s existing Australian originals (such as No Activity, The Other Guy and Wolf Creek). New drama series Bloom and The Gloaming are in production.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/romper-stomper-reboot-is-a-compelling-investigation-into-australias-extremist-politics-89227">Romper Stomper reboot is a compelling investigation into Australia's extremist politics</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This is all good news for Australian screen producers, who now have a bigger pool of buyers and new sources of production finance. But adding these new productions to both catalogues is unlikely to significantly increase the overall local content ratio in each service.</p>
<p>We may need to come to terms with the fact that Netflix and Stan cannot do the job of broadcast television when it comes to local content.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research is supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Program (DE150100288).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexa Scarlata does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the figures may seem alarming, we should remember that, unlike free-to-air TV, subscription video-on-demand services are not regulated for local content.Ramon Lobato, Senior research fellow, RMIT UniversityAlexa Scarlata, PhD Candidate in Television Studies, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1013112018-08-19T19:49:58Z2018-08-19T19:49:58ZCan Australian streaming survive a fresh onslaught from overseas?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231410/original/file-20180810-30443-122o9fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s already punch-drunk streaming sector is set for even more upheaval, as CBS <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/cbs-confirms-australian-streaming-platform-to-launch-by-end-of-2018-20180806-p4zvpf.html">will launch</a> its streaming service in Australia as early as October. </p>
<p>Disney is also <a href="https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-majority-ownership-bamtech/">set to launch its streaming service in 2019</a>. Based on recent history, Australia will likely be first up when it goes global.</p>
<p>The question is whether Australian streamers can compete locally with the global mammoths. Doing so might require coordination the likes of which we haven’t seen before.</p>
<p>This will impact not just what media Australians have access to, but <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2017/06-15-abs-survey-results">more than 31,000 people</a> employed by Australian media.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-arrival-will-be-a-tipping-point-for-tv-in-australia-38386">Netflix arrival will be a tipping point for TV in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We have already seen huge upheavals in Australian streaming.</p>
<p>Stan is the last remaining Australian streaming service from 2015, <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-arrival-will-be-a-tipping-point-for-tv-in-australia-38386">when I wrote about the official launch of Netflix in Australia</a>. At that time there were two Australian-based subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) services, Presto and Stan. </p>
<p>Presto, a joint venture between Seven and Foxtel, was shut down in early 2017. </p>
<p>Foxtel then launched <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/index.html">FoxtelNow</a> in June 2017. It is already set for an <a href="https://www.channelnews.com.au/foxtel-now-dead-new-4k-uhd-service-coming-cricket-launch/">overhaul</a> later this year, to include 4K streaming, along with sports and entertainment streaming packages. </p>
<h2>Aussie streaming services, more than just subscription</h2>
<p>In addition to Stan, there are also transactional video-on-demand (TVoD) services in Australia, although these are discussed far less. A TVoD service is based upon a single payment being made to view singular content for a limited time, e.g. you have streaming access to the latest release for 48 hours. </p>
<p>One such Australian service is <a href="https://www.quickflix.com.au">Quickflix</a>, which launched in 2014. It went <a href="https://theconversation.com/buyouts-mean-the-future-of-australian-video-on-demand-is-hard-to-picture-66683">into receivership</a> in 2016, before being saved and later relaunched. </p>
<p>Quickflix is still a streaming company, but retains the older <a href="https://www.quickflix.com.au/Join">disc mail-out service</a>. This mail-out service could help Quickflix survive against global streaming services. </p>
<p>With the <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/technology/australias-video-shop-association-set-close-can-streaming-keep-demand-high-quality-video/">closure</a> of video stores and retail stores <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/consumer/2018/06/28/kmart-australia-dvds-cds/">removing discs</a> from their shelves, a mail-out service still has value for Australians with poor internet speed and access.</p>
<p>The other Australian TVoD service is <a href="https://www.ozflix.tv/">OzFlix</a>, which some Australians may not be aware of. </p>
<p>Its differentiation is plans to source “<a href="https://www.ozflix.tv/#!/page/412/about-us">Every Aussie Movie. Ever.</a>”. A big task, but its specific niche may help it survive the onslaught of global media streaming services, while also giving <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-rise-of-subscription-and-online-tv-we-need-to-rethink-local-content-rules-79496">local content</a> a dedicated home. </p>
<h2>Global media giants set their sights on Australia</h2>
<p>Australia has been the first country that many media companies expand to when moving outside their own region. <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-arrival-will-be-a-tipping-point-for-tv-in-australia-38386">Netflix</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/youtube-red-is-here-and-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-59656">YouTube Red</a> (now YouTube Premium) are two examples. </p>
<p>More recently we have seen <a href="https://theconversation.com/amazons-new-grand-tour-series-could-be-the-next-illegal-download-victim-68141">Amazon Prime Video</a> launch in late 2016, although it is yet to have a major uptake locally. </p>
<p>The arrival of CBS All Access will impact Stan particularly. Stan features a number of CBS programs, so future programming will need to be from other distributors or through greater investment in original content. </p>
<p>Disney is also set to <a href="https://www.channelnews.com.au/foxtel-netflix-set-to-face-off-with-new-disney-streaming-service/">acquire</a> 21st Century Fox. This will expand its catalogue on the new streaming service beyond its already huge catalogue. The Marvel movies look set to remain on current services, for now.</p>
<h2>Australians and streaming…. what next?</h2>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7681-netflix-stan-foxtel-fetch-youtube-amazon-pay-tv-june-2018-201808020452">Roy Morgan report</a> found over 9.8 million Australians had access to Netflix, with Stan at over 2 million. While Stan is clearly behind, it has had a 39.2% increase in the last 12 months. </p>
<p>YouTube premium has over 1 million subscribers, FetchTV 710,000 and Amazon Prime Video last at 273,000 (an 87% increase year on year).</p>
<p>The arrival of CBS All Access and Disney will make an already crowded market only more so. But is more choice a good thing? </p>
<p>A 2014 <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/changing-channels-americans-view-just-17-channels-despite-record-number-to-choose-from.html">Nielsen report</a> showed the average channels receivable by US households grew from 129 in 2008 to 189 in 2013. But the average channels tuned in remained at 17.</p>
<p>On top of larger content libraries, the global players also have deeper pockets. Disney looks <a href="https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/08/14/star-wars-live-action-series-will-cost-100-million-be-streamed-exclusively-on-disneys-platform/">set to spend</a> US$100 million on a new Star Wars series for its streaming service. Netflix will <a href="https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/netflix-original-spending-85-percent-1202809623/">spend</a> more than US$8 billion on content in 2018 alone, and Amazon last year spent US$4 billion on content. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-rise-of-subscription-and-online-tv-we-need-to-rethink-local-content-rules-79496">With the rise of subscription and online TV, we need to rethink local content rules</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australian services will need to have a point of difference. Quickflix and OzFlix have their points of difference, but what about a larger service like Stan? </p>
<p>Stan can’t compete with the global companies on quantity of content, so it must, like others, have a point of difference. </p>
<p>Stan could become a premium platform for content of which some is broadcast on Nine later. That would be a similar approach to when Australian FTA broadcasters would buy US content months after it was broadcast in the US – to save on costs.</p>
<p>For an Australian service to compete, a better solution would be a combined approach, an all-Australian streaming service that combines the strengths and finances of the Australian media industry. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.freeview.com.au/freeviewfv/">Freeview app</a> is an example of how Australian television has tried to work collaboratively but failed. The users can view all the catch-up content from Australian broadcasters, but to view it they are taken from the app to the specific broadcasters’ own catch-up apps. </p>
<p>This requires six apps in total to be installed to view all catch-up content.</p>
