Culture – Page 8 – Openforum https://www.openforum.com.au Open Forum offers an independent platform for Australian debate Wed, 27 Mar 2024 21:57:31 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 Qatar’s controversial World Cup https://www.openforum.com.au/qatars-controversial-world-cup/ Sun, 20 Nov 2022 20:38:54 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=40434 Few people, even the FIFA officials bribed to promote it, think that staging the World Cup in Qatar is a good idea, but events over the next month will decide whether or not the tiny gulf state has pulled it off.

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Songlines, dreaming tracks and Aboriginal mapping https://www.openforum.com.au/songlines-dreaming-tracks-and-aboriginal-mapping/ Tue, 08 Nov 2022 20:35:33 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=40245 Songlines, or dreaming tracks, mark the routes followed by localised "creator-beings" in indigenous Australian culture. These paths are recorded in traditional song cycles, stories, dance, and art, and are often the basis of ceremonies connecting native people to their land.

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The Red Poppy Awards https://www.openforum.com.au/the-red-poppy-awards/ Mon, 07 Nov 2022 20:41:25 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=40226 Matt Nable’s "Transfusion", starring Sam Worthington, has won the coveted Red Poppy Award for Best Film at Sydney's Veterans Film Festival.

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The King of horror fiction https://www.openforum.com.au/the-king-of-horror-fiction/ Sat, 29 Oct 2022 20:26:53 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=40013 Despite being run over by a van in 1999, 'retiring' in 2002 and rarely nailing a good ending, Stephen King remains the world's biggest selling horror writer, with over 65 novels under his belt.

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Who goes where? https://www.openforum.com.au/who-goes-where/ Fri, 28 Oct 2022 21:36:36 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39991 The BBC has sold the global streaming rights for new Doctor Who episodes to Disney +, ending sixty years of free to air access on Australia's ABC.

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Not just a song and dance man https://www.openforum.com.au/not-just-a-song-and-dance-man/ Mon, 24 Oct 2022 20:24:09 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39882 Bob Dylan once called himself just a 'song and dance man', but he's much more than that. Perhaps the greatest modern song-writer, he has just released a book on the 'philosophy of modern song', but his creative process harks back to ancient traditions of writing poetry.

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Veterans film festival comes to Sydney https://www.openforum.com.au/veterans-film-festival-comes-to-sydney/ Wed, 12 Oct 2022 13:18:55 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39705 The 7th Veterans Film Festival will be held in Sydney for the first-time next month, showcasing over 20 new and retrospective films, hosting the prestigious Red Poppy Awards and offering an eclectic program of art, master classes and script readings.

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A fine romance https://www.openforum.com.au/a-fine-romance/ Fri, 07 Oct 2022 23:20:07 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39632 Romance novels seldom garner much critical interest but it remains one of the most popular genres of fiction, boasting sales which dwarf those of literary fiction.

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Sad girl chic https://www.openforum.com.au/sad-girl-chic/ Tue, 04 Oct 2022 02:11:21 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39567 Ottessa Moshfegh is to literature what Billie Eilish is to music, and both are laughing all the way to the bank.

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Understanding the Mandela effect https://www.openforum.com.au/understanding-the-mandela-effect/ Sat, 24 Sep 2022 00:30:49 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39435 The Mandela effect - the curious phenomenon of people sharing similar false memories about certain cultural icons - offers insight into how falsehoods originate and persist in a wider range of social and political situations.

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Socrates the great https://www.openforum.com.au/socrates-the-great/ Wed, 21 Sep 2022 23:01:14 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39389 Although he never wrote a word on paper, the Oracle of Delphi declared Socrates the wisest of all human beings and his life and death has shaped the history of Western thought.

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The uses and abuses of religion https://www.openforum.com.au/the-uses-and-abuses-of-religion/ Mon, 19 Sep 2022 20:25:51 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=39360 Although the basic premise of religions is the same, throughout history politicians and military leaders have blatantly used it to gain control.

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