1. Dreamed that, we go to see Grease. We sit in a crowded theater.
It says, A person does not commit an offence under this section if the person and the other person to whom the charge relates were, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, married to each other.
Wow. So, what is the legal age for marriage then?
25. Saw from this website that the minimum age for marriage in New South Wales is eighteen. Though you can make an appeal to a court.
I wonder how often these appeals happen and how often they're granted.
I can't really imagine a court official granting marriage permission to a teacher so he can legally have sex with his sixteen-year-old student.
26. Confused about the teacher (Martin Dingle Wall) in Strangerland.
Matthew goes to his house to see if his missing daughter is there. The wife of the teacher treats Matthew like he's the criminal—like he's harassing their family. Both the teacher and the wife act like they're the victims.
What's going on there?
First of all, why wasn't the teacher arrested for having sex with Lily?
I'm wondering if it didn't happen the way that Matthew and Catherine imagined.
Maybe Lily had been stalking the teacher? Maybe it's believed by the teacher's wife that Lily lied about having sex with him? And...maybe that's true?
27. Saw that the film might have some bits of magical-realism. There are hints of psychic feelings and visions.
28. Impressed with the cinematography in the movie.
I think it's visually stimulating and creative but not overly indulgent. I feel it fits well with the story.
Sometimes I see fancy camera work in a boring movie, and it just feels like someone is trying to show off.
29. Thought that Nicole Kidman is beautiful in this movie.
I think she sometimes looks too much like an expensive porcelain doll, but here she looks very natural.
30. Thought that Kidman actually looks less pretty than she usually does, but it somehow makes her more beautiful.
Does that make any sense?
Probably not.
Well, it WOULD make sense if I could communicate it properly.
31. Got the idea, from some dialogue, that incest plays a part in the story.
Speaking of incest, while doing laundry, I thought more about the age of consent laws and realized that not-parental relatives were not listed on the law website.
Does that mean it would be legal for an aunt or uncle to have sex with their niece and nephew? What about an older cousin with a younger cousin?
32. Realized some of that could fall into anti-incest laws. Though Australia allows relations between cousins.
I'm not sure if Australia allows marriage between aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews.
33. Consulted Lord Wiki. He says incest includes parents, siblings, and grandparents.
So I THINK it might be legal for a man or woman to have sex with their sixteen or seventeen year old nephew.
I don't think that's right. I think those relationships should fall into the same category as teacher, health care worker, counselor, etc.
34. Argued with myself.
Is there that much of a difference between an aunt and one of your mom's best friends? How about a neighbor?
35. Thought again about how it's probably just best if adults don't have sex with sixteen or seventeen-year-olds.
I can see, though, that there might be some rare exceptions.
I think it also depends on the age. A twenty-year-old having sex with a seventeen year old is different from a forty year old having sex with a seventeen year old.
36. Thought about how I definitely do have a double standard when it comes to gender.
I cringe at the idea of a forty-year-old man having sex with a seventeen-year-old girl. It feels like child abuse. It's an afternoon special or a TV movie of the week. But then I imagine a seventeen year old guy getting it on with his female neighbor, and it feels more like a comedy than a drama.
37. Thought about homosexual relationships.
The older man with the young man is a quirky independent film.
The older woman with the young woman is a psychological thriller or a psychological drama.
38. Realized what I'm feeling is that it's okay for teenage boys to have sex but not teenage girls.
It's totally a double standard.
Well, this is with teens having sex with adults.
I think my feelings are equal when it concerns teens having sex with other teens—no matter what the gender or sexual orientation.
39. Decided to stop watching the film for today.
I'll watch the rest tomorrow.
I gotta say, so far, I'm not agreeing with the ratings I saw yesterday.
I like the movie a lot. I like the acting. I like the camera work. I like the mystery.
I want to know what happens next.
I have a rule that when I watch movies for this blog, I split it into two days. That way I feel less overwhelmed. Usually, I feel a great relief when I get to the half-way mark and can stop the film for the day. But with this one, it was hard for me to stop.
There's still a part of that wants to continue.
