Speech
One thing that ties all of Radiohead's songs together is Ironically a lack of conformity, Though using the same combination of Guitars, drums, bass and vocals, little bit of synths and string patterns they find new ways to write songs and each one feels completely unique, fresh and different, Exploring new rhythms, combinations and time signatures.
The year is 1997 Radiohead has just released "OK Computer", and it was an instant critical and commercial success, but as a result of this the members suffered burnout, Thom Yorke the band's lead singer became ill and described himself as "A huge mess and completely unhinged". The bassist Colin Greenwood said: "We felt we had to change everything, There were other guitar bands out there trying to do similar things. We had to move on." Thom Yorke became disillusioned with the "Mythology" of rock music feeling the genre had "run its course".
He moved onto listening exclusively to the electronic music artists of warp records such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, Thom stated: It was refreshing because the music was all structures and had no human voices in it. But I felt just as emotional about it as I'd ever felt about guitar music." He liked the idea of his voice being used as an instrument rather than having a leading role, and wanted to focus on sounds and textures instead of traditional songwriting.
Thom wanted to move on to using more computers and synths in his work rather than guitars. And for lyrics thom decided to pull them out of a hat at times to take away the personal qualities as a result of his emotional and physical burnout.
And on the second of october two thousand Radiohead released kid a. It was Radiohead's most anticipated release, According to Andrew Harrison, then editor of Q music journalists, expected it to provide more of the "rousing, cathartic, lots-of-guitar, Saturday-night-at-Glastonbury big future rock moments" of OK Computer. Months before its release, Melody Maker wrote: "If there's one band that promises to return rock to us, it's Radiohead." but once it was released Critics felt the record was deliberately obscure or pretentious or that the electronic elements were unoriginal.
In the years following its release, Kid A attracted acclaim. In 2005, Pitchfork wrote that it had "challenged and confounded" Radiohead's audience, and subsequently "transformed into an intellectual symbol of sorts ... Owning it became 'getting it'; getting it became 'anointing it'."
The orchestration, or the way the instruments are combined to produce a song are the reason why each song feels unique, and the best example of Radiohead's genius in the medium is the song "how to disappear completely" from Kid A, A track that Thom Yorke has described as the most beautiful thing He's ever written.
The song begins - an exhalation, a string pattern appears with no context and no obvious next step. This chord is lost we have no idea where the music is going next, That is until we hear a guitar start playing, the acoustic guitar introduces the key harmonical and rhythmical unit of the song it marks out in 6/8 notes and then the bass guitar starts almost acting as the main melody with its repeating motif the song has fully built up its components at this point , though seeming simple it's rather complex.
The string pattern was composed by the Main guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who was the only member who had been educated in music theory, he got his inspiration from Krystof Penderecki notable for his completely anomalous compositions and his graphical music scores. The band members giggled when Greenwood came up with the string pattern because none of them had any idea about how to do that. This song is amazing.
But the real emotional weight of this song are Thom Yorke's lyrics and his incredible vocal performance, How to disappear is Thom's attempt to exorcise the demons that possessed him during the Ok computer tour, He directly references the nightmare he had at Dublin the first show of the tour that they played, Thom was severely underprepared for it, the success of Ok computer had pushed them to the top and he Hated that, his lyrics say: I walk through the walls, I float down the Liffey, - a river that flows down the middle of dublin Yorke was terrified that he'd get carried away one night and end up in it.
and the chorus is word for word what Michael stiffey of REM told him in order to deal with the tour: I'm not here, this isn't happening, - a phrase that he repeated to himself in the mirror throughout the tour to help him get through it.
The music seems intertwined with Yorke's lyrics. It's as if the song directly reflects his feelings during the tour with its sense of loss of direction or the unknowing of what's going to happen next.
The sheer thought and effort that was put into this song is immense with its guitar stings that bare a resemblance to a child crying or the way that each instrument comes together at the end to form a beautiful harmony, symbolising a happy ending.
And then it ends and you are left dumbfounded, exhausted the way Thom felt during the tour but at least we got a happy ending, we got through it. How to disappear is a cautionary tale of superstardom and its dangers. How to disappear is the crowning jewel of a masterpiece album.
Music essay, Jonny Greenwood and Krystof Pendercki, review.
I have listened to a lot of music in my life. But no composer has ever been so significant to me as Jonny Greenwood has. He's not only my favourite composer but also the lead guitarist of my favorite band, Radiohead.
Jonny Greenwood is an English composer and musician. He is mainly known for his role in Radiohead as the lead guitarist and keyboard player. But is now getting more recognition for his solo compositions and film scores.
