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From a perspective of some eighty years it is possible to misunderstand or underestimate the intensity of the fears—but also the hopes and aspirations—of the British people as they faced up to another colossal existential challenge, less than a full generation after what, it was now suddenly clear, had only been the first world war.
Sep 10 2024
11 mins
The Republican presidential contender is an acquired taste. Given the alternative, it's a taste persnickety conservatives should make the effort to acquire
Sep 09 2024
4 mins
Bombs, Away
The ‘war is hell’ genre of movies is nothing new, but don’t let that put you off The Hurt Locker. Also, don’t get sucked into New Idea-level discussions of Team Bigelow versus Team Cameron (ex-husband and wife) in the great Oscars faceoff. Equally, if you think this is going to be an anti-Iraq-war tirade, you will be wrong again.
The Hurt Locker is, quite simply, a very good film indeed. It is well made; it is well-structured, exciting, and plausible. (Unless you’re an ex-serviceman from that particular theatre of war, of course, and they have been vocal in their criticism of the technical mistakes in the movie). However, unlike the ex-Mr Bigelow’s rival anti-war flick, Avatar, The Hurt Locker remains plausible on a deeper human level. The characters, all of them, have depth, development, and plenty of subtlety. It deals with a complex culture-clash in a sensitive and nuanced way. It’s a thinker movie: if it weren’t, then we could send in, say, Bruce Willis or Matt Damon, or…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins
