Getamungstit - The Identity Edition (May 2017) by Student Guild

ISSUE 03, VOLUME 03 MAY 2017 EDITORIAL TEAM Rebecca Marshallsay - Editor in Chief Fruzsina Gál - Editor Monique Hotchin - Editor Zakary Johnson - Editor Angel Nikijuluw - Editor Hayley Payne - Editor PUBLISHER George Lindley-Jones TALENTED CONTRIBUTORS Cover artwork Jessica Sainty Editorial Fruzsina Gál - Monique Hotchin Zak Johnson - George Lindley-Jones Hope Nakagawa-Morrison - Angel Nikijuluw Christian Nimri - Elleanor O’Connell Hayley Payne - Daniel Pagotto David Paulmert Creative Sally Breen - Elizabeth Danaher Duane Katene - Stefan Jatschka Hope Nakagawa-Morrison Sahib Nazari - Hayley Peacock Sam Ramage - Mic Smith - Kassandra Yore Photographic Rachel Corbu-Miles - Nathan Isaac Ella McMillan - Christian Nimri DESIGN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Email us at getamungstit@griffith.edu.au

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DISCLAIMER

SUBMISSIONS Are you a budding student journalist, photographer or have a random idea that could be a great story? Getamungstit accepts art, photo and story submissions for consideration however there is no guarantee your work will be published.

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18 Contents

26 32

Editorial note

Message from the President

Contributor spotlight

Vox pop

The ultimate guide to Aussie slang

I’m not half, I’m two wholes

#selflove

Growing up mixed-race

A killer appetite

Is Facebook shaping your identity?

On being bilingual

Subcultures and subwoofers

Identity on film

Snapped on campus

Identity in fashion

What’s on

Feature artist - Scarlet Kill

Online

Entertainment

Being creative

Get the hell outta here

EDITORIAL NOTE

Winter is coming and with it comes the unreasonable and unfair time of the year where you need to rug up in the morning but by midday you’re sweating through your cute knitted sweater and the multiple layers you were so excited to wear to uni. The month of May not only brings the death of autumn and the nipping winds of winter but will also deliver Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the sure to be amazing second season of Sense8. And if none of that excites you, maybe the fact that the end of the trimester in nearly upon us will. And as the cherry on top, this edition of Getamungstit is exploring all things identity.

This edition includes insightful perspectives and opinions on identity with Angel exploring identity issues and her personal experiences growing up mixed-race. Hayley considers social media and identity and examines how Facebook might just be limiting our identity through ‘filter bubbles’, while Elleanor takes a look at culinary culture on the Coast in our ‘Get the hell outta here’ segment.

Identity, in short, is what shapes people, groups and nations and helps them define who they are to themselves and the world. The topic of identity is broad and complex, but remains important and essential. From self-identity to cultural identity, this edition of Geta is unpacking it all.

Hopefully, you’re not too far behind in uni work and not procrastinating too much either (but if you’re anything like me, you’re probably are). Now go forth and dig into this Geta edition.

Also this edition, Fruzsi reflects on her bilingual experiences. Monique takes a bite at the new fascinating and serious subgenre in cannibalism films and Zak is looking at how subculture influences music.

The Geta Editorial Team

TE I R W US ! FOR

Didn’t see your story or experience in the Identity Edition? Feel like something was missing? Then why not write for us? Each edition we take submissions that are ontheme as well as general submissions. So if you want to share something about identity then it’s not too late. Contact us at getamungstit@griffith. edu.au to express your interest and to find out more about contributing your work.

Editorial note

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT THE IDENTITY MYTHBUSTER

Warning! This article is based on extremely accurate assumptions and stereotyping. Also, if you do manage to ‘find yourself’ in the next few pages and start to cry in a public place, my apologies. Hey everyone, For the Identity edition, I have quested long and far to help you solve what is one of life’s most exciting and often terrifying questions: “Who am I?” Some spineless fools argue that this question is impossible to answer. Today, I will blow those invertebrate jellies out of the water by debunking this myth once and for all. Where do we look to answer this question? Children. They are some of the most selfidentifying, assured creatures on the planet, possessing the ability to bluntly question anyone irrespective of status or throw a tantrum in a crowded supermarket without a shred of embarrassment.

Why are children so self-assured of their identity? My leading theory is it is because of their extensive use flowchart quizzes found in the front of kid’s magazines, such a Total Girl (yes, I read Total Girl, it was my sister’s ok!). This highly sophisticated identity tool could tell you anything. From who your celebrity crush was to which ninja-turtle you were. So, for this edition of the Geta, I have drawn up our very own Griffith Student flowchart quiz. The foolproof way to solve any student’s identity crisis. Enjoy! Want to print the quiz off and hang it on your wall? Then check it out online at: https://drive.google.com/file/ d/0BzNVSj3FBWOpb0VOWWIyRV9qLXM/ view?usp=sharing Your President, George Lindley-Jones

Have you ever been to a Market Day?

start here

no You are not a Griffith Student

yes Woah! You’re hip and a ‘Griffith Grungester’

I’m a Horse

Are you a Hipster?

Read Bio 1

You are not a Hipster

yes

Fresh and clean hustle machine

Why not?

Are you currently in active wear?

Do you need a haircut?

yes

Get a haircut

NO - UV is my mortal enemy

yes Are you in the gym?

Do you hit the beach?

Average amount of questions you ask per lecture

Do you pay tuition up front?

Read Bio 2

Read Bio 9 Dude! You’re a totally rad ‘Griffith Grommet’

0-3

yes

Brah! You’re an Athlete on the ‘Griffith Gain’

ack sm o !I de lip to e th

Do you know the Chancellor’s name?

yes

huh?

Does getting a 6 make you sad?

yes

Sorry! You are a Bond student

Do you get pitted?

yes

How many books have you borrowed from the library?

Change to normal clothes

Read Bio 10 Greetings! You’re a ‘Griffith Goblin’

yes

Is it value for money?

yes

no Felicitations! You’re a ‘Griffith Genius’ Read Bio 3

Dear Sir/Madam, You are a Mature Student aka ‘Griffith Grandparent’

You’re at the Uni Bar, what do you choose?

Read Bio 4

Of course! Comfort is king

You’re a one of the mythical ‘Griffith Read Ghosts’ Bio 5

Jug of beer/cider

Would you wear trackpants to uni?

Read Bio 7

Message from the President

Bio 8

Congrats! You’re a party animal who is part of the ‘Grifffith Groovers’

I wouldn’t be seen dead in trackies

Bravo! You’re classy and are part of the ‘Griffith Read Glamourous’ Bio 6

Tequila!!

You’re are an International student and part of the ‘Griffith Globetrotters’ Read

1. The Griffith Hipster Habitat: G57.

Instagram: Has an account 6. The Griffith Glamourous but has never uploaded Habitat: Providore. anything. Behaviour: Sits down Behaviour: Spends two at retro café. Orders Uni attire: Formal. hours getting ready for espresso. Says they drank Uni. Goes to lecture for espresso before it was Uni Bar drink: Coke Zero. one hour. Takes four-hour cool. Talks about [insert word ending in ‘-ism’]. Says Enemy: Anyone who beats coffee/lunch/chatting break. Exhausted. Goes they were a [insert word them. home. ending in ‘-ist’] before it 4. The Griffith was cool. Instagram: A regular Grandparent Instagram photo: Deleted Habitat: The front row of uploader of stylish shots to Instagram account. Uses help them on the way to every lecture theatre. Tumblr to upload pics of Insta-fame their art form. Behaviour: Raises hand in Uni attire: Glamorous says Uni attire: Unknown. Even lecture. Lecturer answers it all. vintage clothing and thick- grandparent. Raises hand again. Lecturer ignores rimmed glasses now are Uni Bar drink: Cocktails! grandparent. Lecture too mainstream for this student. finishes. Goes home. Enemy: The Griffith Myth. Emails three essay style Uni Bar drink: They don’t 7. Griffith Groovers questions to lecturer. serve anything I like. I’ll Habitat: The Uni Bar or any brew my own thanks. Instagram photo: What’s party within earshot. Instagram? Enemy: Society. Behaviour: Enters room. High fives 20-30 people. 2. The Grifflete Uni attire: Timeless Shouts generic catch Habitat: Where else but cardigans. gains city aka Uni Fitness. phrase eg.LET’S GO! Uni Bar drink: House wine. Shouts name of a drink eg. Behaviour: Starts chatting JAGER BOMBS! Shot. Shot. to a friend. Mentions they Enemy: Kids these days. Shot. Beer. Shot. Sick. just came from the gym. 30 seconds passes. Talks 5. The Griffith Myth Instagram photo: At a about gains. 30 seconds Habitat: Will never be seen concert/club/house party passes. Mentions they at Uni after week 1, except flashing their signature came from the gym. 30 for parties. hand gesture. seconds passes. Talks about pump. Loses friend. Behaviour: Yawns. Wakes Uni attire: Whatever they up. Naked in bushes wore out last night plus a Instagram photo: Gym outside Uni Bar. Half hour selfie with attached stats pair of sunnies. late to exam. Finds toga. about progress. Runs to exam. Doesn’t Uni Bar drink: A round of Uni attire: Tight-fitting even know the course 17 shots. active wear. name. Still passes. Enemy: Monday mornings. Uni Bar drink: Diet water Instagram photo: Blurry so I can mix it with my 8. Griffith Globetrotters photo of last night. protein shake. Habitat: Everywhere on Uni attire: Anything you campus. Enemy: Hipsters. could comfortably sleep in. Behaviour: Arrives in 3. The Griffith Genius Uni Bar drink: Half-finished Australia. Makes loads Habitat: 24 hr study jug left behind on a table. of friends. Goes home. section. Wishes they lived in Enemy: People who plan Behaviour: Loves to Australia. things. compare GPA at honours Instagram photo: Photo college meet ups. of a palm-tree, the ocean

or themselves holding a surfboard on the beach. Uni attire: Fresh, funky or fruity clothes from all around the world. Uni Bar drink: Mixed drink. Enemy: Visas. 9. Griffith Grommets Habitat: On a board of any kind. Behaviour: Skates to Uni. Feels brave. Bombs the Science Road hill. Crashes into pedestrian. Goes to lecture. Sits in lecture frothing surf cams. Instagram photo: Surfing, skating or shredding in any capacity. Uni attire: Backwards hat, oversized T-shirt and Vans. Uni Bar drink: Tries to order Stone and Wood. Settles for Lashes. Enemy: Close-outs. 10. Griffith Goblins Habitat: Small dark spaces illuminated only by screens. Behaviour: Buys caffeine. Enters room. Three weeks passes. Leaves room. Bumps into drunk housemate at 3am. Tells them they need to wash up. Buys caffeine. Enters room. Instagram photo: Politically charged meme. Uni attire: Either one of their two outfits. Uni Bar drink: Red Bull. Enemy: The Sun.