His compositions and film scores are influenced by Kyrstof Penderecki. Krystof is notable for his compositions that completely break the conventions of music. When Jonny was receiving music tuition a little bit before joining Radiohead, he was played a piece by Kyrstof and shown one of his scores. He was amazed at what he’d seen.
He said in an interview “I didn't know that you are allowed to do that, I didn't know you could be that free and you could think of these 48 musicians as being able to do anything.” It's not hard to understand how Jonnys musical world had changed from that point. And after seeing this, Jonny was hooked. Jonny said in another interview “You play this to some people and they say, this is music for a horror film, and it's not really like that and it's hard to explain, in a concert hall this stuff is actually much quieter and softer and stranger and more complicated.”
Kyrstof’s musical language is completely different to any other form of notation. He uses techniques like Microtonal clusters, walls of white noises made up of random notes, striking or playing the string with the wood of the bow to create a percussive sound. In his piece Polymorphia for 48 strings you can see many of these techniques used. He uses a technique called graphical notation to write out his pieces. Graphical notation is when you notate scores using lines and shapes to represent changes in pitch instead of notes. I love the usage of graphical notation because it allows the composer to be more free. There's no restrictions on what the composer can do. And the performers have to use what's on the sheet to imagine what the piece sounds like instead of actually knowing. This is simply beautiful and some scores are amazing to look at.
What comes out of Polymorphia is an exploration of the various sounds that these 48 strings can make. I find polymorphia beautiful. It's a scary piece but upon listening to it a few times, I have come to love it. The distinct melodious soundscapes that are produced are plain amazing. Polymorphia is a definite masterpiece of musical composition.
It would take Jonny 10 years to write his own piece like this, but in the meantime he was focusing on Radiohead. There are a few songs that show Jonny's influence from Penderecki in his work with Radiohead. From their first album Pablo Honey, Track 12 a song called “Blow out” . This song ends with a wall of dissonant sound created using guitars with effect pedals and dissipates into a pitchless cry. In 1997’s Ok Computer gave us another Penderecki influenced song with “Climbing up the walls”. In this song we hear another string pattern composed by Jonny mixed with vocals and distorted guitar that all collapses in on itself at the end. The best example of Jonny’s influence is the song “How to disappear completely” from Kid A. A chord appears with no context and no obvious sense of tonality. At the bottom an octave D underpins the harmony sitting underneath a B, E and Fsharp. Suggesting a B Minor or D Major tonality. But on top, we hear a jarring microtonal note cutting through the tonal language beneath it. This chord is lost, with no obvious next step and we have no idea where the music is going next. This type of colour in music is rarely seen but in Penderecki's music it is very common. How to disappear, to me, is Radiohead's best work. The piece came out of a band that was worn out, depressed and needed change in their music. And they did, they produced a wonderful piece that I will love forever.
After releasing 6 albums under the contract radiohead had with label EMI. Radiohead no longer had any obligation to create music. So Jonny was free to pursue his own interests and create the music he wanted. And in 2004 he released his first standalone concert work written in collaboration with the london sinfonietta. “Smear for two onde martenot and chamber ensemble.” This piece draws influence from another one of his main influences. Olivier Messiaen who championed the Onde in his works but it also takes from Penderecki. Although this first work is extreme and experimental, Jonny explores many different compositional styles in this period. Around this time he also wrote the score for the 2003 documentary film Bodysong. This contains a piece composed only for percussion, where all the instruments play at different times and tempos. Possibly influenced by poeme symphonique for 100 metronomes by György Ligeti.
In 2005 Jonny composed “Popcorn superhet receiver”. It was his first commission for the BBC Concert orchestra. He put in the notes at the beginning of the score “This is a chance to try out a long held ambition of mine”. Popcorn superhet receiver is a beautiful piece of music. The piece begins with surging, mostly diatonic chords infused with contiguous falling lines. Which are interrupted by unstable shaking tremolo chords. Then walls of white noise are produced by playing every quarter tone between C4 and C5, any change in bow pressure and dynamics is audible here. Illusionary melodies in amongst the fog of white noise as Jonny puts it. My favourite part of this piece is when Jonny realises a digital drum machine in an analogue setting. He uses stringed instruments to emulate hi-hats , snares and bass drums with syncopated chords over the top. This type of music is far more Radiohead than Jonny and is rarely heard in the concert hall.
From then until today. Jonny would go on to write more music for the concert hall and for 6 more films. And of course resume his writing and performing with radiohead. In 2012 he collaborated with his idol, Penderecki. Writing pieces in direct response to the piece that started it all, Polymorphia. Greenwood's piece “48 Responses to Polymorphia'' is an even longer piece than Polymorphia. It explores more of the timbres and colours that Pendercki would in his original piece.
