Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Hope and Wire

VictoriaX

Fri, 23 Jan 2015 22:15:40 +1300

Top of the Lake was excellent though. Hope & Wire was not good at all. I think people are scraping together something good to say about it just because the director is Preston. Does she honestly think it's good I wonder & I doubt it?

Sofie Bribiesca

Wed, 30 Jul 2014 18:06:29 +1200

Would it be positive to offer $3k for the unemployable to leave Christchurch? This may sound callus

It is and no. That someone hasn't got a job could be for many reasons. So no one has the right to categorise a society like that putting a dollar value on human…

Kyle Matthews

Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:36:06 +1200

I watched all three shows of the series and wasn't sure what to think about them at the time, until I've read through this thread. I found parts of it good, but parts of it just... average. I didn't like the way time jumped forward with no indication that it…

Kumara Republic

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 12:24:48 +1200

I hope you will, because I don’t think I can afford to put my foot through the TV. I feel perfectly OK about writing this down as a “well-intentioned and basically honorable fail.”

That's likely because ACC would be unlikely to cover it. Use a 2x4 instead. Or better still,…

Craig Ranapia

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 11:58:42 +1200

worth watching part 3 if missed part 2?

I hope you will, because I don't think I can afford to put my foot through the TV. I feel perfectly OK about writing this down as a "well-intentioned and basically honorable fail."

Just thinking

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 21:28:31 +1200

I think I would quite like a follow up mini-series. There are some good stories, like the $3K Winz workers. These are the guys & gals we need and it is working.
Buildings are going up and infrastructure is getting fixed. This is a 10-20 yr project, there is no quick…

Sacha

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 20:10:32 +1200

worth watching part 3 if missed part 2?

Rob Stowell

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 18:34:45 +1200

The Harris Bros one-ring circus in three and a half-acts acts is still a classic story. Not likely to ever be told somehow.

Joe Wylie

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 04:36:49 +1200

I’ll qualify that: last thing I read in the Press about him said Kyle Chapman was no longer in Christchurch. I shouldn’t have taken that as a fact.
It's a nice thought anyway :) It was a few years ago now, but back when Outrageous Fortune was all the go…

Hebe

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 23:50:20 +1200

I'll qualify that: last thing I read in the Press about him said Kyle Chapman was no longer in Christchurch. I shouldn't have taken that as a fact.

Knowledge Bro

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:18:06 +1200

thoughts on the 2nd installment?

Was better than the first in my opinion, tears and anger, greed and betrayal.
Wouldn't want to watch it if I were in Chch but I think the rest of the country needs reminding how appallingly the Govt. did, has and is failing the people…

Minnie Ball

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:35:26 +1200

Thanks Hebe. If it doesn't rain, I'm a lot better.! (P.S. There are good people though in CHCH. )

Joe Wylie

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:16:29 +1200

Even Kyle Chapman has left town.

Is that right? It can't be for the promised white homeland somewhere in North Canterbury, because as far as I know WINZ refused to buy it for the camo boys.

Sacha

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:00:12 +1200

I contain my own story

and I do respect that. nothing personal

Sacha

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:58:53 +1200

No thoughts on the 2nd installment?

didn't get to watch or record. how was it?

Sacha

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:57:49 +1200

good

Hebe

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:52:01 +1200

Hope you are ok Minnie.

Hebe

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:50:42 +1200

You're wrong Sacha. There are bugger all skins left in Christchurch. Even Kyle Chapman has left town.

Sacha

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 20:41:44 +1200

most disabled people manage not to be racists, apparently

Joe Wylie

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:46:15 +1200

nice try
And you a disability advocate and all. Shame on you. Because once you're past the Press's deliberate beating up of the significance of that handful of unfortunates, you'll find that Chchch's notorious skinheads are pretty much all sickness benficiaries, most with psychiatric issues. A couple of weeks on…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:08:36 +1200

Margaret is right though. Even Chapman boasting said their march only had 115 people. There are about 400, 000 of us. Not even 1 in 3000 (at a guess) of our people would identify with these idiots. Yet they are given prominence – because it's a stereotypical Chch slur.
No…

Sacha

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:52:26 +1200

Christchurch hasn't been a skinhead centre since the late 80s

nice try

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/6674286/White-power-movement-delivers-warning

Margaret Gordon

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:11:53 +1200

For me the worst thing about Hope and Wire was opening with skinheads.
Christchurch hasn't been a skinhead centre since the late 80s and I personally get really annoyed when people trot out this misconception about the city.
Then to see it in the first minute of Hope and Wire…

Minnie Ball

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 22:45:26 +1200

I had every intention to watch this series. But on the first night, I had a massive argument with my husband about our drains being dug up for the third time in our flooded/ munted house. street...So I was busy.
I really appreciate what you wrote Ian...'
I think that…

Hebe

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 14:03:56 +1200

Promise to renegotiate govt-council cost-sharing agreement for big projects. "All options on the table."

Excellent.

Joe Wylie

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:19:44 +1200

Then in todays Harold Labour want change for the sake of the peoples.
Well this sounds good, and not before time. Maybe they'll send Roger "promoted beyond his competence" Sutton back to doing what he did so well, because on top of all the other crap, nobody needs this

Sofie Bribiesca

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 19:13:47 +1200

This story in today’s Press explains
Then in todays Harold Labour want change for the sake of the peoples.

