Must-see/read/listen items from New Zealand?
December 14, 2007 4:53 PM Subscribe
Looking for recommendations of great New Zealand movies, tv, books, music, etc. Would be best if it is available in the US, but if not, it's not a dealbreaker.
My 20-year-old sister is headed to Auckland in late January to study for the semester. She's a big pop culture junkie, so I'd like to get her some movies, tv shows, books or music that are quintessentially New Zealand-ish or that feature Auckland itself. Also anything a young person might be into that's not imported from elsewhere. If it's not readily available in the US, I will pass on a list of stuff for her to check out while she's down there.
She's already a big "Flight of the Conchords" fan and has seen Lord of the Rings. What else is there?
My 20-year-old sister is headed to Auckland in late January to study for the semester. She's a big pop culture junkie, so I'd like to get her some movies, tv shows, books or music that are quintessentially New Zealand-ish or that feature Auckland itself. Also anything a young person might be into that's not imported from elsewhere. If it's not readily available in the US, I will pass on a list of stuff for her to check out while she's down there.
She's already a big "Flight of the Conchords" fan and has seen Lord of the Rings. What else is there?
Movies: Whale Rider, Rain (the latter is very Auckland)
Music: Heavenly Pop Hits - The Chills, Anthology - The Clean
Books: Crime Story - Maurice Gee, Once Were Warriors - Alan Duff
TV: NZ TV is shit
posted by dydecker at 5:30 PM on December 14, 2007
Music: Heavenly Pop Hits - The Chills, Anthology - The Clean
Books: Crime Story - Maurice Gee, Once Were Warriors - Alan Duff
TV: NZ TV is shit
posted by dydecker at 5:30 PM on December 14, 2007
Music? Oh man, can't get more kiwi than the fabulous Finn brothers, Tim and Neil, who have recorded as Split Enz, Crowded House (also often referred to as an Australian band, as two original members were Aussies and they were actually based in Melbourne for a time), Finn Brothers, and as solo artists. Lots of specific references to New Zealand towns, sights, sounds, etc. sprinkled throughout all their music.
They've recorded a ton of material over the past 30+ years, so the easiest place to start would probably be the Best of Split Enz and the Best of Crowded House and/or Time on Earth, the most recent Crowded House album. (If she finds she likes these, feel free to drop me a line and I will be happy to make further recommendations!)
As for other pop culture: Heavenly Creatures is pretty essential viewing.
posted by scody at 5:39 PM on December 14, 2007
They've recorded a ton of material over the past 30+ years, so the easiest place to start would probably be the Best of Split Enz and the Best of Crowded House and/or Time on Earth, the most recent Crowded House album. (If she finds she likes these, feel free to drop me a line and I will be happy to make further recommendations!)
As for other pop culture: Heavenly Creatures is pretty essential viewing.
posted by scody at 5:39 PM on December 14, 2007
Oh, and I meant to say re: Split Enz -- one of their best-known hits, "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," is even about British settlers voyaging to New Zealand in the 19th century. Plus, could they be any more adorable in the video?
posted by scody at 5:53 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by scody at 5:53 PM on December 14, 2007
Oh, and all of Peter Jackson's films: Meet the Feebles, Braindead, Bad Taste.
Alan Duff really is a great writer: not just Once Were Warriors but also the sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? and some of his earlier works are great (State Ward and One Night Out Stealing in particular). And of course the films - if you or girlfriend haven't seen Once Were Warriors then this situation must be rectified stat. Ditto if you haven't seen the film The Piano.
I also like Patricia Grace (particularly Cousins) and Janet Frame (particularly The Carpathians and her autobiography, An Angel At My Table).
For music: Flying Nun Records. I loved the Headless Chickens, Straitjacket Fits and the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience back in the day. Their box set would be awesome.
I also really liked the film Topless Women Talk About Their Lives and the TV show Outrageous Fortune.
posted by goo at 6:01 PM on December 14, 2007
Alan Duff really is a great writer: not just Once Were Warriors but also the sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? and some of his earlier works are great (State Ward and One Night Out Stealing in particular). And of course the films - if you or girlfriend haven't seen Once Were Warriors then this situation must be rectified stat. Ditto if you haven't seen the film The Piano.
