How the public perceive professions in Australia - nurses at the top and car salesmen at the bottom

The issue of reputation, trust and ethics and the public's perception of various professions is always a  survey exercise which provides few surprises and, in practice, reinforces opinions commonly reflected in social situations. In this sense people actually do state what they think with little camouflage or sugar coating. Roy Morgan have released the latest survey results of the public's perception of the honesty and ethical standards of various professions - the survey has been an annual exercise since 1979. Car salesmen remain at the bottom of the survey, a position which has not changed once over the 30 years since the survey commenced. Nurses remain in the no 1 position which has remained unchanged since that profession was first added to the list, 19 years ago.

Respondents were asked: “As I say different occupations, could you please say — from what you know or have heard - which rating best describes how you, yourself, would rate or score people in various occupations for honesty and ethical standards (Very High, High, Average, Low, Very Low)?”

Roy Morgan Image of Professions Survey 2013

1	Nurses	2	Doctors
3	Pharmacists	4	Engineers
5	Teachers	6	Dentists
7	High Court Judges	8	Supreme Court Judges
9	Police	10	Univerity Lecturers
11	Accountants	12	Ministers of Religion
13	Bank Managers	14	Lawyers
15	Public Servants	16	Public opinion pollsters
17	Directors of Public Companies	18	Financial Planners
19	Business Executives	20	Newspaper journalists
21	TV reporters	22	Talk-back radio announcers
23	Stock brokers	24	Union leaders
25	Federal Members of Parliament	26	Insurance brokers
27	State Members of Parliament	28	Real Estate Agents
29	Advertising people	30	Car salesmen

Film Review - Therese Desqueyroux - Audrey Tautou

Gilles Lellouche and Audrey Tautou in Thérèse Desqueyrou

Thérèse Desqueyroux is the last film directed by French director/producer/screenwriter Claude Miller and is an adaption of a novel of the same name by Francois Mauriac, published in 1927. Claude Miller died in April 2012, and the film was screened to close the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

The film's storyline, set in the 1930s, involves a young woman, Thérèse (Audrey Tautou) who marries her free spirited neighbor Bernard Desqueyroux (Gilles Lellouche). They then join their properties forming a vast estate of forests. Bernard has a forceful personality and Thérèse quickly finds her life is stifled by the tedium of provincial life, the intellectual mediocrity of her husband and the chores of motherhood. Through the eyes of her sister-in-law's lover, she dreams of escaping to Paris for stimulation and culture, and starts looking for a way to escape. Her husband Bernard almost poisons himself with an overdose of medically prescribed arsenic which Thérèse makes no effort to prevent even when she detects the overdose. This emboldens her to try and poison him directly but she is discovered and disgraced within her own family, as well as that of her husband. Claude Miller is known for his complex almost tortuous films involving female characters and this is no exception. Audrey Tautou well known for her comedy roles but increasingly for strong relationship drama (A Very Long Engagement) is well cast as Thérèse. Overall, a well shot period piece from France.

Film Review - The Company You Keep - Robert Redford

Robert Redford and Richard Jenkins - The Company You keep

Robert Redford is considered to be one of the most political filmmakers of his generation and his latest film as producer, director and as a lead actor falls well within that template. The film is a fictional story although based on a real life left-wing radical group known as the Weathermen or Weather Underground Organisation (WUO) which operated in the United States during the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. Formed at the University of Michigan, the group was connected with bombing attacks against US Government buildings and violent demonstrations. The film takes place many decades later when all the former radicals have disappeared into ordinary suburban life which is upended when one of their number decides to turn herself in to the FBI. A young newspaper journalist sees the opportunity to make a name for himself and starts pursuing his own investigation into one of the former group leaders who is now on the run. The film features a stellar cast including, (in addition to Redford),  Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Shia LaBoef, Brendan Gleeson, Anna Kendrick, Richard Jenkins, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper and Stanley Tucci. The film explores the motives and methods of making a stand in political issues and the choices people make when confronting those situations. In keeping with many Redford films there is considerable proselytising however it is within tolerable limits.

Theatre Review - Fury - Sydney Theatre Company 2013 season

Harry Greenwood and Sarah Peirse on stage

Playwright Joanna Murray-Smith's new commissioned work for the Sydney Theatre Company is impressive, however there is a feel to this play that perhaps further polishing of the script would not go amiss.The story is focussed on the characters of Alice (a medical scientist and humanitarian award recipient), Patrick (a successful if slow producing novelist) and their son Joe who is still at high school. Alice and Patrick's comfortable, inner-city, politically-correct, safe, intelligensia focussed existence is thrown into turmoil when Joe is accused of graffitiing a mosque. Concurrently a young student journalist, Rebecca is also seeking to interview Alice regarding her humanitarian award and yet there is something more to many of Rebecca's questions. In the ensuing controversy, some of the secret personal history of Alice and Patrick during their younger protest years is thrown into sharp relief with uncomfortable questions arising as to their own motives, beliefs and most tellingly, methods. The script masterfully provides contrasts between Joe and his parents, between Patrick and Alice versus the parents of another boy (also accused of being involved in the mosque incident) and with the student journalist Rebecca. Sarah Peirse (as Alice), Robert Menzies (as Patrick), and Harry Greenwood (as Joe) provide a solid base for the central family characters with an element of latte-sipping, Chardonnay-quaffing for the parents. Set design is minimalist white and sheer. The only weakness of this one-act play is potential over emphasis and repetition in the monologues of the central characters. Meanings are captured effectively across the script and require little further elucidation.