Hebe

Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:06:55 +1200

This story in today's Press explains most of the reasons we're trying to find 5 to 6k to have our house assessed by a structural engineer. A former policeman did the inside; a builder the outside. In an hour. While trying to get the new iPads to work.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/10243442/EQC-floor-level-assessments-inadequate

Sofie Bribiesca

Tue, 08 Jul 2014 19:05:17 +1200

FFS! How cruel. :((

Just thinking

Tue, 08 Jul 2014 18:44:05 +1200

I don't watch CTV any more these days, but being barred by the Police and Dept of Internal Affairs from reporting on the CTV building service for PM Abe is, odd to say the least.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/10244853/CTV-journalists-barred-from-wreath-laying

Rosemary McDonald

Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:15:15 +1200

in Gerry’s Ilam, where the residents object to us parking for five minutes in the street to pick up our kids – who otherwise spend 80 minutes on a bus trip that should take 35 minutes).

Un- fucking- believable.

Well, no, not really. Pretty much what you'd expect from his…

Sacha

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 23:04:08 +1200

Preston linked those two things together according to one of the stories I read over the weekend (probably linked from here, can't recall).

Isabel Hitchings

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 19:37:15 +1200

I believe it refers to felt hearts which were strung on wire fences around Lyttelton.

Lilith __

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 16:25:59 +1200

The severe shaking on 22 Feb 2011 lasted 12 seconds, only.

[ source (pdf)]

“[the paper covers] 6 damaging earthquakes, on
4 September and 26 December 2010, February 22, June 6 and two on June 13, 2011. Most notable of these was the 4 September event, at Ms7.1 and MM7…

Sacha

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:36:02 +1200

What does the “Wire” refer to anyway?

I believe the song lyrics talk about being held together with hope and wire.
#8

Sacha

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:34:51 +1200

How Brownlee has not looked to other Countries and their solutions is beyond me. Stupid, stupid.

other countries put the needs of their citizens ahead of foreign re-insurers and other financiers.

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:30:02 +1200

Brownlee Trumpets big news!
More than 1000 government staff will work in central Christchurch by 2016, dispelling the notion of a ''doughnut effect'' in the city, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today.
Wahoo! Dollars for Doughnuts!
This is what constitutes a major CBD announcement by the Minister is it?…

Lilith __

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 12:52:05 +1200

It is not as simple as that though. To some soldiers war is glorious, to others it is hell and to all but a few it is not the fighting that dominates the experience.

I've obviously failed to explain what Jolisa and I were discussing. It's about this (earthquake) experience…

Rob Stowell

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:32:56 +1200

Some more of The Eastern in this clip
http://youtu.be/gPLy4esyhDs
(Not sure how I feel about what this portends for the next episode or so- beyond it didn’t quite work for me today :) I dunno- sometimes it only takes a little pinch of cliche to spoil the whole pot.)

Rob Stowell

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:14:12 +1200

Link here

Steve Barnes

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:13:37 +1200

soldiers in wartime. Can non-soldiers understand enough to write about the experience of fighting? Should they?
It is not as simple as that though. To some soldiers war is glorious, to others it is hell and to all but a few it is not the fighting that dominates the experience.…

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:07:42 +1200

But here we have NZ’s second-largest city, full of people ready and willing to tell our own stories.

That’s why I thought of Campbell Live. When they did the Caravan, I cried listening to the people and their experiences. This stuff needs to get out there and John Campbell has…

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:01:27 +1200

A press release from NZ on Air outlining all the programmes they’ve funded about the Christchurch earthquakes.

Getting a 404 on that, can we get a fixit please?

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:57:16 +1200

What does the “Wire” refer to anyway?

Hopefully we shall see ;) Wire? Communicaton? Wire? Fencing? Wire, last moments?
It fails because of the ongoing alienation we feel by the minister for earthquake recovery having first excluded us from the CBD, then illegally red zoning entire communities, and lastly feeding…

Ken Sparks

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:46:21 +1200

A press release from NZ on Air outlining all the programmes they've funded about the Christchurch earthquakes.

LG

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:03:51 +1200

For me it wasn't for any of the above reasons that "Hope and Wire" fails. It fails because of the ongoing alienation we feel by the minister for earthquake recovery having first excluded us from the CBD, then illegally red zoning entire communities, and lastly feeding us to the insurance…

Chris Waugh

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 01:05:18 +1200

Well, here's an interesting little detail:

attempted murder of his second (who co-operated with the production)

(my emphasis added, of course)

Lilith __

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:58:11 +1200

So should Gaylene Preston have ever made any films that didn’t draw from her direct experience – because with one wave of the hand you’ve wiped out her entire career as a director and producer. Including, by the way, the straight documentaries she made about the Napier Earthquake, the experiences…

Craig Ranapia

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:37:47 +1200

Jolisa was talking the other night of novels about soldiers in wartime. Can non-soldiers understand enough to write about the experience of fighting? Should they?

