Communications and Social Relations Group Assessment Group Members: Yolanda Redrup, Michelle Pietrangelo, Maddy Martin, Ruby Bevington Our perception of Melbourne‟s culture has been influenced by its representation in the media. Our artefacts, Cherry Bar, La Di Da, buskers and Menzies Alley are all constituents of Melbourne‟s culture. Collectively, the media have provided a commentary on how they form a part of city life. However, Melbourne goes through a process of transformations between day and night. While places like La Di Da and Cherry Bar form a part of Melbourne‟s perceived „seedy‟ nightlife, buskers and alleyways reflect Melbourne‟s artistic atmosphere.
AC/DC Lane and Cherry Bar:
Classification: Media AC/DC Lane and Cherry Bar highlight the media‟s ability to foster locations as artistic mediums to the public. To live in and know Melbourne you must become aware of this „behind-closed-door‟ culture, where a single turn down an unknown alley way could bring you closer to the cultural hub of the city. As said in a Monash University report, exploring the culture of the City of Melbourne, “cities are increasingly looking to their popular culture connections to contribute to an attractive
destination image”. It is easy to track the growth of Melbourne through its cultural uprising. AC/DC Lane was formally known as Corporation Lane before the City Council‟s decided to pay tribute to Melbourne‟s music culture. This idea of the media playing an intricate role in defining Melbourne, through its emphasis on popular culture, is exemplified through Melbourne‟s historical links to AC/DC. With cities existing from a set of ideas and images, nothing can more articulately explain the way of life and cultural imaginaries than a tangible experience such as this one. People flock to AC/DC Lane to see a little piece of history preserved in an alley way, feel a part of a movement that has occurred, and to attend the music venue, Cherry Bar, in hope of catching a glimpse of another up-and-coming band that will be as respected as those that have donned the hidden Melbourne music culture before, “like most of Melbourne‟s best night-spots, this is tucked away in a dingy laneway lined with rubbish bins. But the littered cobblestones and dank smell are an integral part of the aptly names AC/DC Lane, where you will find Cherry‟s glowing red light spilling reflections into drain water puddles." This location in Melbourne acts as a textual landmark for visitors or residents or even as “a resource for the production of individuals/social identities” (Frost, 2005). “The question is how texts establish relations with their readers as well as representations of whatever their subject matter might be”: the connotation of this Lane makes most think of stepping on sticky, beer drenched carpet, standing along-side someone you may have never met, and tapping your toe at exactly the same time. The ability to conjure such strong reactions from such a simple act is something that makes this scene an intrinsic element to the lifestyle of a Melburnian. This Lane, Bar and movement are all pieces of history that add character and insight to Melbourne. Through viewing AC/DC Lane through the media‟s creation of hype and enhancement of the public awareness we can gage more of an idea of how certain locations throughout Melbourne act as elements of identity. Again, this all comes back to enhancing the aesthetics of a city to increase its international appeal. The little touches like this one around Melbourne really increase the experience for both tourists and locals alike continuing to make sure that it is one of the most liveable cities in the world, where people can relate to each other by simply being in the same area.
AC/DC even filmed one of their music clips going down the main street of Melbourne, for their album Back in Black, which boasts the second highest selling CD of all time. The video clip works in beautiful symbiosis with the motion of the musicians against the immobile landscape that is the city of Melbourne.
La Di Da nightclub – 577 Little Bourke street (corner of King)
Classification: Media
The image above of La Di Da, one of Melbourne‟s nightclubs in the King Street district attracts many university students and communicates many messages about Melbourne‟s social relations. Both a restaurant and a club, La Di Da is open till all hours of the night attracting clubbers and private diners. Regardless of its unassuming appearance, La Di Da like many other Melbourne nightclubs now represents an unsavoury aspect of Melbourne. This has occurred through intertextuality. The media and research studies have fashioned a link between the club scene and issues such as underage drinking and illicit drug use and consequently this has formed the framing context for La Di Da‟s perception by the public. Additionally, Roche et al. (2007) have found that dangerous drinking in teenagers is considered an important aspect of socialisation and that the commercial market has exploited this belief. Such findings cause La Di Da to communicate the notion that Melbourne nightclubs foster an atmosphere of youth self-destruction despite the fact that it is actually more than just a club. It can also provide a sophisticated, private, dining experience.