40. Decided not to continue, because with all by babbling, it might take me all night to watch the movie. And this blog post will grow to be way too long.
41. Thought that no matter what, Strangerland can't be a bad movie, because Hugo Weaving is one of the stars.
Can a movie be bad if it stars Hugo Weaving?
No, I don't think so.
It's like a dessert with hot fudge. It might not be fantastic, but it will be at least sort of good.
It's pointed out to us that Olivia Newton John is there. She's sitting to our right, wearing pink or red. The people with me turn to get a glance at her. They do it in a kind of rude and obvious way.
Then we see that Olivia Newton John has gone to the stage. I notice that she looks old, and I see it as symbolizing the way we've all aged.
Or something like that.
This morning I thought of the symbolism it could represent.
In the film Grease, Olivia Newton John is very young. I think that symbolizes the way many of us feel. I may be forty-three, but I still feel like a teen or young adult. Sometimes I even feel like a child. I never or rarely feel like I'm a woman in my forties.
I don't feel, though, that I'm this immature person among all these other mature people. I feel everyone I know is like a child, teen, or young adult.
So, to me the Grease film represents the idea that no matter what our age, we're still kind of like high school teenagers. Then the aged Olivia Newton-John represents our real biological ages—how we look on the outside.
2. Started watching an episode of Home and Away.
3. Thought about what I wrote in my post yesterday—about people breaking up with someone; then gaining interest back once that someone is dating someone else.
BECAUSE it's happening on the episode I'm watching today.
A while back, Oscar (Jake Speer) broke up with Maddie (Kassandra Clementi). It seemed to me, he had gone off her. Now he thinks she has feelings for Matt (Alec Snow), and he's jealous.Also, he changes the tune...from what I can see. Now he's claiming it wasn't a lack of love that made him break up with her. It was all about timing.
Really?
It seems a bit far-fetched to me.
I think the truth is that Oscar only has interest in Maddie when she's unavailable.
4. Liked the apology scene between Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Matt.
Leah apologizes to Matt, because earlier when he tried to talk to her about the Maddie drama, Leah totally bit his head off.
Leah's apology is very kind and mature. She doesn't make excuses or try to downplay anything. She acts like she genuinely feels bad about her actions. In return, Matt is extremely gracious. He doesn't just accept her apology. He goes beyond that by complimenting her. He tells Leah she's been there for him many times in the past.Then he jokes that he'll give her plenty of opportunity to be there for him in the future.
5. Thought that not all bitchiness merits an apology, and not all apologies merit forgiveness, compliments, and good humor.
But I think with Leah, this was a case of a usually supportive person having a bad moment. Plus, she has brain damage, so she actually DOES have an excuse for her behavior. It would be different if Leah had a history of being bitchy when people came to her for advice. In that case, her apology might just be annoying.
6. Started watching Strangerland.
7. Got idea from the credits, that the film might be an Australian-Irish movie.
8. Looked at IMDb, and they confirm that.
9. Saw a sign for a place called Nathgari.
Is it a real place?
10. Saw from Google that Nathgari is not a real place. It was invented for the movie.
The town that played the part of Nathgari was Canowindra.
This article talks about what it's like to have your real town turned into a fake town.
It makes me think of an article I once read about The Walking Dead. I forgot the details exactly. It was something like the film studio bought a neighborhood and sold the houses to the general public. But the stipulation was that the people living there would have to accept that filming goes on there sometimes.
11. Found an article about The Walking Dead thing.
I think it's really awesome.
It's like a backlot set where people can actually live.
I think, though, that it would be better appreciated by fans of The Walking Dead or people who are interested in the film and television industry. For people who are not fans, it would just be an annoying inconvenience.
If people filmed a movie or TV show in my neighborhood, I'd be partly annoyed. I'd be bothered by the traffic jams, the changes, the noises, etc. But mostly, I think I'd be very excited.
When we lived in New York, we'd see filming on streets. Well, really we'd see mostly just signs and trailers. That in itself was a huge thrill.
12. Saw kangaroo carcases hanging on a hills hoist.
Interesting.....
