http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/karen-brooks/ Karen is Deputy Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences and an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Southern Cross University where she lectures on media and popular culture using a psychoanalytical model. Her research is widely published in Australia and overseas. She’s also an award-winning teacher and travels regularly giving keynotes at various conferences and providing in-service training for educational professionals. Karen is also a columnist for The Courier Mail and appears fairly regularly on Channel 7’s Sunrise and The Morning Show. She’s also a member of ABC’s The Einstein Factor’s “Brains’ Trust”, and a frequent contributor on national, state and local radio. Karen believes passionately in the power of education to mobilise positive change and feels it’s important that the research happening in universities is widely disseminated in accessible and meaningful ways. A published creative writer, Karen’s has five novels to her name all of which received terrific reviews and her sixth, Tallow, published by Random House, will hit the stores in October, 2009 and is already being described as ‘quite breathtaking’. Set in a world akin to renaissance Venice, it is the first in a trilogy entitled The Curse of the Bond Riders. Karen’s non-fiction book: Consuming Innocence: Popular Culture and Our Children was published to critical acclaim by UQP in February 2008. This book deals with the sexualisation and corporatisation of childhood and the complex relationship kids, parents and all adults have with the culture they love to loathe. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/suffering-continues-long-after-the-cameras-stop-rolling/ Mainstream television’s reporting of natural and other catastrophes has turned the delivery of information about human struggle, the mighty elements, loss and its consequences into nothing more than disaster porn. Nowhere has this been so evident than with the recent “live” coverage of the Tasmania bushfires. Late last week and into this one, the south-east of Tasmania burned, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and holidaymakers as homes and livelihoods, never mind beloved pets and essential livestock perished. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/suffering-continues-long-after-the-cameras-stop-rolling/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/suffering-continues-long-after-the-cameras-stop-rolling/#item10351 Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:45:37 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/book-extract-tallow-tale-of-a-candlemaker/ ‘There,’ I said, balancing the candle I’d snapped off the broach in the palm of my hand. ‘What do you think?’ I ran my other hand through my hair, pushing back my recalcitrant fringe. My fingers came away moist. It was hot in the workroom, but that wasn’t the only reason I was sweating. Even though I had been making candles ever since I could remember, I awaited Pillar’s opinion nervously. It wasn’t that Pillar was such a great candlemaker; in fact, he often lamented how pedestrian and ordinary his work was and that he only earned enough lire to survive. Pillar was right. His work was nothing special, not compared with the work of the master candlemakers who lived on the salizzada and controlled the Candlemakers Scuola, but what he thought mattered terribly to me. While he lacked the artistic flair of the masters, or their golden ducats to spend on exotic waxes and wicks, his candles were solid, the wicks dependable, and they burnt long and brightly. ‘Well?’ I pressed. He didn’t usually take so long to offer his opinion. ‘Can we afford to purchase more beeswax?’ feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/book-extract-tallow-tale-of-a-candlemaker/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/book-extract-tallow-tale-of-a-candlemaker/#item1382 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:35:12 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pc-rubbish-allows-a-teen-to-try-sailing-the-globe/ As teenage sailor, Jessica Watson, makes a second attempt to embark on her 27,000 nautical mile journey around the world, it’s timely to reflect upon the way in which the she, her family and the notion of the trip has been discussed in the media and society. For, there’s no doubt, that on the water or land, since Jessica and her intentions were first touted, she’s been a walking headline. Her attempt to be the youngest solo sailor almost ended before it had begun when, on her way to Sydney to commence, she collided with a Chinese cargo ship in the early hours of the morning and limped back to port with a broken mast. The report on the collision indicates that Jessica does not have the experience everyone initially believed, and so a once very supportive tide has begun to turn against the teenager and her family. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pc-rubbish-allows-a-teen-to-try-sailing-the-globe/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pc-rubbish-allows-a-teen-to-try-sailing-the-globe/#item1351 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:15:12 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-spouses-of-the-powerful-get-such-short-shrift/ Before indulging in a teeny-weeny bit of sympathy for celebrities whose private lives are flayed open for the public to feast on, spare a thought for what global leaders and their spouses have to endure. If it’s not the Italian stallion, Silvio Berlusconi having flings with escorts, or holding frivolous parties, prompting calls he should be put out to pasture (from everyone and everywhere but his actual Italian constituents), or Vladamir Putin rising out the water, James Bond-esque, in budgie smugglers and with a well-toned body that defies his age, making world headlines, then it’s what the partners of these leaders are wearing. In fact, when it comes to powerful women and/or the female spouses of Presidents and Prime Ministers, the fashion police are criminally biased. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-spouses-of-the-powerful-get-such-short-shrift/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-spouses-of-the-powerful-get-such-short-shrift/#item972 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:00:37 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/marriage-not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-that/ Raised on a diet of Disney movies, contemporary society has become so besotted with the idea of heterosexual romance, marriage and weddings, we fail to see the people for the confetti and happily-ever-afters. Caught up in a Hollywood version of what constitutes a legitimate union, we’re becoming exclusive, political and discriminatory and overlooking what should be a very basic human right: the right of the individual to form a loving, public and legal commitment to another person and have it civilly sanctioned regardless of sexuality. I find it fascinating and more than a little bit perplexing, that when it comes to discussions of same-sex unions, those best positioned to provide compassion and understanding resort to straw polls, prejudicial language and silencing tactics to proclaim, yet again, the almighty significance of heterosexual unions.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/marriage-not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-that/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/marriage-not-that-theres-anything-wrong-with-that/#item773 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:45:12 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-tasteful-tv-show-that-saved-a-toxic-genre/ There was a time, not so long ago, when critics predicted the end of reality television. Big Brother had the infamous ‘turkey slap,’ incident, Extreme Makeover and The Swan filmed people surgically mutilating themselves in order to look like Barbie and Ken dolls, while programs like Survivor, The Bachelor, Boot Camp and even the Biggest Loser, not only revealed the depths to which human nature would sink, but invited competitors and viewers to revel in displays of excess: flesh, emotions, psychological reactions and banality. Cheap to produce, it seemed that ‘actuality’ programming had reached its nadir. Lately, however, there is a rebirth of the genre. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-tasteful-tv-show-that-saved-a-toxic-genre/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-tasteful-tv-show-that-saved-a-toxic-genre/#item614 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:08:17 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/double-the-chance-of-winning-an-oscar-still-miniscule/ Whether you love or loathe the Academy Awards, there’s no doubt that winning one of those heavy gold statuettes can be a career-changing experience for those in the movie industry. It’s not surprising then that the announcement that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has lifted the number of nominations for Best Picture from 5 to 10 for 2010 has drawn interesting responses from fans and critics alike. Some film professionals are delighted that the pool of competitors is being deepened, declaring that this decision will allow more cinematic contenders to vie for what’s undoubtedly the most prestigious prize of the night. Hope for the Australian film industry has even been expressed – but apart from this year’s winner of Canne’s best film, Warwick Thornton’s Sampson and Delilah, that wish is more akin to chasing rainbows. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/double-the-chance-of-winning-an-oscar-still-miniscule/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/double-the-chance-of-winning-an-oscar-still-miniscule/#item472 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:40:22 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-are-robot-how-were-turning-into-the-terminator/ Arnie Schwarzenegger first appeared as the terrifying killing machine the T800 in the original Terminator movie (1984), before reappearing in Judgement Day (1991) and Rise of the Machines (2003), proving the prophetic nature of his character’s infamous phrase, ‘I’ll be back.’ The fourth film in the series, Terminator Salvation, directed by John McGinty Nichol (of Charlie’s Angels fame), opens today sans Arnie (except in a CGI moment), signalling not the closure some hoped for, but rather the start of a new trilogy. Like its predecessors (and the television series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles – 2008), the film, set in a post-apocalyptic 2018, where the machines have not only risen but triumphed, explores the ways in which the surviving humans do their utmost to destroy that which they created. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-are-robot-how-were-turning-into-the-terminator/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-are-robot-how-were-turning-into-the-terminator/#item253 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:15:13 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-anyone-surprised-that-susan-boyle-cracked/ A couple of months ago, no-one had heard of the plump, bushy-browed lady who lived alone with her cat, Pebbles, and volunteered at the local church. A woman who not only dared to dream of a different life, but sing about it as well. Initially hostile, audiences and judges were swept off their feet, including the millions that watched her performance on YouTube. Susan Boyle has experienced 15 hellish minutes and then some. Now she’s paying the price. So many long for the patina of stardom, but the cost is high – public adoration, humiliation and desecration – and they must do it without the attendant minders, spin doctors, psychologists and personal trainers to boost the flailed ego that Hollywood stars know is essential. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Karen Brooks) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-anyone-surprised-that-susan-boyle-cracked/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/is-anyone-surprised-that-susan-boyle-cracked/#item182 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:38:04 +0000 Karen Brooks | Author bios | The Punch