Chapter 285: Cultural Export Plan
On July 17, 1910, after completing his tour of Europe, Arthur boarded the Australasia battleship and began his return journey to Australasia.
During the outbound trip to Europe, Arthur had to rush to attend the funeral of Edward VII, and with the full escort of the Australasia battleship, it only took him just over 20 days to reach London. However, this had put a lot of strain on the supply fleets, which had to follow at a slower pace, escorted by the Australasia and New Zealand battleships.
On the way back, there was no rush, allowing the fleets to merge into one and travel leisurely towards Australasia.
By late August, after a month of traveling at a steady pace, Arthur finally arrived at the port of Sydney.
Prime Minister Walter and Minister Andrew went off to handle government affairs and work. Meanwhile, with no immediate matters to attend to, Arthur returned to the palace to spend time with his children.
William and Anna were almost one year old by now and could already crawl and walk on their own. However, both Princess Louise and Queen Mary were very fond of the two little ones. Aside from allowing them to crawl for a bit of exercise, they were usually carried around.
This made it impossible for Arthur to hold his children, as both Louise and Mary were doting on them. He couldn't help but feel a little neglected, though he wasn't particularly bothered by it. He just shook his head and dived into the busy government affairs.
After taking a few days of rest, Arthur summoned the head of the Royal Shipyard to inquire about the progress of the shipyard.
The news was quite positive. Both Imperial-class battleships were more than halfway through construction and were expected to be completed by the end of this year, entering sea trials soon after. If the trials went smoothly, they should officially join the Navy by the end of 1911 or the beginning of 1912, which would significantly strengthen Australasia's naval power.
As for the Russian order, construction would start by the end of this year or early next year, and completing the four Russian warships by the end of 1914 was well within reach.
Upon learning that the two Imperial-class battlecruisers hadn't yet had their main guns installed, Arthur had an idea. He immediately issued an order to delay the installation of the main guns until the other parts of the ship were completed. After all, having secured the 50-caliber 305mm guns from Britain, it would be better to install these guns on the Imperial-class battlecruisers, enhancing their firepower.
If everything went as planned, British experts should be able to arrive within a month. The gun replacement would likely be completed in time, without delaying the completion of the two battlecruisers by the end of the year.
After arranging the shipyard affairs, a few days later, on August 24, Arthur welcomed guests from Qing China, who had traveled a long way.
The situation in Qing China had not been great in recent years, with natural disasters and man-made calamities happening one after another. In early August, heavy rains had caused flooding in several provinces. Although it wasn't as severe as previous nationwide disasters, it still led to significant losses for the country.
The guests had two main purposes for their visit to Australasia. The first was to purchase more food to alleviate the famine caused by the floods and other calamities. The second was to invite Australasia to send a representative to visit, as Qing China had made some progress in constitutional reform under the guidance of Australasia's experts. They had also spent a considerable amount of money building the Zizheng Yuan, a central advisory body modeled after Australasia's legal system, which was about to open.
The Zizheng Yuan was an institution established by Qing China as part of their parliamentary preparations, and it was intended to serve as the country's version of a parliament building. Despite some extravagance in its construction, it was clear that Qing China's Zizheng Yuan had surpassed the scale and construction of Australasia's government office.
Arthur shook his head when he heard this news. If they had spent this money on building their military and navy, at least they could have built Asia's strongest navy and army.
It was clear that the country had become rotten to the core. A superficial reform would not change that.
As for expanding Australasia's Government Affairs Office, Arthur had no immediate plans to do so. The current office, which housed the Cabinet, various governmental departments, and the national administration, was still spacious enough for now. There was no immediate need to build more.
Arthur thought that, for now, the government's finances should be saved for other areas, like military expansion, rather than spending on bureaucratic buildings.
Regarding the request to send a representative to the opening of the Zizheng Yuan, Arthur delegated it to Minister Andrew. He didn't think it necessary to get involved in what would likely be a superficial reform unless they were genuinely committed to substantial changes.