Like Roche et al, Cotterell also found that drinking is a constitutive component of adolescence. “Drinking is almost a curriculum component at universities,” (Cotterell, 2007, p.175). Thus, it can be gleaned that university life is transformed into a code for accepted binge drinking.
La Di Da has come to represent this aspect of youth culture because it acts as a code. A code is something that immediately directs us to a preferred meaning. In other words, La Di Da acts as a symbol. Wood (2004) frequently references the ambiguity of symbols and the fact that meanings are contextual. It is the context of La Di Da which has lead to its symbolism of youth drinking culture. Within the past 10 years, King Street nightclubs have attracted a lot of bad publicity, some possibly being unfounded. However, the majority of the violence that occurs in King Street has not been sensationalised. With notorious locations such as Spearmint Rhino involved in the murder of Brendan Keilar by Christopher Wayne Hudson, it‟s no wonder King Street nightclubs have negative associations. Wood (2004) attributed the term feedforward to the act of considering one‟s communicative audience and then anticipating their feedback. It is likely that the owners of La Di Da are aware of its perception by the public and it has been designed with a target audience in mind. The versatile nature of La Di Da, its existence as both a restaurant and a club, suggests that it has a large target audience, it attracts people looking to enjoying the excitement of the clubbing experience and those looking for a more relaxed atmosphere.
The Melbourne nightclub scene is very competitive with more than 50 nightclubs in Melbourne‟s CBD alone. For a nightclub to be successful, it is important for it to distinguish itself from the competition. La Di Da attempts to do this by offering a more classy clubbing experience. They do not admit people who are heavily intoxicated and are quick to act if trouble is brewing inside. It also hosts a variety of well known Melbourne DJ‟s, with the regulars developing a loyal following of “La Di Da people.” They also feature international DJ‟s on occasion and this emphasises Melbourne‟s clubbing scene as contributing to Melbourne‟s position as a global city.
Buskers - Bourke Street Mall
Classification: Media
Street performing, or busking, is a century-old art form. Encompassing all forms of street entertainment including singing, music, street art and living statues, a street performer aims to entertain their audiences in exchange for gratuities and tips. Busking is legal in the City of Melbourne provided you have obtained a permit, which can be obtained on the City of Melbourne website. Not only does this demonstrate how important busking is to the City Council, but is also signifies that they also understand the value it has to the city and how “it provides atmosphere and entertainment for the streets of Melbourne.�
Witnessing a performance by a competent busker can bring out in people a sense of connection with the performer, and perhaps even with the city itself. This in turn can create the feeling of belonging. Because of its definition as an art, busking not only represents Melbourneâ€&#x;s creative nature, but also the exciting and exhilarating interactive culture that the city proudly promotes.
The idea of defining a city in terms of its people is examined by P. Hubbard. He discusses the concept of how viewing a city from above overlooks key dimensions of urban life, as well as strategies and tactics. This includes how the everyday person and their appropriation of urban space provide a cultural aspect to a city. While an architect may have intended a certain space to serve one purpose (the strategy), people instead use it to serve their own means (a tactic). If we apply this concept to buskers, we can see they change the way in which the space was
intended to be used to create their own urban geographies, in an attempt to rewrite the city as „theirs.‟ When considering viewing the city from above, we can see that the appropriation of space and hence the „culture‟ of buskers cannot be perceived, which essentially cuts out a truly cultural aspect of the city.
Buskers in Melbourne can be found almost everywhere, but the photo depicts those specifically on Bourke Street. When examining Bourke Street Mall, we consider the wide walkway and lack of obstacles that encourage the flow of human traffic - which, as Clyne notes, eliminates conversation and adds a sense of seclusion to the people of the city. Street performers however can alter this flow with their ability to construct a circular gathering of people. The resulting consequence is that not only are the street performers improving on an otherwise “soulless urban space” (pp. 7) but they also eliminate the sense of isolation the people of the city may normally feel. This in turn puts forth the notion of imagined geographies. With a busker‟s ability to use music to unify a group of people, they impart the idea of belonging to a community to those in the audience. This suggests the subtle role that busking has in turning the people into cultural aspect of the city.
With great emphasis generally placed on monuments within a city, understanding the role of the people is somewhat overshadowed. Nevertheless, in order to fully grasp the concept of a city, the concept of the people must be explored and understood.
