tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/local-culture-8660/articlesLocal culture – The Conversation2022-01-17T13:26:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1741662022-01-17T13:26:44Z2022-01-17T13:26:44ZDecolonising Shakespeare: setting Othello in Ghana and Pericles in Glasgow<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440855/original/file-20220114-17-ouoeto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C0%2C5116%2C3573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sculpture-famous-playwright-william-shakespeare-situated-286574348">Chris Dorney/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the last few years, the issue of decolonising the curriculum has become a <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/decolonise-education-we-need-ask-different-questions">growing concern</a> for UK universities. This means recognising the <a href="https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2020/07/14/the-legacies-of-colonialism/">legacy of western colonialism</a> and rethinking the way we teach and research. </p>
<p>Decolonising Shakespeare, with its historic links to English national identity, language and culture is a particularly knotty challenge. Shakespeare was writing in a country that had <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/slavery/pdf/britain-and-the-trade.pdf">begun to trade in slaves</a> just two years before his birth, and the racist attitudes that enabled slavery to flourish can be seen in <a href="https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/discover/blogs-and-features/2020/05/26/anti-racist-shakespeare/">many of his plays</a>. However, Shakespeare remains central to many national education systems around the world, including nations with historic colonial links to Britain. </p>
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<p>Though successful reinterpretations of Shakespeare <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17811639">exist</a>, our <a href="http://www.globalshakespeares.wordpress.com/">performance research project</a> aimed to look at how actors around the world could claim Shakespeare for themselves by including specific aspects of local culture in their performance. We wanted to see what new meaning this would bring to the text, and then use this approach with our students in Scotland.</p>
<p>The point of this project is to disrupt and reposition the cultural narratives revealed in the traditional performing of Shakespeare’s plays, in particular challenging the idea that notions of culture, heritage and values “flow out of” the colonial power and “flow into” colonised countries.</p>
<p>Inspired by the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa’s <a href="http://shakespeare.org.za/lockdown-shakespeare">#lockdownshakespeare</a> initiative, we established two key principles for our international collaboration: all participants should film themselves on mobile phones and all pieces should be filmed using a local setting. As well as making the process accessible, it prompted those taking part to carefully consider their location and its potential connection to the text.</p>
<h2>The play’s the thing</h2>
<p>In November 2021, under the guidance of international Shakespeare expert <a href="http://www.bencrystal.com/">Ben Crystal</a>, we invited Ghanaian theatre group <a href="https://act4changegh.jimdofree.com/">Act for Change</a>, India’s Salaam Shakespeare Naatak Company and Brazil’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/cenaiv/">Cena IV</a>, along with our first-year BA Performance students, to record extracts from Shakespeare’s works in their own locations, with total freedom to adapt the language and setting. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An actor playing Iago on the streets of Jamestown Ghana." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440762/original/file-20220113-23-1u86u6u.png?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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Collins Seymah Smith playing Iago in Othello on the streets of Jamestown, Ghana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of the West of Scotland</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>One of the most interesting parts of the project was how the Ghanaian Act For Change group influenced and inspired a student group working in Glasgow. Jamestown, a coastal fishing district in Accra, is one of the oldest areas of Ghana’s capital city and has recently been reinvented as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/apr/28/accra-jamestown-ghana-zoe-adjonyoh-chef-interview">vibrant arts scene</a>. </p>
<p>Working in a converted warehouse from British colonial times, Nii Kwartelai Quartey and Collins Seymah Smith chose to explore <a href="https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/Play.aspx?Content=Synopsis&WorkId=9">Othello</a>. They focused on the <em>sumanj)le</em> (suman-jolae), a large bandana-style handkerchief commonly worn in the area. One of the possible origins of the word is “seaman jolly” and refers to a handkerchief given by a fisherman to his lover as a sign of their romance. </p>