Arthur was more than willing to entertain a request to purchase battleships, however.
As for the request for food, Arthur agreed without hesitation. The flooding in East Asia had caused widespread damage, displacing millions of people and impacting food prices. A 10% price increase was reasonable given the circumstances. This trade would provide substantial income for Australasia and also allow for the replacement of older stocks in the national food reserves.
In addition to these updates, there was some good news by the end of August: Thomas Edison had successfully invented the talking movie, marking the beginning of a new era in film.
Of course, the so-called invention was actually the creation of commercialized sound movie technology. The first sound movie had been shown in Paris in 1900, but the technology at that time was not mature, and sound films could not be commercially viable. This meant the impact was minimal.
Arthur paid close attention to the development of sound films, recognizing their potential. By 1910, only 20 years after the invention of sound films, they had become a global phenomenon and made Hollywood the most influential cultural and commercial center in the world.
The reason the United States surpassed European countries in the sound film industry was due to skepticism from many European filmmakers and critics, who feared that excessive dialogue would diminish the unique charm of silent films. As a result, sound films were more accepted in the U.S. than in Europe, allowing Hollywood to dominate the global film industry.
The birth of sound films signified the beginning of a significant boom in the film industry.
Arthur was well aware of the importance of movies. They were not only an incredibly effective money-making tool but also a powerful medium for cultural transmission and increasing international influence. Compared to traditional books, music, and art, which only influenced a small portion of people and at a slow pace, movies had the ability to affect the entire world in just a short span of over an hour.
Australasia had its own film industry and had produced silent films in the past. However, Arthur had never been particularly interested in them and stopped paying attention after his first viewing.
With the advent of sound films, Arthur inquired with Kent about the development of Australasia's film industry. The progress was generally good, contrary to Arthur's opinion, Kent had a keen interest in silent films. As a result, the Royal Consortium had invested considerable funds into several film studios.
Currently, Australasia had three major film studios: the Royal Film Studio, the Victoria Film Studio, and the Australasia National Film Studio. These studios were all backed by the Royal Consortium, with the majority of the shares held by them.
This was understandable given that with a population of only 8 million, Australasia could not support three film studios without the help of the Royal Consortium.
Before the advent of sound films, silent film studios were at risk of bankruptcy without successful works, as this industry was not as large as it would become in later years.
Now that sound films had arrived, Australasia could start exporting its culture. The primary aim was to create a strong, unified identity for the people of Australasia. All immigrants could be united under the concept of being Australasians, regardless of whether they came from Britain, Germany, France, or Russia.
Using film as a medium to shape a collective identity was the best way to resolve the immigrant conflicts within Australasia.
Arthur's plans for the future included using the film industry to reframe Australasia's history, which would be easy given the lack of a competitive indigenous narrative. Most of the immigrants would readily accept being part of the Australasia nationality.
With the help of European writers and authors Arthur had recruited during his European trip, along with the writers trained in the literature departments of Australasia's universities, they could produce various stories about the nation. These would be adapted into scripts and made into sound films, which would be widely distributed across Australasia.
The influence of such films on the public subconscious would be powerful. Arthur believed that in ten years, the concept of being Australasians would be deeply ingrained in most of the immigrant population.
To support this, the Royal Consortium's film studios were tasked with producing a large volume of films. A department of public relations, headed by Grant, would coordinate with the studios and handle both domestic and international promotions.
The films would mostly be shown domestically, but some could be considered for screening in Europe and the United States.
As for regions like Asia and South America, Arthur decided to focus on Europe and the United States, where audiences were more likely to have the financial means to watch films.
It was good news that the current restrictions on films were not as severe. As long as films didn't directly mock the local government or promote forbidden ideas, there were few restrictions on their content.
Perhaps for some filmmakers in the island nation, this was great news. With the current lack of strict age classifications for films, theoretically, their films could be shown anywhere.
Unfortunately, they would not benefit from this golden age of cinema. If they had, their films could have reached the world stage, though their reputation might not have been very good.
(End of Chapter)
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