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Contributor spotlight Fruzsina Gál

Hayley Payne For this month’s Contributor Spotlight, we sat down with Fruzsi Gál to talk about all things Getamungstit, university and life. A more recent addition to the team, Fruzsi is already making waves with her unique skill set and incredibly sharp eye during our proofreading process.

What are you studying?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m in my second year of Bachelor of Arts, majoring in creative writing and literary studies (and procrastination, mostly).

Doing the same things I do now, but with the reassuring knowledge that I’ve chosen the right path in all this chaos that is ‘self-discovery’. And hopefully surrounded by dogs.

Tell us a little about your journey to Australia and to Griffith… I moved to Australia with my family nearly five years ago, and since then have become an Australian citizen. I went to high school on the Gold Coast, and afterwards Griffith seemed like the obvious choice for location reasons.

Favourite thing about Geta?

Is there a piece of literature that has changed your life? Quite a few books have changed my life significantly, but I don’t necessarily have a top one. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck are just a few that had lasting impact on my mentality towards life in general.

It challenges me to do the things I’ve always wanted to do but was mostly too lazy to.

What do you get up to in your free time? I barely know what free time is anymore. I study, I write, I work, I play squash and drag myself to the gym occasionally, and I try to maintain a social life in the meantime. And I read. A lot.

VOX POP

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Mirror mirror on the wall, in this edition we ask them all. Who are you exactly?

Liss, Bachelor of Psychology Disarming, driven and peaceful.

This time we asked you to tell us a little bit about yourself and, more importantly, which celebrity you identify with most. Christian Nimri

Michael, Bachelor of Exercise Science Tall, dark and handsome.

David, Bachelor of Exercise Science Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m good boy. Apple does the trick. Vox pop

Which celebrity do you identify with the most and why?

What defines you?

James, Graduate Diploma in Education Banter and food.

Maddie, Bachelor of Nursing KOBE! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Black Mamba.

Anthea, Bachelor of Biomedical Science Naps.

Caitlin, Bachelor of Law & Criminology Nicolas Cage. Do the math.

Valentin, Bachelor of Engineering & IT Helping.

Shayla, Bachelor of Exercise Science Rowan Atkinson. No reasonâ&#x20AC;Ś just do.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your spirit animal?

Alex, Bachelor of Multimedia Red panda.

Josie, Bachelor of Psychological Science Sloths.

Elizabeth, Bachelor of Nursing Baby lemur.

Vox pop

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Hayley Payne Learning English can be extremely difficult. It is such a complex language that can take years to master. Then when people venture to Australia for the first time, they are often stumped when faced with our strange mix of colloquialisms and slang. Even fellow English speaking countries struggle with understanding us at times. Like always, we are here to rescue you with the ultimate guide to the Australian national language - whatever it is.

“Chuck another shrimp on the BARBIE” “See you tomorrow ARVO”

= Afternoon “RISSOLE”

“Bring a PLATE” “CHOCCY MILK”

= BBQ or Barbeque

= Meat patty

= Your host is asking you to bring a plate of food to their barbie.

= Chocolate flavoured milk “DEMOCRACY/BUNNINGS SNAG”

“It’s BYO tonight”

= Bring your own alcohol

= A snag (sausage, usually pork or beef) cooked on a barbie and placed diagonally on a piece of white fluffy bread with cooked onion and your choice of sauce (tomato is obviously the best though). The two national favourite sausages are served election days at polling booths or daily at your local Bunnings hardware store.

or Grog Shop ce where you buy alcohol A pla =

“Go to the BOTTLE-O and pick us up some GROG would ya?”

= Alcoh ol

“SHE’ll BE RIGHT”

= Agreed “YEAH NAR” = No “OATH”

“Just CHUCK A SICKIE mate”

= Calling into work sick when you’re not actually sick.

= It will be okay

= McDonald’s

“I’m going for a MACCAS run” “Nah she’s CARKED IT”

= Something died or won’t work anymore The ultimate guide to Aussie slang

“CHUCK A U-EY down here”

= Perform a U-Turn “OOOOWWSSSSITGOINGGG?” “See YOUSE later”

= You all

(How’s it going?) = Hi, how are you today?

“YOU BLOODY RIPPER”

= You are amazing

“HALAL SNACK PACK (HSP)”

= A delicious mixture of chips, kebab meat, cheese and a range of flavourful sauces (also available in vegan options).

“Do you wanna go get a SANGA

= Sandwich = Petrol station

from the SERVO?” “STUBBY HOLDER”

= An insulation device you put a beverage in to keep it cool.

“STRAYA” = AUSTRALIA “TRADIE”

“Meet me in BRISSY”

= Brisbane pronounced “Brizzie”

= Someone who works as a tradesperson e.g. electrician or plumber. “MATE’S RATES?” “THONGS”

= Flip flops

“UTE”

= Discount for friends and family

= A utility vehicle/pickup truck “TRACKIES”

“POLLIES”

= Politicians

“HOOLIGAN”

“THINGAMAJIG”

= Tracksuit pants

= Troublemaker

“I’ll just have a SQUIZ”

= An item or thing a person is trying to describe when they can’t remember the name. 15

= Have a look

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I’M NOT HALF, I’M TWO WHOLES Hope Nakagawa-Morrison

“Me dad’s a muggle, me mam’s a witch…” - it is this phrase that I identify most within the entire Harry Potter series. My father is Australian and my mother is Japanese. By government definition I am ‘other’ on official forms. I am proud of both identities; I live in one and yearn for the other. I have the long nose, light eyes and curly hair of my father and share no physical attributes with my mother.

on white-looking skin. What she wanted beyond some semblance of satisfaction that I could have been appropriating the culture to which I belong, was to force me to choose which of my racial identities I align with. This is not the first time I have been told to choose.

Recently, while I was sitting at the Uni Bar I was told that my tattoo was cultural appropriation. I was into it, genuinely, I was excited to engage in this conversation. I had been moved by Amandla Stenberg’s video, “Don’t Cash Crop On My Cornrows”. I was prepared to have this conversation.

On my first day of school I was told to go by my father’s white surname to “avoid confusion”. I have experienced the privileges of looking white when my mother doesn’t, and have been forced to stand alongside my father in the “other” line while my mother and her other children, who look like her, stood in the “native” line at Japanese customs.

I began to explain to this stranger how this tattoo of Japanese design, make and cultural significance was home on a Japanese body. My body. But this girl was not interested in my explanation. This tattoo was a mark I chose to honour my heritage and was being shamed for its position

This choice presents itself every day and I know I am not the only one who faces this predicament. Anyone with two culturally diverse parents has been asked to choose. We divide our identity into fractions and reduce cultures into halves and quarters despite the fact that two whole people made us.

Consider, instead of labelling a “halfu” as one person who can only identify with any given culture fifty percent of what natives can, recognise that they feel and identify with two cultures wholly. There is no way you can look at anyone and claim they are half of any identity, and while I can’t speak for any lasting psychological damage, I do wonder why we still use language that halves our cultural value.

“We divide our identity into fractions and reduce cultures into halves and quarters despite the fact that two whole people made us.” I am Japanese and Australian, I may not look like it but I think I am allowed a tattoo of a daruma doll. I am also, if I chose to, allowed to have a VB can punctured permanently into the skin next to it.

#selflove

Fruzsi Gál Contrary to the popular belief of the 21st century, I’m here to tell you that your identity is not dependent on who loves you, but rather who you love. After a brutally challenging year both mentally, politically, and economically, I hereby declare 2017 the year of softness, self-love, and empowerment. Regardless of what your relationship status is on Facebook.

I know that we’re now in the modern age. I know that for things to seem tangible, they need to be showcased on at least one platform of social media. I understand - as the kids say, I’m totally with it. However, at just 21 years of age, I can be a bit of a grandma when it comes to certain topics, and relationships are definitely one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love love. But lately the significance of this ‘love’ seems to be reliant on its representation in digital media and nothing else. If you’re in a relationship, then why is it not on Facebook? If you love them so much, why don’t you declare your admiration in a post per day? Just how can I tell that you’re not single if your significant other’s initials aren’t featured in your Instagram bio? These are all pressing questions of the 21st century, and perhaps I often fail to see that people are not trying to prove their worth but rather just to show the world how proud they are of their partner. Which is all nice and well. Until it is the only measure by which personal identity and your worth as an individual is determined.

SELF-LOVE MIGHT NOT COME EASY TO YOU, BUT IT IS WORTH WORKING ON. #selflove

SO WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO LOVE, IF NO ONE LOVES YOU?

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to believe, your relationship status very rarely contributes to your personal development. Naturally, people in our lives have a great impact on the shaping of our identity, but here I’m referring to the apparent importance of a relationship status or lack thereof.However hard it might be to face, being alone builds character. It forms your sense of identity. As Oscar Wilde once put it, “you need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person”. And believe me, you can trust Oscar Wilde on these kind of things. He got a lot of this ‘life’ nonsense right. So who are you supposed to love, if no one loves you? Yourself, of course. Too often is love considered singular to romantic relationships, and not enough times are other, more primary things considered: a relationship with your family, a relationship with your friends, a relationship with life and this planet and all that surrounds us. But most importantly of all, a relationship with yourself. It is the one that will linger for a lifetime, and no matter how many social media sites advertise your taken-ness, at the end of the day it is the relationship that requires the most time and work, and rightly so.