I also like Patricia Grace (particularly Cousins) and Janet Frame (particularly The Carpathians and her autobiography, An Angel At My Table).
For music: Flying Nun Records. I loved the Headless Chickens, Straitjacket Fits and the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience back in the day. Their box set would be awesome.
I also really liked the film Topless Women Talk About Their Lives and the TV show Outrageous Fortune.
posted by goo at 6:01 PM on December 14, 2007
Oh, and speaking of Whale Rider (which was, indeed, a lovely movie), it was originally a novel by Witi Ihimaera. His story collection, Pounamu, Pounamu, is also good. They're both probably hard to find in the U.S., but she should have no problem finding them in NZ. (Though you may want to mention to her that books in NZ are much more expensive, comparatively, than in the US.)
posted by scody at 6:09 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by scody at 6:09 PM on December 14, 2007
Check out some of Peter Jackson's older stuff.
Braindead for example (available on DVD as "Dead Alive" in the USA). It's a comedy zombie flick set in small-town New Zealand of the 50s/60s, and the zombies don't make me squirm so much as the germs of truth in some of the jokes related to life in old-time small-town New Zealand. Also, the film is almost a running cameo of half the New Zealand actors and celebrities of the time it was made.
If Braindead seems like just the ticket, then "Bad Taste" (an earlier, no-budget weekend-project splatter-comedy is also worth checking out.
Drydecker mentions the book "Once Were Warriors", I think the film based on the book (and with the same name) probably deserves an equal or bigger recommendation. (It also stars Jengo Fett from Star Wars :-))
Television... as with any country, some of the culture is shaped by some of the mainstream advertisements (and as usual, a disproportionate amount of those ads are for alochol :).
A youtube search for New Zealand ads that were funny enough, or "period" enough for someone to bother uploading should get some cultural fodder. For example:
Beer ad, origin of the sometime-used "that man deserves a DB" as a way of saying "well done!".
soft drink ad. Cringe-inducing in it's relentless accuracy of yesteryear :)
Another beer ad this one ripping on student living.
And so on :)
posted by -harlequin- at 6:20 PM on December 14, 2007
Braindead for example (available on DVD as "Dead Alive" in the USA). It's a comedy zombie flick set in small-town New Zealand of the 50s/60s, and the zombies don't make me squirm so much as the germs of truth in some of the jokes related to life in old-time small-town New Zealand. Also, the film is almost a running cameo of half the New Zealand actors and celebrities of the time it was made.
If Braindead seems like just the ticket, then "Bad Taste" (an earlier, no-budget weekend-project splatter-comedy is also worth checking out.
Drydecker mentions the book "Once Were Warriors", I think the film based on the book (and with the same name) probably deserves an equal or bigger recommendation. (It also stars Jengo Fett from Star Wars :-))
Television... as with any country, some of the culture is shaped by some of the mainstream advertisements (and as usual, a disproportionate amount of those ads are for alochol :).
A youtube search for New Zealand ads that were funny enough, or "period" enough for someone to bother uploading should get some cultural fodder. For example:
Beer ad, origin of the sometime-used "that man deserves a DB" as a way of saying "well done!".
soft drink ad. Cringe-inducing in it's relentless accuracy of yesteryear :)
Another beer ad this one ripping on student living.
And so on :)
posted by -harlequin- at 6:20 PM on December 14, 2007
Seconding Heavenly Creatures and Braindead. They're not just great films in their own right, but they offer great little portraits of NZ life as distinct from British, Australian, or American life.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:26 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:26 PM on December 14, 2007
Music: Fat Freddy's Drop
2 3 4
Film: Peter Jackson's Meet the Feebles
Topless women talk about their lives.
And I'm not even a Kiwi.
posted by strawberryviagra at 7:32 PM on December 14, 2007
2 3 4
Film: Peter Jackson's Meet the Feebles
Topless women talk about their lives.
And I'm not even a Kiwi.
posted by strawberryviagra at 7:32 PM on December 14, 2007
Keri Hulme's The Bone People is very, very good.
posted by tigerbelly at 8:04 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by tigerbelly at 8:04 PM on December 14, 2007
The movie In My Father's Den is utterly gorgeous and one of my favourites. It's based on a book by Maurice Gee which is on my 'to read soon' list. I also highly recommend Under the Mountain, again by Maurice Gee. Classic kiwi children's book (aimed at early teenagers I think?) set in Auckland that still sends shivers down my spine. Everyone I know has read it (often at school) and it would be a good introduction to growing up here, as well as being a good story.
For music check out amplifier.co.nz. You can listen to clips, read up about gigs, download tracks, get a weekly email newsletter about the local music scene, and other musicy stuff. I also reckon she should tune in to bfm once she gets here for the best slice of local colour and good music.
posted by shelleycat at 10:02 PM on December 14, 2007
For music check out amplifier.co.nz. You can listen to clips, read up about gigs, download tracks, get a weekly email newsletter about the local music scene, and other musicy stuff. I also reckon she should tune in to bfm once she gets here for the best slice of local colour and good music.
posted by shelleycat at 10:02 PM on December 14, 2007
Oh, and NZ TV is shit, but while she's here she needs to watch at least some Shortland Street (local soap, 7 pm week nights, TV2), if nothing else than to revel in it's cheesy crapness.
posted by shelleycat at 10:05 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by shelleycat at 10:05 PM on December 14, 2007
Scarfies. Not "must-see" in the "it's really good" sense, but more "must see" in the "lots of nozzies have seen it, and it's a train wreck" (approaching cult?) sense.
posted by kickback at 10:20 PM on December 14, 2007
posted by kickback at 10:20 PM on December 14, 2007
Music: I'm a (slightly older than most uni students) Kiwi and I love anything by either Tim or Neil Finn (or both of them as Split Enz) or even lately Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, also look for Anika Moa, Fat Freddy's Drop or Don McGlashan - who has been writing beautiful Kiwi music for years. Oh heck why not get her to subscribe to the NZ Youtube channel - in between all of the dogs on hamster wheels she can see some great examples of our music.
There are a serious of music albums called Natures Best which are a sort of anthology of NZ music over the years. Go to Real Groovy (which is the best music / video / dvd store in Auckland bar none) and search Nature's Best.
TV Shows: Bro Town, which is a crazy animated TV show about some inner city Aucklanders, Outrageous Fortune, about West Aucklanders, Shortland Street, currently our most popular soap opera and Country Calendar which is a long running farming programme. Actually on second thoughts, those programmes will all give her a lop-sided view of our culture. Tell her to watch any of those shows while near real Kiwis who can give her the truth about the sterotypes!
posted by chairish at 10:25 PM on December 14, 2007
There are a serious of music albums called Natures Best which are a sort of anthology of NZ music over the years. Go to Real Groovy (which is the best music / video / dvd store in Auckland bar none) and search Nature's Best.
TV Shows: Bro Town, which is a crazy animated TV show about some inner city Aucklanders, Outrageous Fortune, about West Aucklanders, Shortland Street, currently our most popular soap opera and Country Calendar which is a long running farming programme. Actually on second thoughts, those programmes will all give her a lop-sided view of our culture. Tell her to watch any of those shows while near real Kiwis who can give her the truth about the sterotypes!
posted by chairish at 10:25 PM on December 14, 2007
Seconding Braindead - it's very kiwi, like Shaun of the Dead is very British. And yeah, Bro Town is an exception to the avoid-NZ-TV rule.
posted by dydecker at 12:29 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by dydecker at 12:29 AM on December 15, 2007
Everyone's already mentioned all I know... except for The Verlaines, here's their video for the song Death and the Maiden.
posted by Kattullus at 1:12 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by Kattullus at 1:12 AM on December 15, 2007
Music: Nature's Best is definitely the way to go as a starting point: it will give a good mix of the really popular Kiwi songs (the ones everyone sings along to drunkenly at parties) and some of the better indie/alternative stuff. Though it's a little weak on hiphop and dance, IIRC.
Indie music: The Chills; The Clean; Straightjacket Fits, the Verlaines; Chris Knox (solo; with Toy Love); Headless Chickens. (Though those are all kinda old now). The Phoenix Foundation are great. Goldenhorse are a more poppy, contemporary band (kinda like the Sundays).