So should Gaylene Preston have ever made any films that didn’t draw from her direct experience – because with one wave of the hand you’ve…

Lilith __

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:12:58 +1200

If people could or should only write of the own experience we’d have no fiction at all.

I guess a key point here is that Hope and Wire isn't quite fiction. It's a fictionalised reconstruction. Would it be much without the stock footage?

Hebe

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:44:35 +1200

Doing it well is the hard part :)

I expect no consensus on whether Hope + Wire has done it well: it depends what the individual desires and the earthquakes' place in their life. Whatever, done by whoever, will polarise.

Rob Stowell

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:36:47 +1200

I think the answer is yes and yes. If people could or should only write of the own experience we'd have no fiction at all.
Doing it well is the hard part :)

Lilith __

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:16:03 +1200

Jolisa was talking the other night of novels about soldiers in wartime. Can non-soldiers understand enough to write about the experience of fighting? Should they?

[I'm not sure of the answer, but I think it's a fair analogy]

Hebe

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:11:01 +1200

@Sofie. How sad for you and everyone. Hugs.

Thank you all for moral support and kind words: I didn't plan to derail the thread with the personal. So many insights — some I don't agree with — are helping to construct my own shifting narrative of these times.

I get…

Rob Stowell

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:05:35 +1200

Same with any big emotional experience. It’s a different kind of knowing.
Good story-telling- fictional or factual- can partially, in an imaginative collaboration of thought and emotion, bridge that gap.
I get emotional insight from people's stories here. It's not the same as living an experience, but it's powerful, nonetheless.…

Lilith __

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 21:45:59 +1200

we really do not know how to feel. it makes us awkward. sorry

And that's a perfectly valid feeling, too! No apology needed.
And it's not that people outside of Chch can't understand, it's just that you haven't lived it. Same with any big emotional experience. It's a different kind…

Geoff Lealand

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:40:52 +1200

Well put, Sofie.

Sacha

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:27:57 +1200

we really do not know how to feel. it makes us awkward. sorry.

Lilith __

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:47:54 +1200

We ,here , are getting a sense of how one woman has tried to convey her feelings

They aren’t her feelings, though, that’s the problem. They’re our feelings. She's put fiction where our real stories should be. I have great respect for Preston as a filmmaker, but I think the…

Lilith __

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:43:08 +1200

she succeeded

so sorry to hear that

So sorry, Sofie. Biggest hugs.

Sacha

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:40:35 +1200

how one woman has tried to convey her feelings

they're not that relevant

Sacha

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:39:08 +1200

she succeeded

so sorry to hear that

Sofie Bribiesca

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 18:31:25 +1200

It’s (relatively) easy for those outside Chch to empathise with our fear and distress from a natural disaster.

Actually it's not Lilith. What you got is people like me that are furious with the way you have been treated, with donations held for recovery going to pet projects, with having…

Lilith __

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:10:16 +1200

Hebe, I'm really sorry about your situation. So many Chch people are dealing with worse stress now than during the quakes, and with no energy or emotional stability left.
It's (relatively) easy for those outside Chch to empathise with our fear and distress from a natural disaster. So much harder…

Isabel Hitchings

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 11:43:15 +1200

I was thinking about whether fiction or non-fiction tells our story better (I believe we need a hefty helping of both) and I recalled that one of my childrens' first reactions to the earthquakes was to wish to see an episode of Dr Who set around our quakes. Their instinct,…

Creon Upton

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 23:06:30 +1200

it’s tough to compare Hope and Wire with Treme

Very.

Yet Treme still wandered at times and didn’t always deliver.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I thought it was basically flawless.

What kept me watching was the music, ... – and the way music wove itself…

Creon Upton

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:50:40 +1200

Blair Parkes’ excellent ‘Chimney Book’ video

is awesome.

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:13:49 +1200

Those comments, stopped reading after a few but the cop (once blue, always blue), he would have a fairly good idea of the streets and the empathy in his words were there. Actually surprised me.

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:47:33 +1200

When Labour get in, we should push to have the Mission and other Centres being acceptable for a postal address for receiving a benefit and advocate to have someone ready to help people get paperwork done for that. There is a campervan in Seattle that has been decked out as…

Creon Upton

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:45:36 +1200

I’m not so convinced by the view that’s been expressed by a few people above that individuals will inevitably be frustrated at not finding their individual experience represented. I feel quite strongly – while acknowledging that I can only speak for myself – that the experience has been primarily a…

Creon Upton

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:42:00 +1200

But for me it’s the politics or at least the lack of political traction; in Wellington last week it became apparent that nobody, esp the journo’s and pollies gets the Anger. The visceral fury of Christchurch citizens.

Best way to dominate a political struggle? Deny its existence.

And politics seem…

Joe Wylie

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:38:05 +1200

Looking at the comments (I know, I shouldn’t have) there’s still not much tolerance.
What I mean is that in the Christchurch of ten years ago, something would have been done about visible homelessness, even if the motivation arose from nothing more noble than a sense of civic tidiness. I'd…

linger

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:25:44 +1200

Looking at the comments (I know, I shouldn't have) there's still not much tolerance.

Joe Wylie

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:46:39 +1200

When I came to live in Chchch just over a decade ago I was struck by how little tolerance there was for the kind of homelessness and beggary that was so apparent on the streets of Sydney. Not any more.

