‘The Wrong Side of Cider’ by Kimiko Smart
The first time I had alcohol was a complete accident. I had always been wary of drinking. As a kid, you grow up learning all about the dangers. I was scared of getting drunk, of losing control and doing something I’d regret, or having no recollection of what I even did that I’d regret, or perhaps worst of all, throwing up.
But luckily none of that happened. It was my 20th birthday, which is pretty old for most people I know—most Australians anyway (and not US citizens, but we’ll get to that later). Whenever I told someone I’d never had alcohol before they’d look at me with their eyes wide like I was crazy.
“Never?” they’d ask. “How is that even possible?”
I guess I just never really had the chance. I didn’t
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I had been recalling an episode of The Simpsons where Ned Flanders explains the difference between apple cider and apple juice. Since then, my young mind clasped onto that idea and from then on, I always assumed cider was non-alcoholic here too.
Which brings me to the broader issue in this story: globalisation and in particular Americanisation. When it comes to things I’m exposed to and enjoy, they seem to mostly come from either the US or the UK. With Hollywood dominating the filming industry, the highest grossing films in Australia of all time have only one Australian film in the top 20. So far this year, the highest grossing Australian film is in the 28th slot, with US films taking 18.5 places in the top 20—the other 1.5 coming from the UK.
I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with this exposure to American media though. Things could have turned out much worse that night, but maybe I needed to be unaware of what I was trying to even try it in the first place. And after all, it did give me a great story to