I was contacted last Tuesday by a television journalist at The Courier Mail asking if I had some comment about a new comedy coming up on SBS “Bogan Pride”, or any thoughts generally as to the representations of “bogans” on Australian television. Very nicely this article is in the Courier Mail today. After my last encounter with a national newspaper (not The Courier Mail I should stress) I approached this with some trepidation but it has turned out to be an enjoyable experience, with my comments being quoted in context, representing my thoughts accurately.

Anyway, my full response to the inquiry was as follows if anyone is interested.

“I guess what we might be seeing at the moment with this spate of comedies that might be seen as including “bogans” is another development in Australian TV comedy that uses different images and ideas of the suburbs. So writers are tapping into a topic for comedy that perhaps hasn’t been looked at for a little while, but one that does have a rich history on Australian television. If we think back to some of the characters from The Comedy Company or Fast Forward we can certainly see these kinds of characters and issues also being represented (say with Kylie Mole for example, or even before those sketch shows with Norman Gunston or Dame Edna). All of these Australian comedies and comic characters situate themselves firmly in the everyday lived experience of Australian life. And it is in making it fodder for comedy that they hold it up to ridicule and criticism in some way.

As to whether it is “culturally offensive” – I think that depends on a few different factors. One is whether we as audience members can identify with the comic portrayals. And because audiences are increasingly diverse in their tastes (especially when it comes to what we find funny) comedies like Kath and Kim or Chris Lilley’s comedies attract a wide variety of reactions – from offending people’s sensibilities to finding them absolutely spot on in their observations and therefore hilarious. Audience reaction will also depend on the quality of the writing – how sharply observed or cleverly written the script is. What I mean by this is, are the characters rounded and with a touch of believability about them – or are they cardboard cut out caricatures? I also think there is a a difference between “laughing at” and “laughing with” in comedy – and perhaps the comedy that works most successfully is a blend of both. As with all questions of taste, comedy can clearly provoke a huge variety of opinions!”