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 18:42:23 +1200

FWIW , I have sent a message to Campbell Live. They have responded with interest about updating ChCh and the woes. I hope something comes of it. So, Cantabrians send forth your emails to them , they only want ph nos so they can follow up. give them the heads…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 18:39:24 +1200

Linger ,don't get me started on that piece of slime. Words I would use for her would offend too many here.

linger

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 18:02:55 +1200

Take your rage out on those who withdrew the rape crisis centre’s funding.
and also for Sofie, re: this Government doesn’t give a toss for anyone struggling mentally or financially […]. Bastards.
Apologies in advance if this is too black, but …
it does take someone as unempathetic as Paula…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:50:54 +1200

It feels like admitting failure – but it is life being what it is.

Oh Hebe. What it is is stinky shit. The louder you get that out there, the more you scream, the more likely it is , someone who can help will hear. I hope that's tonight for…

Rob Stowell

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:25:27 +1200

From Philip Matthews review, this jumped out for me.
the immediate aftermath of a disaster can promote altruism, even utopianism, which disappears once official or elected authority starts to manage the post-disaster recovery. We saw that in Christchurch in the weeks and months after February 2011 when all the certainties…

Rob Stowell

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:47:09 +1200

But there’s no way this grind is gripping film (or writing).
Sad to hear. It sounds bloody nightmarish.
As drama/documentary? maybe. There's a Kafka-esque story that's heartbreaking and enraging. (And you've described it bloody well, only just touching on the way it can eat you up and suck up weeks…

Joe Wylie

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:47:06 +1200

A long and thoughtful review of Hope and Wire by Philip Matthews.
Superb.

Hebe

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:41:27 +1200

Cool. No rush :-)

Russell Brown

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:37:55 +1200

I have no memory of that. BMT? Or too busy to notice maybe. Will search it out.

Possibly before your time, yes. I brought Blair, Emma, David Haywood and Stanier Black Five to Auckland for the Great Blend we staged at the Town Hall concert chamber. I'm just cooking at…

Rob Stowell

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:35:59 +1200

Like these dudes maybe:
That’s great. Real. Would have liked more music.
Where the hell would you start and make it watchable?
Following 5-6 people/families and/or organisations for 3-5 years and see what happened? Choosing the right ‘discrete and particular’ is part luck, part experience, but it’s the best way…

Russell Brown

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:33:58 +1200

A long and thoughtful review of Hope and Wire by Philip Matthews.

Hebe

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:22:19 +1200

I felt that commissioning ‘Chimney Book’ and getting it in front of people was an important thing that was within my power to do. I wish you’d been there for the public screening (along with Stanier Black Five’s sound work) at the Great Blend, Ian. It was powerful. My main…

Russell Brown

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:08:22 +1200

If the intention was to send a ‘postcard ‘from the broken heart of Chchch to the rest of New Zealand, so people could ’experience’ our ‘story’ I would rather redirect them to New Brighton musician and artist Blair Parkes’ excellent ‘Chimney Book’ video, hosted on NZ on Screen, (and commissioned…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:08:14 +1200

A form letter could have boxes to tick, problems to date.....

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:59:41 +1200

But there’s no way this grind is gripping film (or writing).

It's documentary though. Strength gained by exposing just how big the problem is too.
Sorry 'bout all your shit Hebe. I am really saddened by yours and thousands of others plights down there. How about everyone bombard Brownlee, start…

Russell Brown

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:55:09 +1200

Apart from myself and cameraman Jake Bryant (whose Mum lives in Christchurch)

That man Jake again. He often seems to be in the area when good work is made.

Hebe

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:06:23 +1200

I could blog but it's dull; really. Greg and I spent three weeks on a huge form recently: we need to get at our Kiwisaver to fund an engineer's assessment of the house because we've both been sick for a year (post eq immune system meltdown both), made redundant at…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:25:01 +1200

As for another look at the rebuild, An ongoing fly on the wall look at the struggles faced daily with some number crunching to show impact on the whole community would be a good start? Maybe.

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:14:08 +1200

You could use a shaking camera effect and that could then move sometimes into breaking the fourth wall, which may tie it together better.
Oh, I was talking about the constant tremors not being in the drama

Hebe

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:08:19 +1200

@Sofie @Lilith: Where the hell would you start and make it watchable? I have no idea.

Lilith __

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 12:54:39 +1200

Although it was great to get ‘When A City Falls’ into cinemas, we did consider making a longer form version which would incorporate the recovery and rebuilding of the city. I now sort of wish we had, given the ongoing struggle faced by many whose previous way of life has…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 09:45:34 +1200

we did consider making a longer form version which would incorporate the recovery and rebuilding of the city. I now sort of wish we had, given the ongoing struggle faced by many whose previous way of life has been destroyed. Maybe that would have been more meaningful than a drama…

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 09:29:02 +1200

That Brownlee and his powers mean we cannot speak since he hold the purse strings for each and every rebuild. If you think that this is paranoia, you’re not from Christchurch

I have been wondering why the anger doesn't show much cos I have been angry. When I see the…

Creon Upton

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:37:23 +1200

Kids in a band would have made more interesting characters than a crooked lawyer.

