{"id":55,"date":"2009-06-10T10:48:29","date_gmt":"2009-06-10T09:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=55"},"modified":"2009-06-10T10:48:29","modified_gmt":"2009-06-10T09:48:29","slug":"the-beauty-of-the-beast-that-is-australia-unforgiving-and-unforgettable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2009\/06\/10\/the-beauty-of-the-beast-that-is-australia-unforgiving-and-unforgettable\/","title":{"rendered":"The beauty of the beast that is Australia: unforgiving and unforgettable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Half a lifetime ago I went to Australia for my medical elective, a joyous interlude just before finals that allows doctors-to-be to savour, for one last time, the freedom of life as a student. Eight weeks is barely time to get over the jetlag let alone to adjust to the stark and breathtaking landscapes that unfurl in any journey across this large and mystifying country. Yet long enough to leave the lasting impression that no matter how impressive the delights of Sydney and Melbourne and Australia’s other cities and towns, this is a country only a blink away from submission to its own awesome forces of nature.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It’s also of course a country that, like the USA, remains ill at ease with its own history and continues to struggle to find a fair and effective response to the social and cultural aftermath of the attempt of one people to subjugate another;\u00a0a\u00a0country that inspires determination, doggedness, and fierce, defiant passions; a country that can be at the same time both unreservedly welcoming and hospitable and curiously old fashioned in its attitudes to women, outsiders, and still, all too often, the native Australians whose stories tell of times long before European settles ever landed on its shores.<\/p>\n

If you, like me, want to understand this complex country a little better I’ve two suggestions to help. First you could try visiting this month’s edition of Medical Humanities where you’ll find a research paper and an editorial exploring problems and solutions Australia style.\u00a0Kabir Matharu describes how Indigenous Australian drama, steeped in the ancient stories told from one generation to another, can\u00a0illuminate human suffering\u00a0from an indigenous perspective and inform\u00a0understanding of the socio-cultural basis\u00a0of poor health.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/mh.bmj.com\/cgi\/content\/short\/35\/1\/47?q=w_mh_current_tab<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile Tom Faunce wonders how long it will be before modern Australia turns to the ancient wisdom of indigenous Australians as it seeks answers to the increasingly harsh environment that climate change is making of this beautiful land.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/mh.bmj.com\/cgi\/content\/short\/35\/1\/4?q=w_mh_current_tab<\/a><\/p>\n

And finally, if you want a bit of escapism and an armchair tour of what is for most of us a distant land, why not watch Baz Luhrman’s quirky, delightful and cinematically stunning film ‘Australia’. This film is packed full of comic book heros and villians yet somehow manages \u00a0to both educate and entertain without either patronising or preaching. So which one are you? Nicole Kidman’s plucky Lady Sarah Ashley? High Jackman’s hunky Drover? Or perhaps David Gulpilil’s dignified and infinitely patient King George? Whichever role you fancy for yourself, be sure to bring a large supply of ingenuity, guts and gumption. One things for sure: you’re gonna need them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Half a lifetime ago I went to Australia for my medical elective, a joyous interlude just before finals that allows doctors-to-be to savour, for one last time, the freedom of life as a student. Eight weeks is barely time to get over the jetlag let alone to adjust to the stark and breathtaking landscapes that […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film"],"yoast_head":"\nThe beauty of the beast that is Australia: unforgiving and unforgettable - Medical Humanities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2009\/06\/10\/the-beauty-of-the-beast-that-is-australia-unforgiving-and-unforgettable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The beauty of the beast that is Australia: unforgiving and unforgettable - Medical Humanities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Half a lifetime ago I went to Australia for my medical elective, a joyous interlude just before finals that allows doctors-to-be to savour, for one last time, the freedom of life as a student. 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