<p>But is the Australian media industry willing to come together to fight against global streaming media companies, or will they continue to battle each other? Failure here could result in a further decline in Australian media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101311/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>Is the Australian media industry willing to come together to fight against global streaming media companies, or will Australian media continue to battle each other?Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/892272017-12-28T21:43:31Z2017-12-28T21:43:31ZRomper Stomper reboot is a compelling investigation into Australia’s extremist politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200305/original/file-20171221-4954-3okvs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Antifasc' as portrayed in Romper Stomper. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stan’s new remake and serialisation of the 1992 movie classic <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105275/fullcredits">Romper Stomper</a> opens with the original haunting theme music that has been canonised and sampled by many contemporary skinhead bands. The first scene then begins with waves rolling along a beach - similar to how the original film had ended. </p>
<p>But that is where most of the similarities end. The original film, starring Russell Crowe, had focused on alienated young people who embraced the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead">skinhead ethos</a> and targeted Asian migrants in inner Melbourne. Unlike the film, Stan’s Romper Stomper is not an exploration of this subculture. It has been remade to reflect new schisms and complexities in contemporary Australian extremist politics. </p>
<p>Stan’s Romper Stomper also makes some subtle commentary on the rise of an authoritarian state in Australia. This modern, Orwellian-style Melbourne is a place where youth correction workers wear black uniforms with combat boots and Border Force Officers patrol train stations. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ac1U3g-isDU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The Romper Stomper remake focuses on a fictitious but easily identifiable nationalist group call the Patriot Blue. The group is led by Blake, a middle-aged, middle class, Anglo Australian played by Lachy Hulme, and young nationalist, Kane, played by Toby Wallace. </p>
<p>Similar to the real life <a href="https://theconversation.com/reclaim-australia-re-energises-radical-nationalism-45103">Reclaim Australia movement</a>, Patriot Blue is anti-immigration - particularly anti-Muslim immigration. But under the guidance of Kane, Patriot Blue is led into pro-Anglo Australian street vigilantism not dissimilar to the actual <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/vigilantestyle-group-soldiers-of-odin-patrolling-melbourne-cbd-20161009-gry51g.html">Soldiers of Odin</a> who operate in Melbourne’s CBD. </p>
<p>On the other side is Antifasc, a group of predominately university students guided by a politics lecturer. They are a version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-antifa-and-where-did-it-come-from-82977">Antifa</a>, the international anti-fascist group currently taking root in a number of western democracies. </p>
<p>In between these political extremities are average Australians, both migrants and non-migrants, who are beaten and manipulated by Patriot Blue, Antifasc and even the media. Both groups and the media are actively brokering fear for their own gains. Through capitalising on people’s fears, Patriot Blue and Antifasc attract support, while the media gain ratings. </p>
<h2>Ideological war</h2>
<p>In the first episode, we are given a glimpse of Blake’s motivation for organising the Patriot Blues. His speeches to the group are not dissimilar to the kinds of rhetoric used by actual nationalist groups. Blake’s thinking appears to be influenced by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/530270.The_Turner_Diaries">The Turner Diaries</a>, a major literary work of the far-right published in 1978, which tells the story of a race war in the United States. </p>
<p>Echoing the plot of The Turner Diaries, Blake believes that Melbourne will be fragmented along cultural and religious lines and fall into civil war. In Romper Stomper, his fears are not depicted as lunacy and the instances of violence between cultural and political groups reinforce Patriot Blue and Antifasc’s belief there is an ideological war at play.</p>
<p>The early episodes, which form the basis for this review, highlight that the middle ground in Australian politics is impotent. As the stories of the characters develop and struggles between the two extremist groups continue, there is a faint “white noise” of politicians debating new immigration legislation.</p>
<p>It seems the series is highlighting a real emerging belief that mainstream Australian political parties are weak and disconnected from the population. It is possible the series is trying to illustrate the notion that extremism grows where there is a weak centre or <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/extremists-across-europe-capitalise-on-disillusionment-with-third-way-9198336.html">voter disillusionment</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200306/original/file-20171221-4980-1hppjg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lachy Hulme (centre) as the leader of Patriot Blue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan/Ben King</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The allure of fear</h2>
<p>Extremist politics in Australia are often overlooked in media and academic circles. It would have been easy for Romper Stomper to portray either side or even those caught in the middle as villains, heroes or victims. But the early episodes give no indication that this will be the narrative. Rather, the series provides an insight into the thinking of each group and its motivations. Even for a fictional account, the insights are very real and at the core of people’s motivations is fear.</p>
<p>In Romper Stomper, most resort to violence because they are afraid. Everyone has the perception they are fighting back. Patriot Blue is scared of the changes brought about by increased immigration and the impact it will have on Anglo culture. Blake openly tells his wife he is afraid of what Australia will become with further immigration. Antifasc fears the rise of extreme right-wing politics, which it perceives as Nazism and a threat to progressive politics. </p>
<p>Romper Stomper’s depiction of the way extremist groups operate and organise is realistic. Like real groups, the series shows Patriot Blue and Antifasc establishing “intelligence units”, which gather information on their opponents’ activities and membership.</p>
<p>Likewise, real Nationalist groups and Antifa use social media and fundamental network analysis techniques - such as the interpretation of relationships between people or organisations - along with cyber security measures, to gather and hide information. </p>
<p>We also see how extremist groups recruit and conduct public outreach programs. Both groups in the series also assist the homeless and provide self-styled security on the streets. They argue they are providing services that mainstream governments are no longer interested in or able to offer. </p>
<p>As the series shows, it is socially disadvantaged people (or those who perceive they are socially disadvantaged), who are driven to join extremist groups. These groups often provide them with a wider political explanation for their problems and sell themselves as being able to solve them, through radical means.</p>
<p>This kind of approach is evident in the way Blake initially interacts with Kane and a friend - providing food, employment and social inclusion. This is probably going to have repercussions for Blake down the track in the series with a likely power struggle for leadership that reflects another reality of extremist politics - its propensity to implode through the group splintering. </p>
<p>Based on the early episodes, Romper Stomper is akin to the political fiction of Australian novelist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hardy">Frank Hardy</a>. Where Hardy provided a raw insight into Labor and union politics, Romper Stomper provides a snapshot of 21st-century Australian extremist politics and the alarming rise of disillusionment with mainstream politicians and media.</p>
<p><em>Romper Stomper premieres on Stan on Jan 1</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89227/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Troy Whitford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stan’s remake of the 1992 film Romper Stomper swaps skinhead culture for the complexities of contemporary Australian extremist politics. In doing so, it highlights disillusion with mainstream politicians and media.Troy Whitford, Lecturer in Intelligence and Security Studies, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/823672017-08-15T06:24:16Z2017-08-15T06:24:16ZA fragmented streaming video market is good for everyone but the consumer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182026/original/file-20170815-29240-1ducut4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Disney is leaving Netflix. Is the streaming market becoming too fragmented?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/paris-france-december-15-2016-netflix-539808154?src=iM2bF1g7wRFRxF9lKZstEQ-1-6">pixinoo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Streaming video platforms were meant to put choice back in the hands of the viewer. They’d be able to watch the content they wanted, when they wanted. But the growing fragmentation of the on-demand market threatens to leave consumers worse off.</p>
<p>While Netflix and Amazon are among the biggest subscription video on demand (SVOD) players, they have plenty of competitors for content. In Australia, <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv/stan-signs-multiyear-content-deal-with-premier-us-network-showtime/news-story/5fa0b0dd5a1da42a6ed1d0f61041a9a3">Stan</a> and <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/foxtel-insider/foxtel/home-of-hbo.html">Foxtel</a> have programs from Showtime and HBO respectively largely locked down. And <a href="http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/disney-netflix-end-acquires-bamtech-espn-ott-services-1202519917/">Disney is set to abandon</a> Netflix in favour of creating its own platform – a trend we’re sure to see more of from the major entertainment studios.</p>
<p><a href="https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-majority-ownership-bamtech/">Announcing that</a> it had acquired majority ownership in BAMTech, a streaming technology company, Disney said it sees the future of media as “defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-liking-something-on-facebook-protected-political-speech-it-depends-82209">Is liking something on Facebook 'protected political speech'? It depends</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Facebook’s <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/08/introducing-watch-a-new-platform-for-shows-on-facebook/">recent announcement</a> of its video platform Watch is also a sign of things to come. Like traditional media and television, technology companies are making attempts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-rise-of-subscription-and-online-tv-we-need-to-rethink-local-content-rules-79496">re-position</a> themselves and take advantage of the <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2017/small-screens-driving-audience-growth-to-netflix.html">rapid uptake</a> of streaming services and changing viewer behaviour. </p>
<p>But while these new services give consumers unlimited entertainment options, for the most part, they don’t come for free. The cost and confusion of having content tied to so many different players could ultimately provoke a return to bundling and a pay TV model.</p>
<h2>It’s all about originals</h2>
<p>Netflix and Amazon are known for their original content, and they use these exclusive programs to persuade customers to subscribe. They’re also cheaper than having to negotiate rights and region deals with the studios.</p>
<p>Netflix <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/31/netflix-spending-6-billion-on-content-in-2017-ceo-reed-hastings.html">is reported</a> to be spending US$6 billion on original content this year. Amazon will also pay a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/amazon-video-budget-in5-billion-2017-4">considerable amount</a> – by some estimates, it could hand over around US$4.5 billion in 2017.</p>
<p>In addition to SVOD companies, many social media platforms and technology companies are adding video streaming to their offerings. They’re using the original productions approach of Netflix and Amazon, which has arguably become the industry standard. </p>
<p>YouTube <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-04/with-40-new-original-shows-youtube-targets-tv-s-breadbasket">is set</a> to fund the production of more than 40 original shows and movies in the next year. This <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/4/16095448/youtube-red-karate-kid-cobra-kai-series-announced">includes</a> outbidding Netflix and Amazon for the series Cobra Kai, a Karate Kid sequel, which will appear on the company’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/youtube-red-is-here-and-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-59656">subscription</a> service, YouTube Red.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P-0PB4cbtDc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Apple Carpool Karaoke - Will Smith with James Corden.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Apple has created original content for Apple Music. The first was <a href="https://www.planetoftheapps.com">Planet of the Apps</a>, a startup show similar to Shark Tank, which had <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/planet-of-the-apps-apple-gwyneth-paltrow-jessica-alba-1202456477/">limited success</a>. More recently, it commissioned <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/show/carpool-karaoke/id1219046821?app=music">Carpool Karaoke: The Series</a>.</p>
<p>Facebook’s recent announcement of its video platform <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/08/introducing-watch-a-new-platform-for-shows-on-facebook/">Watch</a> suggests the company also sees original video as a key part of its future. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/26/15872750/facebook-original-content-tv-shows-budget-ads-data">It’s reported</a> that Facebook is willing to pay up to US$3 million per episode for “centerpiece” shows. Refinery29’s Strangers, which featured at Sundance Film Festival, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/26/15872750/facebook-original-content-tv-shows-budget-ads-data">is rumoured</a> to be part of Facebook’s future original content lineup.</p>
<p>In addition, it’s likely more studios will follow Disney’s lead and attempt to support their own direct-to-consumer platform. In the US, for example, the cable channel FX recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/business/media/fx-comcast-ad-free-service.html">launched an</a> ad-free subscription service that features its popular shows like American Horror Story and The Americans.</p>
<h2>What will consumers pay for?</h2>
<p>The continued upheaval in the SVOD market could end up pricey and unwieldy for consumers.</p>
<p>While they want choice, and individually the various subscription services are relatively cheap, accessing a significant breadth of original content will require multiple subscriptions.</p>
<p>Netflix’s monthly prices <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/06/australia-your-netflix-just-got-more-expensive/">vary across</a> three price brackets: AU$9.99, AU$13.99 or AU$17.99, depending on the number of screens, and if you wish to have HD. Stan <a href="https://help.stan.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115005777028-Stan-subscription-plans">starts at</a> AU$10 a month and rises to AU$15.</p>
<p>Apple Music has three price <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/apple-music/membership/">points</a>: a student price of AU$5.99, individual AU$11.99 and family AU$17.99. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/red">YouTube Red</a> subscription will cost at least AU$11.99.</p>
<p>Combining a few of these services could see a family paying more than AU$60 a month. And this doesn’t include any future additions like Disney, nor sports packages where there are also numerous streaming options.</p>
<p>Could we get to a point where bundled or aggregated subscription services, like a new incarnation of pay TV, become a more feasible choice? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/country-rules-the-splinternet-may-be-the-future-of-the-web-81939">Country rules: the ‘splinternet’ may be the future of the web</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Pay TV player Foxtel <a href="https://theconversation.com/shame-the-technical-glitches-that-hit-game-of-thrones-could-limit-other-popular-live-streamed-events-81163">recently</a> re-branded and restructured its streaming service. Foxtel Now has <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/shop.html">starting packs</a> like Lifestyle, Kids or Docos for AU$10, with the Drama or Pop pack at AU$15 per month. Customers can then add premium packs – Movies or Sport for AU$20 and AU$29 per month each. </p>
<p>Some families may see these packages as more favourable and manageable from a cost perspective.</p>
<p>But pricing doesn’t matter if the premium original content isn’t there, and we’re sure to see further fragmentation thanks to content producers establishing direct-to-consumer platforms. The question is now: just how many platforms can viewers handle and how many are they willing to pay for?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>The cost and confusion of having content tied to so many different streaming platforms could ultimately provoke a return to bundling and a pay TV model.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666832016-10-11T05:14:16Z2016-10-11T05:14:16ZBuyouts mean the future of Australian video-on-demand is hard to picture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141174/original/image-20161011-3903-1y6nqdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The hugely popular Game of Thrones could be a crucial drawcard for Foxtel Play's new viewers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Village Roadshow Production</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The dust is showing no sign of settling on Australia’s video-on-demand (VoD) media landscape. The past week has seen two seismic shifts which will have a flow-on effect on almost anyone who watches subscription-based television.</p>
<p>First came the news of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-04/presto-to-disappear-as-seven-sells-stake-to-foxtel/7900778">Foxtel’s takeover of Presto</a>, with the latter’s customers being transferred to Foxtel Play when Presto shuts down next year.</p>
<p>Then the ailing VoD service <a href="https://www.quickflix.com.au/">Quickflix</a> gained a surprise stay of execution, being <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/quickflix-snapped-up-for-13m-by-us-entrepreneur-20161004-gruqoq.html">saved by a US buyer</a> after going into <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">voluntary receivership</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>The shakeup has left viewers wondering where their subscription fees are going to end up, and what content they will be able to access once the merry-go-round stops.</p>
<h2>Quickflix’s future?</h2>
<p>Quickflix’s problems began in 2014, when former stakeholder HBO sold its shares to Nine Entertainment. The following year the shares were transferred to Stan, Nine’s new joint VoD venture with Fairfax Media. </p>