It’s not always a piece of cake. Self-love might not come easy to you, but it is worth working on. It is an essential part of our identity, and as such, it greatly influences our view of life and all other relationships we might have. Once you are on good terms with yourself, the rest becomes easier too. So next time you feel incomplete because your Instagram biography is limited to your age, location, an unrelated quote and some funky emojis, I want you to know that two letters followed by a heart do not make you any more or less of a person. It starts with you, and ends with you. So go love yourself and encourage others to do so too, and may we make this year a little less shitty than the previous one.

GROWING UP MIXED-RACE Angel Nikijuluw Living on this earth for 20 years has given me plenty of opportunities to define my multitude of identities in many contexts – my identity as an Australian, a woman, a student, a daughter, and a friend. However, amid these opportunities, there is one facet of myself that I have struggled to comprehend and understand: my definitive identity as a mixed-race individual. I grew up here on the Gold Coast with my Australian mother and my Indonesian father. My only language is English, and I have an Australian accent. My childhood was a standard one – I grew up in a loving household with supportive parents who gave me the freedom to let me choose who I wanted to be. It wasn’t until primary school that I noticed the contrast between me and my fellow classmates. My eyes, my hair, and my skin tone were all factors in making me feel

displaced among the rest of the kids. I didn’t look like this person or that person – I didn’t look like anyone. My peers reminded me every day how different I was, and that is when I started to understand that I was the ‘black sheep’.

only learnt English, which I think was a massive mistake and to my detriment that I don’t have that language connection to my dad’s culture, as well as not having the opportunity to go to Nigeria” Nkechi explained.

So recently, I spoke to Nkechi Anele – a Nigerian-Australian who is the singer of Melbourne outfit Saskwatch, Triple J presenter for Roots N All and co-founder of The Pin – a journalistic outlet that explores growing up biracial in Australia. I was curious to understand another perspective of growing up mixed-race from someone who was raised in a diverse urban environment like Melbourne, and who seems to have a firm grasp on their identity as a mixed-race Australian. But when Nkechi and I discussed how we grew up, I was surprised and humbled to know that she experienced a similar childhood.

Growing up, my father never chose to teach Indonesian to me, nor did he openly introduce any customs or traditions native to Indonesia. When I was young, I was glad that I had no connections with my father’s side in the fear that I would stand out more than I already did. In hindsight, the environments I was placed in made me want to feel this way and properly disconnect myself as another way to blend in. Nkechi and I also found common ground in the way others perceived us when we were with our parents.

“My dad chose not to speak [his native language] to me, so that I

Growing up mixed-race

“[My mother] as a white woman, she had a black child, and [had to deal with] everything that comes from that, like people making assumptions that I was adopted,

or people thinking that when I got much older to be a teenager, that I was my dad’s young bride” Nkechi said. These instances, in which people assume that we do not even belong to our parents – such as people asking if we are adopted – make mixed-race people even more perplexed about their place in society. This prompts us to constantly ask ourselves, What’s wrong with me? Why do I look like this? A 2004 study conducted by Dr Minelle Mahtani found that that needing to identify with one side or the other was a common struggle amongst most of its mixed-race participants. This sentiment was echoed by Nkechi who expressed that she felt like she belonged to both sides but none at the same time. “I was just so sick of being inbetween, where I felt like even when I was around Africans I didn’t really fit in, and when I was with

Australians, I felt like I fit in more, but I think I was just more used to standing out for being darker.” I look more ‘ethnic’ than white, but my nationality, and the way I communicate and think is that of an Australian. Growing up, I felt as if my skin tone and physical features were not enough to fit in with my white side, but feeling like my disconnection with Indonesian culture prohibited me from identifying with my Indonesian background. Even now, I still feel obliged to identify stronger with one side or the other. My need was to fit into one of these categories desperately, but I always knew that I would rarely ever have that validation or sense of belonging from either side. This is a common theme I have seen throughout various discussions on mixed-race forums. So why is identity and belonging so important to us? Just like everyone else, regardless of race, gender, or culture, we find 21

comfort in being able to identify with others around us. While this sounds a little trivial, without that validation provided by people like us – especially at an early stage – we miss experiences of feeling like we belong to and identify with a group. This is identified as stage three of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – belonging. Another study, from Dr Gillian Stevens in 2015, focused on mixed-race people in

What’s wrong with me? Why do I look like this?

Western countries and found that the identity of mixed-race is a socially acquired characteristic – the notion of ‘mixed-race’ is a social construct altogether. So, with themes of displacement, nonbelonging and alienation, what does this really mean? Based on my research and experiences, I have concluded that our racial identity is predominantly learned by the way the world around us treats us, and nonbelonging is the dominant framework for mixed identity. Our feelings of nonbelonging are also dependent on the choices and assignments made by individuals, social institutions or the state. The identity of every single person on this planet is, of course, determined by their surroundings. But what if your surroundings can’t place you in a metaphorical box with everyone else who is like you? This creates a kind of displacement of identity in our lives until we reach self-actualisation on our own terms.

Our identity is decided by everyone around us, and we have built our lives around what others guess who we are – our racial ambiguity essentially creates the origin of our nonbelonging and other themes of alienation and dehumanisation. Questions asked by random people such as, “what are you?” and, “where are you from?” forces us to second-guess how we are supposed to act, look, feel, and think. Of course, this is not applicable to every mixed-race individual’s personal upbringing or experiences – our geographical location and our family surroundings impact the way we perceive our own identity. But this is how I have interpreted my life by living in a city like the Gold Coast, and interacting with predominantly only white Australians. I’ve learned that my race does not define me, but it is still an important part of understanding and deciding where my place is within Australian society. Now Growing up mixed-race

that I am old enough to really delve deep into the reasons why I have felt the way I have felt for many years, I can reach a definitive answer and move on with my life. I am now able to truly move freely without the constraints of not knowing who I am or where I belong. To my mixed-race friends – know that you have the power to define who you are, and that your skin, your physical features or your bicultural upbringing won’t affect your path in life. As a rapidly growing collective, we are often referred to as the ‘face of the future’, and that is right – we are the face of innovation, change, and peace. Always remember your power.

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A KILLER APPETITE Monique Hotchin When you think of cannibalism in pop culture, you might think gory B-rated movies with insane villains running around in the woods eating man flesh, or perhaps Hannibal the Cannibal aka Hannibal Lecter, the most infamous popculture cannibal. Guaranteed you definitely wouldn’t think of some artsy, indie film with a dark heroine satisfying her hunger on her journey of self-discovery. Or a visual masterpiece about young beautiful models and jealousy. Earlier this year, Lenny Letter took a bite at the topic of cannibalism. For those who don’t know, Lenny Letter is the online feminist newsletter from the genius minds of Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner (the women who brought you the controversial and brilliant TV show Girls). The feature entitled Unspeakable Appetites was written by Francey Russell, a scholar and frequent contributor to Lenny Letter. Russell explored the new subgenre of deadly serious and insightful films about cannibalism, especially female cannibals. Before we sink our teeth into

the fascinating new wave of cannibalism films, let’s look at the historical view of cannibalism. Cannibalism is the act of consuming all or part of a human, that being the flesh or internal organs. The practice of cannibalism has been around for tens of thousands of years with mouthfuls of archaeological and genetic evidence to prove there were humans that did eat other humans. The practice is largely prehistoric but cannibalism did linger well into the 19th century, particularly within isolated islands and regions. There are many theories and texts written about the reason or motives behind cannibalism; including as a means to survive through famines, a part of a blood revenge in war, and even a transference of power. The genre of cannibalism has been explored in stories for centuries; including Greek mythology and legends of the Algonquian People about a cannibalistic spirit called a wendigo and even well-known fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Regardless of the unnerving and horrific topic, cannibalism is

A killer appetite

an enthralling genre that is still explored and tackled in stories today, including film. In her Lenny Letter article, Russell looked at a handful of recent films that stray from typical cannibalism movies that are often horror and gore based. These films are additions to a new subgenre that explores cannibalism in a unique and enlightening way. Russell describes these films as ‘slow and thoughtful, aesthetically arresting, punctuated by only rare eruptions of gore and violence’. The first film Russell unpacked was Raw, which first premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was released to wider audiences earlier this year. Raw is loosely described as a ‘cannibal coming of age movie’ about a careful and studious teenage girl during her first weeks at veterinary school. Like any other coming of age flick, the protagonist, Justine (Garance Marillier), must navigate through social expectations, new relationships and academic pressure, but in Justine’s case, she also develops a new, unrelenting

The film is all glitter and glamour, the epitome of beauty. But something darker lies just under the surface. appetite that strays far from any typical diet beknown to teenage girls. Justine finds herself in an isolated and brutal society, is subject to gruesome hazing and forced binge drinking, and has a never-ending supply of animal cadavers. As Justine fails to fit in, her hunger grows and things only get bloodier as she enters a lip-locking session and ends up chewing a guy’s lip off. With many coming of age films, the trope of searching for something more is popular and Justine is definitely searching for something with a bit more meaning and meat. Raw is French filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s controversial film that, while remarkably acclaimed, also saw people walk out during the screening (others passed out). The second film Russell explores is Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon. The visually stunning and suspenseful film is labelled as a psychological thriller, but it’s much deeper than that, say, skin deep even. Elle Fanning plays a young, beautiful aspiring Los Angeles

real-life problems and insecurities within our society in a fascinating and divergent way that shouldn’t be disregarded just because they feature cannibalism.

