Thread

Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU

254 points · 216 comments · doener

mindwok · 1789603159 · focus · HN ↗
As an Australian, I have noticed a shift personally in feeling like I identify more with "European" culture, compared to 10 years ago I felt like we were the 51st state and I felt very close with the US.
This seems to be shared by others, I remember reading there was a survey that asked Australians who they felt our closest international friend was. The US was the top answer for over a decade, having stolen the crown from the UK I think in the late 90s or something. Recently though, it switched to New Zealand.
1. cosmic_cheese · 1789604501 · focus · HN ↗
  From the American side it felt like we had more cross-pollination with Australia in the 90s than in the decades following. Disney even had a studio out there that animated some of the TV shows it aired in the US (and presumably in Australia too).
  Not sure what changed.
  1. carefree-bob · 1789605249 · focus · HN ↗
    Apart from the "Crocodile Dundee" and "Men at Work" phenomena in the late 80s, there is no real cultural pollination between Australia and the US, as far as I can tell. It's too far away and there are no real reasons for Americans to visit, nor are there enough internationally notable Australian music brands, films, or products that give visibility to the country, which is one price of being a commodity producing nation rather than finished goods. We know about Japanese and British prodigious cultural output, Japanese manufactures, German cars and Swiss machine tools and watches, but what product makes Australia stand out? Coal, copper, etc.
    Didn't Australia used to have an auto industry? I kinda feel like Australia stopped producing culturally relevant output in the late 80s or 90s.
    tecoholic · 1789606360 · focus · HN ↗
    Haven’t Australians just moved to US - Keith Urban, Chris Hemsworth, Russel Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and the list goes on … it’s not the same way as Japanese’s or Korean output, because English as the native language makes the transition seamless and doesn’t stand out.
    Oh! I forgot JIRA and Atlassian are Australian too :D Now you really can’t deny you haven’t felt the Australian influence in your life. Lol
    carefree-bob · 1789606970 · focus · HN ↗
    That's a good point, the US might just be sucking all the culturally relevant output out of the country.
    2muchcoffeeman · 1789611524 · focus · HN ↗
    I think Australia imports too much American culture. So we want to participate in the same culture. So the stars try and get work in Hollywood.
    At least singers participating in K Pop bands is within the region.
    It’s too bad because Australia produces some really good stuff and most of it never gets the attention it deserves, not even from Australians.
    inkyoto · 1789607680 · focus · HN ↗
    That is a relatively recent change.
    In the 80-90's, the most popular destination for Australians was the UK: Nick Cave, Kylie Minogue, Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance fame) and many others moved up there.
    dofm · 1789611433 · focus · HN ↗
    Canva, Blackmagic Design.
    Wifi, actually, was developed there (CSIRO patents)
    Danox · 1789614603 · focus · HN ↗
    Blackmagic Design is it very good company no excuses. They support all three platforms.
    protocolture · 1789615420 · focus · HN ↗
    >Wifi, actually, was developed there (CSIRO patents)
    Ehhh thats more like CSIRO patent trolls for wifi.
    My recollection is that the particular trick they patented was already in use in CDMA networks, the CSIRO did it using 2.4GHz on a low power device and called it a new invention. But honestly it reeks of Microsoft pursuing anyone using a file allocation table
    astrange · 1789624028 · focus · HN ↗
    rsync, seL4, Google Photos and Maps, Jira and Confluence
    Danox · 1789614117 · focus · HN ↗
    Most are probably on the west coast California, Washington, Oregon and Canada (British Columbia). And let’s not forget Hawaii.
    pinchydev · 1789606469 · focus · HN ↗
    Don't forget Bluey :)
    (which like most good Australian innovations only became global when it was licensed to another country, in Bluey's case the BBC/UK)
    Loudergood · 1789608398 · focus · HN ↗
    US Childrens television is full of Commonwealth media. TVO in Ontario is an absolute childrens media powerhouse.
    This cultural sharing and integration has been a massive strength, and I'm horrified that we have people that want to throw it away.
    [deleted] · 1789606593 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    a34729t · 1789609216 · focus · HN ↗
    Re autos, IIRC Holden shut down in the late 2000s. But the Australian economy (and Canadian, for that matter) is just houses and holes.
    mindwok · 1789623789 · focus · HN ↗
    We prefer rocks and reef tours thank you.
    sincarne · 1789648352 · focus · HN ↗
    Canada’s tech, finance, agriculture, and energy industries would like a word.
    sklargh · 1789609928 · focus · HN ↗
    Holden, truly an incredible brand. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Ute" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Ute
    wlalchia · 1789616417 · focus · HN ↗
    found the bogan
    sklargh · 1789839438 · focus · HN ↗
    I cannot deny myself a V8 dropped ute
    carefree-bob · 1789620777 · focus · HN ↗
    Oh nice! I follow automotive youtube, and Tavarish recently worked on one of those: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s
    dofm · 1789610411 · focus · HN ↗
    You rely heavily on Australia for both blockbuster and character actors. If they aren’t already British or Irish or Canadian, they are likely Aussies (or New Zealanders - sometimes seems like you barely have any actors of broad ability who you haven’t imported).
    Margot Robbie, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Chris Hemsworth (all three Hemsworths!), Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving, Eric Bana, Rose Byrne, Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, Judy Davis, Anthony and Jonathan LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery, Rachel Griffiths, Miranda Otto, Portia De Rossi, Jacob Elordi… the list goes on and on and on (and includes the late Heath Ledger and Errol Flynn). These are just the easiest ones to name!
    Directors: absolutely loads of them actually but notably Baz Lurhmann, Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford.
    Films: Mad Max series, Gallipoli, Dead Calm, Muriel’s Wedding, Priscilla Queen of The Desert, Walkabout, Picnic At Hanging Rock, Sirens, The Piano, Rabbit Proof Fence, Lantana, Moulin Rouge, The Babadook, Daybreakers, The Great Gatsby. (Baz Lurhmann obviously ranks high here)
    Again just the easiest ones.
    (Also if you have never seen it: Mary & Max. Thank me later)
    Also: Bluey!!!!
    Now stop making me defend Australians, I’m British. There’s a rivalry to maintain here for both our sakes.
    protocolture · 1789614809 · focus · HN ↗
    >Pom >Almost but not quite able to finish the post without whinging.
    Checks out.
    dofm · 1789655628 · focus · HN ↗
    ^^ spot the bogan ;-)
    No grasp of when to quit while you're ahead.
    If I'd wanted to score a negative point I would have listed the trans-national bigot Mel Gibson (only American by birth) along with Mad Max.
    (Though that reminds me — in the films list I forgot to mention his debut film Tim, which is a lovely film that definitely had a US distribution and a US co-star)
    protocolture · 1789682869 · focus · HN ↗
    >I could have whinged even more!
    Maybe not the amazing argument you thought it was.
    dofm · 1789684232 · focus · HN ↗
    Mate. I was being funny. Now you're not. Get it together. Maybe put a chip on the other shoulder, balance yourself out.
    protocolture · 1789684806 · focus · HN ↗
    I legit thought you were playing up the stereotype to be funny and commented to that effect.
    throw0101c · 1789611363 · focus · HN ↗
    > "Men at Work"
    I was confused for a little while:
    * <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_at_Work_(1990_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_at_Work_(1990_film)
    tim333 · 1789655507 · focus · HN ↗
    I think it might be <a href="https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s
  2. -0_0- · 1789607602 · focus · HN ↗
    There was a really great writeup by someone who worked in that Disney animation shop on a blog I once stumbled on - he wrote about how he took on the 'job of a lifetime' as a teenager while his mother was terminally ill and how that impacts your priorities.
    Incredibly moving read that I unfortunately can't find now, but it covered how the Sydney office ended, from memory it was a combination of CGI changing the industry, and cost - Australian wages weren't cheap and the studio was mostly used for producing direct-to-video sequels which was a market that dried up.
    The actual big influence on the Australian-American cross pollination though, I suspect, was Rupert Murdoch's expansion into the American film and TV industry. For all his faults, he was a big champion of talent from his homeland in both his movies and Fox TV network. Even the infamous Simpsons Australia episode was likely influenced by the big influence of Australians at Fox at that time.
    snypher · 1789612376 · focus · HN ↗
    Was it James Baker?
    <a href="https://www.james-baker.com/news/the-inbetweener/" rel="nofollow">https://www.james-baker.com/news/the-inbetweener/
  3. sbseitz · 1789612982 · focus · HN ↗
    Trump.
    apercu · 1789651006 · focus · HN ↗
    Also the GOP. They stopped being "conservative" a long time ago and became performative terrorists.

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