I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Jonny is one of the world's foremost composers. Even though Radiohead is a collaborative effort to create music. You can hear Jonny’s curiosity and influence in each song. And in his concert works and film scores, we find a composer who is unafraid of using some of the most extraordinary musical techniques. Which produce some of the most shocking, unearthly and beautiful sounds. All in part inspired by a polish composer working at the fringes of classical music in the 20th century. But one thing I find the most interesting is that despite all his influences, Jonny manages to create a sound that feels completely new, but also honours the past, and steps bravely into the future.
Bakemonogatari Arc 1 Hitagi crab and arc 2 Mayoi snail, bunny girl senpai comparison.
Bakemonogatari (translated Monstory or monster tale) is a light novel written by Japanese author Nisioisin. Bakemonogatari Follows the story of two girls Hitagi senjougahara and Mayoi hachikuji from the perspective of the protagonist and good friend, Araragi Koyomi as he helps them deal with their problems. As the name suggests Bakemonogatari deals with monsters and the way these “monsters” interact with our characters. Rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai (bunny girl senpai for short) is a novel written by Hajime Kamoshida and published in 2014. It follows the story of Mai Sakuraijima from the perspective of the protagonist Sakuta Azusagawa. It shares the same theme of escapism as Bakemonogatari does, but instead of monsters it deals with “adolescence syndrome” which the characters experience in their own way.
Arc number one of Bakemonogatari focuses on Hitagi senjougahara. The first line in the book states “Hitagi senjougahara occupies the position of “Girl whos always ill” in our class” and we learn she used to be a kind, helpful, popular and outgoing girl, Araragi walks out of a classroom after talking to another student of the school he attends and we meet Hitagi for the first time, she’s the opposite of what we originally learned about her, seizing Araragi's mouth with a stapler and an exacto knife and disregarding all previous comments made of her being kind and helpful. To repay a debt to a cult, Hitagi’s mother had Hitagi setup to be raped by a high ranking cultist. Hitagi resisted and proceeded to hit the cultist with a spiked shoe. Afterwards her dad filed for a divorce and Hitagi hasn't seen her mother since. She's a former shell of herself, the need to escape and her past trauma that she has experienced has changed her completely.
The aberration that senjougahara has taken on is a crab who has literally and figuratively ‘discarded’ the weight of her problems, turning her almost weightless and taking away the weight of the trauma on her. She has taken on this crab, which is a metaphor for her character archetype which is Hard and outgoing on the soft and kind on the inside known as a “tsundere” which roughly translates to “Turn away in disgust but then to act lovey dovey”, to escape from the emotional weight of her problems. Senjougahara later realizes that no matter how painful these problems are hers to bear and they're the source of her strength and dignity,
So she decides to apologize to the aberration and thanked it for making her realize that she needs to bear these herself and asked the crab to return the weight, promising that she would deal with it herself.
This arc tells us to not run away from our problems and feelings because they are what form us into the people we are today. It also teaches us an important lesson of always finding another way to deal with our problems in a more positive way instead of doing things that will negatively affect us like Hitagi and how she took on a crab that changed her in such a negative way and how Hitagis mother setting up Hitagi to be molested and raped instead of finding a better solution.
In the second arc of the novel, it focuses on Mayoi Hachikuji and it deals with the themes of escapism and family. Araragi has grown apart from his family, with mothers day around the corner it put him in an annoying situation instead of celebrating he escaped with no intention of returning anytime soon, then he meets Hachikuji, a girl who died on mothers day and unknowingly turned into an aberration and is perpetually lost in search of her house to return home. Both Araragi and mayoi have one thing in common
they've been separated from their mothers, Araragi has done it on purpose and mayoi forced to after what had happened. After his encounter with hachikuji and learning of her problems, he realizes how important family is and not to escape from his responsibilities. The second arc tells us to embrace the time we share with our family and the importance of it.
Bunny girl senpai starts off with Sakuta finding Mai in a library wearing a provocative bunny suit, Mai believes no one can see her, except for Sakuta. Mai was a famous celebrity but has been on hiatus for two years, Mai has barely any social life. This is because she wishes to have no unwanted attention as being a celebrity is very taxing on her. She finds it very difficult to adapt to life back as a normal student.
Her disappearance starts off slowly as less and less people notice her as she goes about her life but as her adolescence syndrome progresses it gets worse and less and less people remember her until there's no one, this disappearance stemmed from her wish to be forgotten, her wish to escape from the public eye, Mai states “At some point, I started wishing I could go to a world where nobody knew me.”
