tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post8568631711996752380..comments2024-03-19T20:14:51.105+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: Lovers And Haters: Further Thoughts On The Hobbit DisputeChris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-2819677226586189682013-06-15T21:05:34.202+12:002013-06-15T21:05:34.202+12:00Staff at Weta were ordered and or obliged to march...Staff at Weta were ordered and or obliged to march on Parliament... so they could ensure their rights would be constrained by being contractors rather than honoured as staff. The former ensures higher returns for Sir Pete and Sir Dick... <br /><br />This reminds me too of the hatred against the hospital pass the owners of the NZ America's cup regime offered Sir Russell Coutts and his subsequent villification by all in sundry... They offered him and his team a $10 million dollar debt... The Swiss offered him $10 million. Now I suspect he loathes the country of his birth... that made him the winner he is.B'art Hommehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02247026300926791216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-24724780981593006202013-03-08T16:57:28.253+13:002013-03-08T16:57:28.253+13:00Anonymous@3.54
I would have thought the differenc...Anonymous@3.54<br /><br />I would have thought the difference between the genuine tall poppy and the phony one is simply that one is genuine and the other phony.<br /><br />If you believe that it is genuinely wrong to be more capable, dedicated and focused than other people, then you are merely illustrating my point about the pervasiveness of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand and providing it with a dubious and destructive moralistic gloss. <br /><br />And it could be that the absence of manipulation and skullduggery in working and other environments is all in your mind rather than their presence being solely in my mind. <br /><br />Meanwhile I remain conscious of having addressed both sides of the equation, whereas you're simply denying there are two sides, perhaps because one of them has never previously occured to you. <br /><br />If denial makes you happy, who am I to force you out of it?Victornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-34849711945950373072013-03-08T01:05:46.980+13:002013-03-08T01:05:46.980+13:00I see The Dom Post buried the real story (revealed...I see The Dom Post buried the real story (revealed by previously withheld documents)in the final paragraph of its front page story (good on RNZ's Mediawatch for also picking up on this, last week).<br /><br />It was particularly hard down here in "Wellywood" for those of us who took a pro-Actor/Union line. A little like being both an Aucklander and critic of the Americas Cup campaign during the 90s.<br /><br />As for White Southern "Nigger-Lovers": My reading of US Gallup Polls conducted during the 40s and 50s suggest that something like 10-15 percent of whites in the South took a liberal/progressive line on Civil Rights issues (depending on the specific issue). Which may not seem much, but it was a few million (so they did exist, though I wonder how many were ex-pat Northerners).<br /><br />As for children marching - my parents took my older brother and I on anti-Vietnam War marches as early as 1965 (when I was still in nappies). Don't think it did me any harm.markusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-72675641381066742322013-03-07T15:54:09.023+13:002013-03-07T15:54:09.023+13:00No Victor, you're looking at one side of the c...No Victor, you're looking at one side of the coin – maybe also, but still one side. That hypothetical worker you discuss can be seen in a number of lights, not all favourable. Besides I've worked in this country a long time to and never seen that. And the difference between a genuine tall poppy and a pseudo tall poppy is? I suspect it's in your mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-75720449152716766212013-03-07T11:13:58.345+13:002013-03-07T11:13:58.345+13:00Anoymous@5.16
I'm not sure you're really ...Anoymous@5.16<br /><br />I'm not sure you're really disagreeing with me.<br /><br />You're just looking at one side of the coin: the pseudo tall poppies that flourish <br /><br />And you're ignoring the other: the genuine tall poppies who get mowed down with monotonous regularity.<br /><br />As a long-standing immigrant to New Zealand, I'm always struck by the pervasiveness of both these characteristics. <br /><br />Sit on any committee or be part of any group of working colleagues and observe the one with fresh ideas, a stronger than average sense of responsibility and better than average intellectual grasp.<br /><br />And then observe him or her being gradually isolated by the majority. Observe, as well, the tactics of those less talented but more adept at manipulation and ad hominem arguments.<br /><br />And then tell me that New Zealand doesn't have a tall poppy syndrome!Victornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-27587136634800836272013-03-07T11:00:56.452+13:002013-03-07T11:00:56.452+13:00To Olwyn
"The union's advising people no...To Olwyn<br /><br />"The union's advising people not to sign a contract before it has been negotiated does not for one minute suggest that the union is intending to act in bad faith."<br /><br />Stopping the production from starting is not the way to go about things. It sounded like a threat (because thats what it was) and it got treated as such.<br /><br />There were numerous productions that the union could have targeted but they chose Peter Jacksons, why not Spartacus?<br /><br />The unions handled this very poorly and middle-class NZ let their feelings show in the form of an anti-union protest.Mark Christophersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-82797782022166302592013-03-07T09:35:21.813+13:002013-03-07T09:35:21.813+13:00Mark Christophers: I could not believe what I was ...Mark Christophers: I could not believe what I was reading when I read your comment! <br /><br />"The unions also forced Peter Jacksons hand by enacting a do not sign notice before negotiating so how could Peter Jackson believe that the unions would act in good faith?"<br /><br />The union's advising people not to sign a contract before it has been negotiated does not for one minute suggest that the union is intending to act in bad faith. Rather, it is bad faith to try and bypass negotiation where you think that would be to your advantage. <br />Olwynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-82980209690331480272013-03-07T08:12:05.151+13:002013-03-07T08:12:05.151+13:00Well some issues I have with this is the actions o...Well some issues I have with this is the actions of the unions forced the actions of Sir Peter Jackson.<br /><br />Had the unions not tried to extort the production Warners wouldn't have had any excuse to ask for more concessions.<br /><br />The unions also forced Peter Jacksons hand by enacting a do not sign notice before negotiating so how could Peter Jackson believe that the unions would act in good faith?<br /><br />At the end of the day the productions have been good for NZ and all it mostly cost was a rebate on tax paid which means its a pretty good deal all round.<br /><br />Also its a bit rich complaining about the use of kids in protests after all unions aren't shy about using them...Novapay and port workers protests immediately spring to mindMark Christophersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-58871456445651973342013-03-06T17:16:29.664+13:002013-03-06T17:16:29.664+13:00On the contrary Victor, we put them on pedestals a...On the contrary Victor, we put them on pedestals and claim they can do no wrong :-).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-52022751291194574232013-03-06T15:39:57.616+13:002013-03-06T15:39:57.616+13:00anonymous@6.17