<p>In Othello, the tragic death of Desdemona is linked to a handkerchief, which Othello has given to her as a token of his love, symbolising her fidelity. Act For Change recorded a short extract from the play on the streets of Jamestown where Smith, playing Iago, Othello’s jealous friend (and villain of the play), is dressed as a local fisherman, wearing a <em>sumanj)le</em> and repairing a fishing net. </p>
<p>In this way, they reference the entangled relationship between Iago, Desdemona and Othello through the visual metaphor of the fishing net. By rooting their interpretation of Shakespeare firmly in the cultural context of Jamestown, new layers of significance are revealed that get right to the heart of the play.</p>
<p>In Smith’s version, as Iago sits crafting the net of lies that will catch Desdemona, he does so wearing the <em>sumanj)le</em>. This gives the audience a clear visual image of how she will be trapped because of her perceived unfaithfulness – she loses her handkerchief, but Iago encourages Othello to believe she has given it to another. His wearing of the <em>sumanj)le</em> connects to Desdemona’s handkerchief, decolonising the text through the use of something that is specific to the actor’s local culture to highlight Iago’s treachery and draw out the meaning of the play. </p>
<p>The success of this approach prompted Scottish students taking part to ask themselves what objects and locations from their own culture could be used in their adaptations of Shakespeare’s <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/pericles-prince-tyre/">Pericles</a>. One group working on <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/pericles/pericles.2.1.html">Act 2 Scene 1</a> chose to reinterpret the fishermen who discover Pericles washed up on the shores of North Africa as a group of recently unemployed Glasgow dock workers who find a stranger in the River Clyde.</p>
<p>In the original, it’s the discovery of his father’s armour that leads Pericles to rediscover his purpose and serves to make clear to the fishermen that Pericles is a man of noble stock. In the specifically Glasgow-updated Pericles, his protective armour is changed to a life-saving bottle of <a href="https://www.agbarr.co.uk/our-brands/barr-soft-drinks/irn-bru/">Irn-Bru</a> (in Scotland this bright orange drink is regarded as an essential pick-me-up after a big night out). Deciding to use this object, the group adapted the text:</p>
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<p>It hath been a shield<br>
Twixt me and death; bangin’ hangover cure.</p>
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<h2>Think global, act local</h2>
<p>In both examples, the groups’ interpretations of Shakespeare focus on objects that represent their local culture rather than the text itself. Neither group is worried about whether the audience understand the importance of Irn-Bru or the sumanj)le. The objects instead serve as the key to unlock the text – for the performers. By working in this way, they are able to present more current and relevant interpretations of Shakespeare.</p>
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<img alt="Screen split into four showing separate scenes of Shakespeare being performed in four different countries, Ghana, Brazil, India and Scotland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440730/original/file-20220113-15-e129et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Four scenes of Shakespeare being performed in Ghana, Brazil, India and Scotland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of the West of Scotland</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>This approach, led by Act for Change in Ghana and then tested in Scotland, revealed how innovations in Shakespeare performance in the global south adopted in the global north can lead to practical ways to decolonise Shakespeare.</p>
<p>Focusing on the local setting and culture makes the works more relatable to the actors and more engaging to global audiences by illuminating new layers of meaning and introducing new ways of interpreting Shakespeare.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Disrupting and repositioning the traditional narratives of Shakespeare’s plays helps to challenge western notions of culture, heritage and values.Henry Bell, Senior Lecturer in Performance, University of the West of ScotlandStephen Collins, Lecturer, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1329352020-03-09T17:04:48Z2020-03-09T17:04:48ZDon’t blame dating apps for your terrible love life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319340/original/file-20200309-118960-11a84wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-woman-dining-luxury-restaurante-alone-1190181997">Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dating apps are killing dating, or so some people would have you believe. Some journalists have argued that Tinder, Grindr and all the rest have not only <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/12/tinder-changed-dating/578698">“ushered in a new era in the history of romance”</a> but that they are even leading to a <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating">“dating apocalypse”</a> by making dating an unpleasant competition for mates instead of a fun search for a partner.