13. Saw Joseph Fiennes.
Whenever I see him, I think of him as the priest in American Horror Story. I liked the scene where he had sex with Satan. That was pretty sexy. Although now that I've written it out, it sounds, to me, like an episode of South Park.
14. Thought that Maddison Brown, the actress who plays young Lily, in Strangerland, looks like a mix of Rose McGowan, Drew Barrymore, and some other actresses.
15. Thought that the personality of Lily reminds me a little bit of someone I know.
16. Thought the movie was interesting, so far.
I'm intrigued by the family dynamics.
Lily is a very sexual and flirty teenager. Her father, Matthew (Fiennes) is strict and uptight. Matthew's wife, Catherine (Nicole Kidman) reveals that she used to be like Lily. She's older and wiser now but still interested in sex. She flirts with Matthew, and he rejects her.
Why is that interesting to me?
I don't know, really.
I guess it's the dynamics between the strict father and out of control daughter. I think maybe what I'm used to seeing is strict parents with subservient kids or out of control kids with permissive parents. This is something different.
17. Realized it's NOT actually different from what I've seen in real life.
I've seen parents who want to be strict and in control; yet their children have a mind of their own.
I don't know what I was talking about above. Maybe it's what I see in fiction.
Maybe the stereotype I have is along the lines of Jessica on True Blood...before she became a vampire.
Maybe the stereotype I have is along the lines of Jessica on True Blood...before she became a vampire.
18. Thought of another thing that fits the stereotype in my head.
It was on old 1980's Neighbours. There was a girl with a very strict mom. I think maybe the girl's name was Kim? From what I remember, she acted very subservient to the mother—was very nervous around her. But then secretly, she was a bit wild. I think she got pregnant.
I think the stereotype I have, really, is the strict parent with the seemingly obedient child. But then the child secretly rebels. Or she waits until she gets bitten by a Civil War veteran and then rebels.
19. Intrigued by the mystery in the film.
Matthew watches his two kids walk out of the house in the middle of the night. He doesn't stop them.
The next morning, Catherine wakes up to find them gone. She calls her husband to ask if the kids are with him, and he says they're not. He says nothing about seeing them walk out in the middle of the night.
From what I read of the movie, the plot centers around the parents trying to find their missing kids. I'm wondering what happened to them. Did they have somewhere to go? Were they meeting someone? Were they possessed by some spirit calling out to them?
And why didn't the father stop them? Why didn't he call out to them? Why didn't he tell his wife what he saw?
20. Learned that the son, Tom (Nicholas Hamilton) has a habit of walking at night when he can't sleep. So that must be the reason why his father didn't make a fuss when he saw him leaving the house at night. It's something he's seen before.
21. Saw that this is yet another Australian movie with a young person having sex with an adult. I feel I keep running into this.
In this one, it IS illegal. The girl was fifteen or younger. The adult she had sex with was her teacher.
I think the age of consent goes up if it involves a teacher or other supervisor/guardian type person.
I think the age of consent goes up if it involves a teacher or other supervisor/guardian type person.
22. Looked for verification about the supervisor/guardian thing. It took awhile. Finally, Lord Wiki helped me. He led me to this website about New South Wales laws.
It says that a person having sex with a person under their care that's age sixteen is liable to imprisonment for eight years. If the teenager is seventeen years old, the perpetrator is liable to imprisonment for four years.
The website gives lists of examples of care-type relationships. These are parents, stepparents, foster parents, teachers, teachers, any other type of tutor-pupil relationship, custodial officers, and pupils.
23. Assumed this means that a teacher, at a school, can have an affair with a sixteen or seventeen year old student IF the student isn't his pupil. It would also have to be that teacher isn't the leader of any of the student's activities. So it wouldn't be okay to be the drama club advisor and then have sex with one of the club members.
In that case, how would the teacher and student have met in the first place?
24. Saw something interesting at the bottom of the page.
It says, A person does not commit an offence under this section if the person and the other person to whom the charge relates were, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, married to each other.
Wow. So, what is the legal age for marriage then?
25. Saw from this website that the minimum age for marriage in New South Wales is eighteen. Though you can make an appeal to a court.