Russell goes on to compare a range of female-centric cannibalism films, every one fleshing out characters desiring something that is morally wrong model. The film is all glitter and and considered monstrous by glamour, the epitome of beauty. the world, but crave it regardless. But something darker lies just Cannibalism in these films can under the surface. Under all the striking photosets, expensive outfits be seen as symbolic and easily swapped out for something else, and insanely beautiful make-up, a hunger stirs. The industry becomes like adultery or substance abuse. The struggle for these characters disturbingly obsessed with Jesse is true and familiar as many people (Fanning). Most people want to struggle with desires they shouldn’t have her, but two fellow gazellehave and are conflicted with what like models want what she has. The two models become sinisterly they crave because of what the jealous of Jesse, and through world would then label them as. warped desires and an envy that Some of the characters embrace puts all green-eyed monsters to their cannibalistic urges and shame, the two models (spoiler!) are liberated while others are kill and eat Jesse who was poetically compared to sunlight in burdened, become unhinged and self-destructive. Whether positive winter. The Neon Demon is less gruesome than Raw, but explores a or negative, how these female different type of cannibalism that’s characters handle their urges born from jealously and desire, but drives their search for meaning, self-exploration and self-identity, is just as unnerving. just through unconventional What Raw and The Neon Demon methods. This small and growing subgenre of cannibalism films is have in common are curious less about people eating people, individuals with uncommon and but more about a journey of abnormal relationships with what self-discovery, which might appeal they eat, which stems from the to anyone who’s still searching for most basic animal craving: hunger. themselves. Russell suggests that these new cannibalism films are tackling

IS FACEBOOK SHAPING YOUR IDENTITY? Hayley Payne

Facebook has been subtly ruling the world for over 10 years now. Many of us have had a Facebook account since our early high school days. It is an amazing tool we use to keep in touch, stalk each other’s photos, read the news, soak up some memes and watch endless hours of animal videos. But what you may not know is that Facebook has played a major role in shaping the person you have grown to be over these past 10 years. In 2011, Chief Executive of Upworthy, Eli Pariser, presented a TED talk on his new book The Filter Bubble. In just 16 short minutes Pariser completely changes the way you think about your newsfeed. The key concept of his book is that our dependence on social media and the ability to personalise our online experience has resulted in our daily lives resembling a small bubble. How do we create these ‘Filter Bubbles’? Each time you log into Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, you make

decisions. As you scroll through your newsfeed you stop to like the photos of your friends, read an article or two and tag a few people in relatable posts. Another major function on social media is the ability to hide, block and unfollow any posts, people and pages that you don’t want to see. Most of us turn to social media in the pursuit of happiness. So, when we see a news article that goes against our political, religious, or ethical issues we generally either hide the post or unfollow the poster. Just like that you no longer have to look at content you don’t want to see. If you’re like the average social media user, you have been hiding posts that anger or annoy you since the day you first signed into Facebook. What most people don’t understand is that every action they make while scrolling their newsfeeds acts as another piece of data that Facebook can use to ensure you have the ‘best’ possible experience while online. By ‘best’ I mean that you keep coming back and using the platform, you engage in sponsored posts Is Facebook shaping your identity?

targeted to you and you continue to rely on Facebook to function in everyday life. You may not notice it, but over time Facebook begins to recognise a pattern in the types of content you don’t like. After a while the platform basically ceases showing you any content that it thinks you won’t like. This may sound great at first, but can lead to serious implications for your personal development and for the world.

The 2016 Digital News Report by the Australian Press Council found that 67% of Australians use Facebook to read, share and discuss news.

Let’s start with the implications this can have on people’s political views. In the concept of the ‘filter bubble’ we become stuck in a world where everything we see reflects our own beliefs. Every news article, every blog post, every advertisement and even content posted by our friends is filtered to ensure you’re seeing something you will enjoy. That means if you’re a right leaning One Nation supporter, your newsfeed is likely to be filled with articles about why Australia needs to tighten its immigration, why we should be reforming local jobs, and news surrounding Chinese investment. However, if you are a left leaning Greens supporter, your newsfeed is likely to be filled with articles about saving the Great Barrier Reef, shorter working weeks, and Sam Dastyari and his immense love for Halal Snack Packs. Basically, your newsfeed prioritises what you want to see over the information you probably should be seeing about what is going on in the world around you. Critical thinking is one of the essential

skills we learn at university. When we are constantly fed information that supports our views, we forget to question what we are being told which leads to a sad world where we are all happy sitting in our own little bubbles of bias. Do you ever wonder why your racist aunt and latte sipping cousin present contrasting facts to those you know during your yearly family political argument at Christmas? That is because we are all sitting in these filter bubbles, only receiving the facts and figures that are relevant to our current beliefs. The 2016 Digital News Report by the Australian Press Council found that 67% of Australians use Facebook to read, share and discuss news. The rest of the numbers were mostly made up of other social media sites. This change from citizens going and obtaining their news from various sources to just scrolling through our newsfeeds and reading what is trending is a massive step backwards in establishing societies of well-educated and informed people.

We have become far too comfortable in hearing what we want to hear. Now, it is important to note that this phenomenon is not Facebook’s fault. All they wanted to do was improve the user experience. They have even gone so far as recently announcing that our newsfeeds will be constructed based on our ‘reactions’ to content – not just the posts we like or hide. We, the users are who have subconsciously shaped our lives into small, safe bubbles. If you want to be a good global citizen and make a difference in the world you must start getting outside your comfort zone. The next time someone shares an article that makes you angry, I urge you to read it. Then have a look at the angles you were receiving on the same issue. Finally, do some research to find the true facts – you might just be surprised at what they say. It is time to stop hiding in our bubbles and to start seeking the truth. Don’t let the filter bubble stump your growth, ensure your curiosity and willingness to learn are the key factors in shaping your identity.

ON BEING BILINGUAL Fruzsi Gál

Here is the first sentence of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: “Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941”. And here is how I just read that, now, in my head: “Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of ezerkilencszáznegyvenegy”. Just as a disclaimer, I have no trouble with numbers in the English language. But my subconscious does. English isn’t my first language, Hungarian is; and although I have been learning it since second grade, there seems to be a lack of connection between language and numerical representation on the pages. Of course, I can read all of it in English if I want to, but let my mind wander and it’ll mess things up quite a bit, even after 13 (tizenhárom) years. And I’m not the only one either... Even if I only consider what I’ve heard from other Hungarians, reading numbers in your native language, while

perfectly deciphering everything else in English, is apparently quite common and is a habit that sticks around longer than one would expect. And that’s only the numbers! Regardless of certain difficulties, being bilingual is awesome and certainly something that has more advantages than disadvantages. Not only does it help you order food without trouble in two different countries (or, in the case of English, a whole lot more than that), it also increases your brain’s cognitive function and is proved to delay dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by constantly exercising the brain. It other words, we have it good. But how does being bilingual translate to everyday life? I don’t remember the first time I had a dream in English or when exactly I began to think in English, it just happened. What I do remember though, is people asking at a certain point which language my subconscious thought in, and On being bilingual

by then I knew it was English. Seamlessly, without a problem or a glitch in transition, it just happened. I don’t need to translate things. My brain does it for me. Whenever I’m out and come upon strangers talking in Hungarian, it often takes me several minutes to register that I’m listening to a different language. There is so little distinction between what my brain understands of each language that I don’t notice the switch from one to the other. Crazy, huh? Cut scene to my brother and I talking. As we have done for 14 years, we continue to talk in Hungarian. With an English word thrown in here and there, when we’re unsure of the Hungarian equivalent. And a lot of expressions, or phrases heard in the news. Or movie quotes. Or anything that comes to mind quicker than the mind can decide on what language that word should be said in. So basically, half of our conversations end up being

a mixture of the two languages. Which is great, because we both understand it. What’s not so great is having a conversation with any of my English-speaking friends and realising too late that in my hurry or excitement I’ve used a Hungarian word (that they probably don’t even pick up on because I talk way too fast anyway). What’s not so great is forgetting how you’re meant to formally communicate in Hungarian, because you only ever talk to your family in it. What’s not so great is trying to write an essay and not remembering a specific word in English. What’s even worse is when you know the word you’re thinking about, but can’t for the love of God come up with it in either of the two languages you speak. “Yeah okay,” I say to my mother’s inquiry, which was definitely not in English. “Hallod! (Guess what!)” I exclaim

next to someone who has no conception of the Hungarian language whatsoever.

Regardless of certain difficulties, being bilingual is awesome and certainly something that has more advantages than disadvantages. “He had this tool with him, whatsitcalled, a kapa, except that’s in the wrong language, what is it now, you know what I’m talking about!” I explain excitedly to someone who most definitely does not know what I’m talking about. How’s that for being bilingual? On a final note, here’s a fun fact: according to scientific research, the brain of a bilingual

person works differently to that of someone in possession of one language alone. The main difference is that a monolingual person will look you in the eyes during a conversation as they only rely on sound, while a bilingual person might be looking at your lips, trying to get visual clues as to what language you might be speaking. As you can imagine, most bilingual people are not fans of phone-conversations. All in all, being bilingual has its tricks and flaws, and it can definitely leave you frustrated over exam papers for as long as you’re actively concentrating on it (it will most likely come to you once you’ve walked out), but it is one of the most amazing things our brains can do. Besides, what are a few necessary numbers in Hungarian compared to the possibility of having a connection with more than twice as many people in the course of your life?

N O RTHERN

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SUBCULTURES AND SUBWOOFERS When you tune into your local radio station (if you still do that) or more likely click shuffle on a Spotify playlist, you probably wouldn’t put too much thought into the myriad of influences, both musical and historical, that went into the particular song you’re listening to at that moment in time. Though you could spend hours carting through books on various subcultures, this article gives you a quick glance at just some of the more prominent ones and the impact they’ve had on pop culture (as well as vice versa).

Zak Johnson Greasers

Hippies

Punks

Context Originating in the 1950s amidst the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll music, greasers were a subculture prominent amongst American working class youth, with their name coming from the amount of product these individuals would use to style their hair. Perhaps owing to the movement’s lower-income roots, as well as a larger social stigma, the term “greaser” was often used synonymously with “gang member” or “delinquent”, with the use of leather jackets and extravagant vehicles often completing this image of rebellious, antisocial figures.