<p>When Quickflix went into voluntary receivership, it stated Stan’s unwillingness to bargain with potential buyers as a key reason for its <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">demise</a>.</p>
<p>Quickflix has now been saved, although it is not clear what it will become or what its focus will be. US media entrepreneur Erik Pence has paid A$1.3 million, and the holding for the purchase, Karma Media, plans to retain 24 employees and pay entitlements to former employees. </p>
<p>There will <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/quickflix-snapped-up-for-13m-by-us-entrepreneur-20161004-gruqoq.html">reportedly</a> be more investment in marketing and a shift towards more niche content. This latter strategy has been a globally successful tactic for other VoD and online platforms such as <a href="http://netflix.com">Netflix</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.fullscreen.com">Fullscreen</a>. </p>
<p>But it is unclear whether Quickflix’s new service will support the production of Australian content in any way – or even whether it will primarily offer movies, television series, or both. This makes it difficult to analyse the impact its re-emergence will have on the Australian VoD landscape.</p>
<h2>Hey Presto</h2>
<p>In contrast, the future of Presto has been made very clear indeed. Foxtel has acquired Seven West Media’s interests in the service and confirmed that it will cease on January 31, 2017. </p>
<p>This arguably makes Presto the first real casualty of the battle that has sprung up in Australia’s crowded VoD landscape.</p>
<p>Presto has been constantly reported as struggling for subscribers against competition from Netflix and Stan. A recent Roy Morgan <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6839-netflix-stan-presto-subscription-video-on-demand-may-2016-201606141025">report</a> from this year showed how far Presto was behind its competition. </p>
<p>Presto had 142,000 subscriptions, less than half of the 332,000 signed up to its local competitor Stan. Even combined, these numbers are far short of international giant Netflix, which has <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6839-netflix-stan-presto-subscription-video-on-demand-may-2016-201606141025">1,878,000 Australian subscriptions</a>.</p>
<p>Foxtel plans to move Presto’s subscribers over to its internet-delivered service Foxtel Play by the end of this year. In a <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">media release</a> Foxtel promised that “Presto customers will get access to more premium first run television programs and more recent movies than ever before” – raising the question of whether they were holding back on content before the takeover.</p>
<p>The Foxtel Play service also may not be what current Presto customers are expecting, nor is there a guarantee that it will end up costing the same.</p>
<h2>Does Foxtel really want to compete?</h2>
<p>It is clear that Foxtel is trying to compete with current VoD services, as underlined by its <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">recent announcement</a> that Foxtel Play entry prices will be cut to A$10 from the current A$25. But Foxtel Play’s <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/content/dam/foxtel/foxtelplay/support/pp-change/foxtel-play-pp-changes.pdf">subscription pricing structure</a> is much more complicated than other VoD services. </p>
<p>Unlike <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/">Netflix</a> or <a href="https://www.stan.com.au">Stan</a>, which charge a flat fee for all content (although Netflix charges extra fees for more screens and HD qaulity), Foxtel Play has different prices for different content packages, much like Foxtel’s pay TV pricing structure. The content on Foxtel Play is not HD, although will <a href="http://decidertv.com/page/2016/10/7/foxtel-play-foxtel-go-will-make-the-switch-to-high-definition-foxtel">reportedly</a> be upgraded in 2017. </p>
<p>Foxtel Play’s <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">packages</a> include a basic offering of Documentary, Lifestyle or Kids programming at A$10 each per month, plus Premium Drama and Premium Entertainment options at A$15 each per month. Customers can also add Sport (A$25 per month) or Movies (A$20 per month) on top of these. So it seems likely that many customers end up paying more than those subscribing to other VoD services.</p>
<p>At first glance, Foxtel shutting down Presto could appear to be a way in which it can gain new Foxtel Play subscribers while dissuading viewers from defecting to Stan or Netflix. But the actual numbers may be small, according to Roy Morgan’s recent <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6990-most-presto-subscribers-already-have-netflix-stan-or-foxtel-too-august-2016-201610050930">research</a>. </p>
<p>Of the 143,000 Australian homes with Presto, 77% already have an alternative VoD or pay TV service, which could include Netflix, Stan and Foxtel. Of Presto households, 55% also use Netflix and 27% have signed up to Stan. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, almost half of Presto subscribers already have Foxtel, mainly through its traditional set-top box service. Foxtel itself has <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-admits-subscriber-figures-include-presto-users-but-claims-cable-still-biggest-growth-driver-311968">admitted</a> to using Presto subscription numbers to bump up its own quoted subscriber growth numbers for 2015. </p>
<p>But Foxtel has two key advantages over Netflix and Stan. The first is HBO content, most notably the wildly popular series Game of Thrones. Next year Foxtel will <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">significantly increase</a> the amount of HBO content it offers.</p>
<p>The second advantage is sport, which fittingly is where the fiercest competition is set to play out among rival platforms.</p>
<h2>Into the sporting arena</h2>
<p>Sport streaming is poised as the next battleground in Australian video streaming, VoD and video subscriptions. If planned changes to <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/TV-content-regulation/sport-anti-siphoning-tv-content-regulation-acma">anti-siphoning rules</a> are made, the battle will become even more intense.</p>
<p>Foxtel Play’s pricing will allow access to Foxtel’s sports package for A$35 a month, A$15 cheaper than its pay TV sports package. But is it cheap enough?</p>
<p>Telcos themselves have now become sports broadcasters, with both <a href="https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-movies-music/sport">Telstra</a> and <a href="http://www.optus.com.au/shop/entertainment/sport">Optus</a> heavily invested in sports streaming – the latter after <a href="https://theconversation.com/optus-the-new-player-in-australias-sports-media-rights-battle-50069">sensationally pinching</a> the rights to the Premier League from Foxtel. </p>
<p>Seven’s recent broadcast of the Rio 2016 Olympics also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rio-olympics-are-a-test-case-for-the-future-of-sports-broadcasting-63589">raised many questions</a> about future sports broadcasting and media rights. With Seven no longer involved with Presto, it could set its sights on sport and furthering its partnership with Telstra.</p>
<p>If Telstra were to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bed-fellows-no-more-its-foxtel-versus-telstra-in-battle-for-online-subscribers-56672">sell its stake</a> in Foxtel, it may decide to invest more money in becoming a direct competitor to Foxtel Play.</p>
<p>This will open opportunities for streaming not only for major international competitions, but leagues that currently enjoy less funding and publicity. The Women’s AFL could be a perfect place to start – offering a homegrown product to homegrown viewers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>With Quickflix saved but Presto on the way out, it’s hard to predict who will emerge as the winners as battle for video-on-demand viewers intensifies.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/603082016-06-05T20:12:58Z2016-06-05T20:12:58ZIs a quota the key to getting Netflix and co. to spend more on Australian content?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125085/original/image-20160603-11600-1xjwz5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Television is changing rapidly in the Netflix era, but are Australia's industry protections keeping up?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Go</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The European Commission has released a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/proposal-updated-audiovisual-media-services-directive">proposal</a> that will <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/052616/netflix-faces-new-quota-local-content-eu-nflx.asp">require</a> video streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon and Apple to meet at least a 20% quota of locally produced (ie European) works. This is part of a push to create a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/digital-single-market_en">digital single market</a> within the European Union.</p>
<p>In Australia, around 10% of <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/news/netflix-reaches-2-2m-australians-but-growth-is-slowing-down">homes</a> have Netflix (although Stan and Presto are in less than 1%). The uptake of these services is clearly <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-audiences-as-free-tv-viewing-continues-its-decline-58051">impacting</a> the local television industry. </p>
<p>Whilst the Australian government has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/screen-producers-australia-calls-for-netflix-local-content-quota-nine-prefers-deregulation-20160529-gp6ef9.html">said</a> it “has no plans to expand existing content regulations”, if the EU were to embrace a local content quota, pressure would grow for one here.</p>
<h2>Local Content in the Australian Media Landscape</h2>
