Too big for my heart; my five most powerfully affecting moments on fictional TV

[corbyinoz]

I need something to distract me this morning, so I got thinking about the five fictional scenes on TV that really knocked my socks off. Well, why not? There are plenty of sporting moments, because I do like watching a lot of sport - Steve Waugh's 100 at the SCG, Sally Pearson winning gold at the Olympics, Makybe Diba's third Melbourne Cup, Sydney

Comments

[arabia764]

I'd have gone with the Band of Brothers moment. But I need many distractions - we elected not one but two arseholes to run the place. The damage they are doing is unbelievable.

[corbyinoz]

Oh, really? I only ever see soundbites of Cameron, and he just seems awfully slick but not overtly shitty, if you know what I mean. But of course they'd be fucking the country over; it's what Conservatives do. I'm sorry to hear that they're behaving as badly as expected. Couldn't they have defied their own nature and thought a little altruistically for a bit? Just a bit?

Yes, I almost automatically put BoB in there, but as explained above - I didn't cry over the characters portrayed, I cried over the real bloke. What an amazing man, and oh, god, that finale... I'm tearing up just thinking of it. I sincerely mourned him when he died last year. But I was specifically thinking of imaginary characters. Investing in real peopel and being moved by them makes all kinds of sense; mourning imaginary consructs, or being wildly enthused or inspired by them, whatever, is what's really interesting to me. And we do believe in these people, on some level - I'm convinced the Doctor is going to park his TARDIS out the back one of these days.

[arabia764]

Would you like to see Cameron closer up? I could send him over to you. No, really, I'd *love* top send him over!

They've buggered up education, now the Post Office and the one I will never get over, the NHS. You aren't meant to make money out of schools but that seems to be where they're headed. As for our mayor Boris... don'tget me started!

I sobbed my heart out the first time I saw The Deer Hunter. Is that the kind of thing you meant?

[corbyinoz]

You're so kind, but thank you, no. With Tony The Mad Monk Abbott, we have our own homegrown arsehole to deal with. He has yet to bugger up education, but give him time. He will - my uni will have $16 mill less straight off the bat. That's the way to stay forward thinking, innovative, and informed (all of which speak to competitiveness, the conservatives' mantra)- cripple the universities.

Make money out of schools? sigh. Yep. Conservatives run govt like they'd run a business, instead of understanding that government is - well, government. So for them it's user pays, and cutting the dead wood, etc. Newsflash; no one in society should be regarded as dead wood, and some users *can't* pay, and that's why we pay taxes, to help them out.

The great thing is the utterly foul, completely despicable local member may well have lost her seat to an Indpeendent. You little beauty!!!!

Ugh. Anyway, The Deer Hunter - I haven't seen it. It's good? So many great movies, so little time. I should watch it - Christopher Walken is always weirdly

[arabia764]

Oh go on, please, take Cameron and the whole lot of 'em. Pretty please?

Give them time and they'll bugger up everything. Our lot are now selling off the Post Office. What's next... I was going to put something ludicrous but I can't think of anything they haven't already sold. It's a case of how can they make money for their mates.

At least you have one small sliver of good news.

Is The Deer Hunter good? Well, I thought it was when I saw it 20+ years ago but it's probably dated now.

[corbyinoz]

Well, even before they've sworn in cabinet they've taken away 1.5 billion that was earmarked by the previous govt for payrises to the notoriously low paid child care and age care workers, predominantly women. There's one woman in Arsehole's cabinet. One. They hounded the first female PM out of govt under banners that read 'Ditch the witch' and 'Bob Brown's bitch'. (Dr Bob Brown is one of the most decent, utterly morally courageous human beings you'd ever wish to know, but he's strong Left/ Greens, hence demonised. Here's an example; an Australian was being held hostage in an African state, his parents approached Bob for help, so he asked his (male) partner if he'd mind if they mortgaged the house to provide the ransom just so they could get this boy home safe. How many pollies do you know who'd actually do that? BTW, this came out years later - Bob never made any kind of mileage out of it. I met the bloke - he's brilliant).

[arabia764]

I'll admit I watched what happened to your female PM with horror. Our politicians play at all types of equality - play at it n the worst way.

Your chap sounds like a truly decent guy. Shame they aren't all like that - shame we don't have *any* like that!

[corbyinoz]

Dr Bob's retired now. Julia just wrote a terrific piece in The Guardian. I'm going to miss her, in one way, but in another it was a daily dose of hurt to see how the media went after her. By attacking her gender, often without even pretending to be non-sexist, they attacked us all. And to watch how she refused to take the bait, again and again, sticking to policy, resisting the urge to smack them upside the head... in time she's going to be regarded as one of our most courageous leaders. But I hate the fact that a woman has to be courageous in this regard to take power. (Mind you, she was also under the hammer because she was Left (ish), so Murdoch's mob went after her in a way they wouldn't if a Right wing female came to power).