Whilst I believe that New Zealand ...anonymous@6.17<br /><br />Whilst I believe that New Zealand does have a tall poppy syndrome, I find that most of those whom the media and the establishment see as tall poppies are really short weeds on stilts.<br /><br />When a real tall poppy comes along, you can make a safe bet that he or she will get mowed down (c.f. the political career of David Cunliffe)Victornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-71456976635245294132013-03-06T12:03:48.166+13:002013-03-06T12:03:48.166+13:00I have to say, Jigsaw, I also find it worrying whe...I have to say, Jigsaw, I also find it worrying when I see parents bringing their young children along to demonstrations.<br /><br />I wouldn't allow my daughter on a demonstration until she could tell me exactly what it was about and why she wanted to participate.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-48497128234264660712013-03-06T11:47:40.459+13:002013-03-06T11:47:40.459+13:00 I to, would be interested to know if the same cri... I to, would be interested to know if the same criticism with regard to using children in demonstrations would be carried to the NZEI and the PPTA and the parents in Christchurch who seemed to think that using children to voice their opinions is a good thing.<br /> The whole practice-whatever the topic is abhorrent-children should not be used as pawns. Their opinions are unformed and they have no place in such demonstrations.<br /><br />Roger StrongJigsawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13906156865367357834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-76653662981386622022013-03-05T20:12:00.462+13:002013-03-05T20:12:00.462+13:00Good piece, Chris. I ran into Basil Holmes just af...Good piece, Chris. I ran into Basil Holmes just after the Weta Workshop march in Wgton. Basil was involved in the waterfront lockout of '51 and his brother Cecil was red-baited out of the National Film Unit a few years before that. I said to him, "This must bring the old times back, Basil," and he said, "Did you see the photo of those two Warner Bros execs in the back of the limo heading to parliament? They looked like gangsters in one of their own movies!"Dean Parkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-56243573526945495962013-03-05T18:57:51.316+13:002013-03-05T18:57:51.316+13:00The media were mostly responsible for the public r...The media were mostly responsible for the public reaction. However, the reason the union got such a visceral reaction for some people is that they only represented a small fraction (the actors) of the people who would work on the job. The majority of workers were not represented and felt that their livelihoods and careers were in jeopardy. You can't have solidarity doesn't work in parts unless you have the buy in from the majority.TMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-83529818025317529392013-03-05T18:17:09.964+13:002013-03-05T18:17:09.964+13:00New Zealand has idealised Jackson undeservedly IMO...New Zealand has idealised Jackson undeservedly IMO. His reaction to the union was vile, and I suspect when his authority is threatened that's how he rolls. They talk about tall poppy syndrome in this country but ther's a sence of entitlement thattall poppies get when they become tall poppies. They expect deference from all of their inferiors, and they think their opinions are sacrosanct. There is also a nasty streak in New Zealanders that comes out when their heroes are questioned. Similar to the one that comes out whenever Maori seem to be making progress. It is paradoxical, because it goes with a personal openness and generosity to individuals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-62618457371447087912013-03-05T16:54:54.745+13:002013-03-05T16:54:54.745+13:00Why is it that makers of abusive comments such as ...Why is it that makers of abusive comments such as 'anonymous' fail to do so under their real names? <br /><br />People who make comments on blog posts should be prepared to be identified. We might then get more reasoned discussion. Alan Wyldehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10169434690280482009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-61468645295243379562013-03-05T15:40:43.211+13:002013-03-05T15:40:43.211+13:00Unfortunately this will do nothing to dent the cur...Unfortunately this will do nothing to dent the current Governments popularity.<br /><br />There is a large section of the NZ public who don't get it. As long as there is a long passage of time between the lie and it's revealing then all is well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-11116897398930010932013-03-05T13:29:14.448+13:002013-03-05T13:29:14.448+13:00I don't have much respect for Jackson. He'...I don't have much respect for Jackson. He's an action movie hack who has produced one good film in "Heavenly Creatures", who has been reduced to redoing his only big hit because his films after LOTR didn't do much. <br /><br />He's representative of the third raters who make up the current "kiwiocracy". It's one thing to be asked to be deferential to people like Hillary who were worthy of it (and who could handle it without becoming insufferable), and quite another to be told that there is something wrong with you if you don't acknowledge the "achievements" of such titans as Jackson and Paul Holmes. <br /><br />How low we've sunk. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-40671399949569279742013-03-05T13:21:21.755+13:002013-03-05T13:21:21.755+13:00You comment, apparently disapprovingly, that "...You comment, apparently disapprovingly, that "Even children were enrolled in the campaign ...".<br />That is of course par for the course in any protest.<br />Can I assumme that you disapprove of the NZEI in the Novopay protests lining up school children with the union's campaign banners, as shown on TV3?alwynnoreply@blogger.com