There's a big dub/reggae/funk scene in Wellington that's quite popular nationally: Fat Freddy's Drop, The Black Seeds, etc. Also Salmonella Dub.
TV: Seconding Shortland Street - it's not very good, but it's an institution. Also try anything involving Havoc and/or Newsboy - Eating Media Lunch is hilarious (think a ruder/cruder version of The Daily Show, only weekly). Echoing Bro Town. Other than that, NZ TV is dire - I only watch sport and US/UK import shows.
Films: seconding Peter Jackson's early stuff; The Piano; Whale Rider; Goodbye Pork Pie; Came a Hot Friday; The Quiet Earth.
Books: Janet Frame, Maurice Gee, Maurice Shadbolt, CK Stead, Lloyd Jones (Mr Pip).
The long running comic strip Footrot Flats is iconic, and has been made into a film. It's the story of a archetypal Kiwi farmer, and his environmentally conscious dog, Dog. Probably not something that many people in Auckland will identify with, but it's great.
Blogs: start at www.publicaddress.net.nz to get a feel for what's going on here (politics/tech/music/culture).
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:39 AM on December 15, 2007
Indie music: The Chills; The Clean; Straightjacket Fits, the Verlaines; Chris Knox (solo; with Toy Love); Headless Chickens. (Though those are all kinda old now). The Phoenix Foundation are great. Goldenhorse are a more poppy, contemporary band (kinda like the Sundays).
There's a big dub/reggae/funk scene in Wellington that's quite popular nationally: Fat Freddy's Drop, The Black Seeds, etc. Also Salmonella Dub.
TV: Seconding Shortland Street - it's not very good, but it's an institution. Also try anything involving Havoc and/or Newsboy - Eating Media Lunch is hilarious (think a ruder/cruder version of The Daily Show, only weekly). Echoing Bro Town. Other than that, NZ TV is dire - I only watch sport and US/UK import shows.
Films: seconding Peter Jackson's early stuff; The Piano; Whale Rider; Goodbye Pork Pie; Came a Hot Friday; The Quiet Earth.
Books: Janet Frame, Maurice Gee, Maurice Shadbolt, CK Stead, Lloyd Jones (Mr Pip).
The long running comic strip Footrot Flats is iconic, and has been made into a film. It's the story of a archetypal Kiwi farmer, and his environmentally conscious dog, Dog. Probably not something that many people in Auckland will identify with, but it's great.
Blogs: start at www.publicaddress.net.nz to get a feel for what's going on here (politics/tech/music/culture).
posted by Infinite Jest at 2:39 AM on December 15, 2007
A lot of Radio New Zealand programs are available as podcasts. You could probably get some great ideas from listening to some of those. I'm a big fan of Kim Hill's Saturday Morning program and she frequently discusses popular culture.
posted by maurice at 3:50 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by maurice at 3:50 AM on December 15, 2007
Falling into the "etc." category: I've had surprising luck finding Tim Tam cookies in the USA. If you can find a pack for her, she can practice her Tim Tam Slam before heading to NZ. (I suppose they are ultimately Australian, but NZ'ers seemed to take cultural ownership as well)
Also: if she's twenty , RDU is an online radio station out of Christchurch that might give her an idea of what the kids are listening to these days.
posted by catdog at 7:09 AM on December 15, 2007
Also: if she's twenty , RDU is an online radio station out of Christchurch that might give her an idea of what the kids are listening to these days.
posted by catdog at 7:09 AM on December 15, 2007
Katherine Mansfield (born in Wellington) set many of her stories here.
posted by brujita at 7:29 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by brujita at 7:29 AM on December 15, 2007
hmmm i will also be studying abroad in auckland (university of...) that same semester...
posted by Black_Umbrella at 8:29 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by Black_Umbrella at 8:29 AM on December 15, 2007
A friend of mine in New Zealand recommended Samoan Wedding and I loved it. (Better known as "Sione's wedding", I gave you the U.S. title, since that's where you say you are.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 9:03 AM on December 15, 2007
posted by Margalo Epps at 9:03 AM on December 15, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
And then there's BLACK SHEEP.
posted by nitsuj at 4:56 PM on December 14, 2007