Werewolf #48 : Russel Norman & Godzilla - Saving The Planet

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Enter the Wolf!

Hi and welcome to the 48th edition of Werewolf, in which we continue to interview the nation’s political leaders in the (possibly mistaken) belief that more information will make the decision about who to vote for on September 20 a less irrational choice. This month, we interview Greens co-leader Russel Norman, who has recently unveiled the Greens’ new/old carbon tax idea – now snazzily refitted with cuts to (a) income tax and (b) company tax in a move that once again shows the Greens cannot be readily placed anywhere along a traditional left/right spectrum. Glory be. Can the Greens have now become a solid, mainstream political alternative that – virtually by default – seems the only party with a fresh and credible vision for the country’s economic direction? Perhaps so. Are they also about to face serious competition on the centre-left from Internet Mana – or not so much ?

Elsewhere in this issue Alison McCulloch reports back on a collection of Asia/Pacific journalism from one of this country’s unsung media heroes, David Robie. Meanwhile, Anne Russell reacts to the viral Look Up video and analyses its simple-minded message that we should all unplug the Internet and reconnect with’ real’ life. Huh. Anne wheels up some heavy friends (Marshall McLuhan and Michel Foucault) to show why that’s a road to nowhere. In his film column this month, Philip Matthews does a great job of explaining why the new Godzilla is alone again, naturally. Our planetary saviour needs and deserves a friend - even though, for a mere nature allegory, Godzilla leaves a lot of collateral damage in its wake. Elsewhere in popular culture, we interview Deena Mohamed, the young Egyptian student whose Qahera comic introduced us to a burka-wearing Muslim superhero who kicks patriarchal ass. We also contemplate the awesomeness that is Heathers, the black comedy about teen suicide, high school hell etc that is 25 years old this year. Well, f*** me with a chainsaw.

Out in the Bay Area, Rosalea Barker takes us on a regal trip through the sights, railway gauges and fine pastries of Romania. In a separate article, Rosalea also analyses the minimum wage - and its role during the tech boom that’s currently driving the cost of rent through the roof in San Francisco and Seattle. (Seattle in particular is doing something about it by substantially raising the minimum wage.) Can a minimum wage hike save capitalism from itself? We shall see. In his satirical column this month, Lyndon Hood takes over Prime Minister John Key’s Twitter feed. In our Complicatist music column this month, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of De La Soul’s wondrous 3 Feet High & Rising CD, the most beloved hip hop album of all time and – on the side - a righteous blow against restrictive copyright law.

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