Culture

  • The anatomy of PC

    The anatomy of PC The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on Higher EducationBy John K. WilsonDuke University Press, 1995205 pp., $28.50 (p)Reviewed by Lisa Macdonald John K. Wilson has documented a huge array of right-wing

  • Jailed for nothing in 'the land of the free'

    The Cuban Excludables. The Cutting EdgeSBSTuesday, September 24, 8.30pm (8 SA)Previewed by Jill Hickson This is a very moving portrayal of human rights abuses in the United States against Cuban immigrants who were among those in the Mariel boat lift

  • Hippie froth subsides into a whimper

    Out of My Mind: From Flower Power to the Third Millennium: the Seventies, the Eighties and the NinetiesBy Richard NevillePenguin, 1996. 216 pp., $16.95 (pb)Reviewed by Phil Shannon Take one ageing hippie from the '60s, add three decades of

  • Poem: Dole Coat

    Dole Coat They made them wear their coats of pride, dyed as mark of "shame", symbol of outstretched hand of poverty and loss. Worn on fields of death, splattered with courage's blood and hardship's grime, a badge of honour

  • Poem: Plaza Del Chelmsford

    Plaza Del Chelmsford In the Plaza del Mayo in Argentina, The Mothers of the "disappeared" stand With their white hankies in their hand, And say: "We want our loved ones Back as they were." Mary, the mother of Jesus, Did see her beloved

  • Good clean criminal fun

    Body of EvidenceThe One Extra CompanySt George's Hall, 354 King St, NewtownUntil September 29Reviewed by Lisa Macdonald If you, like me, are into good crime fiction, then try to get along to Body of Evidence. Celebrating 20 years of performance

  • Singing of struggle

    If you have attended a left political event around Sydney in the last eight years, you almost certainly have heard PETER HICKS singing his and GEOFF FRANCIS' songs about Bougainville, East Timor, Sydney's airport noise, plus working-class songs which

  • Subtle metaphor for the 'American dream'

    Hoop DreamsDirected by Steve JamesProduced by Peter Gilbert and Federick MarxAt Greater Union CinemasReviewed by James Goodman Arthur Agee and William Gates were ordinary black US 12-year-olds when the Hoop Dreams film crew entered their lives.

  • The Iron Heel revisited

    The author Jack London is remembered — if he is remembered at all — for his wildlife adventure stories. But there is another dimension to Jack London. I can remember that my mother was greatly affected by his book The

  • The militant history of Wonthaggi

    True Stories: Black Gold, Kindred SpiritsABC TVThursday, September 26, 9.30pm (9SA)Previewed by Jennifer Thompson The ABC is bringing an important slice of working-class political history to lounge rooms in the story of the Wonthaggi coal miners in

  • Poem: Coke or Pepsi

    Coke or Pepsi It's Coke or Pepsi for government you pick, One of them's named Michael, the other one's Mic. No matter who you in the Lodge do stick It's Coke or Pepsi you get to pick. Vote for Sprite in the Upper House Or why don't you

  • History on the grand scale

    The Future Eaters: A First Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and PeoplesBy Dr. Tim FlanneryReed Books, 1994. 421 pp. with illustrations, maps, references, $29.95Reviewed by Connie Frazer Forget the petty tales of kings and dictators. This