<p>The question of a local content quota for online video services in Australia was raised last year. Both the ABC and Screen Producers Australia asked the government to <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/netflix-and-youtube-should-invest-in-aussie-content-20150916-gjo3pn.html">consider</a> a new digital content fund to which new media distributors, such as Netflix and Google, would contribute.</p>
<p>YouTube’s parent company, Google, responded <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/netflix-and-youtube-should-invest-in-aussie-content-20150916-gjo3pn.html">by saying</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We care a lot about Aussie voices reaching a global audience, which is why we invest in programs like Skip Ahead with Screen Australia [a A$250,000 investment for Google], run regular creator training, and bring new business models to Australia so that creators can make money from their talents</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/funding-and-support/television-and-online/production/skip-ahead">Skip Ahead</a> initiative funds successful Australian YouTube creators to “make the leap to a longer narrative-driven film of at least half an hour in length”. Content produced as part of the initiative could potentially be used toward original content for YouTube’s new subscription service, YouTube Red. </p>
<p>This subscription service, <a href="https://theconversation.com/youtube-red-is-here-and-it-breaks-the-video-on-demand-mould-59656">launched here</a> last month, is ad-free and includes music streaming and original YouTube content not available for free. Australia is the first country outside of the United States to gain access to it.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YL9RetC0ook?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Meet YouTube Red.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scanning <a href="https://www.stan.com.au/watch">Stan’s library</a>, Netflix’s <a href="https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/5230">Australian Movies</a> and Presto’s dedicated <a href="https://www.presto.com.au/tv/australian-made-2">Australian Made section</a>, it’s clear that all three provide local content. But gauging the percentage of local content within these libraries is difficult due to the continuous <a href="http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/06/heres-everything-coming-to-netflix-stan-presto-and-foxtel-this-june/">additions</a>. </p>
<p>Stan has licensed an extensive <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/netflix-stan-and-presto-support-local-content-to-a-point-20150602-ghdvfj.html">back catalogue</a> of content both from the ABC and SBS. Presto, as a joint venture between Seven and Foxtel, has acquired a large back catalogue of Seven content.</p>
<p>Despite it being within their libraries, there is a limited amount of new local content being produced by video on demand services. </p>
<p>Recently, Stan produced local content including Wolf Creek and No Activity. It has also <a href="http://if.com.au/2016/05/26/article/Stan-announces-first-feature-with-Screen-Queensland-funded-The-Second/IRLKFFRBFE.html">announced</a> a feature film funded with Screen Queensland, The Second. The other locally owned service, Presto, was involved in the local production Wentworth. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TuNBnAotFHc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">No Activity - A Stan Original.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The international companies are yet to show the same level of participation in producing local content. Whilst YouTube has begun to show signs that it will assist, with its joint initiative with Screen Australia, it’s not clear if this will be expanded upon. Netflix, which is leading the uptake of video on demand services in Australia, has yet to fund any local production, nor show clear signs that it will. </p>
<p>Since the announcement of the EU proposal, Screen Producers Australia have again called for more to be done. SPA’s chief executive Matthew Deaner <a href="https://screenproducers.org.au/news/svod-regulation/">argued</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>These are big, disruptive, successful businesses that have had time to expand in this market without making any significant investment in local production. It’s time they step up to the plate and contribute to new Australian film and television production.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In response, Andrew Maiden, the CEO of the subscription television industry body ASTRA, warned that the EU proposal:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>risks adding complexity and cost to over-the-top platforms whose successful growth and innovation is propelled by the unregulated nature of their operations. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is a local content quota, similar to the regulation for the Australian commercial free to air broadcasters, the answer to video on demand services supporting the local TV and film production industry?</p>
<h2>Current Local Quotas for Australian Media</h2>
<p>Currently, Australian commercial free to air broadcasters are required to broadcast 55% of Australian content in a calendar year, as stated in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/bsa1992214/s121g.html">Broadcasting Services Act 1992</a>, Commercial television broadcasters also have minimum <a href="http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/television/industry-trends/content-regulation">sub-quotas</a> in areas such as first-run Australian adult drama, documentary and children’s programs.</p>
<p>Nine Network argues these local quotas should be abolished, to allow it to compete with video on demand services.</p>
<p>Overall, it has been <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/netflix-and-youtube-should-invest-in-aussie-content-20150916-gjo3pn.html">estimated</a> that total local content investment in 2015, including news and sport, by free to air and subscription television was A$3 billion. As well as telling our stories, the local industry employs many Australians.</p>
<p>A 2015 Deloitte <a href="http://www.screenassociation.com.au/uploads/reports/ASA_Economic_Contribution_Report.pdf">report</a> shows that in 2012-2013 the film and TV sector contributed $5.8 billion to the Australian gross domestic product. This was more than Internet service providers ($1.8 billion) and slightly less than air (and space) transport ($6.5 billion).</p>
<p>Still, the report notes that the film and TV sector’s contribution to the GDP had in fact declined by 12.2% since 2009-2010. The period analysed within the report was before the introduction of Netflix, Stan and Presto. Despite this, revenue in the areas of distribution and rental within the film and TV sector had already begun to decline.</p>
<h2>What now for Australian local content?</h2>
<p>In Australia <a href="http://www.oztam.com.au/documents/Other/Australian%20Multi%20Screen%20Report%20Q4%202015%20FINAL.pdf">32% of homes</a> have a connected television - with internet access – well above the projected <a href="https://www.digitaltvresearch.com/ugc/connected%20TV%20TOC%20pdf_toc_83.pdf">global penetration</a> of rate of 26.8% in 2018. This will only increase the uptake of online video services.</p>
<p>It is unclear yet how a quota, or any other regulation, would be managed, but a recent <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/acma-review-draft-report">draft review</a> of the <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/About/The-ACMA-story/Communicating/introduction-to-the-acma">Australian Communications and Media Authority</a> could shed some light on this. In the draft review, Netflix was given as an example that may fall under the watch of the Authority under an “applications and content” area.</p>
<p>While it’s clear that the new video on demand services are changing the local media landscape, a simple local quota won’t fix this. If a quota were introduced, a company like Netflix could just buy old Australian content, rather than fund original local productions.</p>
<p>Given that Nine jointly owns Stan with Fairfax, and Presto is jointly owned by Seven and Foxtel, a local quota could mean that these broadcasters simply redistribute the same locally made programs airing on free to air TV onto their streaming services. This would not boost local production. </p>
<p>For any new regulation to work, it must mandate the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-must-act-now-to-preserve-its-culture-in-the-face-of-global-tech-giants-58724">production of new Australian content</a>, which would help the industry as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>The European Union is considering imposing a local content quota on video streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. With local storytelling under threat from global tech giants, could such an approach work here?Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/596562016-05-20T01:13:50Z2016-05-20T01:13:50ZYouTube Red is here, and it breaks the video-on-demand mould<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123158/original/image-20160519-22279-fxol34.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mobile is a big feature of YouTube Red.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>YouTube this week launched its paid subscription service, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/red">YouTube Red</a>, in Australia and New Zealand. These are the first two countries to gain access to the service outside of the United States. </p>
<p>The introduction of a new major video-on-demand (VoD) service will now challenge many media corporations that may not have seen YouTube as a threat.</p>
<p>YouTube is offering a free trial of the service for a month, with introductory pricing of A$9.99 per month and A$12.99 for subscription via iOS available until June 6th. </p>
<p>The standard pricing fees will be A$11.99 per month, or A$14.99 via iOS. The higher rate for iOS due to the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/dont-buy-your-youtube-red-subscription-on-ios-1737961156">fee charged</a> by Apple, which Google is passing onto iOS subscribers.</p>
