Scoop  Top Scoops

 

Werewolf Edition #47 : ANZAC Day Redux

Wednesday, 23 April 2014, 11:09 am
Article: Werewolf

Werewolf Edition #47 : ANZAC Day Redux

From Werewolf Editor Gordon Campbell

http://werewolf.co.nz/

Enter the Wolf!

Hi and welcome to the 47th edition of Werewolf, published on the eve of Anzac Day. Its become a cliché to describe Gallipolli as the crucible of this country’s identity, yet hold on...Isn’t our national identity supposed to be bi-cultural...and wouldn’t that suggest that the New Zealand Wars of the 19th century is a more important crucible of national identity than those fought on foreign soil ? Yet as Alison McCulloch eloquently reveals in this month’s cover story , New Zealand devotes a mere fraction of its attention span and funding resources to commemorating the New Zealand Wars compared to what it devotes to the two world wars, Vietnam and Afghanistan. In a separate article, Anne Russell traces the evolution of Anzac Day events and protest to the current consensus that has come to exist on Anzac Day , where commemoration has come somehow come to be seen as an entirely positive event on the national calendar.

Given that the Christchurch rebuild is the dynamo of the domestic economy, we analyse this month just how many of the high paying jobs involved will accrue to women . Furthermore, we ask whether training and retraining in the trades may be a more lucrative and satisfying career path for many women than the traditional route to a university degree. In September Scotland will vote on independence – and this month, we consider the evidence that the pro-union side of the debate may be losing the plot . In this month’s story about the uber rich, we make the best case that we can muster for showing a little condescending compassion now and then, for the obscenely wealthy, as they paddle around their swimming pools wondering if it was all worthwhile.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

We have three movie & television related features in this issue. Rosalea Barker writes about the documentary film At Berkeley , and what it tells us about the survival tactics of a great university in the 21st century. In our essay about the Iranian film The Past , we wonder how a repressive theocracy is managing to produce some of the most creative and entertaining films in modern cinema. Lastly, Benjamin Neikrie recalls the valuable lessons in civics taught to him by The West Wing TV series, and he argues that we need more of the same idealism to counteract our pervasive cynicism about political life and the positive role that government can play in it. In her travel piece on Moldova Rosalea Barker records her reaction to life on the edge of the modern Russian empire . In his satirical column this month, Lyndon Hood goes suitably gaga over the recent royal visitation . In our music column The Complicatist this month, we briefly examine the short sad life of Jackson C Frank, before homing in on Mark Kozelek , the bard of Middle Aged Melancholy.

Thanks once again to Lyndon H. and to Alastair Thompson for helping me post this online. And thanks to everyone who’s shown an interest in reading Werewolf and keeping it going. If you want to be involved and talk over some story ideas, contact me at gordon@scoop.co.nz

Cheers,
Gordon Campbell
Werewolf/Scoop
gordon@werewolf.co.nz

The contents of this edition are:

Lest We Remember
As millions of dollars are spent on World War I and the Anzacs, the 150th anniversary of the wars at home are getting short shrift
by Alison McCulloch

Anzac Day : Identity Politics, With Guns
There’s a void in our sense of nationalism, and Anzac Day is how we choose to fill it
by Anne Russell

Trading In Stereotypes
In the Christchurch rebuild, will women miss out on most of the high-paying jobs?
by Gordon Campbell

Out Of The Past
In films like A Separation and The Past, Asghar Farhadi has become Iran’s most celebrated cultural export. There’s a price.
by Gordon Campbell

Scotland On The Brink
Are the wheels falling off the Better Together campaign against Scottish independence?
by Gerry Hassan

Sympathy For The One Per Cent
The uber-rich have problems, too
by Gordon Campbell

Berkeley : Surviving the 21st Century
A personal view of Frederick Wiseman’s documentary At Berkeley
by Rosalea Barker

From The Hood : Fol-De-Royal
Werewolf wasn’t paying close attention to the royal tour but we thought we’d have a go at the whole coverage thing anyway.
by Lyndon Hood

Aspirational Television
West Wing And The Lost Political Dream
by Benjamin Neikrie

Travelling Light : In the Borderlands of Putin’s Empire
Where In The World Is Chisinau, Moldova?
by Rosalea Barker

The Complicatist : Jackson C. Frank, Mark Kozelek
The love songs of the middle-aged mope
by Gordon Campbell

THE IMPORTANT BIT - WHY WEREWOLF?
from Scoop General Manager Alastair Thompson

Werewolf is all about finding a new way to enable quality journalism to thrive in an online environment and a key part of that effort is soliciting support from our readers.

Our estimate is that for every 300 monthly subscribers we gain we will be able to afford to employ one professional journalist. We have a way to go - but it is not such a high mountain to climb.

Already several Scoop readers have decided to subscribe on a recurring monthly basis. We thank them greatly. But more are needed.

The links to use to make donations via credit card are.

$10 Per Month Sustaining Subscription
http://scoop.co.nz/go/subscribe10.html

$15 Per Month Sustaining Subscription
http://scoop.co.nz/go/subscribe15.html

$25 Per Month Sustaining Subscription
http://scoop.co.nz/go/subscribe25.html

Or if you prefer you can set up an automatic payment to our bank account"
Automatic payment to our bank account:
Westpac - Scoop Media Ltd. 03-0502-0254668-000
We would also encourage you to consider approaching your friends to also become Scoop Sustaining Subscribers.

Become a Scoop Sustaining Subscriber - join the alternative to the mainstream media mind-set!

In the meantime we would be very keen to hear any feedback you have on the publication or this subscription project - please reply to this email or email werewolf@scoop.co.nz with suggestions, bouquets or brickbats. This is very much a work in progress and we are very keen to understand the subscriber perspective on this.

Best Regards

Alastair Thompson
Scoop.co.nz General Manager

© Scoop Media