Context Rampant dissatisfaction with growing consumerist views as well as extended coverage of events such as the Vietnam War during the late 60s would play a big part in the development of this counter-culture, centred around communal living, the use of psychedelic drugs and polygamous relationships, all as a means of rejecting conventional American life. The Woodstock Music & Art Fair, which drew 400,000 people, was seen by many to be the pivotal moment in the hippie movement’s history.

Context The punk movement began to emerge in America, the UK and Australia in the late 70s due to hardened economic conditions and a rise in conservative politics. As punks began to embrace antiestablishment and anarchic views, members of the subculture began to wear diverse fashion accessories including badge-encrusted blazers, tatty and ripped jeans as well as flamboyant hairstyles to reflect this attitude of rebellion.

Music Rock and roll was heavily influenced by African-American genres such as jazz and blues, and was seen as a means of uniting white and black Americans via a mutual love for the genre, helping ushering in cultural shifts such as the civil rights movement. It’s also considered to be the first genre to be used synonymously with teenagers, a relatively new concept in itself at the time.

Music Rock and roll would evolve to incorporate Eastern influences as well as experimental, psychedelic traits that reflected a growing denial of conventional pop culture and music. Examples Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles (from Rubber Soul onwards), The Grateful Dead.

Examples Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard. Subculture and subwoofers

Music As a reflection of this newfound emphasis on unconventionality, punk rock tended to reject over-produced records in favour of a low-fi, harsh garage sound that captured the anger and frustrations of many of the artists. Lyrically, these songs would also reflect the movement’s critical and anti-establishment ethos. Examples Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols.

Hip Hop

Grunge

Hipsters

Context One of the subcultures on this list that has remained at the forefront through a constant state of evolution, hip hop first emerged in New York during the late 1970s, with African-Americans fusing deejaying (a hallmark of disco music) with MCing, the latter which would take on an increasingly rhythmic nature. What began as a soundtrack for block parties in the area would gradually change to songs with more of an emphasis on socially-conscious lyrics with the likes of Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’.

Context Popping up in the mid-80s but reaching its climax around a decade later, the grunge subculture, like with many of its forbears, involved a negative view of mainstream culture (including consumerist values). Often wearing baggy, charity store-purchased clothing, grunge enthusiasts attempted to present an image of apathy and cynicism that showed their lack of care for societal norms.

Context Gaining most of their prominence in recent years, hipsters are a bit more difficult to define, as doing so would undermine their philosophy of elusiveness. Generally there is adherence to pursuing an alternative lifestyle, one reflected through vintage fashion choices, political leanings as well as cultural tastes. Rather than being represented predominantly by disaffected youths, these tendencies seem to be more commonly embodied by middleclass folks in their twenties and thirties, though once again, this certainly isn’t restrictive.

Music During the 80s, sampling began to take on a more prominent role in the genre, often drawing upon funk and disco to formulate radically different tracks. It would not be until the 90s that major commercial success would arrive with gangsta rap, a subgenre celebrated for its lyrical honesty but also criticized for its violent and misogynistic content. Despite fusing for a period with pop in the early 2000s, towards the end of this decade critical acclaim would begin to return to the genre with the prevalence of alternative hip hop that took inspiration from earlier, non-mainstream styles of music.

Music With punk being one of its influences, similarly the “Seattle sound” placed importance on heavily distorted guitars, with this grittiness extending to the usage of bass and drums. The lyrics of many grunge songs would also deal with dark themes of existentialism and self-loathing that reflected a detachment from the mainstream. As with punk music, there was an initial effort to use DIY production methods as opposed to those through conventional recording companies in order to maintain artistic credibility and creative control. Examples Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Silverchair.

Examples The Sugarhill Gang, SaltN-Pepa, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Nas, Kendrick Lamar.

Music In accordance with the subculture’s nonconformist attitude, musical tastes tend to align with independent labels and alternative artists. And like the subculture itself, these are fairly broad areas of music and are difficult to pin down in one definition. Sociologists have begun to suggest that subcultures are beginning to cease to exist, due to gaps between generations and groups becoming less obvious through technological innovations. Examples Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, The xx, Courtney Barnett.

IDENTITY ON FILM Zak Johnson The theme of identity in film isn’t really a unique one. With the exception of maybe the odd Michael Bay flick, character growth and development are fairly mandatory when it comes to crafting a well-rounded movie. The ten films on this list however push the issue of identity (and all of the social assumptions around such) directly to the centre of the narrative.

The Fly (1986) Poor, awkward Seth Brundle can barely catch a break. After finally meeting the girl of his dreams and perfecting his teleportation device he accidentally fuses himself with a housefly; gradually and disgustingly transforming into a man-insect hybrid in the process. Cult director David Cronenberg expertly fuses moments of horror and repugnance with genuine emotion and heart as Seth tragically begins to lose his humanity. This, coupled with a career-defining turn from Jeff Goldblum at his Goldblumiest and you have a rare example of a remake surpassing the original.

Blue Jasmine (2013)

Transamerica (2005)

Moonlight (2016)

Often cited as one of Cate Blanchett’s best performances (as well as one of Woody Allen’s best movies), Blue Jasmine focuses on the titular former socialite who is forced to drastically readjust her lifestyle after her rich husband is imprisoned for dodgy business practices. Moving in with her estranged sister, Jasmine’s delicate facade of glamour and egotism is slowly broken down by her newfound reality. Considered to be a contemporary remake of A Streetcar Named Desire (itself definitely worth a watch), Blue Jasmine is a simultaneously tragic and comical experience that looks at how our actions and attitudes shape our lives.

Road movies are often an uninventive and uninspired genre, but Transamerica is set apart by its unique premise. Just before undergoing her sex reassignment surgery, transgender woman Bree finds out that she fathered a son eighteen years before, and sets out to find him, impersonating a Christian missionary in order to gain his trust. During their trip, she has to confront her past as well as her intolerant family. Felicity Huffman, most famous for her role in Desperate Housewives, does a fantastic job playing Bree, and received an Academy Award nod for her efforts. A highly unorthodox family comedy-drama, but it’s definitely no less heart-warming.

Though it’s probably going to remain overshadowed by the absolutely FUBAR situation at this year’s Oscars, where La La Land was inadvertently awarded its Best Picture award, Moonlight still remains a must-see film that will linger with you for days. It depicts three separate periods in the life of Chiron, an AfricanAmerican boy struggling with both his impoverished, crime-ridden surroundings as well as the fact that he’s gay. We can’t help but sit and watch as Chiron is forced to change his personality and suppress his feelings in order to merely survive in a brutally homophobic environment.

Identity on film

The Thing (1982)

The Graduate (1967)

Citizen Kane (1941)

What’s worse than being stuck on an Antarctic research station for an indefinite period of time with only a handful of co-workers for company? Being stuck on said research station with a parasitic alien life form that can replicate the appearance of anything it touches/ absorbs. As the titular thing begins picking off and assimilating researchers one by one, distrust and fear begins to set in, as no one can be certain who is still human. Featuring some of the most impressive (and repulsive) practical special effects ever presented on screen, The Thing has been consistently ranked as one of the best horror films ever made.

Like many people his age, recent college graduate Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman’s breakthrough role) is struggling with what to do with his life. Slightly overcomplicating the matter is the affair he embarks on with Mrs. Robinson, his father’s business partner’s wife. Further complicating it is the infatuation he subsequently develops for Elaine, Mrs. Robinson’s daughter. One of the first films to capture the concept of a quarter-life crisis, The Graduate is mandatory viewing for everyone on the cusp of adulthood. Plus this is the motion picture that first used Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”, spawning thousands of memes decades down the line.

“Rosebud”. This dying word uttered by media tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, helps launch the plot of this Orson Welles-directed and starring classic, as inquisitive reporter Thompson investigates Kane’s childhood and career in order to gauge the word’s meaning. What he finds instead is a tangled web of failed promises and dreams, as Kane’s earlier good-natured ideals are overtaken by his pursuit of power and prestige, ultimately leaving him a broken and isolated man. A haunting, beautifully shot production that shows the destructive effects that greed and wealth can have on an individual. The identity of Rosebud, if you don’t know it already, is just the icing on the cake.

Memento (2000)

Black Swan (2010)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Before Christopher Nolan was directing movies about billionaires who dress up as rodents and dream thieves he was making serious waves with this cerebral flick that relies heavily on non-linear structure and narrative. Former insurance agent Leonard (Guy Pearce) is searching for his wife’s murderer. The only problem is he suffers from short-term memory loss approximately every fifteen minutes. Memento jumps back and forth across different times in Leonard’s mission, with him becoming increasingly befuddled (alongside the audience) as to whether he is searching for the right person. A solid candidate for one of the most confusing films ever made.

Featuring Natalie Portman in an Oscar-winning role, Black Swan continues Darren Aranofsky’s streak of happy-go-lucky, upbeat movies such as Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler. And no, that wasn’t sarcasm at all. Nina is an innocent and naïve ballet dancer who has been domineered and overprotected by her mother her whole life. When the dual role of the White/Black Swan becomes available for her academy’s production of Swan Lake, Nina slowly descends into madness as she struggles to awaken the dark side of her personality in order to get the gig. Think of it as the ending of Grease but turned into a two-hour psychological thriller.

You’ve done yourself a great disservice if you haven’t seen The Breakfast Club, which is arguably the greatest teen film you’ll watch. It features the exploits of a group of American high school students, including “a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal,” during their Saturday detention. A witty and intelligent script from John Hughes as well as a great cast, including Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez, help make its protagonists fully fleshedout characters rather than just stereotypes. As the day progresses, each of the students realise that they have more in common than they believed and that they’re more than one-dimensional members of their respective cliques.

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IDENTITY IN FASHION

Angel Nikijuluw and Christian Nimri We all have our own unique style and identity. We decided to tell you about how we express ourselves through the clothes we wear.