This story arc tells us the impact of loneliness and isolation through the eyes of a female protagonist but also the importance of supportive relationships. Sakuta has a conversation with a fellow classmate and intellectual Futaba, Futaba proposes the theory of observation to be applied to this situation. That all things and states only exist when they are observed, If something is not being observed, it ceases to exist. Mai seemingly came back to life when Sakuta publicly confessed his love for her in front of the whole school causing the students and teachers to acknowledge her and causing her to exist again after being observed.
This arc to me is a charming romantic fantasy where the importance of a good relationship with your partner can improve your mental wellbeing and pull you out of whatever bad situation you may be in for example Mai’s, throughout the rest of the series Mai and Sakuta can be seen helping each other out with whatever problems they face.
These texts have told me good lessons about facing my own problems and how other people deal with their problems. People who may want to read these texts are people who enjoy strange but fascinating stories and people who enjoy a very interesting writing style like Nisioisin’s or Hajime’s creativity with how he presents his stories. My peers should care because these texts tell an important story especially while growing up.
Steins gate and Kaiji comparison.
Steins;Gate is a 2011 Anime produced by White fox studio. Steins;Gate follows the protagonist Okabe Rintarou and a team of Lab Members whom he befriends throughout the series. Okabe is a self-proclaimed “Mad scientist” who lives in a trashy flat in the middle of Akihabara, Tokyo's center for pop culture and electronics, perfect for a budding young scientist. His main goals are to create future gadgets, but they end up being useless pieces of junk for the most part. Kaiji is a two-season anime series that has been adapted from a manga of the same name. It follows the protagonist Kaiji Itou as he gambles his way out of ever-increasing debt. Kaji possesses extreme luck and cleverness but, most importantly, an unfathomable willingness to live. The two texts link with themes of determination, perseverance and human nature.
Steins;Gate starts with Okabe at the radio tower in Akihabara. He is attending a conference about time travel. He bumps into a girl named Makise Kurisu and the conference begins. Okabe then hears a large thud on the roof, thinking it was some kind of earthquake. He walks up the stairs and finds Makise Kurisu dead with a stab wound, he immediately texts his friend Itaru Hashida about it, and after that, he suddenly finds himself alone in Akihabara, it seemed to him as if everyone had disappeared. Little did Okabe know he had just invented a time machine. This time machine allows you to send messages into the past using the butterfly effect to change things in the present. Okabe realises he can allow his friends to change one thing of their choosing using the machine, and he does. The butterfly effect is central to the plot of Steins;Gate. Each character uses it in one way or another, for example Okabe uses it to stop Makise from dying, Faris uses it to stop her father from dying, which ultimately causes akihabara to never be developed and moe culture to never take off. All because Okabe created this device to change the past, which is the reason why Mayuri dies.
A few episodes pass as they experiment with the Machine until the 12th episode where Mayuri gets murdered by hired assassins. This hits Okabe incredibly hard he tries and tries again in order to save Mayuri but fails every time, on this worldline Mayuri is destined to die no matter what Okabe does. For the next 10 episodes, we see a depressed and hurt Okabe having to relive the nightmare of seeing his best friend die over and over.
It was an accident for Okabe to invent the Time Machine in the first place. And involving his friends in it caused even more pain and suffering. Okabe did have a way to fix his mistakes in the end but the memories of him watching his best friend die all those times will stay with him forever. Everyone has to learn to live with what they've done even if it's horrible, accepting and confronting these sorts of things is important.
Humans require social interaction. If Okabe hadn’t asked for Kurisu’s help in ep 14, and if Kurisu hadn’t been so willing to help, Okabe would never have saved Mayuri. This is significant to Okabe because he doesn't have the greatest social skills and asking someone for help like that is tough for him. Okabe depends on Mayuri to help him in situations like that so having her back is necessary. Everyone needs the love and care they deserve. It is important.
You have to keep trying to get anywhere in life. One reason why Okabe is such a great protagonist is because he has endless determination. Okabe never quits, but at one point his seemingly endless determination is completely drained, Okabe travels to the past to save Makise but in turn becomes the killer of her in that world. He kept saying over and over that he won’t try again to save Kurisu after this. Then his closest friend, Mayuri, slaps and encourages him to persevere. Okabe only managed to get through this because of the encouragement of another person. What Okabe's struggle teaches us about the human condition is that everyone will face something similar within their lives. Okabe’s struggle is extreme, yet real. If you lost your best friend that you’ve had for years as a result of your actions and had a way to get them back, you definitely would go to the lengths that Okabe has in order to save them.
