Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Byron’s Back

‘Byron’s dead’. That’s the statement that I often hear. Or ‘I never go there anymore it’s lost’ or ‘Byron died years ago’. It always makes me feel a bit sad and defensive. I have such a love for this place, although I curse it when I get stuck in snaking traffic at 8am on a weekday morning or I can’t find a park near where I am going.

But maybe Byron’s not dead. Maybe there’s still the spark of resistance in the old girl yet? And the resistance is in the young. It’s not the same crew who rallied against Club Med. What’s dead is the Byron I knew, but the Byron loved by a new generation who inhabit the beaches and cafes and streets with their surfie-come-hipster chill is still very much alive. They’re the people standing up to mega global streaming giant Netflix to protest the filming of Byron Baes, the impending ‘influencer reality saga’ that intends to film in our seaside village.

The outspoken crew are the real influencers of our area (via socials or not). They are people like Ruby Tuesday, with in excess of 220k followers on Instagram; local musician and owner of The Byron Bay General Store, Ben Gordon; Tahlia Ward who owns No Bones vegan restaurant, and Arnhem Bickley, owner of Arnhem Clothing – with a following of almost 400k people. These are young people at the top of their game. They grew up here. They have created remarkably successful businesses here. You’d think a Netflix series that goes out to 200 million subscribers would pique their self-interest. Won’t it benefit them? If it does, they don’t care. They love Byron Bay and they believe that this show would break it forever.

They’re just some of Byron’s powerful voices coming together to say “No!”. Apparently you can’t stop filming in your region, even when it’s as callously inappropriate as a show that glamorises a town that is struggling to deal with the worst homelessness it’s ever faced. This fabrication against the backdrop of a fictitious Byron Bay will be sent to 200 million subscribers worldwide; the playground for Netflix’s ‘BAE’s’ (Before Anyone Else type people), which is destined to write a false narrative about this place that will be difficult to erase. What will it do to our town? Who will it bring here? How many? What will become of our local culture because of it? Where will we live?

There are a few filming locations in Byron Bay, and some of the most influencer-friendly are saying “No” to filming. Ironically the eight-part series, which is supposed to start filming in May, showing the lives of influencers in Byron Bay will have to get most of their influencers from elsewhere because our local influencers won’t have a bar of it. Which is wonderfully ironic because the show is boasting ‘authenticity’. The most authentic people won’t be in their show. They’ll have to be brought in. They’ll be the camphor laurels of our town. Just hot girls in bikinis and buff dudes in small shorts trying to take photos of themselves in Woolies or Bunnings or whatever businesses are left that will give them a permit.

Hey, maybe while they’re here they can help out? The incredible beach that Netflix were swooning about is falling into the sea. Maybe the influencers could join Dunecare and actually do something useful? I am sure our local Dunecare could do with a million followers on Insta. Maybe they could volunteer at Liberation Larder and meet some of the people who are living rough, the hard done by and the homeless – the people who are most disenfranchised by the allure of the real estate genie that cashes in on the Byron Bay ‘brand’. Maybe they could give some time to The Hungry Earth and learn about regenerative agriculture?

or, maybe they can go to the Gold Coast where they won’t be noticed.

Netflix have decided we’re the perfect ‘backdrop’. But clearly they got their information about Byron Bay from Instagram. They didn’t do their research. They didn’t speak to local First Nations people, they didn’t speak to our community. One thing they didn’t count on is that this is a town that has a history of fervent activism. This is a community who wants to create something different. We are a pain in the arse. Just ask any developer who’s tried to sneak in something inappropriate. We’re not enticed by your shiny trinkets.

Reality TV is the McDonalds of the production world. And Byron has always said “No” to McDonalds.

So guess what? Byron Bay isn’t dead. It’s very much alive. The spirit of dissent is strong in this lot. We’re in good hands.