Australia's Royle Family exists in The Castle

My exploration into Australian culture has been progressing nicely, I'm currently mid way through The Bogan Delusion by David Nicholls a book that aims to explore the term bogan (Australian cousin of the CHAV - council housing and violent), what impact it has on society and whether it is just another way of exploiting the working class.

The Castle, recommended to me by some of my Australian peers who have been aiding me in cultural exploration is referenced in the book. Its a cute film about a backwater family trying to save their home from a large corporation looking to build another runway at Melbourne airport, they have the government in their pockets and a compulsory purchase order in hand. It offers a snapshot of Aussie bogan life, I found comparisons between The Royle Family in its down to earth humour. Most Australians have seen it, however it wasn't released beyond these shores, fortunately its easily downloadable and worth a watch. Eric Bana makes his acting debut, it was filmed over 11 days in 1997 and cost a mere $19,000 AUD to make.

Dandy of the Bacongo

My fascination with the dandy aesthetic remains inescapable, alas my writing skills cannot be stretched into delivering a rousing appreciation of Daniele Tamagni's book Gentleman of the Bacongo for Crack. Due to budget restrictions / photograph license fees my feature has been pulled, I want to take a few minutes to appreciate the Sapeurs that brighten up and arouse my fashion senses into a state on euphoric contentment. It makes me want to go and seek out these dapper dudes and take my own pictures, however I am suspicious as to whether they would perform for my lens as well as Daniele's... Gentlemen of the Bacongo is available online from Trolleybooks or the Here Gallery, Stokes Croft, Bristol.


Images scavenged from the internet