The Barry McKenzie Movies
Strawberry Hills
:
Currency Press
,
2005
Z1229014
2005
single work
criticism
(taught in 1 units)
'Bruce Beresford's a colourful film about an 'innocent abroad' as he blunders his way through the London of the 1970s was panned by the critics but a huge success with audiences. The film became the first Australian movie to make a million dollars, thereby playing a crucial part in the resurgence of the Australian film industry in the early 1970s by demonstrating the commercial viability of local production. It also did very well commercially in London, where it established a record for any Australian film released there.
'Based on Barry Humphries comic-strip character, which appeared in the British satirical magazine Private Eye in the 1960s, the screenplay was written by Humphries and Beresford, the story line deriving from the culture clash between the Australian innocent 'Bazza' McKenzie and the English - from a taxi driver who takes Barry from Heathrow to Earls Court by way of Stonehenge, to the decadent upper classes with their public school fetishes, the swinging scene of pop music promoters and Jesus freaks, and eventually the hallowed halls of BBC television. ' (Publication summary)
Australian film and television comedies offer potent insights into ongoing debates about colonisation, race, class, gender and politics in contemporary Australian society. In this course we explore a diverse range of historical and contemporary examples with a focus on the strong tradition of satire and situation comedy in Australia. We devote particular attention to Australian screen comedies that utilise, critique and parody other media formats including reality television, current affairs, news reporting, chat shows, sports commentary and merchandising. We examine the capacity for comedy to offend, criticise and provoke outrage but also to promote self-reflection, empathy and identification. We consider how Australian comedies interrogate images of Australians, including stereotypes and national types such as ‘the ocker’ and ‘the larrikin’, to conjure affectionate and hostile portraits of suburban life, the outback and Australians abroad. We attend to the production and reception of comedy in the Australian context but also consider Australian comedy as a transnational phenomenon that travels internationally, inspires remakes in other countries and initiates cross-cultural dialogue.