Angel 1. Tell us about your style evolution. I didn’t make a conscious decision to wear colour until the middle of my first year of university. I strictly wore dark colours (black, white, grey and navy) before then, which was, in hindsight, a reflection of how I felt inside. I realised one day that the way I dressed perpetuated my emotions, and then I asked myself, “why do I dress in such dark colours?”. That was when I found comfort in wearing colour - especially pinks, blues, and purples. I am happier in these colours. 2. What are you inspired by? I’m inspired by Korean style, some elements of Japanese street style, and some western trends. It’s incredibly important for me to draw inspiration from particular styles or trends

and translate it to make it my own. I’m also inspired by particular music genres and the way artists/songs/albums sound, such as Wave Racer, Porter Robinson, Marina and The Diamonds, Twice, and Red Velvet. Sounds translate

My style is constantly evolving because I am evolving. This is my way of telling the world that these colours reflect the way I feel.

into colours and feelings in my head, so I definitely take inspiration from them. 3. How does this define you? How do your clothes help you communicate to the world who you are? My style is constantly evolving because I am evolving. This is my way of telling the world that these colours reflect the way I feel, and the style of clothes helps me communicate to others what I’m interested in. How we dress is another way of telling people who we are without saying a word. That’s something unique to fashion, which I think is really cool. 4. What would you never wear? Peplum tops/dresses/anything.

Identity in fashion

Christian 1. Tell us about your style evolution. I used to only wear black pants and three different coloured plain shirts, black, white and navy. I would just alternate between the three, but one day someone had a deep and meaningful with me about how I should be wearing what I want to wear, and to express myself; because people will just glance then forget about it anyway. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when I started to get a bit more technical with what I wear.

What I wear helps me create an image of how I want people to see me.

2. What are you inspired by? I subscribe to a few fashion editorials online, and I really enjoy colour pairing. I think my work as a photographer also helps me inspire myself with what I wear. I tend to use fashion to assist with any image I take. 43

Something else that helps me is the people who I see out in public who are doing what I do. Seeing people be more independent and personable helps me express myself a bit more. 3. How does this define you? How do your clothes help you communicate to the world who you are? What I wear helps me create an image of how I want people to see me. What I wear can translate whether Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m approachable or not. 4. What would you never wear? V necks, if you catch me wearing a v neck you know something has gone wrong.

M AY SUN

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Labour Day

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Interfaculty Cup

14 Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Classic (Uni Fitness)

21 Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Trip

Market Day

Trivia Night

Study Week

26 National Sorry Day

Stress Less Week

Guild Ball National Reconciliation Week

31 State of Origin Game 1 @ Uni Bar

Stress Less Week National Reconciliation Week Study Week

gugcstudentguild

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MON

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Examinations

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State of Origin Game 2 @ Uni Bar

Student Vacation

Indigenous Unigames

Examinations Student Vacation Indigenous Unigames

gugcstudentguild.com.au

Feature artist – Scarlet Kill Fruzsi Gál

When twin brothers Will and Matt Tyler, along with their younger brother Mitch, started jamming in their garage with their best friend Bryce Legdin, they never dreamed it would turn into ‘Scarlet Kill’. These four young guys hailing from Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast have just put out a killer EP, She Draws The Heart Out Of My Love, that’s filled with track after track that truly showcase the band in a way that’s hard to even describe. In a time where the music industry is comprised of bands that were built around a concept formed by a record label, the boys in Scarlet Kill decided to take a different approach to their music and careers, a real one. The band collectively writes all of their music, the inspiration of which is drawn from their personal experiences of love, life, loss, and having a good time. How would you characterise your music in contemporary terms? Our music is modern but still draws inspiration from the leading artists of our genre. That being somewhere in-between pop, rock and punk. But we draw influence from a wide variety of genres which contribute to our unique sound. Tell us about your song writing process – do you always do it together? Do you have any muses? We usually come together with rough ideas, say a chorus or just some chords and a melody, and then we all make it come to life. It changes from song to song but that’s the general gist of how we go about writing. Mitch and Will usually bring their halffinished songs to band practice and we just work on them until we end up with something we all love. Do you always agree when it comes to songs? When it comes to songwriting it’s a very involved process for all members of the band. We all help to

Feature artist

shape the songs in some way or another, although there’s usually some minor discrepancies along the way, we always end up with a track that we’ve all moulded to be our own. What, or who inspires you? We are all inspired by a variety of artists. Green Day, All Time Low and Panic At The Disco are a few of the bands that have been a constant in our playlists. Every time we hit the stage we are totally reenergised and inspired. We just want to make music that both the band and the world can dig. But we are inspired by everything that happens around us. I’d say that our experiences have the most direct impact on the content of our songs. We generally aim to write songs that mean something to us. I think that it’s important that each song has a purpose.

You have just finished your Don’t Wake Up Tour. How did it go?

If you could collaborate with any one musician, who would it be and why?

We always love hitting the road for a few days to perform for our fans in other parts of Australia. It’s kind of like a working holiday I guess. It’s always a good time. It was refreshing to tour for an acoustic song - the vibe is a bit different whenever Will pulls out the acoustic guitar on stage. It was definitely a successful tour.

Ed Sheeran would be amazing to work with! The man is a genius and everything he writes is gold!

Do you have a favourite venue on the Gold Coast that you loved playing at the most? Our favourite venue on the Gold Coast would have to be Griffith Uni Drama Theatre. We have played there quite a few times and it has always been so much fun. It’s one of the only all ages venues left on the Coast unfortunately. It’s quite a small room, but we like it that way. It forces everyone to stand side by side and creates a sick intimate vibe.

What do you listen to in your free time? We’re big fans of bands like Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco. Though we all listen to a large variety of music. Any other plans for the immediate future? We’re in the process of writing at the moment. 2016 was a huge year for us, with two national tours, our first international Japan tour and with the recent end of our ‘Don’t Wake Up’ tour. We’re really excited to get back into the studio and create something new!

Online Angel Nikijuluw & David Paulmert

FOREBEARS Website As I was watching a video about the death of surnames, the narrator suggested this website to check how common your last name is. I’m not actually sure how accurate it is, but I found out there are only 19 people in Australia who share my last name – and yes, they’re all my family. That’s 1 in every 1,240,326 people in Australia! Are you a Smith? Congratulations, you have the most common surname in Australia. forebeard.io/surnames

KAHOOT! Website Ever had that tingly sensation that runs through your veins, making you want to get up and groove? I’ll bet a quiz has never given you that feeling, but Kahoot! will. Boasting the best tunes in town, Kahoot! is an interactive web app that allows a presenter to quiz the audience, who in turn only need to own a smartphone or computer with which they can access the site. It’s formatted like a race, with each question seeing new leaders on the leaderboard (or the same ones, depending on how good they are!) and the accompanying bright colours and great tunes engaging even the saltiest backseat bandits. For the grooviest pop quiz at the end of class, ask your lecturer to make a Kahoot!, and to add some funk to a presentation or speech, get Kahooting. kahoot.it

AFTERPAY Online service Afterpay is especially crucial for us students who like to treat ourselves, but can only afford to splurge with $10 every week. Afterpay allows you to enjoy items now, so – you guessed it – you can pay afterwards through equal instalments over four weeks with no interest. With over 3000 retailers on board, you’re bound to find some real good stuff in minutes. afterpay.com.au

Online

DAFONT Website Long gone are the days of the simple Helvetica or Impact – never again will you have an excuse to use the godforsaken Papyrus in your PowerPoints. Behold, DaFont.com – a website that houses over 10,000 free fonts for you to download at your leisure. I know I’ve spent far too many hours of my life looking through every page and category of font you could possibly think of. This hub is truly priceless. dafont.com

UBEREATS App UberEats is finally here on the Gold Coast, and life has never been better. If you’re a fan of fast food home delivery, you’ll definitely be on board with this gem of an app. While not fully accessible for all of us living on the Coast (yet… hopefully), the best thing about UberEats is that it’s possible to order anything to campus for those nights at the library during exam block. ubereats.com

Entertainment

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) 104 minutes Animation, superhero, comedy Director: Chris McKay Zak Johnson Following the widespread commercial and critical success of 2014’s The Lego Movie, we’ve received our first spin-off in what is sure to be a long line of related titles that feature characters in the form of small plastic figures that hurt like hell when you step on them. And far from being merely a massive cash-grab (which sure, it is), The Lego Batman Movie has plenty of heart and humour, features that also made its predecessor a hit. Lego Batman depicts a much more self-absorbed and egotistical Caped Crusader (voiced superbly by Will Arnett) who is forced to reevaluate his attitude and outlook on life after callously dismissing The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) as his arch-nemesis. Suddenly facing his own isolated existence, Batman is further challenged by his accidental adoption of a young Dick “Robin” Grayson (Michael Cera) as well as a spurned Joker’s quest for revenge. A film based on a line of toys that were in turn based on a preexisting multi-platformed franchise certainly has the potential to be a complete trainwreck, but luckily Lego Batman doesn’t take itself seriously at all, a creative decision that ultimately works in its favour. From the offset you’re bombarded

with the Dark Knight’s narration as he remarks on the need for edgy opening music as well as the unrelated fact that he has a nine-pack.

heights that you would expect of both the clown and the comedian who voices him, but he’s still given a decent amount of scenery to chew on.

This meta, self-referential sense of humour is complemented by the film’s clever reliance on bringing up, as well as openly mocking, other comic book movies and shows. Be it Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed trilogy or the ubercamp 1960s TV series featuring Adam West, no Batman project is safe from being lampooned. Even Marvel gets a few playful jabs. In an endless wave of superherorelated properties, it’s refreshing to see a film that can successfully put a number of them under the microscope for a few fleeting moments.

Though never lacking in affection for its marvellously animated characters and the way they deal with each other, it’s in the final act, when the film’s message of the importance of family takes the foreground more heavily, that Lego Batman loses a little bit of the comedic momentum it had done a top-notch job of building up until that point. This is, however, only a slight stumble, one redeemed by a return to the film’s zaniness in i ts last minutes.

