Re: Royal Wedding
 

It's her poor eyes I'm worried about!

Re: Royal Wedding
 

Not sure i agree with you on that point, if we are talking about total freedom of expression then i would think there is much for a satorist to work on when looking at the total over commercialization and media fawning of the ANZAC legend.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

It's fair to say that I was shocked at the price of ANZAC badges this year :eek:

Re: Royal Wedding
 

I agree with that point in retrospect, you're right, it's everything or nothing when it comes to sacred cows.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

A manufactured legend anyway.

The lads who landed on the beach weren’t angels. In fact they were a barely trained ill-disciplined rabble. Just before Gallipoli 3000 of them had rioted for three days in Cairo's red-light district burning and trashing brothels. An alarming number of them were “isolated” because they had the clap.

And the battle at Gallipoli wasn’t particularly fierce despite today’s myths. Most Gallipoli veterans crapped themselves when they got to France and saw what real trench warfare was like. Today, slowly, Australians are realising that Fromells was a much worse encounter.

Gallipoli was a failure as a military operation and needed to be made into a success.

Hence the manufactured legend.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

It's more that Gallipoli brought Australia together as a nation rather than a federation of colonies. That's why the legend is celebrated.

Personally I fail to see the over commercialisation. The only things I bought were a commemorative tin of ANZAC biscuits and an ANZAC badge. Compared to minor events like St Valentine's Day I fail to see how ANZAC day is in any way over commercialised.

I also think the legend has been recovering from the myth of the Mel Gibson film and people are discovering more of what really happened. This is a good thing and something the critics need to let go. I think it's a little dishonest to disparage the troops that went to Gallipoli as an undisciplined rabble who shit themselves when they came to the "real" fighting in France. Most of them were volunteers not trained soldiers.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

I could find the evidence to prove my point, but to be honest I can’t be bothered, it is very well documented. If you look at the casualty rates for Gallipoli and compare then to the trenches on France you will see just how different the fighting was.

Suffice to say I spoke to several people who were there – including my grandfather who was on the other side of the peninsular (Dardenelles) on the same day.

The loss of any soldier is a tragedy for a nation, and I don’t discredit the efforts of those brave men, but they were not superheros, and it wasn’t the battle from hell. I am sure if they were still alive they would agree.

I didn’t actually say commercialisation, my comments were about a fabricated legend.

I don’t like seeing drunk Aussie kids singing “Aussie Aussie Aussie” on the street on ANZAC day.

I don’t like this “right of passage” of a trip to the Dawn service, sleeping bags on gravestones.

And I don’t like seeing the MacDonald’s Marching Burger Band strutting up George Street on ANZAC day.

But that’s just me.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

No need to dig the figures out. The biggest losses were on the Turkish side. The Brits lost more than the ANZACs and the number of French lost seems to be still unknown. I know that there were harder battles in Flanders.

Sorry it was papilon who mentioned the over commercialisation. I was just adding a comment on it as it was in the general stream of thought. (You can read that as: I couldn't be bothered making a separate post :D)

I've not actually seen anyone going Aussie, Aussie, Aussie on ANZAC day but I can believe it happens in places. It's certainly not the picture of ANZAC day I have experienced. I've also not experienced the McDonald's Marching Band either. The Youth Band and the Police Cadet band are what I've experienced.

As for the right of passage. I'm inclined to live and let live. It doesn't bother me and I can't see what harm it does.

Re: Royal Wedding
 

OK - I know I'm late joining this thread. But how does the title of this thread in anyway match the last post?!

Re: Royal Wedding
 

• Chaser team stopped from making satirical commentary of Royal Wedding.
• Was this a good thing or bad thing?
• As an analogy someone suggested that you wouldn't make satirical comments about ANZAC day.
• Someone else suggested that the analogy didn't really work as the Royal Family are not above satire whereas ANZAC day should be.
• Others suggested ANZAC day should be satirised as it is actually Australia Day in disguise, that the ANZACs were a bunch of pansies, that it's just an excuse to rip off consumers, and that Australians shouldn't celebrate it because it was a failed campaign (for the Entente).
• I disagree with these sentiments. I think it's a solemn event that in this locality is conducted with decorum. It consists of people getting up for the dawn service to remember those that died, singing the national anthem, sometimes singing God Save the Queen, usually listening to God Defend New Zealand (as not many know the words), loads of speeches, local brass and drum bands, and the laying of wreaths and flowers. Other activities include breakfast at the RSL, playing two-up and strutting around complaining about Australians but these are truly optional.

And that is how we got here. Six degrees of separation. :thumbup: