The footage of the captain and crew being hauled to safety from the sinking Sewol ferry is how The Feed chose to open their April 29 show, and good on them for doing so. This South Korean ferry tragedy is being crazily under-reported this week, despite some 190 people now being confirmed dead. The photos are truly astounding too, and any coverage this tragedy gets its worthwhile, despite it making for a more traditionally ‘newsy’ opening than the show usually serves up. More in line with The Feed’s M.O. though, was the brief piece on what could be called Osama Bin Laden tourism. Apparently several bars, cafes and clubs have opened featuring Osama Bin Laden impersonators… bad taste? A bit of a laugh? Something to actually take power away from the man’s image? Your call is as good as ours…
The first of two major pieces for the night came from the sharing economy sector. For those whom that term is (unsurprisingly) vague- it refers to services such as Airbnb and Krrb that have individuals offering goods and services for sale or trade. Sounds simple and inauspicious enough until you realise that cutting out the middle man in, say, the hotel industry in favour of renting out your apartment for a week could potentially see people out of jobs- or at least that’s what’s being argued by the hotel industry. As consumers, it is difficult to see the forest for the trees in situations like these, but it’s clear that this new peer to peer economy is here to stay.
The latter feature piece served as a profile on the little Australian film that could, 52 Tuesdays. The film, which charts a year of Tuesdays in the life of a high school student and her mother’s decision to undergo a gender reassignment procedure is taking film festivals by storm and building hype with every mention. The footage from the film served as a welcome addition to the hype, though Marc Fennell’s interview with director Sophie Hyde and breakout star Tilda Cobham-Hervey was the real hero of the piece. Fennell, ever the generous interviewer, allowed the two to simply chat and discuss the film’s creation and hypothesise on why it’s being so widely regarded so quickly.And while any non-Monday viewing of The Feed makes it difficult to not long to see Celebrity
Chin Wag, a brief mention of a documentary crew unearthing a long discarded cache of copies of legendary horrible video game ET for the Atari 2600 still provided a strong chuckle for anyone who knows the game.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Feed airs Monday-Thursday, 7:35pm (repeated 10:30pm) on SBS2
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