</p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-dating-apps-for-your-terrible-love-life-132935&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>But we can’t solely blame dating apps for the way people use them. Technology has always played a role in courtship rituals, from lonely hearts ads in newspapers to the cars and cinemas that helped shape the romantic trope of taking a date to see a movie. From the emergence of the telephone through to social media, dating culture is bound up and has always <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/view/9781433139567/xhtml/chapter21.xhtml#ch_54">coexisted with technology</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, apps have added new experiences to dating and helped lead to a <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2019/08/21/online-dating-popular-way-u-s-couples-meet/">huge shift</a> in the way people first meet potential partners. But technology’s impact depends on the surrounding culture.</p>
<p>The problem with an incessant focus on apps as the main force pushing us to new frontiers in dating, is that it tends to swipe aside the dating differences among different communities, such as what actually counts as a date. Indeed, it completely ignores the role of people in shaping what dating apps are used for and how.</p>
<h2>Context is vital</h2>
<p>Anthropologist Daniel Miller and his colleagues addressed this point in their 2016 <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/83038">study</a>, How the World Changed Social Media, which looked at social media use in nine different locations around the world. Unsurprisingly, it found different cultural contexts led to completely different uses of social media. The apps didn’t alter how people were behaving but rather people changed and repurposed the way the platforms worked for them.</p>
<p>Something that seemed mundane and normal in one context was almost impossible to fathom when transplaced somewhere else. For example, ethnographer Elisabetta Costa talked to <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/collections/anthropology/products/83107">women in southeast Turkey</a> about how they used Facebook. Her participants were amazed to discover that people in some countries commonly had only one Facebook account and that it would contain their real details. “Don’t they use pseudonyms or fake profiles?” said one respondent. “I can’t believe it. How could it be possible?”.</p>
<p>I am making similar discoveries as part of my ongoing research in Berlin looking at the local cultural context behind dating app use. For example, one Lithuanian interviewee suggested to me that arranging a Tinder date in Berlin had completely different cultural connotations than doing so in Vilnius. The former might entail grabbing a casual beer while the latter would not be seen as a date unless it ended in dinner at a restaurant.</p>
<p>We should treat dating apps with the understanding that it is the users, and their particular cultural circumstances, who drive the impact of the technology. You can introduce the same piece of technology to 100 different communities and it will be used in 100 different ways. As such, dating apps are a tool embedded in the culture of a particular location. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319341/original/file-20200309-57209-1fppjyx.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">
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<span class="caption">Chatting online is just as much a part of real life as meeting in person.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smiling-african-american-friends-meet-together-1069186610">Wayhome/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Also, dating apps are not an isolated phenomenon. They have blossomed from a culture that already involves a large number of our daily interactions with other people taking place online. And the idea that meeting virtually is a distinct way of interacting, that it is separate and different from “real life”, is itself incorrect, because these interactions are now simply <a href="https://ee.openlibhums.org/article/id/822/">a facet of our everyday lives</a>. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/83038">Daniel Miller argues</a>, we wouldn’t say that a telephone call is not part of “real life”. And so talking to people via email, instant message, social media and dating apps are all just different aspects of our broader sphere of communication.</p>
<p>It is certainly not the case that technology is driving people apart. There is <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-024-1790-6_7">mounting evidence</a> to counter the idea that social media and dating apps are contributing to the problem of social ties in human relations weakening. Instead, we should think about technology rearranging how social ties are maintained, based on how culture influences the way we use the technology. The medium may change but the end product is not drastically different.</p>
