Culture

  • From soap to drama and back again

    Given a chance, it's a patient on ER I'd be. The opportunity to be wheeled from out of the Chicago cold into the healing hands of Drs Greene, Ross, Benton or Carter is my idea of a good day out. With Nurse Hathaway in charge, I'd

  • The chains of the American myth

    Review by Eva Cheng Buddha Bless AmericaStarring Lin Cheng-sheng, Chiang Shu-na, Yang Tzong-hsien and Lee Hsin-tzongDirected and written by Wu Nien-jenSydney Film Festival, June 6-20, State Theatre and Pitt Centre Buddha Bless America,

  • Learning from a history of struggle

    Socialism and the struggle for the rights of lesbians and gay menNew Course, 1997. 47 pp., $5. Review by Rebecca Meckelburg The release of this pamphlet, containing a resolution from the 1995 national conference of the Democratic Socialist

  • Home truths about a black history

    The Governor's FamilyBy Beatrix ChristianDirected by Neil ArmfieldCast: Aaron Blabey, Arthur Dignam, David Field, Gillian Jones, Jacqueline McKenzie, Urshula YovichCompany B, at the Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney, until June 15. Review by Allen

  • Short story: Travel allowances

    A short story by Craig Cormick I had just reached the outskirts of Canberra when I saw the hitchhiker. Standing by the side of the Federal Highway. Thumb out. I had a quick look at him, ready to look away again. But he held my interest. He

  • Dying from the capitalist dream

    Death of a SalesmanBy Arthur MillerDirected by Sandra BatesEnsemble TheatrePlayhouse, Sydney Opera House Review by Brendan Doyle First staged in 1949 but still powerfully relevant, Miller's best-known play Death of a Salesman is as searing and

  • The evolution of a rebel music

    Get Up, Stand Up: A History of ReggaeSBSMonday, May 19, 8.30pm (8pm in SA) Review by Norm Dixon Reggae is the world's favourite Caribbean music. It is Jamaica's most famous export. Between 1970 and the early 1980s, it ranked as one of the

  • Memoirs of a courageous and dedicated fighter

    Slovo: The Unfinished AutobiographyBy Joe Slovo. Foreword by Nelson MandelaMelbourne: Ocean Press, 1997. 296 pp., $29.95 Review by Norm Dixon The subtitle of this book is an understatement. As autobiography, it is little more than a collection

  • Refusing to play the postmodern game

    Ludic Feminism and After: Postmodernism, Desire, and Labor in Late CapitalismBy Teresa EbertUniversity of Michigan Press, 1996. 338 pp., $25.95 Review by Greg Ogle For those, like me, who had to consult a dictionary to find out what ludic means,

  • A gutsy working-class fairytale

    The CastleCity and suburban cinemas Review by Brendan Doyle A bloke's home is his castle, right? Wrong. That's the big illusion of tow truck driver Darryl Kerrigan, who built his own emoh ruo next to the airport because land was cheap. When

  • Poem:

    Poem: "Oh, Alonya's OK" "Oh, Alonya's OK" They don't see the water retreatacross the eyes of their children,and hear the love pumping out over the sand,"that is sunset", they say to themselves,missing the bubbles in the blood. for while

  • Powerful people's opera

    Powerful people's opera Little CityBy Irine VelaPresented by Brisbane Ethnic Music and Arts Centre Inc.Until May 11Culturebank, West End, Brisbane Review by Lynda Hansen This is a story about a community's last ditch attempt to persuade an