Like these dudes maybe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgBIdTc8ZA4

Craig Ranapia

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:22:27 +1200

Coming from a master practitioner of the ‘excessive and gross analogy’
I find that rather rich.

Ian:

I’ve seen many many television shows I didn’t like for all kinds of reasons.

And I’ve been raped.

One of these things is not even a little bit like the other.

And please…

Steve Barnes

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 01:40:47 +1200

I will now down a large Scotch and toast the people of Christchurch...
To the people who really have little idea how much they have been shafted by those with the power to help.

Steve Barnes

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 01:33:47 +1200

I think it is good that we have been given the opportunity and the impetus to have this discussion so close to such an important election.
It is TV fur fucksake.... but things need to be said and heard...

Steve Barnes

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 01:27:17 +1200

One that I share, from a distance, I cried. Ian, you bastard, you owe me a hanky…
I was not there, I did not suffer, I felt powerless, those that had the power did nothing, we have all been cheated, they were our representatives we gave them the power.

Hebe

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 00:13:29 +1200

It was a fine line that we didn’t want to cross but we were also driven by the need to show how deadly those quakes were.

I reckon you all did an amazing work that showed respect and empathy.

The bigger film would be great, and there's lots of time…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 23:14:52 +1200

return to sender...
If the intention was to send a 'postcard 'from the broken heart of Chchch to the rest of New Zealand, so people could 'experience' our 'story' I would rather redirect them to New Brighton musician and artist Blair Parkes' excellent 'Chimney Book' video, hosted on NZ on…

Creon Upton

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 23:06:35 +1200

Seems a shame you’ll never know how right- or wrong- you are

Hey Rob. But perhaps, koan-like, I can find peace in that perpetual state of unknowing :)

To be honest, I actually feel a genuine fear of being triggered — not because of the quake stuff, for god's sake,…

Ken Sparks

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:50:36 +1200

Watching 'Hope and Wire' last night filled me with mixed emotions. As I said earlier, I admire a lot of Gaylene's work but I'm just not sure about this one. The integration of the documentary footage was skillful but contentious. It was very familiar to me as I had carefully…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:27:02 +1200

... I found that analogy not only grossly excessive, but downright offensive...
Coming from a master practitioner of the 'excessive and gross analogy'
I find that rather rich.
You don't think that this witty little riposte...
... “bugger the pollsters with a well-lubricated horse cock, we’re in this to win…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:21:37 +1200

God how I wish for an opposition in Parliament that gave a shit about Christchurch, and would hold Cabinet to account

A functional opposition would be morally decent, yes. Apparently they have other priorities.

TeAtaoTu

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 21:45:54 +1200

As usual, Creon nails the culture. But for me it's the politics or at least the lack of political traction; in Wellington last week it became apparent that nobody, esp the journo's and pollies gets the Anger. The visceral fury of Christchurch citizens. At Rik Tau's tangi
at Tuahiwi today,…

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 21:00:30 +1200

Later I showed the first episode of Hope and Wire to a colleague for his reaction.
“It’s like they are raping the city,” he said. “And what shocking acting. I’m off home now, I’ll wade through old-school stereotypes and several skirmishes with skinheads to get there.”

Sorry, Ian, I’ve emailed…

Bruce Ellis

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 19:13:26 +1200

I think it is wonderful that we are having this discussion. We are avid Campbell Live watchers and being in Taranaki feel that this has been our main direct connection with the issues that our fellow citizens in Christchurch are continuing to go through. If Hope and Wire adds to…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:59:58 +1200

Just to note — and I have thus amended and annotated the original post — I'm satisfied that if anyone used the word "crazy" it was not Gerard Smyth.

He clearly has criticisms of the project, but I don't think he said that.

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:12:56 +1200

the sudden breaking of the 'fourth wall' with asides to audience were just plain weird, and disassociative

I've seen that technique work really well in the BBC 'Seven Wonders of the Industrial World' series. Didn't find it jarring (if you'll excuse the word) in Hope and Wire.

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:59:12 +1200

I also don’t think Russell is being fair to Vicki Anderson, she raised many valid points echoed by many comments here, her digs at NZ on Air and APRA were not exceptionally excessive, and I thought warranted in context.
Nor was it any more rambling than she telegraphed it would…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:55:48 +1200

As pointed out, every individual in Chchch was the author of their own Earthquake Story/Experience.

I think that to many Hope and Wire will be like seeing their brilliant ‘novel’ badly filmed by a committee

That's such a good observation, Ian.

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:54:38 +1200

the shock and awe – and that what was the most adrenalised heightened moment of that quake (as I recall it) that first massive shunt, the briefest of frozen moments and then a building, rolling-shake-shudder-lurch-jerk that you knew wasn't about to stop any time soon, or ever if it wanted,…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:48:02 +1200

artistic differences...
As pointed out, every individual in Chchch was the author of their own Earthquake Story/Experience.

I think that to many Hope and Wire will be like seeing their brilliant 'novel' badly filmed by a committee bent on the 'product placement' of earthquake memes, most clunkily inserted.
At times…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:46:03 +1200

#notenuff

noted :)

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:43:47 +1200

It’s named after a song by The Eastern, and the band appear from what I’ve read.

