The Memes of Production: A cultural studies weblog

Part two of my brief assessments of this year’s Eurovision contestants (part one is here).

In this second half of the draw, the piano ballad is king, although there is a fair range of styles from Eurodisco to bat-shit crazy. It also contains the favourite, Sweden, although it remains to be seen if the bookmakers have to pay out on that one.

Tomorrow I’ll post my opinions about the “big six”: that is, the five western European countries that bank-roll the event and the previous year’s winner, in this case, Azerbaijan.

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Well it’s that time again. Yes, we are off to Baku in Azerbaijan for Eurovision 2012. This will be the most easterly Eurovision ever, and the first time it has been hosted in Eastern Europe—Latvia in 2003 and Ukraine in 2005 are the closest the competition has come to the countries that seem to take it the most seriously.

Below the fold are my frankly ill-informed assessments of the first semifinal contestants, based on a single hearing of the Youtube video. There are presented in alphabetical order rather than performance because… well, because. I was going to add links, but I couldn’t be bothered. The Eurovision site is here.

I’ll be back in the next couple of days with the second semifinal contestants. In the meantime, enjoy :-)

A group of us went to see The Avengers last night. The movie was fantastic, the night was fabulous, and hey, even if the plot was a little light on, I can happily sit and watch Robert Downey Jnr as Iron Man for hours. I thoroughly enjoyed each of the movies focusing on individual characters that led up to this one, even Captain America, which surprised me somewhat. If you’re after a good night out, I’d certainly recommend going to see it.

In spite of all this, I find it hard to put the media scholar in me to bed long enough to avoid analysing it.

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Well, I did it. I wasn’t going to, but with all those friendly reminders, how could I not? I filled out the Government’s marriage survey (which closes today, by the way).

I don’t know whether it was someone forwarding me a letter by Jim Wallace that was the final straw, or the assumption that because I am a Christian I would automatically share the same views as my Christian family members.

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Apparently Senator Rachel Siewert is going to try living on $17 a day for a week to highlight the plight of people trying to survive on dole payments, which are well below the level they realistically need to be. ACOSS on Twitter is asking what everyone thinks of this. 140 characters is not nearly long enough to for me to say what I think, so I’ll do it here. And a week is not nearly long enough for a challenge, well intentioned though the Senator may be.

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Tree trunks are brown. Right? That’s what we teach little kids, and that is what they faithfully reproduce in their drawings.

Yes, tree trunks are brown. Except sometimes they are not . . .

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Nominations for the 2012 Hugo Awards were announced overnight. You can find the full list here. Nominations for best novel are:

Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
A Dance With Dragons, George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline, Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)
Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

Jo Walton and China Miéville have the chance to make it a Hugo/Nebula double.

In other interesting news, the five nominations for “Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form” include three episodes of Doctor Who (“The Doctor’s Wife”, “The Girl Who Waited”, and “A Good Man Goes to War”), and an episode of Community (“Remedial Chaos Theory”). I must say, I never expected to see an episode of Community on a Hugos list, but the nominated ep is a masterpiece of alternative reality fiction. I wouldn’t be surprised if it picked up the gong: Doctor Who has owned the category for half a decade, and this must grate a little on US voters, but as much as I loved “The Doctor’s Wife” (screenwriter: Neil Gaiman), “Remedial Chaos Theory” was almost flawless television.

Winners will be announced at the World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, 30 August – 3 September.

[Department of blatant self-promotion]

My latest paper has just been published in Altitude. Please cite repeatedly in prestigious journals…

Abstract: Following Zygmunt Bauman’s provocation that times of physical and ideological insecurity lead to an appeal to the ideals of community, this paper considers the way in which history and community are reconstructed at the Caboolture Historical Village, an open-air museum north of Brisbane. The village privileges the region’s pioneer past and the period evoked is rural, late nineteenth century, largely excluding any references to Caboolture’s modern, urban history. An analysis of the site reveals that the version of community on display is narrowly constructed around the ideals of hard work, individualism, and piety, and reveals an emphasis on technological progress and innovation to the exclusion of the lives of the people whose lives are ostensibly commemorated. This paper contends that this idealised construction of an homogeneous, unified past that excludes problematic figures such as aborigines and migrants serves a conservative fantasy of the “good old days” where issues were black and white, community consensus was assumed, and external threats were easily identified and repelled. It argues that in a postmodern world of cosmopolitanism, international migration, and global terror, places like the Caboolture Historical Village increase their appeal in an uncertain world.

Gunders, John. “Created Communities: Caboolture Historical Village.” Altitude 10 (2012).

Available here [pdf 184kb]

Overnight the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2011 Nebula awards. It was also announced that the recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Grand Master Award for lifetime contributions and achievements in the field will be awarded to two-time winner (1992, 2010) Connie Willis, who has also received Hugo awards for best novel in 1992, 1999, and 2010.

Kameron Hurley and Genevieve Valentine are the only first-time nominees for best novel. Jack McDevitt won in 2007 with Seeker.

The winners will be announced in May.

Novel
Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

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I’m doing some work at present for a friend who researches in the area of sustainable housing. Wendy is currently trying to recruit participants for a study of how homes respond in heat waves and how well homes perform in terms of heating/cooling in relation to approved design and construction plans. If you’re in Brisbane or Townsville, and interested in participating, please read on.

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