<p>The sales pitch by Director of YouTube Content and Operations (Asia Pacific), Gautam Anand, <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/05/youtube-red-is-now-available-in-australia/">stated</a> YouTube Red is about:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Giving you more choice about how you watch YouTube […] Soon, we hope you’ll be watching what you want, when you want, on any device you want, uninterrupted.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=186&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123157/original/image-20160519-22319-13jg55j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube Red</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why pay for YouTube?</h2>
<p>Some may ask why they should pay for Red when YouTube is already free. It is important to note that Red does not replace YouTube, but rather adds to it. There are <a href="http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/05/youtube-red-is-now-available-in-australia/">five key additions</a> if you sign up for YouTube Red:</p>
<h3>1) No more ads</h3>
<p>This includes pre-roll (before a video) and pop-up adds (banner ads over the videos). While this won’t be a key selling point for people to subscribe, it is a small feature that some may appreciate in addition to the other elements. </p>
<h3>2) Offline playback</h3>
<p>Subscribers will be able to save videos while on a WiFi connection for offline viewing.</p>
<p>This will enable subscribers to watch saved content without requiring an internet connection. It’s also a boon for those who travel, or find themselves with no or poor mobile service. It will also take a load off mobile data for those who like to watch on the run.</p>
<h3>3) Background play</h3>
<p>This will enable you to continue to view or listen to YouTube videos while you are using other apps. This includes while the device is locked.</p>
<h3>4) Original content</h3>
<p>Based on Netflix’s success, and the fact that Netflix’s previous Vice President of Content, Robert Kyncl, is now YouTube chief business officer, YouTube will also experiment in the original content space. </p>
<p>On the list of <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/02/youtube-red-originals-netflix/">original content</a> is a series featuring one of YouTube biggest stars, PewDiePie, entitled Scare PewDiePie.</p>
<p>David Alpert, president of Skybound Entertainment, producer of the series, <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/02/youtube-red-originals-netflix/">stated</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of the things that was great was, because we did it for YouTube, we didn’t have this standardised length format […] We said, ‘Let’s just make the episode great.’ That part was really freeing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But Alpert also <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/02/youtube-red-originals-netflix/">notes</a> that YouTube’s original content does differ from Netflix’s, particularly due to the flexibility in the length of shows, which breaks free from old commercial television conventions.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8tEsxbCl21E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Scare PewDiePie trailer.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>YouTube Red original content also includes feature films, such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5333882/">A Trip to Unicorn Island</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5017928/">Dance Camp</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3864024/">Lazer Team</a>. Dance Camp features YouTube star Meg DeAngelis, along with cameos from a number of other YouTubers.</p>
<p>The head of scripted content for YouTube Red, Tim Shey, <a href="http://www.wired.com/2016/02/youtube-red-originals-netflix/">said</a> this is all part of “giving YouTube’s biggest fans what they want”.</p>
<p>This is also a way for YouTube to make sure that its “stars” don’t use YouTube as a stepping stone to <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youtube-stars-invade-hollywood-how-874812">traditional film studios</a>. One <a href="http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/lionsgate-buys-dirty-thirty-comedy-with-youtube-stars-grace-helbig-mamrie-hart-and-hannah-hart-1201629006/">example</a> was by Liongate, which recently acquired <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5521550/">Dirty Thirty</a>, with YouTube stars Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1iV6apgKXpo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h3>5) YouTube music</h3>
<p>YouTube is also launching a music app, which utilises the already existing YouTube music video library, rather than creating an entirely new service and library. By using this approach, YouTube has also “avoided the need to <a href="http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/05/youtube-red-is-now-available-in-australia/">renegotiate payment</a> deals with artists”. </p>
<p>In addition to the services available via the YouTube music app, YouTube Red subscribers will get access to premium <a href="https://play.google.com/store/music?hl=en">Google Play Music</a>. </p>
<p>One of the unique features of the YouTube Red service is that it is providing both video-on-demand and music streaming, which are typically offered by different services, such as Netflix and Spotify.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uwj1qFPnhow?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>YouTube big down under</h2>
<p>Many of the YouTube Red features are focused around mobile or portable devices. This is due to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html">fact that</a> more than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices.</p>
<p>In Australia, from March 2013 to March 2015, the Australian YouTube net <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6296-website-visitation-by-mobile-phone-and-tablet-march-2015-201506220138">monthly audience</a> grew 14%. Mobile devices viewing of the site also increased during the same period from 36% to 53%.</p>
<p>Nielsen <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2015/tv-still-the-most-watched-screen-for-connected-aussie-kids.html">reported</a> last year that “YouTube and the ABC are currently key providers in the Australian market” for online video content. </p>
<p>The launch of the YouTube Kids app <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/mobile-phones/google-launches-youtube-app-for-australias-techsavvy-twoyearolds/news-story/c634114fa498c2b3e3bf5879177cb7ef">late last year</a> and the <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/youtube-launched-its-gaming-app-in-australia-today/">YouTube Gaming app</a> this year, in addition to YouTube Red, will continue to assist YouTube in building on its engagement with younger Australians. </p>
<p>Mr Kyncl, YouTube chief business officer, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/youtube-red-launches-in-australia-and-new-zealand/news-story/74ba9cbe91c0f431123e5f8ed7ef8f0f">said earlier</a> in the year that, “our focus is on the under-35s”. </p>
<p>But with YouTube now providing a subscription based services, this places it in competition with companies it has not brushed up against in the past.</p>
<h2>Competition</h2>
<p>YouTube Red’s launch in Australia is also set to shake up the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">VoD market</a>. </p>
<p>While Netflix has achieved considerable uptake, Stan and Presto are yet to be declared success stories. Both Stan and Presto had a recent reprieve with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">demise of Quickflix</a>. </p>
<p>But they now face a new international competitor at a time when it is predicted that VoD will reach <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2016/video-on-demand-to-reach-two-thirds-of-online-population-in-2016.html">two-thirds of online Australians</a> over 16 years old. </p>
<p>That said, YouTube <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/youtube-red-launches-in-australia-to-challenge-netflix-presto-spotify-and-apple-music/news-story/1554d647757e07a78b4e2f7625e91555">maintains</a> that it is offering a different product from traditional VoD services. </p>
<p>What makes YouTube Red interestingly different is its likely appeal for a younger audience, who have been abandoning traditional television. </p>
<p>But it remains to be seen if they will pay for content, and whether YouTube Red wins over subscribers from existing VoD services in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59656/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>There’s a new video-on-demand service in Australia, and it might shake up the sector given its unconventional approach and appeal to young people who shun traditional television viewing.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/545402016-02-16T18:22:46Z2016-02-16T18:22:46ZRegional TV fights back as more programmes are ‘broadcast’ online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111606/original/image-20160216-22587-1oguh5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nine's new online streaming service means it can reach beyond its metro boundaries, and regional broadcasters are not happy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Antonio Guillem</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s broadcasting regulations are under question again following the announcement last week that a regional broadcaster has <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/win-takes-nine-to-court-over-live-streaming-345668">launched legal action</a> against live streaming online by a rival metro broadcaster, with which it has a programming deal.</p>
<p>WIN television’s owner, Bruce Gordon, argues the Nine Network’s <a href="https://www.9now.com.au/live">9Now</a> service violates an agreement with the metro broadcaster by live-streaming its channels into regional areas in which WIN holds commercial TV broadcast licences.</p>