They appear very early on. But, I suspect, will remain minstrels, not active characters.

So I agree with Rob to an extent. Kids in a band would have made more interesting characters than a…

Ken Sparks

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:41:53 +1200

I have more faith in Gaylene than you seem to have.

My comment wasn't intended as any kind of slur against Gaylene – I respect her as a film maker and she's made some good stuff. It was about the frustration of dealing with TV commissioners and their obsession with…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:33:37 +1200

One disappointment is no character who’s a musician/a band and so far nothing much relating to that scene.

It’s named after a song by The Eastern, and the band appear from what I’ve read.
There’s a moment of them playing at Pomeroys. And the song over the end credits was…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:20:44 +1200

One disappointment is no character who’s a musician/a band and so far nothing much relating to that scene.

It's named after a song by The Eastern, and the band appear from what I've read.

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:14:07 +1200

Yeh, but I have more faith in Gaylene than you seem to have.

Ken Sparks

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:02:29 +1200

Perhaps a little more trust in the emotional and artistic intelligence of that "mainstream audience" would be a good thing?

Unfortunately it would seem that 'intelligence' and 'mainstream audience' don't belong in the same sentence as far as TV3 and TVNZ commissioners are concerned.

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:58:15 +1200

I haven’t seen it, and I won’t, so I’m arguably not entitled to judge, but I will.
I’m unsurprised by the tenor of the comments appearing above. It sounds positively dreadful, and in a dreadfully predictable way.
Hiya Creon. Seems a shame you'll never know how right- or wrong- you…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:51:40 +1200

I’ll be watching Hope and Wire as a Treme fan
It ain’t Treme. Worth knowing that from the start :)
One disappointment is no character who’s a musician/a band and so far nothing much relating to that scene. Maybe that’ll happen if/when we get to Lyttelton.

Euan Mason

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:46:35 +1200

Watched it to the end, and thought, “It’s a brief taste, not quite the right flavour, though, and doesn’t really portray what we lived through”. My mother would go white every time she heard about an earthquake; she was 9 years old in Napier in 1931. Now I understand why…

B Jones

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:21:57 +1200

a community lawyer making sacrifices to help people post-earthquakes

Like the character Toni Bernette in Treme? She seems to be there to drive the plot with connections to various scandals, but her relationships with her husband (played by John Goodman) and later the detective Terry Colson are something special to…

Josie McNaught

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:20:15 +1200

I got to 46 minutes. Couldn't agree more.
I'd be interested to know how they handle the CTV building collapse… if at all. After all the evidence that came out of the Royal Commission, will we have a scene looking back to 1986 when the council signed off the permit…

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:16:13 +1200

He has a good role in Fantail

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 16:02:08 +1200

(FWIW I’ve met mean-spirited, misanthropic socialists – and generous, philanthropic lawyers :))

I'd actually have been much more interested in, say, a community lawyer making sacrifices to help people post-earthquakes (and maybe even finding a love interest, whatever). Stephen Lovatt's character and his predicament mean nothing to me at all.…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:54:33 +1200

So I looked forward to watching this last night, especially since I have some respect for Gaylene Preston’s previous work.

I have enormous respect for Gaylene's work and for her as a person. She's a good woman. So I wanted to be careful offering criticism, especially when that criticism flowed…

Sofie Bribiesca

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:52:52 +1200

I did half a day as an unpaid extra, and as an experienced actor with thirty years in the biz, I knew how to work the unit, so I at least got fed and watered for my time.

That is what's stink about the industry here. A lot of people…

Marian Hobbs

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:07:36 +1200

This is a strange post from me...but as well as thanking Russell for the original post, I want to thank all who have contributed, especially those from Christchurch.

I was in England for both of the major earthquakes ( and as I say that, I now have a little more…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:48:51 +1200

there is enough drama to be found simply in these events.
A fair bit of the set-up felt contrived. If the stories play out predictably, it'll be a shame. I'm hoping there'll be some twisting of stereotypes. (FWIW I've met mean-spirited, misanthropic socialists – and generous, philanthropic lawyers :))

Euan Mason

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:40:37 +1200

Some of the emotions and attitudes portrayed feel real, but maybe it was an impossible task to render the feeling of earthquake after earthquake after earthquake after earthquake. I keep watching thinking, where are the aftershocks?

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:39:22 +1200

Here’s the argument though: we all have our existing issues – some trivial, some overwhelming. But for an awful lot of people in Canterbury, the quakes (and their aftermath) WERE the issue.

I was circling around that point, but you've just made it. Drama relies on personal crises, but in…

Nic Farra

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:21:16 +1200

There speaks a writer, that writerly concern for the core of the story just seems to be missing from Hope and Wire . What on earth is it all about?

Nic Farra

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:17:19 +1200

Although the quakes were the death-knell for an already terminal acting career, I can never shake the feeling that I’m only ever one job away from a return to earning a crust. So even though I’m deeply absorbed in new activities that have become radically life altering, in the ill-wind…

Euan Mason

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:16:11 +1200

Footage of the first earthquake was too mild. It only lasted for about 7 seconds on film, and that sent shivers up my spine, but the real one lasted over 40 seconds and seemed like an age. It was also too quiet on film. The real one was a hell…

andrew gunn

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:14:49 +1200

There is a well-worn mantra here in Christchurch that “there’s a lot of people much worse off than us”, which I feel particularly keenly, so I always make a point of stating from the outset that I can only speak for myself.