The animation’s obviously gorgeous and the voice cast helps bring a new dimension to these overly familiar characters. Arnett and Cera bounce well off each other as the Dynamic Duo, even if their relationship’s more dysfunctional than previously depicted. Plus Ralph Fiennes and Rosario Dawson add another layer of warmth and humour with their respective portrayals of Alfred and Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl). It’s a bit of a shame that Galifianakis’ Joker isn’t taken to the insane Entertainment

It’s kind of sad to think that out of the three DC films released over the last year or so, the crème of the crop was the one featuring Lego characters that blatantly ridiculed the others. Whether that’s a testament to how mediocre Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman were or to how surprisingly good The Lego Batman Movie is is ultimately up to you. Still, the latter is definitely worth a look for those who are sick of the pompousness of most modern superhero flicks. Verdict: Animated self-referential silliness at its finest.

Process Sampha Daniel Pagotto Finally, we have an LP. Sampha Sisay, the South London producer/ singer/pianist/whatever the hell he wants, is back with his latest release Process, and what a ride we’re in for. Health issues, personal loss and self-growth drive the theme behind this soulful release. An almost completely brand new sound from the man who has recently featured on releases by the likes of Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Drake, just to name a few. After losing both his mother and father to cancer, the opening track ‘Plastic 100ºC’ describes what he feared, his own run-in with the disease back in early 2012. Track

Number 1 Angel Charli XCX Angel Nikijuluw

I first came across Charli XCX through – surprise, surprise – Coldplay, when she supported them during their 2012 Mylo Xyloto tour. Since then, I have

no. 4, ‘(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano’ is a hauntingly intimate ballad. A beautiful ode to the piano, Sampha recites the simple, yet complex relationship he has with the instrument that ignited, and carried his love for music to the present day. The album ends with ‘Incomplete Kisses’ and ‘What Shouldn’t I Be?’. Both tracks uncover a deep sense of detachment the artist feels within his own personal life, with him yearning for a sense of belonging and reconsolidation with his loved ones.

emotional piano playing as opposed to the more electronically-based production we’re used to hearing in the past. It’s safe to say it was worth the wait - a brilliant debut album, with what’s shaping up to be a cracking 2017 for music.

“Process is an enchantingly soulful LP” Reminiscent of James Blake’s ‘Retrograde’, Process is an enchantingly soulful LP - with a heavier focus on Sampha’s

followed her journey through her electric first record, True Romance, and the rise of her single ‘Boom Clap’, thanks to the wildly popular film adaption of John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars. Finally, after a string of singles and EPs, Number 1 Angel is Charli’s first mixtape – a 37-minute experimental effort with a collection of collaborations with some badass women in the industry, such as MØ, Starrah, and RAYE.

“Number 1 Angel is dynamic, it’s distorted, it’s sexy, and it’s by far the best work from Charli XCX.” Described as more of “crying into the champagne than drinking it” by Charli herself, the lyrics narrate a story of vulnerability, breakups

and sad love. Number 1 Angel feels somewhat of a natural progression of her style and sound – it’s clear she takes some solid inspiration from current pop trends with the short, pitched trap beats and heavy bass (‘Dreamer’, ‘3AM’ and ‘Roll With Me’). It isn’t until the second half of the record that she returns to the sweet, sweeping synths reminiscent to the pace of True Romance (‘Emotional’, ‘Ily2’ and ‘White Roses’). Overall, Number 1 Angel is dynamic, it’s distorted, it’s sexy, and it’s by far the best work from Charli XCX.

Entertainment The Year The Gypsies Came Linzi Glass

Monique Hotchin

The Year the Gypsies Came is a treasured book of mine and I’ve placed the story on a pedestal without ever meaning to. Linzi Glass’s debut novel follows the story of a seemingly perfect but truly troubled white family in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 1960s. The emotionally struggling family is headed for unexpected tragedy when a travelling Australian family comes to stay.

starts to unravel at the seams, slowly but surely, as spring transforms Johannesburg. The Year the Gypsies Came is wonderfully written and evoking on all levels as you come to care about young tomboyish Emily and her family that are irrevocably changed by the family of wanderers. If you need support, please call Lifeline - 13 11 44

I first read this book in late primary school and it’s stayed with me ever since, remaining traced into my memory. It’s the type of book that whenever you re-read it, you find a new meaning, discovering something deeper and richer. However, I wouldn’t recommend this book to kids because of the exploration of adultery, depression and suicide through the eyes of naive twelve-year-old Emily Iris. The Iris family grows closer to the ‘gypsies’ (especially Emily and sweet Streak) and the intrigue that surrounds the Australian family gradually becomes an unnerving shadow. Everything

Are you a film nerd, music geek, book worm or online aficionado? Would you like to tell us what you think? Getamungstit is always looking for talented contributors and reviewers.

If this sounds like you, please drop us a line at getamungstit@griffith.edu.au and your work could be featured in our next edition.

Entertainment

Being creative Trump’s First Day in Office Sally Breen Somewhere in the stunted stretch of time between Donald Trump being elected and his first day in office my mum had a heart attack. Don’t get me wrong. He had nothing to do with it. Today is his first day in office and her second day out of hospital. Some days are better than others. We’re sitting in the lounge room, big white bowls cradled in our laps, eating the fried rice I’ve made. It started out good but has ended up pretty ordinary. We’re watching a free to air movie, we’re not watching the live coverage of the inauguration, happening somewhere in an upside down space where Washington’s midday is our night. After dinner I sneak outside for cigarettes I shouldn’t be having and larger sips of wine because now Mum’s on the wagon, guzzling when I’m sitting right by her seems less appropriate. My partner’s asleep in the lazyboy. My mum’s knitting a blanket. She asks me which combinations of colours will work best, creating bunchy tableaus of cheap looking balls of wool. I say yes to the pale green and a bit of white and we both say no to too much yellow. In between small mentions of things that have to happen – rehab, when she can drive, when she can fly, walking for two minutes each day, then ten, then twenty and the times that’ll be best to do that in this heat we pay out on the movie, rolling our eyes, the knitting needles and our eyes click clacking. And because of what’s happened it bothers me less when mum points out things I’ve clearly just watched too or when she repeats something a lead character has just said. I’ve got my laptop open, only half watching action men leaping over walls on the TV screen, two finger scrolling, wondering about this first day in office feed absently, like it’s happening somewhere else – a never, never land we’ve heard too much about and never been, a place that hangs over us all like a great stain on a map but doesn’t know me or my mum or this low level house in the wetlands with the security grills and the rationed out air conditioning because it is. This is all happening to someone else. When Mum says it’s ok to use the dishwasher because there’s three of us I’m surprised. Less fussed about the future she can’t see or the details. Once I’m done I come back into the lounge and put my feet up on the Super Amart poof mum’s recovered herself in lime green swaddling to match the couch, watching the screen time rage laid out on my thighs feeding on itself.

We are the oncoming storm. They still don’t know I’m not a banana. Old pussies rise up. There’s been a tiny cookie baking disaster. Women on the US Mexico border weave their hair together. Masterchef shares the best way to cut a watermelon. Everything I’m interested in boils down to the fact there is an injustice happening somewhere. Babes who wine and opera. I still can’t believe I have to protest this fucking shit. Mmm that fake chicken was good. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. How a sewing machine works. Melania blink for help. Fancy shagging a foot? I actually think Baron is an adorable kid. Who’s got the crazy leader now motherfuckers? University of Oxford free course – Critical thinking for beginners. Everything has changed in our small corner of the world but not because of Donald Trump. America hasn’t made one iota of difference. And here is Ashlee Judd on a microphone and Madonna is being investigated by the CIA and I think about how my mum rates a movie by how many aliens it has in it. And behind her head are the five limited edition Beatles albums she’s had framed that the robbers didn’t have the nous to steal and the hutch full of art magazines and the tall boy full of CDs and pirated movies sent over from England by Uncle Brian with helpful titling and pictures on the disc. And the vase I brought back for her from Melbourne and a roller derby of hot rods in the corner left there by the grandkids looking like they’re about to take off and rip into town. And all these humans on Facey so cashed in, so drawn down into their caves or their private palaces or hells, a gap that is mostly, or maybe exactly, the same thing and no one saying anything about the fact, that maybe, we might have deserved it. Mum says she’s tired and says good night and I kiss her and hug her with a bit more lean and she trots off to bed and I hear the pipes shuddering and the long necklaces she keeps on her bedroom door handle jangling. And I stand outside in the courtyard finding clouds through the gaps in the dirty lattice and I’m not worried about what is happening on the other side of the world. I’m worried about what can happen in a second, what can happen in a night. Life goes on, I think, staring and blowing smoke through the small wooden squares out over the garden Mum can barely keep back. Life goes on and on and on until at some point, inexplicably, it doesn’t.

Being creative

Salt and Pepper Sahib Nazari You loved my mother’s home-made naan bread, and I loved the dried red pepper mince that you said wasn’t too spicy Your grin said otherwise

Where’ve the days gone? And the sleepless you and I? Your pepper like temper

Then every single pore of my being, activated pouring off water with the hit of pepper

My salt like sweat

Mixed with salt

Your single ear-ring with no gems in the shells

And how you laughed as you wiped off my tears with the button-less sleeve of your scarlet dress

And my black wrist watch that came out of coma and fell asleep

Since we had no water

As it pleased

And how we giggled In the back of the grape vines hanging off the clay walls We must have been eight or nine Where have the days gone?

Where have the days gone? The tears and the laughter The burning of tongues and no water The home-made naan bread With salt and pepper

The days when we tricked our parents To meet, in the corner of the dead-end street Where the mountain met the soil and the zigzagging trails of the excavating ants, In the afternoon heat, When the sun was the high and the only other thing in the pale blue sky was the lone scavenger flying in circles as if trying to hypnotise the mighty ball of fire

Being creative

THIS ONE ADJACENT WINDOW, MONTMARTE Sam Ramage

A candle by tulips, flesh red, Enlarging their stems Into flickering ink, Climbing the wall behind them. Separated from me by two windows, And a chasm of cobblestone Four floors below, hosting The local drunkard choir at two in the morning, A cat, all grey except for Her white chest tinted Copper by the flame, Appears briefly, Then melts into the warmth Of the room, as cats do. Five earthenware pots hang From the window sill, Housing lush silhouettes. A damp flag drips, Heavily, fatigued, Reaching for the street. The night is old, the air stony; But it is a clear and warm afternoon Through this one adjacent window.