<p>A couple in Berlin may meet via a dating app instead of through friends or work. But whether this couple are after friendship, sex or love, the odds are that their first date will still see them getting a drink at a neighbourhood bar, because that’s what people in Berlin have done for the past 30 years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132935/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fabian Broeker receives funding for his PhD from the Arts & Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Research suggests the impact of dating apps depends on your local dating culture – and that varies hugely around the world.Fabian Broeker, PhD Candidate in Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/879972017-12-19T19:22:59Z2017-12-19T19:22:59ZTourists are happy when taken off the beaten track, and smaller cities and towns can tap into that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198084/original/file-20171207-31525-34dwwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Yes, it's a beautiful part of the world, but what sets Ballyhoura apart is the deliberate focus on a warm, local welcome.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendotcarter/5611373774/in/photolist-9xRKVG-3CF4mc-eijciU-cpxLvC-ab4pyk-9onsMx-9xRL7Y-ab4BsZ-eidsvi-cpya51-9onsuF-eidso6-cpxMcf-UsjXJt-eidsui-9onsJv-ab42Ze-cpy8Ao-ab4x9r-Tniq85-7MnFzy-cpyeiQ-cpxMHj-9ontmF-9onsAi-9onsNi-9onsz4-9xNML6-ab4dV4-6iAnnm-7Ers45-ab4ytr-ab4q8c-ab4ssr-ab4f1R-5c8B8U-9oqukE-9ontsn-7yUTJr-cpy6F1-cpxJUu-cpxW7N-ab4zmP-cpycSG-7ErtfS-TnipWJ-cpxS81-cpy9F5-6iAiAq-ab4sWB">stephendotcarter/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Big cities and places with internationally renowned attractions have long been the most popular tourist destinations. Even today, Chinese tour companies in Australia, for instance, mostly <a href="https://epubs.scu.edu.au/tourism_pubs/2219/">focus on the biggest cities</a> – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane – and landmarks like Uluru. But modern tourism is starting to take a slightly different path, regional travel, which creates economic benefits for towns and also leaves tourists with a better impression of a country.</p>
<p>Unpublished research undertaken by one of us (Elizabeth Turenko) while working as a tour leader in Ukraine in 2013-2014 confirmed this. Feedback from guests travelling on a group tour to Europe showed 80% preferred to visit “well-known” large cities, mostly capitals, when it came to choosing a tour. </p>
<p>Most of the time, though, these tourists were disappointed because the cities did not live up to their expectations. But, the study revealed, 75% of tourists enjoyed travelling to smaller towns when they did decide to visit them as part of a tour.</p>
<h2>Big cities are losing their local flavour</h2>
<p>There is no doubt the major cities are attractive and are still perceived as the essence of a country for many tourists. Yet the question remains: are these cities actually showing the “real country”? At a time of globalisation and global cities, to what extent do the larger cities still give tourists “the taste” of local culture.</p>
<p>Rural Tourism Marketing Group CEO <a href="http://ruraltourismmarketing.com/">Joanna Steele</a> <a href="http://www.cfra.org/node/2504">writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the past five years tourism has seen some big changes. Large numbers of travellers have lost interest in cookie-cutter restaurants, lodging and attractions. Instead, they want local food, local attractions and connection to the lifestyles of local people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The best places to experience that are often small local towns and villages. Here life hasn’t yet been adapted to tourist needs and the authenticity feels right.</p>
<p>Turenko also investigated the tourists’ preferences during a group bus tour in Europe. The main program involved a one-day visit to Amsterdam and a second day on which tourists could spend their free time in Amsterdam or go on a group trip to <a href="https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/plan-your-trip/day-trips/old-holland/smalltown-harbours/volendam">Volendam</a>, a small town 20km away. The 90% of the group who opted for the town visit were very satisfied with their decision.</p>
<p>So, was there anything special about Volendam? Not really.</p>
<p>Much like many small towns in the Netherlands, Volendam has limited tourist attractions, these being mostly its built heritage (wooden buildings) and cultural assets (a museum and a cheese factory). When surveyed, the visitors explained they enjoyed the glimpse into the local culture and the routine life of the locals.</p>
<p>The tourists appreciated going to local shops and eating at local restaurants far away from standardised brands and international franchises. They felt they could feel the “soul” of the country.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198072/original/file-20171207-31532-jx8b4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What does Volendam have that Amsterdam doesn’t? It probably comes down to everyday local character.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the time of this 2014 survey, cities and holidays at the coast were the <a href="https://www.nbtc.nl/web/file?uuid=7361722f-011d-4714-b98b-8ced3eee1bb2&owner=388ad020-d235-4624-86a4-d899f855a216&contentid=48712">main attractions for visitors to the Netherlands</a> (36% and 22%, respectively). But interest in the countryside and touring the Netherlands (12% and 10%, respectively) has been increasing.</p>