I wonder how often these appeals happen and how often they're granted.
I can't really imagine a court official granting marriage permission to a teacher so he can legally have sex with his sixteen-year-old student.
26. Confused about the teacher (Martin Dingle Wall) in Strangerland.
Matthew goes to his house to see if his missing daughter is there. The wife of the teacher treats Matthew like he's the criminal—like he's harassing their family. Both the teacher and the wife act like they're the victims.
What's going on there?
First of all, why wasn't the teacher arrested for having sex with Lily?
I'm wondering if it didn't happen the way that Matthew and Catherine imagined.
Maybe Lily had been stalking the teacher? Maybe it's believed by the teacher's wife that Lily lied about having sex with him? And...maybe that's true?
27. Saw that the film might have some bits of magical-realism. There are hints of psychic feelings and visions.
28. Impressed with the cinematography in the movie.
I think it's visually stimulating and creative but not overly indulgent. I feel it fits well with the story.
Sometimes I see fancy camera work in a boring movie, and it just feels like someone is trying to show off.
29. Thought that Nicole Kidman is beautiful in this movie.
I think she sometimes looks too much like an expensive porcelain doll, but here she looks very natural.
30. Thought that Kidman actually looks less pretty than she usually does, but it somehow makes her more beautiful.
Does that make any sense?
Probably not.
Well, it WOULD make sense if I could communicate it properly.
31. Got the idea, from some dialogue, that incest plays a part in the story.
Speaking of incest, while doing laundry, I thought more about the age of consent laws and realized that not-parental relatives were not listed on the law website.
Does that mean it would be legal for an aunt or uncle to have sex with their niece and nephew? What about an older cousin with a younger cousin?
32. Realized some of that could fall into anti-incest laws. Though Australia allows relations between cousins.
I'm not sure if Australia allows marriage between aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews.
33. Consulted Lord Wiki. He says incest includes parents, siblings, and grandparents.
So I THINK it might be legal for a man or woman to have sex with their sixteen or seventeen year old nephew.
I don't think that's right. I think those relationships should fall into the same category as teacher, health care worker, counselor, etc.
34. Argued with myself.
Is there that much of a difference between an aunt and one of your mom's best friends? How about a neighbor?
35. Thought again about how it's probably just best if adults don't have sex with sixteen or seventeen-year-olds.
I can see, though, that there might be some rare exceptions.
I think it also depends on the age. A twenty-year-old having sex with a seventeen year old is different from a forty year old having sex with a seventeen year old.
36. Thought about how I definitely do have a double standard when it comes to gender.
I cringe at the idea of a forty-year-old man having sex with a seventeen-year-old girl. It feels like child abuse. It's an afternoon special or a TV movie of the week. But then I imagine a seventeen year old guy getting it on with his female neighbor, and it feels more like a comedy than a drama.
37. Thought about homosexual relationships.
The older man with the young man is a quirky independent film.
The older woman with the young woman is a psychological thriller or a psychological drama.
38. Realized what I'm feeling is that it's okay for teenage boys to have sex but not teenage girls.
It's totally a double standard.
Well, this is with teens having sex with adults.
I think my feelings are equal when it concerns teens having sex with other teens—no matter what the gender or sexual orientation.
39. Decided to stop watching the film for today.
I'll watch the rest tomorrow.
I gotta say, so far, I'm not agreeing with the ratings I saw yesterday.
I like the movie a lot. I like the acting. I like the camera work. I like the mystery.
I want to know what happens next.
I have a rule that when I watch movies for this blog, I split it into two days. That way I feel less overwhelmed. Usually, I feel a great relief when I get to the half-way mark and can stop the film for the day. But with this one, it was hard for me to stop.
There's still a part of that wants to continue.
40. Decided not to continue, because with all by babbling, it might take me all night to watch the movie. And this blog post will grow to be way too long.
41. Thought that no matter what, Strangerland can't be a bad movie, because Hugo Weaving is one of the stars.
Can a movie be bad if it stars Hugo Weaving?
No, I don't think so.
It's like a dessert with hot fudge. It might not be fantastic, but it will be at least sort of good.