<p>Nine’s streaming service allows anyone in Australia access to the station’s broadcast via any device with an internet connection. The definition of “broadcast” will be a key argument within the case and whether live-streaming is the same as the traditional broadcast of television stations.</p>
<p>The aim of the legal action is to prevent the Nine’s live stream from being accessed within regional areas where the WIN network’s broadcast is available. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111245/original/image-20160211-29185-1k1jvoz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bruce Gordon’s media interests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ACMA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Essentially Gordon is hoping to <a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-the-geoblock-australians-embrace-vpns-32373">geoblock</a> Nine’s stream, similar to the debate associated with <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/">Netflix</a> since the US-based Video on Demand (VoD) service went <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-is-everywhere-almost-so-what-does-this-mean-for-local-media-52857">global</a>. </p>
<p>But this increase in live streaming and VoD online continues to raise questions over the future of linear broadcast television in Australia.</p>
<h2>Australian live streaming services</h2>
<p>Nine’s streaming service was <a href="http://mi9.com.au/article.aspx?id=9080034">launched</a> at the beginning of February this year. But Nine was not the first Australian free-to-air (FTA) station to start live streaming its broadcasts. </p>
<p>The Seven Network’s live stream, <a href="https://au.tv.yahoo.com/plus7/live/">Plus 7</a>, launched <a href="http://www.mediaweek.com.au/live-streaming-for-seven-7two-and-7mate/">late last year</a>. Seven also used the tennis and its 7Tennis app as a way to <a href="http://decidertv.com/page/2016/1/17/7-tennis-app-now-available-on-the-big-screen-with-appletv-7tennis-appletv">entice the Australian audience</a> to use the live stream services. </p>
<p>The Ten Network is the only commercial broadcaster to not provide a full live stream. Although the station has a limited <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/live">live stream</a> service that includes programmes such as The Bold and the Beautiful, TEN Eyewitness News First at Five and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!. </p>
<h2>Winners and losers</h2>
<p>Gordon is the first to launch legal action over the streaming services by metro based commercial FTA broadcasters. It was made very clear last year that regional broadcaster were <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/prime-and-other-regional-tv-networks-take-aim-at-new-plus7-mobile-app-in-media-reform-push-313297">less than supportive</a> of the Seven Network’s Plus 7 launch. </p>
<p>Seven launched the new service by asking viewers: what if you could take your TV anywhere?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vvBRgR_9rDA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Seven TV everywhere TV ad.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if you can take your TV everywhere, then there are issues associated with media ownership. Regional broadcasters currently don’t have live-streaming services, meaning any viewer who watches a live commercial television stream would be watching the metro-based service. </p>
<p>For the regional broadcasters, this means they are losing out on any advertising revenue they receive with their traditional broadcast business model. For the viewer, it means they will not receive the any local regional content, such as local news.</p>
<p>The regional broadcasters are fighting back and have launched a campaign called <a href="http://www.saveourvoices.com.au/">Save Our Voices</a>, arguing the media laws are “stuck in the last century”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/drm6vEkS0u8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Save Our Voice Campaign.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Media ownership laws outdated?</h2>
<p>There have been a number of changes in the television industry within Australia in the past few years. The current media ownership laws <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Media-ownership-and-control/Ownership-and-control-rules/statutory-control-rules-media-ownership-control-acma">say</a> no commercial television license holder can broadcast to more than 75% of the Australian population.</p>
<p>Currently the three commercial networks have the following <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Media-ownership-and-control/Ownership-and-control-rules/statutory-control-rules-media-ownership-control-acma">population reach</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Seven 73.81%</li>
<li>Nine 73.55%</li>
<li>Ten 66.70%.</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition there are also rules on the <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Media-ownership-and-control/Ownership-and-control-rules/statutory-control-rules-media-ownership-control-acma">cross ownership of media</a>, including television and radio broadcasting.</p>
<p>The snapshot below shows the interlinking across the media ownership in Australia. What’s absent is the ownership of the Australian VoD services, <a href="https://www.presto.com.au/">Presto</a> and <a href="https://www.stan.com.au/">Stan</a>, in which Foxtel, Fairfax, Seven and Nine have interests.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111418/original/image-20160214-29188-1uu72gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian media interest snapshot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ACMA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is clear that these ownership laws are outdated and do not factor in the immense changes that have occurred recently in the television industry. Television stations now not only broadcast linear content to a television set, but also use the internet as a method allowing streaming to internet connected devices.</p>
<p>All Australian television stations now have catch-up services, including the ABC’s <a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/">iView</a> and SBS’s <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/">On Demand</a>.</p>
<p>That means all stations now have access to a potential audience beyond the broadcast restriction of no more 75% of the Australian population.</p>
<p>I would suggest the ownership laws need to be reviewed in light of these developments. Not only is the ownership an issue, but also the platforms that are incorporated into the ownership laws.</p>
<h2>Live streaming of sport</h2>
<p>In addition to the policy factor, there are questions associated with the live stream of FTA broadcasts and the impact this has on recent sport media rights deals.</p>
<p>Both the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-the-afl-gets-richer-who-gets-richer-with-it-46321">AFL</a> and the <a href="http://www.nrl.com/nrl-broadcast-rights-deal-announced/tabid/10874/newsid/91023/default.aspx">NRL</a> have completed <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-the-afl-gets-richer-who-gets-richer-with-it-46321">billion dollar media deals</a>, with the digital rights encompassed as part of these rights.</p>
<p>How will the live streaming by Seven and Nine impact these deals? Seven is involved with <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-the-afl-gets-richer-who-gets-richer-with-it-46321">AFL deal</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/foxtel-boxed-into-a-corner-as-sport-streaming-takes-hold-46074">Nine with NRL</a>. Nine will soon start discussions with Cricket Australia as the media rights <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-sportscasting-cricket-australia-launches-on-apple-tv-35253">will soon expire</a>. Will the new live streaming service by the FTA broadcasters play a part in these discussions?</p>
<p>Telstra <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/telstra-afl-nrl-win-live-footy-court-battle-20120426-1xoth.html">successfully sued</a> Optus over a copyright breach for both the NRL and AFL in 2012. So there is evidence of live streaming being an issue in association to media right deals, particularly sport.</p>
<h2>Australian television will continue to change</h2>
<p>The local commercial broadcasters involved in VoD services are battling with the global Netflix to gain subscriptions. Ten is also the only one of the three metro commercial FTA broadcasters not to have involvement with a VoD service. </p>
<p>This is a market that is yet to get any easier. I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-is-everywhere-almost-so-what-does-this-mean-for-local-media-52857">said before</a> that I believe we would see more reality and sport on commercial television as a way to focus on a service not provided by the new VoD services. </p>
<p>But now even the reality programmes are about to have another spin in Australia with the launch of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/gadgets-on-the-go/nbcuniversals-hayu-streams-reality-tv-overdose-as-pay-tv-bundle-is-reborn-20160212-gmsd3j.html">Hayu</a>, a new VoD service specially focused on reality TV. The <a href="http://www.nbcuniversal.com/">NBCUniversal</a> service will have many of the titles which are available Foxtel and on Nine’s 9Life.</p>
<p>In addition, Disney is planning to <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/disney-plots-australian-svod-service-20160212-gmsuye.html">launch a VoD service</a> in Australia, possibly in a deal with a local telecommunications company. This could impact on Foxtel, which currently has four dedicated channels containing Disney content. </p>
<p>It is clear the Australian television industry, including the VoD services, is continuing to change at a far greater rate than we have ever seen. Policy changes will not be able to keep up pace with this rate of change. </p>