<h2>Finding a local tourism niche</h2>
<p>Let’s be frank: smaller towns and villages have not been dormant, and many have jumped at the opportunities offered by tourism. We all have heard about farm holidays, horse riding, wine tasting tours, nature guided walks and so on. </p>
<p>Building on this, innovative regional tourism practices have been recognised worldwide for displaying a breadth of approaches and end products. A good example in Ireland is <a href="http://visitballyhoura.com/">Ballyhoura</a>, “a world where the little pleasures of sharing everyday things with the locals in Ballyhoura – talking with them, walking with them and sharing a joke – is possibly the greatest attraction of them all!” </p>
<p>Despite a lack of outstanding tourism resources, the area became a successful tourism destination thanks to a very personalised marketing method. Visitors even received a welcoming letter. The focus on “<a href="http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/csi13476/$FILE/Rural-Tourism.pdf">promoting a genuine rural experience and warm welcome</a>” creates an incentive for more local start-up enterprises and for a co-operative, closing-the-loop process of quality control.</p>
<p>Longreach and Winton are Australian towns that have taken advantage of distinctive local histories and features such as old mines and fossil beds. Longreach has the <a href="http://outbackheritage.com.au/">Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame</a> and the <a href="https://qfom.com.au/">Qantas Founders Museum</a>, while Winton’s <a href="http://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com/">Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum</a> offers “products” of the natural environment such as dinosaur stamps and bones.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/196454/original/file-20171127-2004-xmtv11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nowhere else has one: the Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Shrimpton/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet all attempts have not been met with success. Many smaller towns are slowly disappearing in Australia. Main streets with closed shops and abandoned business are not uncommon.</p>
<p>The combination of lack of employment and population ageing and loss is a chicken-and-egg situation. The various levels of government are acutely aware of this, and tourism offers a possible way out of the dilemma facing these towns. Several recent initiatives have shown how tourism can contribute to the development of these areas when innovation, expertise and community participation are brought together. </p>
<p>Charleville in far west Queensland offers a great example of this, with the outback town working on making the most of its clear nighttime skies, far from the city lights. An extension to the <a href="http://www.cosmoscentre.com/">Cosmos Centre and Observatory</a>, <a href="https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/index.php/regional-development/regional-economic-development/building-our-regions/remote-communities-infrastructure-fund/1385-charleville-cosmos-centre-planetarium-stage-1">funded by state and local governments</a>, has boosted visitor numbers in just one year. The extension displays fun and serious facts about planets and life in space, enhanced by interactive media. </p>
<p>For the town of fewer than 4,000 people, the growth in tourism is like a nice spring rain after a long dry season. It’s another reminder of why rural tourism can be “<a href="https://www.conversational.com/rural-tourism-the-perfect-small-town-business-idea/">the perfect small town business idea</a>”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karine Dupre is currently working on the Top Secret Precinct Master Plan for the Murweh Shire as a consultant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Turenko 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 big cities are still magnets for tourists, but often they find the smaller towns offer a more satisfying taste of local life. It’s why rural tourism can be ‘the perfect small town business idea’.Elizabeth Turenko, PhD Candidate, Griffith UniversityKarine Dupré, Associate Professor in Architecture, Griffith 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/221982014-01-22T06:47:47Z2014-01-22T06:47:47ZWorld’s musical hotspots face threat of creeping gentrification<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39564/original/fhyyc3gv-1390309174.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How many more days and nights?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Man Alive!</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The music venue Night and Day in Manchester <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/night-day-cafe-under-threat-6512779">is threatened</a> following complaints from residents living nearby about noise. They suggested <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/night-day-cafe-neighbour-receives-6519139">pictures fell from walls because the bass was so loud"</a>.</p>
