Editorial: As Welly might

OPINION: Wellington isn't feeling so absolutely positive about whether to erect a big, hokey Wellywood sign on the Mirimar peninsula, writes The Southland Times in an editorial.

It's airport land and the airport plans to press ahead, undeterred by the warnings that it would be breaching a Hollywood trademark.

The community, it seems, is divided between the funsters, who think the whole thing's an agreeable spoof that also makes the point that the capital's such a hard case place that just because its local film industry contributes an estimated $285 million a year, it doesn't mean that they're po-faced serious about it.

Yessir, and what's more Peter Jackson, the Man Without Whom, likes the idea – as long as the sign is a spot-on replica of the original. And, for better or worse, Wellywood is what many people have taken to calling the city's film industry.

The case against is at least twofold. One is aesthetic: a realistic duplication of the tacky-tacky-tacky Hollywood original is, surprisingly, both tacky and witlessly derivative.

Not the way, they say, to promote what should be, and so often has been, an essentially creative local industry.

In case it helps, let the declaration of people in the deep south be carried on the wind and weather patterns to our good friends in the lower North Island.

We just don't care! But we are enjoying the ruction.

Of course the sign would be nasty. And not really appropriate, given that the original has become, shall we say, self-satirising.

Then again, given that Jackson's fabulously influential career started with the film Bad Taste, the thought of a truly appropriate homage to local talent wouldn't necessarily present a path to soothing those of more delicate sensibilities.

That film contained plenty of images that, however memorable, wouldn't really stand supersizing for the benefit of passing traffic.

The Wellywood sign's advocates seem to be making much of the fact that it's poking fun at Hollywood, as if this were either brave or clever. Lampooning a giant, lumbering industry from afar?

Who's to say where that sort of malarky will lead. Next we'll have rock bands disrespecting organised religion, rappers giving the police a bit of cheek and artists subverting powerful images.

Wellington needn't be scolded, whichever way this finally goes.

Let those cities and towns without stylistic sin cast the first stone. Down here, we've got our own giant trout statues, our extravagant fruit bowls, our ringing declarations of sausage capital status to be getting on with. And a middling approximation of the Wellywood sign has long existed at Mosgiel.

By and large we have made our peace with them all. Whether they were good ideas or bad ideas, they'rethere now.

Even those of some notoriety, like the inexpert Pukerau nudes mural, now gone, are missed in some quarters.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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