Both Kaiji and Okabe share this trait of perseverance and determination, but only ultimately achieve their goals with the help of others.
Kaiji arc one starts showing a depressed and lonely Kaiji Itou debt-ridden and barely getting by. He is approached by a loan shark Endo Yuji, offering him the deal of a lifetime, one-night gambling on a ship to cancel all debt. Kaiji reluctantly agrees. Gambling is not the most important thing about this anime. The most important part is the conflict between the characters. This is the underworld of Japan where everyone would do anything for money, including Kaiji. The fact that anyone would do anything for money teaches us about Human nature. No one is entirely rational when it comes to Money. Everyone says that they want to save and end up not saving, myself included. And when you’re in the underworld of Japan, money is what comes first and some people become obsessed with money, Making their entire life, gambling and begging and pulling crazy stunts in order to have it.
The first Gamble is simple, Restricted rock, paper, scissors, where each player attempts to use all of their cards up while retaining at least three stars. Kaji has an unfathomable willingness to live. He often goes to great lengths in order to win gambles, including having his fingers chopped off and his ear almost cut off. Kaiji cements the idea of why people would do anything for money in the underworld because he's become obsessed with getting out of the terrible situation he is in.
Kaiji is a beginner and is easy to manipulate. He often wins through last-minute strategy or luck. Since Kaiji is a beginner, he relies on his friends. But that's where the problem lies, Kaiji who has only known the people on the ship for an afternoon struggles to find trustworthy people to work with. After being betrayed multiple times and with two hours left on the clock Kaiji powers on and devises a plan to win. If Kaiji loses on this ship he would have to work years of gruelling manual labour in an underground mine to be able to pay off his debts. So he has to win no matter what it takes.
A theme that both Kaiji and Steins;Gate share is determinism, only in that moment of utter despair and complete giving up can you pull through and achieve your goals. The heaviest setback a player can have is a loser's mentality. And the series shoves this In Kajii's face by threatening him with Physical disabilities. Kaiji had to gamble on the possibility of being forced to work the rest of his life in an underground mine. At every point in the gamble Kaiji has to overcome his mental blocks and walls he's put on himself or risk being stopped from ever living a normal life.
Kaiji is an average person, no super powers, just an average person in a very unfortunate situation. The fact that he is an average person makes him relatable, similar to what I said about Okabe. He teaches us about the human condition because if you only had this option to gamble to get out of ever increasing debt you would take the chance. He has a great ability to recognise his shortcomings and other characters recognise this; “Kaiji. You have a different scent from those other fellows. Something dangerous, or worth a lot of money” - episode 10, This desperation to win is what the villains want to see he “gets caught up in winning and losing, the more engrossed he becomes” in gambling his life away - episode 9. Hyodo - the underground gaming king who oversees the gambles, loves to see Kaiji writhe in pain and agony, and after every loss and can count on him to get up and do it again every time. I'm amazed at how often Kaiji fails but then pulls through at the last minute. Similar to how Okabe did when mayuri slapped him at his lowest point. Both of these stories tell us of the importance of overcoming mental and physical challenges that would stop you from gaining something so important to you. In Okabe's case his best friend, and in Kaiji’s case, living a fulfilling life without the chains of debt.
What both Kaiji and Steins;Gate have told me about the real world is that in the face of adversity it is always important to solve whatever problem is facing you. Both Kaiji and Okabe have in the direst of their situations, and I think this applies to a real-life situation, though it may not be life-threatening. People may want to watch these shows because they teach important lessons and they are both really interesting to watch. Especially Steins;Gate. It uses its world and characters and themes so well, I believe it's essential for any anime fan. And Kaiji is essential for anyone who likes high pressure, blood boiling situations, and high stakes fun. Both these shows have had a major impact on myself and my life forward of watching them.
Mushoku tensei essay.
Mushoku Tensei is a novel series by Rifujin na Magonote it was first published in 2012 and is ongoing, it also has an anime adaptation. It follows a shut-in who gets kicked out by his parents and is left walking the streets alone, he then jumps out in front of a truck about to hit two teens and pushes them out of the way but in turn killing him. He then gets reborn into a fantasy world as Rudeus, while still retaining his memories and personality from the past 30 years of his life he promises himself that he would start fresh and not end up the same as he was in his past life.