Menzies Alley
Classification: Media
Menzies Alley explores the multiculturalism within Melbourne, offering everything from Italian cafes serving imported coffee to restaurants with the best Asian cuisine. Located behind the Melbourne Central office tower, Menzies Alley is found by either entering through the shopping mall or straight off the city‟s streets. Menzies Alley has a great Italian culture with the smell of coffee wafting from cafe to café. This creates an imagined geography as one experiences a little bit of Italy in Melbourne. The Alley generates an idea of what Italy is all about: good coffee and great food. A person visiting Melbourne may not know about the hidden laneways that exist throughout the streets (Fragul, 2009). While Menzies Alley may not be as concealed as others, it often still goes unnoticed by tourists who do not know it is there.
While some alleyways and laneways throughout Melbourne are known for the street art or graffiti present on the walls, Menzies Alley remains untouched. Some believe these alleyways are “the nation‟s most popular cultural attractions” (Avery) and should not be marked by this street art or graffiti. Melbourne continues to grow as a “cultural” city. The vast variety of places to visit and have a coffee or eat an ethnic meal in Melbourne has risen greatly as the number of Europeans basing themselves in Melbourne has risen (Tsolidis, 2009). Melbourne is becoming more ethnically aware and with places such as Menzies Alley supporting the Italian and ethnic culture, more Australians enjoy exploring “their city”. Multicultural restaurants are creating an imagined geography of Italy in a city where culture plays a formative role in the perception of the city.
Natural light is let in through the roof giving the Alley a warm and comfortable feeling. Not only are the restaurants open during the day to accommodate all the shoppers, they also stay open at night for dinner, private functions and after work drinks. All the cafes and restaurants that make up Menzies Alley are tasteful and stylish and they offer a comfortable yet trendy place to relax after a day‟s shopping. Menzies Alley is a popular place to visit or relax whilst adding an international component to the city with imported goods and an Italian culture. Menzies Alley helps bring the community together through good coffee, great food and friendly conversation.
Conclusion: While it is clear that all our artefacts have distinct differences, they have one overriding similarity. They all form a part of the Melbourneâ€&#x;s arts and entertainment scene. Whether itâ€&#x;s listening to live buskers in Bourke Street Mall, dancing at La Di Da, searching for up-andcoming artists in AC/DC Lane or having philosophical conversations over cups of coffee in Menzies Alley, Melbourne is a city of the arts.
References:
AC/DC Lane and Cherry Bar: Monash University Report: < http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a907046824&db=all>
Frost, W 2005, Working Paper, A STROLL DOWN AC/DC LANE: ROCK MUSIC, DESTINATION IMAGE AND A DIFFERENT TYPE OF HERITAGE
Visitvictoria.com,
La Di Da:
Cotterell, J, 2007, Social Networks in Youth and Adolescence, Routledge, East Sussex
Roche, A et al., 2007, Young People and Alcohol The Role of Cultural Influences, Drinkwise Australia Ltd, Melbourne
Wood, T, J, 2004, Communication Theories in action: An Introduction, Wadsworth, Belmont, pp. 75-116
La Di Da, viewed April 11 2010, <http://www.ladidapeople.com/ >
Note: details as to when the site was created and the specific author were not provided on the website.
Buskers:
City of Melbourne 2010, Street Entertainment (Busking), viewed 17 April 2010, <http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/industries/design/StreetEnter tainment/Pages/StreetEntertainment.aspx>
Clyne, J 2006, „Inside the Circle: The spatial dynamics of contemporary street performance in Australia‟, Applied Theatre Researcher/IDEA Journal, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 1-13.
Hubbard, P 2006, „The Everyday City‟, in City, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 97-111.
Menzies Alley:
Avery, T, Values Not Shared: “The Street Art Of Melbourne’s City Laneways”, Lisanne Gibson , John R. Pendlebury, Valuing Historic Environments, Ashgate Publishing Limited Surry England, viewed 16 April 2010, <http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OlliNP2sfUEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1 397dq=Melbourne+laneways&ots=2p-XakO9YR&sig=3_WWf5kh4Sn4CqNlbQZj9GFtXQ>
Fragul Foo, 2009, “Grungy Chic” Alleyways in the Melbourne CBD, blog, Saturday 1 August 2009, viewed April 11 2010, <http://www.frugalfoo.com/2009/08/grungychic-alleyways-in-melbourne-cbd.html>
Tsolidis, G, 2009, „Being a wog in Melbourne‟- young people‟s self fashioning through discourse of racism, Discourse: studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, Vol. 30 Issue 4, p427-442, 16p, viewed 13 April 2010, Ebsco Host