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

254 points · 216 comments · doener

  1. mindwok · · 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 · · 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. -0_0- · · 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.

        1. snypher · · focus · HN ↗
          Was it James Baker?

          <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.james-baker.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;the-inbetweener&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.james-baker.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;the-inbetweener&#x2F;

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