I believe that this is one of the best novel series ever written, the world building, most characters and the plot are all so intriguing but the novel has one flaw, Rudeus. He is a creep, being reborn into this world and watching him grow up he has always treated females with disrespect and never knows how to properly apologise and has to get help from his father on multiple occasions. But at the same time I think that this is a good example of a redemption story. He became a shut in at the age of 13-14 and never truly learned how to be social and have a decent personality. Rudeus still carries his weakness and insecurity from the past life and this is his greatest weakness, not his unsavoury treatment of women. As rudeus gets older he slowly gets over his past fears, like leaving his house and realising that the world outside is not all bad. I think if Rudeus was perfect from day one this would disregard a lot of the plot leading up to his rebirth, no one is perfect from day one and if he was the story wouldn't be as compelling as it is. I think the author purposefully made Rudeus such a dick to make the later parts of the story more compelling, because it shows Rudeus genuinely trying to better himself and getting depressed about his actions. He promised himself that he would do better in this world.
Even though Rudeus is not example of a good way to live or a good person I think the author made him in such a way because he was trying to tell the readers that it it ok to make a fresh start in life instead of feeling sad and becoming a shut in like Rudeus did in his past life. I think that this is an important thing to keep in mind.
Two planets essay.
Two planets is a poem by Allama Iqbal, his work is mostly known for his portrayal of common things but from a different perspective that the common thing is usually not seen from. It is about two planets that are obvious representations of humans that have fallen in love and wish to keep it forever, However life must go on and separation is inevitable.
In the first stanza, Iqbal talks about the early bond some lovers have. A Lot of people have had an experience where they feel they have truly been seeing and are seeing the other, Iqbal is describing the depth of this connection.
The desire to prolong this connection comes with it and Iqbal describes how this cannot last forever. In the second stanza Iqbal describes this inevitability of change and coming separation. The poem was written at a time of rising tensions between Hindus and muslims which ultimately led to India and Pakistan splitting. One of the lines in the second stanza, Eternal union is a dream, and severance the world’s law supreme, definitely shows Iqbal's stance on the topic and that he wishes that Hindus and Muslims form a brotherhood and not have devide between them.
I think the usage of the two planets as a metaphor for two lovers really shows how Iqbal treats the topic of love, like something that is much bigger than two people and I think that this is a really good comparison.
Eternal love is the dream of every human being. This poem talks about the reality of life and common human desire and how powerful it is, and how it cannot last forever and how it cannot surpass truth. I also think that it is an important poem on the political side showing that peace and brotherhood between opposing faiths is important to lead a society that is healthy.
History Essay - Consequences on new zealand's international reputation relating to the banning of nuclear weapons following the rainbow warrior bombing and other anti nuclear rhetoric of the time
During the 1980s New Zealand was at a turning point. Pressure to ban nuclear weapons was mounting and Lange had few options. Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980 and the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan led to a rekindling of cold war tensions and a tense climate in the world. Most New Zealand rhetoric at the time was in favour of anti-nuclear ideology and the banning of nuclear power from our shores. David Lange was elected in 1984 with a main focus on establishing NZ as a nuclear free zone. I want to look at this period of time and how establishing NZ as a nuclear free zone had an effect on our international reputation and NZs stance at the time and in the future.
Anti-Nuclear Public opinion was a major force behind the eventual ban of nuclear power. The US made a number of attempts to visit NZ in nuclear powered boats. These visits were met with harsh criticism and protests, especially with the visit of the nuclear-powered frigate USS Texas in 1983. Two years following this attempted visit in July 1985, French agents blew up and sank the Rainbow warrior killing one person. This boat was regularly used to protest French nuclear testing in the pacific. The bombing caused major outrage and only exacerabted the want for a ban. The bombing also created a sense of having to ‘go at it alone’ as after NZs allies like Britain and the US failed to condemn the attack as an act of terrorism. After this, France also blocked all trade with NZ and tried to use its influence to bar NZ from trade with the rest of the EU. NZ retaliated with doing the same and ultimately led it up to the UN to mediate a fix between the two countries. Following the protest and the bombings in 1987 the government led by Lange passed the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act. effectively banning all nuclear powered boats and weapons from New Zealand's shores and ocean territory. Maire Leadbeater, a prominent human rights spokesperson and peace activist, said this about the movement “ordinary people created a movement that changed New Zealand’s foreign policy and identity as a nation”. Her comments clearly show that this public opinion was the driving force behind the push and not a matter of the government's agenda, it is what the people wanted and this was ultimately the best path to follow. The significance of this act is summed up with what Sir Geoffery Palmer had to say “a signal statement of New Zealand’s determination to stand up for a principle in which its people believe”. This quote affirms that NZ is a strong and independent democracy which is concerned about the betterment of the world and what the people want. This act gave NZ a unique position on the world stage.
