It's a message that was hammered home after the winning couple, Simon and Shannon, conceded they "considered" sharing their prize money, but decided against it. And in the modern economy, winners are grinners. Here the grim reality was laid bare: it doesn't matter how hard you work, win or lose - it's the market that decides. On Sunday night, this Australian dream became a nightmare when the market passed its judgement on the contestant's efforts. The home must be the best it can be, for that maximises the prospects of success on auction day. As the homes take shape and are transformed from drab to fab the contestants win acclaim for their efforts from a team of expert judges. Indeed, creating the ultimate designer home is the goal. While the contestants don't own the properties they are renovating, the creation of a home is promoted as a fast-track to wealth, success and happiness. The contestants are gifted with rundown buildings and told that with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (and more tears and a tonne of designer cushions!) they can make a lot of money - pocketing any profits made above the reserve on auction day.
Linked to the romanticisation of colonialisation in popular culture, home ownership represents the fruits of hard work and an expression of individual property rights.Īs home ownership exploded in the 1950s and 60s it came to represent not only the product of effort but also a pathway to success, an asset that ensured long-term financial security, independence and wealth. The home has long been a powerful cultural symbol in Australia. The Block promotes and reinforces the home as the centrepiece of "the Australian Dream". Although you can't help but feel sympathy for the jilted "Blockheads", The Block is a "Reality TV" show and on Sunday night reality finally came crashing down on the contestants. The shock outcome has sparked calls for Nine to tweak the format of the show and even offer the failed contestants compensation.Īfter all, it can't be fair that the Network made a killing while those who did the hard yards go home practically empty handed. The finale might have had a funereal vibe but the Nine Network certainly had cause for celebration as it smashed ratings records. While two couples celebrated big wins in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, others wept as months of work came to almost nought. The much anticipated Block finale fell flat on Sunday night when three of the luxury properties struggled to attract bids above the reserve at auction. The Block finale exposed the grim reality of our brutal housing market and to change it we need to start a more ambitious renovation - this time on our economic system, writes Robert Simms.
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