From Ugg boots to Crocodile Dundee – is Australian culture for sale?
As Amazon prepares to bring hobbits to the small screen, the University of Canberra’s Bruce Baer Arnold considers what it all means for the commoditisation of Australian culture in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Are we going to see an Amazon or Apple remake of Crocodile Dundee, Blinky Bill, The Magic Pudding, The Castle or Picnic at Hanging Rock? Should we restrict overseas exploitation of such icons of Australian identity? Should we not bother, on the basis that Australian content doesn’t work in Mumbai or Belgrade or Boston?
This week has seen controversy over Amazon’s plan for a Lord of the Rings series, feeding what it hopes is an insatiable appetite for hobbits. It’s part of Amazon chief executive Steve Bezos’s ambition to offer a global one-stop shop for culture and other consumables. Amazon aims to be a universal service provider in a landscape where broadcast tv, cable tv and traditional retailers wither and die.
The plan tells us something about culture: it’s for sale. It also tells us about franchising content for global markets: media executives are risk-averse and unimaginative. It leaves unanswered questions about taking Australia’s content to the big screen (and importantly little screens) across the world.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the most loved and iconic Australian films of its time – will it also be franchised out? Flickr CC, CC BY
Everything in this country is for sale. From Intellectual Property to Critical infrastructure for the right price (or the right business associate) you can buy it.