Overall I liked “Hope and Wire”. I wasn’t…

Creon Upton

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 14:03:14 +1200

I haven't seen it, and I won't, so I'm arguably not entitled to judge, but I will.

I'm unsurprised by the tenor of the comments appearing above. It sounds positively dreadful, and in a dreadfully predictable way.

A focus on discrete personal narratives is entirely wrong, for a start. Those…

Sofie Bribiesca

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 13:48:05 +1200

Sorry to hear that Alice. I find flowers in the Road Cones a beautiful thing (except if they're from my garden). Look after yourself out there.

See, that is why it will hit so many nerves, just like the road cones pretending to look pretty to some and being beautiful…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 13:42:34 +1200

thought it was pretty crappy

please do elaborate

Emma Hart

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 13:13:50 +1200

That sort of clears that up. But wow, I did not realize you had that world view.

Think of the greatest trauma you have experienced. Think of people who have experienced similar things, and people who haven’t. The common experience binds us together in a way, and sets us apart…

Diane Blomfield

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:55:44 +1200

Thinking about all the comments above – this interview on Radionz with Lara Strongman is worth listening to
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2602005

Congrats to Gaylene for taking on a project that was always going to polarise people.

Paul Swadel

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:49:19 +1200

I Executive Produced 'WHEN A CITY FALLS' by Gerard Smyth. I saw HOPE & WIRE last night, and thought it was pretty crappy.

Hebe

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:48:51 +1200

What you said! Well put all of it.

This thread is giving me new viewpoints, for which I am very grateful. It' easy to get tangled in emotion and the layers it all brings up.

Alice: I feel for you. Declare another birthday for a bit: celebrate then, and acknowledge…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:48:12 +1200

Gaylene Preston explains her thinking in a great Pantograph Punch story by Gavin Bertram.

Graeme Edgeler

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:43:26 +1200

I only watched the first episode, and not the second.

Would that make a difference to what I'm thinking about the series?

Is it better as six episodes or three doubles?

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:37:49 +1200

I think that the more dramas, and documentaries, and comedies, and novels, and paintings, and other artworks the better.

Yes, I'd rather they funded ten narrower stories than one broad one.

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:35:11 +1200

But the funding agency and the creators are from Wellington.

And the culture of both are quite different than the Auckland equivalent. Cultural 'capital', etc. Not that I'm saying Aucklanders would have done any better at conveying the experience, but let's call a spade a spade.

Hebe

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:29:57 +1200

Is the particular offence here that the pictures were used in a dramatic context?

Briefly, yes. It's triggering; hugely. Goes against all best practice for psychosocial disaster recovery, and as you can tell, it's personal.

I know if I watch the whole series there will be people I know in…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:28:03 +1200

Auckland drama

Wellington drama. See above.

This Auckland thing is taking hold a bit on social media too. In the sense that a big chunk of the viewing audience is in Auckland, yeah, I suppose. But the funding agency and the creators are from Wellington.

Otoh, I don't think postcodes…

Just thinking

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:23:36 +1200

Absolutely agreed, and as I'm over 120kg, being a weightless rage doll was a new and novel experience.
We've stopped peeing in the garden now, but still please don't let the kiddies play in puddles or floods in Christchurch.
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/Homeliving/wastewater/Overflowsummary2013.pdf

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:21:24 +1200

Auckland drama

Wellington drama. See above.

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:20:45 +1200

You need to place it within the work of Gaylene (such as Home By Christmas) and other film-makers who deliberately re-work conventions of veracity, memory and authentication.

I get the context there, Geoff. I just don't think it does so in a particularly satisfying manner.

Ianmac

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:18:02 +1200

Against the tide but I think it was pretty good. The lasting image of chaos and of this bringing out the best and the worst in people and of ordinary people making some sort of sense resonates with me. The subject was so huge and had the writers narrowed the…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:17:16 +1200

the latter is docu-drama, which engages with notions of memory, reconstruction, perspective and dramatisation.
Quite a few people seem to be confusing the intentions of Hope and Wire. It’s not a documentary in any sense – I wouldn’t call it docu-drama, as I’m pretty sure none of the main characters…

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:14:13 +1200

Do we really need an overpriced Auckland drama to tell the ChCh story?

Hear that noise? It’s everyone who’s ever worked in television in New Zealand ever laughing at the idea that local television drama is “overpriced”. For comparative purposes, the budget for six hours of Top of the Lake…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:13:09 +1200

You need to place it within the work of Gaylene (such as Home By Christmas) and other film-makers who deliberately re-work conventions of veracity, memory and authentication.

Good point.

Just thinking

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:12:46 +1200

Sorry to hear that Alice. I find flowers in the Road Cones a beautiful thing (except if they're from my garden). Look after yourself out there.