<p>The venue, however, has been a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/20/guy-garvey-night-and-day-manchester">stalwart of Manchester’s music scene</a>, and many well-known musicians including Johnny Marr, Tim Burgess and Frank Turner have given their support to keeping Night and Day open. Sadly, this tension between the entertainment industry and urban residents is an all too familiar story. Many venues are continually being closed by metropolitan authorities responding to residents’ demands.</p>
<p>Portland, Oregon is a city that has seen this tension severely affect its music scene. Like Manchester, Portland has a strong reputation for being a very creative and musical city. Artists such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nppb01xhfe0">Esperanaza Spalding</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sw61oITuts">The Decemberists</a> were nurtured by Portland and have now won Grammy awards and topped the charts. </p>
<p>The city’s only all-ages music venue Backspace recently closed following the decision by the landlord not to renew the venue’s tenure. Local paper <a href="http://www.wweek.com/portland/">Willamette Week</a> reported that owner David Gould felt that <a href="http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-30865-the_end_of_backspace_as_we_know_it.html">“music is not compatible with rest of tenants in the building”</a>. </p>
<p>The site of Backspace was situated within the city’s prestigious Pearl District, a previously industrial area that has been subject to gentrification in an effort by the city to attract young professionals working in the wider creative industries. With Portland’s emphasis on musical creativity, it might seem surprising that live music is an issue with the residents. This presents the paradox of gentrification: these areas wish to attract creative business types, but this results in the repression of the more independent creativity of the pre-existing community. </p>
<p>There has recently been much research into the impact of gentrification upon musical cities. Post-industrial society recognises the need to attract the creative industries, and gentrification accelerates what is a natural economic process. But sadly, it tends to be the case that the commercial nature of this creative class tends to swamp the local, earthy creativity of these designated areas and zones.</p>
<p>[A recent article](http://rucforsk.ruc.dk/site/en/publications/music-performance-and-the-changing-city(8ad88510-19a8-11df-bf02-000ea68e967b.html) by Fabian Holt looked into how a series of local venues in New York, Copenhagen and Berlin have been closed down resulting from gentrification. She details a pattern of commercial venues moving in to creatively developing areas to cash in on the new resident’s needs and desires.</p>
<p>These commercial venues are somewhat homogenised – think of <a href="http://www.academy-music-group.co.uk/home/">The Academy Group</a>, for example. Whilst employing the local community, they don’t usually provide performance opportunities for local musicians. Communities need venues that foster the early stages of music performance development, a place for teenage bands to play Nirvana covers to their mates, giving them that crucial performing experience. Venues such as SO 36 in Berlin, CBGBs in New York and Copenhagen’s Umdongshuset have all fallen victim to gentrification. This could also be the fate of Night and Day.</p>
<p>Manchester’s Northern Quarter has a reputation for attracting creative types due to its wide array of cultural happenings, from live gigs to art exhibitions. The area however has been gentrified, and following the pattern is developing as a place for cultural industry – but this industry is pitting commercialism against community creative. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. </p>
<p>As councils across the UK seek to create cultural zones to develop post-industrial creative economies there is of course a need to attract money making business. But currently this means that the fundamental creativity of the area is being threatened. </p>
<p>Whose opinion should be more valid? The incoming residents, or the loved, worn, venue? Of course, both sides have a point. There needs to be a better way of addressing this question, protocol that should be followed, in order to avoid our creative neighbourhoods becoming bland. </p>
<p>Night and Day <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/night-day-cafe-boost-sound-6533215">is likely to survive</a>, but it is another example of the constant threat faced by such important venues. More attention and discussion needs to be paid to the issue, or we will open our eyes one day and realise that all of our local culture has disappeared.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Murray 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 music venue Night and Day in Manchester is threatened following complaints from residents living nearby about noise. They suggested pictures fell from walls because the bass was so loud". The venue…Samuel Murray, PhD Student of the Ethnography of Popular Music, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.