New Zealand's stance put it in a unique position worldwide. NZ wanted to keep allies and not sever ties with traditional allies. We wanted to stay in ANZUS but this meant we had to accept nuclear power and allow it. This would have an effect on our reputation worldwide. The USA said that we had lost credibility and that we only wanted to look after our own interests. But many in NZ saw our stance as one of independance from global powers. A speech that Lange gave before the oxford union as part of a debate only furthered NZs position and had a significant positive effect on our reputation. In the debate Lange spoke proudly and defended our position with strong support from the crowd who voted in favour of him at the end of the debate. The crowd applauded his points and laughed at his one liners. Including the famous line “ if you hold your breath just for a moment … I can smell the uranium on it as you lean forward!”. Lange felt comfortable making this joke in the context of a serious debate, among other jokes because of our firm resolve. This joke has significance because he was comfortable with saying it and this action furthered our position and had an impact on our reputation.
Jock Philips described NZ's nuclear stance as a “Postcolonial yearning for a new nationalism”. Jock Philips points out in this statement that New Zealand as a whole yearns to have its own national identity away from the crown and away from colonial times when Britain controlled it. The quote summarises our attitude as a nation in a way that uses meaningful ideas to NZ such as colonialism. NZs previous ties to colonialism often had an effect on what allies we would make and what treaties and security pacts we would join. After having the cultural values of the west imposed on us in ways like the treaties we had joined. NZ felt like the banning of nuclear weapons was an important step forward to having our own identity that differentiated us from other western powers. Then NZ still had the reputation of being a little Britain because of these previous ties to colonialism which we wanted to differentiate from. This banning of nuclear weapons was an important step to achieving this. Another point from Lange in his speech was that NZ would become a kind of “Antipodean Noah’s arc”. And many leaders believed NZ was an important country due to its geographical location that would serve to harbour a new humanity after the world had been plunged into a nuclear winter. But Lange refuted this by saying that we would just "Freeze like the rest of you". Another important quote from lange was that “there’s only one thing worse than being incinerated by your enemies, and that’s being incinerated by your friends”. In this, Lange acknowledges the unwavering destructive power of Nuclear weapons. Our stance ultimately damaged our international reputation. We had to pull out of many security pacts and sever ties with allies to affirm our stance. The USAs main reason for keeping that alliance going was to keep a foothold in the Pacific and in our country in order to keep us secure. They also wanted to use the alliance as leverage for them to use to pull us into conflicts that were not of interest to NZ. The labour party kept this in mind as they were making their decision and knew of the consequences to their decision but ultimately decided to keep their stance.
The political cartoon to the left describes how the other main powers of ANZUS saw us. (NOTE: CARTOON CANNOT BE DISPLAYED.) Before completely banning Nuclear power NZ attempted to find a compromise between banning nuclear power and keeping their ties in ANZUS. The government had found itself in a strange situation. Sir Geoffrey Palmer had this to say. “What the Labour Party wanted was something the Labour Party couldn’t get,” , “and that was to remain under the umbrella of ANZUS and enact the anti-nuclear policy. That was the sticking point. We attempted to have it both ways for as long as we could. David Lange, as foreign minister, certainly tried.” Which also shows NZs determination to keep these allies and how important our international relationships are to the country. But NZ decided that the banning of Nuclear power was more important than maintaining foreign relationships and our reputation. Which ultimately was a good decision as in the future this legislation would not have much of an affect on other ways we interact with the world.
After a few years from when the legislation had passed our ties and reputation with the world had been rebuilt. The proportion of outside exports had risen, and investment opportunities increased. Along with breaking away from American lead fighting efforts New Zealand became more committed toward United Nations peacekeeping efforts instead. NZ earned a high reputation for being good at specific tasks in these peacekeeping missions. As Well as being good in war efforts we became a champion of worldwide multilateralism. Which had a positive impact on our future reputation past the USA. In a parliamentary debate in 2007, Phil Goff who at the time was the minister for disarmament and arms control reaffirmed our government's position. He said that we must continue as a nation and push for the implementation and strengthening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Treaty aimed to ensure that countries who currently do not have any nuclear weapons do not obtain anymore, and that countries with nuclear weapons agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue disarming of their arsenal to eventually rid all warheads. Goff also pushed for other multilateral treaties to be implemented such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all forms of nuclear explosions for all purposes. Another treaty he pushed for was the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty which banned the production of any new nuclear material for use in explosives. In 2017 New Zealand also signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which was the first legally binding international agreement to completely ban nuclear weapons. In 2005 Phill Goff wrote that "Multilateralism is a central pillar in New Zealand’s foreign policy”. And I believe that this sentiment started with our decision to ban nuclear weapons and take foreign policy into our own hands.