Lilith __

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:09:42 +1200

I think (as I tweeted last night) there are inherent problems in dramatising a disaster. Drama is usually about the characters, and the consequences of their actions and choices. In this case, the characters are acted upon by nature. Whatever struggles they might have with each other will seem petty…

Alice Ronald

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:07:52 +1200

I can't even watch the ads for it. But then, I can't stand any sort of ceremonial thing to do with the earthquakes now. I've started taking leave for the 22nd & hiding in bed all day, because I get irrationally angry at the flowers in the traffic cones. If I…

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:06:58 +1200

I admire 'When A City Falls' but it is a bit misdirected to compare it directly with 'Hope and Wire'. The former is a documentary in content, style and intent; the latter is docu-drama, which engages with notions of memory, reconstruction, perspective and dramatisation. You need to place it within…

steve black

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:58:33 +1200

I didn’t even know of it. I must be out of the loop. I’ll have to watch it On Demand.

Is it weekly or on following nights?

Just pretend I'm an alien recently landed from another galaxy who knows nothing of your strange TV customs.

Alfie

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:55:51 +1200

Seeing $5m of scarce NZ On Air money being funnelled into one quite inappropriate project was too much for me... I couldn't bring myself to watch it. Do we really need an overpriced Auckland drama to tell the ChCh story?

I would urge everyone to take a look at Gerard…

Just thinking

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:55:05 +1200

Len is Murray Horton, isn’t he?
I’ve met Monee many times, sometimes a she is a homeless man in a crumpled suit liberated from a now demolished Hotel. And it was good to see the strength of the elderly displayed which was so very true. It misses the overwhelming compassion…

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:32:34 +1200

a wise understanding of people beyond stereotypes.
We'll see how that goes, I guess. The first half-hour, I felt almost all the characters were verging on caricature. But most, by the end, had more depth. Still not enough if the development isn't well-conceived and the story arcs have everyone reverting…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:21:15 +1200

I meant it's even more indirect – writers writing for an audience they aren't part of about a situation they weren't part of. Not that it's impossible with a decent imagination and a wise understanding of people beyond stereotypes.

Rob Stowell

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:17:58 +1200

Swimming against the stream here, but on balance I thought the first two hours were pretty good. Yes, some of the character cliches were painful (racist skinheads/ego-centric fendalton lawyer/genial old-school socialist etc.) Some of the dialogue didn’t work, occasionally the drama seemed bit over-cooked, and the acting wasn’t uniformly natural.…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:17:34 +1200

The use of these images, unless express consent from the people has been obtained, is foul. It may be legal, but it’s inhumane.

There was some feeling of that nature when When a City Falls came out, but not much. Is the particular offence here that the pictures were used…

Emma Hart

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:11:30 +1200

both the writers are from Wellington.

I was extending the existing metaphor. From outside, for outside.

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:06:33 +1200

I dunno. I was genuinely impressed by the first screening, I did not assume that its intent was to be a documentary,

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:05:23 +1200

Yeah, but it’s not just that: I wonder if there’s a demographic obligation that’s even stronger here than usual – you must show young people, old people, poor people, rich people, white people, brown people.

Which I would find entirely worthy, because, you know, diversity is just awesome. (And no,…

Hebe

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:53:32 +1200

Didn’t watch it: wrong time for me. I caved this morning and watched the clip on the Press website. That’s enough.

The incessant PR campaign Gaylene Preston has waged over the last few weeks in which she claims tenuous links to Christchurch is beyond insulting. The empathy shown in that…

Russell Brown

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:46:42 +1200

Perhaps a little more trust in the emotional and artistic intelligence of that "mainstream audience" would be a good thing?

Yeah, but it's not just that: I wonder if there's a demographic obligation that's even stronger here than usual — you must show young people, old people, poor people, rich…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:31:54 +1200

It felt, to me, like a postcard to Auckland from Auckland.

both the writers are from Wellington.

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:28:07 +1200

Charicatures, cliches, terrible stilted dialogue. The precise moment I switched off was the use of the phrase “mega munted”. Wrong, just so wrong.

Thanks, Emma. I've tried to be really sensitive about being aware I'm watching this in a very different place from people in Christchurch for whom this is…

Robert Fox

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:26:30 +1200

I didn't watch it as I'm still raw from our family’s ongoing battle with insurance and EQC, although I will eventually get around to it.
I'm not sure if future episodes will touch on these issues but the ongoing trauma caused by rubbish government bureaucracy, an arrogant and practically useless…

Emma Hart

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:04:38 +1200

I expected Hope and Wire to be a tough watch, but the reason I turned it off after 45 minutes wasn't any of the things I'd expected. I quit out because it was bad. Charicatures, cliches, terrible stilted dialogue. The precise moment I switched off was the use of the…

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:52:32 +1200

I’ve been trying to write something about this (and on balance, think I’m going to hold off until next week, and see where it goes) but I stand by what I said on Twitter:

The problem with 1st night of #HopeAndWire is that it’s a docudrama that isn’t much of…

Sacha

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:52:00 +1200

I guess the challenge when you're writing about any event that has affected so many people so profoundly is trying to distill those myriad experiences into a small group of characters without resorting to stereotypes.

The actors particularly seemed to realise the importance of the project and I was impressed…

Public Address

Fri, 04 Jul 2014 09:52:00 +1200

Discussion from blog post.