<p>The live streaming services by metro broadcasters have again brought Australian media ownership laws into focus. If television stations can now stream online, therefore effective reaching all Australians (with internet access), then the media ownership reach rule is redundant.</p>
<p>But what impact will this have on regional broadcasters, their content and regional audiences? We may find out some answers when WIN’s case against Nine reaches the NSW Supreme Court, due in April.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>The rise on live streaming of television programs is breaking down the protected geographical barriers on what you can watch, and the regional broadcasters are not happy.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/528572016-01-08T04:26:22Z2016-01-08T04:26:22ZNetflix is everywhere (almost), so what does this mean for local media?<p>In his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35247309">announced that Netflix</a> will now be available in 130 new countries. This sees Netflix more than triple its global presence. </p>
<p>The world map of Netflix availability on the company’s website is now a <a href="https://help.netflix.com/en/node/14164">sea of red</a>. Among the countries yet to have access to Netflix is China, although the company is exploring this. Crimea, North Korea and Syria are also yet to be included due to <a href="https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-is-now-available-around-the-world">United States government restrictions</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5TR-NRpkW9I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Netflix CES 2016 Keynote - Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos - Highlights.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So what does <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23netflixeverywhere&src=typd">#NetflixEverywhere</a> – as it was dubbed on social media – mean for the new media landscape globally and in Australia?</p>
<h2>Competitors in the VoD market</h2>
<p>While Netflix’s <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv/netflix-have-made-a-huge-new-decision-that-will-change-the-lives-of-millions/news-story/f3df3305c7ac5a751d8c4e3db4cdf364">main video on demand (VoD) competitors</a> are seen to be <a href="http://www.hbo.com/">HBO</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.hulu.com">Hulu</a>, their current global reach is small scale in comparison.</p>
<p>Hulu is <a href="http://m.hulu.jp/m/faq/en">only available</a> in the US and Japan. <a href="https://order.hbonow.com">HBO Now</a> is <a href="https://order.hbonow.com/providers">available</a> solely in the US and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=2676882011">Amazon Prime Video</a> is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=help_search_1-1?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201423000&qid=1452156681&sr=1-1">only available</a> to customers located in the US and US territories.</p>
<p>In Australia the main VoD competitors are the locally owned <a href="https://www.presto.com.au/">Presto</a> and <a href="https://www.stan.com.au/">Stan</a>. But the uptake of the locally owned VoD services of only 1%, doesn’t come close to Australia’s uptake of Netflix which by September last year was close to <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/news/netflix-reaches-2-2m-australians-but-growth-is-slowing-down">10%</a>.</p>
<h2>Netflix original content to be expanded</h2>
<p>Netflix is well known for its original content: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2372162/">Orange is the New Black</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1856010/">House of Cards</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2707408/">Narcos</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431438/">Sense8</a> and Marvel’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322312/">Daredevil</a> to name a few.</p>
<p>The colossal expansion of Netflix can only provide more opportunity for original content, both globally and within the local market.</p>
<p>In a statement, Hastings <a href="https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-is-now-available-around-the-world">noted</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The statement also listed the original content for 2016 to include:</p>
<ul>
<li>31 new and returning original series </li>
<li>24 original feature films and documentaries </li>
<li>a wide range of stand-up comedy specials<br></li>
<li>30 original kids series.</li>
</ul>
<p>It is unclear where this content will be produced, but the Netflix original content will be available at the same time to subscribers everywhere. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GvQs89U_tV0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Netflix original content.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately not all content available on Netflix will be released globally. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv/netflix-have-made-a-huge-new-decision-that-will-change-the-lives-of-millions/news-story/f3df3305c7ac5a751d8c4e3db4cdf364">licensing contract</a> Netflix has with Walt Disney allows the service the rights to Disney films after a theatrical release, but will be limited to only the US and Canada. This shows a clear disconnect between the distribution business models and distribution potential for streaming services.</p>
<p>This staggered release approach is often cited to be part of the reason for high rates of <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-convicts-to-pirates-australias-dubious-legacy-of-illegal-downloading-39912">piracy in Australia</a>, although recently there has been a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-drop-in-illegal-movie-downloads-in-australia-49042">small decline</a>.</p>
<h2>Local impacts</h2>
<p>These limitations on distribution will assist Australian media companies in the rights battle locally, in particular Foxtel. </p>
<p>In the middle of last year, Foxtel’s CEO Richard Freudenstein <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/08/foxtel-ceo-says-netflix-is-like-the-digital-video-store/">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Foxtel is a premium service, which naturally costs a bit more, whereas Netflix and Presto are add-ons either to free to air for people who don’t watch much TV or to subscription TV.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Despite this claim there has been a large price drop on Foxtel services to compete with the new VoD services.</p>
<p>Netflix is now a global media network with almost full global reach. Last year, prior to the launch in an additional 130 countries, Netflix subscribers <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv/netflix-have-made-a-huge-new-decision-that-will-change-the-lives-of-millions/news-story/f3df3305c7ac5a751d8c4e3db4cdf364">watched</a> 42.5 billion hours of content.</p>
<p>It was also revealed that Netflix subscribers are watching on average 13 hours of content on a weekly basis. These hours of viewing are replacing other recreational time, presumably conventional television viewing.</p>
<h2>Viewing habits have already changed</h2>
<p>An analysis of figures from the Australian <a href="http://www.oztam.com.au/whatsnew.aspx">multi-screen quarterly reports</a>, which monitor people’s viewing habits, show there has already been a drop in television viewing hours by Australians, of more than 18 hours per month between 2011 to 2015. In the same period online video viewing has increased by ten hours per month.</p>
<p>If specifically analysing the teen and 18-24 year old demographics the statistics are more damaging for traditional television viewing. Teens on average watch less than half that of the overall Australian monthly average, 38 hours and 18-24 year olds watch 40 hours on average per month.</p>
<p>With regard to online video viewing, teens watch more than double the Australian average, 28 hours, with the 18-24 demographic watching 22 hours per month. Both demographics viewed fewer than five hours of online video in 2011. </p>
<p>With the increase in smart television purchases in Australia, this will provide greater access to VoD services such as Netflix. This is in addition to the services being available via mobile and portable devices. Recently Apple TV used Netflix programming as part of its advertising campaign for the new Apple TV, titled The Future of Television.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OON2bZdqVzs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Apple TV Ad.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The return of live TV</h2>
<p>For Australian television broadcasters we may see a focus on providing content that Netflix won’t, such as live content. This will include more reality and sport programming. It’s interesting to note then, that television is verging back to a live medium, as it started in Australia almost 60 years ago.</p>
<p>It is clear that Australian viewing habits are continuing to change. Netflix is yet to have its first birthday in Australia, but the 10% uptake is impressive. This is compared to <a href="http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/telstras-penn-facing-technology-tsunamai-20150709-gi8upk">Foxtel’s 30% uptake</a>, for a company that started more that 20 years ago. </p>
<p>With Netflix now “everywhere”, there is potential for Australians to benefit from this, including more content and hopefully more Australian content.</p>
<p>The caution for Netflix must be to provide content for the local markets, not just a one-size-fits-all approach across more than 190 countries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>Netflix took everyone by surprise when it announced it was tripling its global reach for video on demand. So who are the winners and potential losers in the new deal?Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.