New Zealand's nuclear free stance is significant because of the change it led to in our foreign policy. NZs attitude towards its allies and the banning of all nuclear power from our shores to New zealand now has proven itself in the future. This shift in attitude allowed NZ to become more independent. With such treaties and agreements like ANZUS it forced NZ into a place where it did not want to be, and it showed with the repeated protests and movements against the Nuclear powered ships, which NZ was forced to oblige to allow to visit. Jack Vowles a Professor at Victoria University of Wellington said that “the anti-nuclear movement allowed a new materialism to conquer in New Zealand politics” What he means by this is that NZs entire political world from then on was impacted by this decision, creating a ‘New materialist’ way of thinking which questions the human race’s place in a material environment and how we treat it. NZ at the time was very progressive in its decision. Many countries believed then that the only deterrent to enemies was placing a barricade or line of defence such as a nuclear arsenal to scare enemies away, but always had the option there to use them if need be, which was the materialist point of view. But lange countered and questioned this with his bill, he believed that we needed to reevaluate our place and look at the raw destruction these weapons possessed which follows the philosophy of the new materialist view.
Our nuclear free stance is also significant as it remains as important today and has been supported by multiple leaders. The nuclear free sentiment that Lange held has been repeated by our current and many of our past Prime ministers. Sir Geoffrey Palmer believes that NZs stance is very much in the present tense. He says that the original decision to go nuclear free was an “epoch making event.” “But it is significant still, of course, not only because we recently marked the 30th anniversary of the legislation, but also because the nuclear threat around the world right now is as bad as it has ever been — and getting worse.” Other Prime ministers have also vowed to continue supporting and keeping the legislation like Helen Clark and John Key. Helen Clark believes NZs fight for a nuclear free world was worth it and that our challenge was significant. Helen Clark says “I think we've got it right,” Helen continues “We're established as a champion of nuclear disarmament which still remains a very, very worthy cause.” She also says “With the rhetoric in 2018 around the North Korea nuclear programme, which of course is a worry, one starts to have that feeling again that it's not impossible that nuclear weapons could be used, so we have to keep at it. New Zealand is a standard-bearer for that position, we've long championed the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, the nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific – we have to keep at it.” Our current prime minister has also upheld our position. Jacidna Ardern said in 2018 "The pursuit of disarmament is as vital today as it was when Norman Kirk and David Lange proclaimed New Zealand's opposition to nuclear weapons and nuclear testing in the Pacific,". With these past and present leaders continuing to support Lange’s decision in the future it shows us that it was a significant event. Most groundbreaking policies that countries pass are often disregarded in the future and forgotten about, but in NZs case this policy wasnt. We continue to keep our platform and push for the world to do the same. In some ways NZ was united further because of this policy.
Our nuclear free stance is also significant given the current war being fought between Russia and Ukraine. Where, the nuclear question is ever so important. Russia is a nuclear power and has the ability to launch nukes that would hit Ukraine. As Putin's winning options narrow and with his sporadic decision making, nuclear force is not off the table. On the other hand, similarly to NZ, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and held an anti nuclear stance. At the fall of the USSR, Ukraine inherited around 5000 nuclear warheads that Moscow had stationed on its soil and decided to give them up. Also like NZ, Ukraine was hailed as a triumph of denuclearisation for their decision to give them up. But now as war rages on Ukraine regrets its decision. “We gave away the capability for nothing,” said Andriy Zahorodniuk, a former defence minister of Ukraine. Referring to the security assurances Ukraine won in exchange for its nuclear arms, he added: “Now, every time somebody offers us to sign a strip of paper, the response is, ‘Thank you very much. We already had one of those some time ago.’” And back to what Jack Vowles says about a New Materialism conquering this debate. By ridding themselves of their arsenal after inheriting it Ukraine had a new materialist stance. But now as a serious threat faces them they have gone back to a tactical, materialist stance. But rightfully so. New Zealand's geographical position is isolated from any nuclear powers and so banning nuclear power was viable. On the other hand Ukraine borders one of the biggest nuclear powers in the world. So having them as a deterrent is also viable for their safety.
I can now confidently say that this movement, change, stance, protest and view of New Zealand at the time has had a genuine importance and positive impact not only on New Zealand but the entire world. This stance also affected NZs reputation in both positive and negative ways, creating new realities, allies and facts but severing others. It showed that even the smallest countries have the ability to stand up for themselves and show to the major powers that they matter too and should not just be seen as a place to station missiles and go on vanity tours to, but to regard them as equally viable voices on the world stage and ones with progressive and important viewpoints. And it also proved the resolve and willingness of the NZ people to stand up for what they believe in and inspire much more peace activism and many more peace activists.
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