Being creative

OUT FOR BREAKFAST Sam Ramage

The shadows are still long, Damp, Thick from rebirth, Spread Like butter across the street.

I remember That regardless of me, The ink will drift like skins Lifted each morning, Tossed like bedsheets, Settling in piles Over lawn, eave, Toyota, And Over my two friends Who keep this moment tied together

Being creative

AN INCONSISTENT ME MOON RIVER Elizabeth Danaher

Hope Nakagawa-Morrison

You are my ideal, you are my ordeal

Can I dwell upon the thought of you wading in my depths,

You weave in and out of my dispositions,

with tides turning to surround you

acquainting new characters,

to be pulled adrift again.

seeing the beauty in irregularity Inconsistently, I propose who I am, modifying the clues to my identity, dissenting from the rules to the game of seek Inconsistently, I am me Only consistently am I a me who is drawn into you An indefinite you or an authentic part of you, An any you When I become one with you, I find this a place to be the purest form of me Unvarnished and unclean

Being creative

GREAT BLUE MIND Duane Katene

There is a pit in my stomach

The flames of the furnace come tumbling down.

That won’t go away.

Words become meaning but then they don’t have meaning.

It’s deep Cold. Heavy to bear. Its tentacles Just reach below the surface Of my life Sending their Mist slowly in me Though It hasn’t Twisted in my life yet Its poison is yet to Taint my blood

Intent. Subjective. Objective. What does it all mean? What is the act of being? Why does conversation mean so much? Warm wind. Hot Summers Misunderstanding Piled upon a life. Tides and fish and the great Blue Mind.

But its There biding its time Unless I do something about it.

Being creative

DEAR BROTHER Stefan Jatschka Dear brother, I’m turning twenty-nine this year, which means we are turning twenty-nine this year. Twenty-nine. That’s an interesting number. A prime number I think but I don’t really know what that means. I just know that in a year we will not have spoken to each other for 10 years. That’s a decade. Numbers were always your thing but they never made sense to me. Equations and formulas make sense to you and provide you with undeniable results. They don’t hurt. They just present you with the truth. And if you don’t like that truth you can always subtract and divide that truth to make it more bearable. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can remove from this letter to make it less uncomfortable. Even if you decide not to read it, the presence of this letter will have you wonder forever. It’s been almost nine years since we’ve last talked. Or have we ever really talked? Maybe we just co-existed, like two variables that weren’t meant to be in the same equation. I don’t know. I rarely had the answers for simple mathematical formulas and relied on you to solve them for me. I relied on you to wake me up every morning to go to school. Study for history exams and to pick me up at three AM from parties I didn’t even invite you to. But you never asked me for anything. You didn’t need to and you sure didn’t want to. I always thought you were embarrassed by me but I didn’t blame you. I would have been, too. I often try to think back as far as possible, when we were children and when you needed me. Not a single memory or scenario crosses my mind in which you would have needed your big brother. The kind you’d look up to, running around with a red cape looking out for you, the kind you could depend on, the kind that would never hurt you. That wasn’t me. I remember that one day, it must have been fall or early winter because we were wearing heavy down jackets and you were wearing a purple woollen beanie. The air was foggy, the grass damp and the chimneys of the houses around us smoking. I wanted to wear the same beanie as you but you asked me to take it off, otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to play soccer in our garden when mum convinced

you to play with me. You kicked the ball so hard, yet carelessly, and it landed between the branches of the fir tree at the back of the garden, kind of hidden from the veranda, where Mum would watch us, making sure we weren’t killing each other. I wish she had been sitting on that veranda that day. Smoking one or two cigarettes before she’d call us back in as she stubs them out in one of her flower pots. It must have been too cold for her that day. I convinced you to throw stuff at the ball, hoping the impact of one of the objects hitting it would cause it to fall down and we’d be able to continue to be brothers for a few more minutes before the sun had disappeared in a sea of red clouds. We threw the most ridiculous things at the ball. Ropes, grass, twigs, Mum’s hoola hoop. Anything we could find. We had fun. Until I picked up a rock, as big as your head, threw it in the air, almost hitting the ball. We were both looking up and even though we knew exactly where that rock was going to land, none of us moved. We stood there in silence. Just waiting for it to happen. I’ll never forget the amount of blood that was coming through the woollen layers of your beanie. My first thought, as I kneeled next to you, barely able to breathe ‘Please wake up’. My second thought, when you opened your eyes and started crying immediately, ‘Please don’t tell Mum.’ The sound of the rock hitting your head, seeing you drop to the ground as if you had been struck by lightning haunt me until today. A slo-mo loop of these minutes has been playing in my head for years, subtitled with what if’s and could have’s. You cried for hours that night and you wouldn’t talk to me for weeks, you couldn’t go to school for days and you had to wear a safety helmet to protect your head for a while. You felt like you were the one being punished for something I did. Some things changed that night and we talked even less than we used to. I never told you but I did cry as well that night. Not because of guilt or fear but because when you can’t breathe, I can’t breathe either. When you don’t speak, my mouth dries up and my vocal chords only echo yours. I have no problem admitting that you’re more knowledgeable, more logical and stronger than me and if I could go back in time to change one event in

Being creative

our lives, I would convince the doctor to first take you out of the womb we’ve shared for 32 weeks and me second. Life would make more sense that way. I was never meant to be a big brother to you but you know as well as I do that this wasn’t my choice and it wasn’t nature’s choice either. It was yours. Everyone has always laughed the story off as a joke, a happy accident, an innocent mistake but I think it says a lot about our failed relationship. If you hadn’t tied a knot into my umbilical chord I would not have been born first and quite frankly, I think you resent me for that. You’ve always been the best at everything, the first, the strongest and the most logical but you’ll always be second born. Does that upset you? To hold eternal second place as a human. A son. A brother. There will always be a hole in my soul, making me feel incomplete, not knowledgeable and not as strong as I aim to be. A hole I can’t fill with books, my friends or running away from home. You must know what I mean. I doubt that anyone in this world will ever understand what it feels like if a part of you has been stolen and forever lost. Nowhere to be found. It’s that void, I’m sure we both feel, can’t be filled anymore because we’ve missed too many opportunities to be brothers. It’s the kind of hole you can attempt to seal and hope it will never be opened ever again. I envy all the other twins in this world who didn’t grow up to be rivals. How can we be so different? Weren’t we loved by the same parents? Don’t we share the same genetic code that makes you a little bit of me and me just a little bit more like you? Aren’t two equal halves are supposed to make one equal whole? I’m not writing this letter to apologise or to tell you that I love you because we both know how we feel about each other and nothing will ever change that. Stubbornness might be the only mutual quality we share. I’m writing this letter to help you understand why you might be feeling incomplete and broken every year on November 20th and might be wishing for a stronger seal. A seal that doesn’t remind us of what we’ve missed out on. A seal that allows us to move on. A seal that pretends we didn’t ruin our family and hurt the people who cared most about us. Yours, Stefan

Being creative

COMIC Mic Smith

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Being creative

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Get the hell outta here Curing cultural starvation Elleanor O’Connell Are you suffering from cultural starvation? Is your world view getting increasingly smaller, and you’ve stopped appreciating what had made our great country so. Damn. Great? Treat your tastebuds and devour some culture with these three fantastic restaurants. Other than English, the most common languages spoken in Australia today are Chinese, Italian, Greek and Arabic. Australia has so much cultural diversity that our traditions, festivals, and foods stem from all over the globe. Our nation’s identity has been created by decades of immigrants from the far corners of Asia, to the deepest regions of Europe. Cultures are formed and defined by the religions they embrace, the festivals they celebrate, and the foods they feast upon, so why not celebrate some of these incredible cultures by devouring the best foods they have to offer.

SATORU’S JAPANESE RESTAURANT – OXENFORD

RABBATH – BURLEIGH

NEW SAIGON – SURFERS PARADISE

Average dish price: $10

Average dish price: $16

Average dish price: $18

It’s easy to forget with the Gold Coast’s hundreds of sushi restaurants, that sushi isn’t the only incredible food to come from Japanese culture. Hidden in Oxenford’s business district, Satoru’s Japanese Restaurant offers an incredible selection of beautiful dishes from the most tender beef tataki you could ever imagine, to nasu-dengaku; delicious pan fried eggplant in sweet miso sauce. Sushi Train will be a thing of the past once you wrap your lips around Satoru’s fried chicken marinated in garlic, chilli, ginger, and soy sauce.

The Lebanese restaurant is run by the Rabbath brothers, Patrick and Pascal, and specialises in authentic recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Rabbath’s dishes are designed for sharing with friends and family to encompass the Lebanese family culture and food that brings people together. The boys’ char grilled lamb with babaganouj is a fan favourite with its traditional, fragrant flavours that leave you fighting with friends for the last piece of tender meat. If lamb isn’t your style, try the m’jadara; caramelised brown lentils and rice with crispy onion and beetroot pickles. And, in the likely circumstance, you haven’t had your fill of the wonders of Lebanese food, try out the masterpieces on the sweet menu that include fresh watermelon with salted labneh, and pistachio fairy floss.

If you’re after authentic Vietnamese food on your doorstep, look no further than New Saigon. The understated décor and location of the restaurant (right on the Gold Coast highway), lets the incredible food speak for itself. The owners have kept traditional recipes and cooking traditions alive in their flavoursome dishes. New Saigon’s pho is arguably the best on the Gold Coast, and their extensive yet specialised menu has options for every set of tastebuds. If the 50+ item menu makes it too hard to decide what to eat, check out the chef’s recommendations for a real taste of Vietnam’s glorious food culture.

zomato.com/oxenford-qld/satorusjapanese-restaurant-oxenford

rabbath.com.au

Get the hell outta here

newsaigonrestaurant.blogspot. com.au

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