This is the most offensive video you will see all year.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?annotation_id=annotation_369455&user=SuperchocTV&feature=iv#p/u/1/yuo_ZuTbqP8
It's what they'll be talking tonight on A Current Affair.
It's what talkback radio station listeners will be calling about.
The words "government-funded" will be bandied about a lot. So will "taxpayers' money" - which will be preceded by "what a waste of..."
I cannot wait to see it.
It's a teaser for a yet to screen SBS TV show called "Houso's" - alluding to people living in housing commission homes.
Let me be clear here.
I get there's a helluva lot of stereotypes - far too many to count.
I also know that I live a mere few blocks away from where many of the scenes from this teaser were filmed - I recognise every single spot.
I live in a pretty peaceful neighbourhood - no hoons, no break-ins, loads of families - but they clearly needed some pretty urban locations to shoot, and our neck of the woods fits the bill.
I also know that the whole thing looks so hysterically funny because it's an exaggeration - that's what comedy is, right?
Taking the piss... embellishing... going a little OTT?
I've always loved what Paul Fenech - the creator of this show - has done. His last TV show, also for SBS, was a parody of the courier industry, called Swift and Shift.
And of course, Fenech and co were behind the so-bad-it-was-good SBS comedy Pizza and spin-off movie Fat Pizza.
I was glued to all of it, because I can relate to it. I see this kind of behaviour, live in this kinda community, every day. Have done since birth. In fact, acceptance - and harmony - of all races goes with the territory when you live where I live. It's the only normal I know. In primary school, when I did a school project on my local area, I discovered it was the most culturally diverse city - in Australia! More nationalities were - and probably still are - represented here more than any other suburb/city in the country. I was so proud of that, to live amongst people of so many different races. That's why I still live in the area.
Having said that, I grew up with loads of "you wog" jibes, and even today I still hear plenty of racially offensive words like "Lebbos", "Nongs", and the rest.
I say bring on the "Houso's" - those with a bit of intelligence and the ability to separate parody from reality will find it compelling, can't-take-their-eyes-off-the-screen viewing.
SBS this afternoon published a press release saying:
“SBS is aware of media interest relating to a program currently in production for SBS called Houso’s.
“Paul Fenech, the star and producer of SBS’s long-running, provocative and irreverent series Pizza, is producing this new comedy series for SBS.
“Houso’s is not a reality series and everyone participating in the series is an actor.
“Audiences have always understood Paul’s work to be highly exaggerated parody.
“The program, as with Pizza, is not receiving direct funding through any State or Federal Government funding agency and is being funded by SBS through revenue raised by commercial activities.”
Nine’s A Current Affair is heavily promoting a story on the show on tonight’s program this way: “Housing commission uncensored… and it’s funded by the government”.
In reply, Fenech issued a statement:
“I’ll be stunned if the stooges at ACA actually think this show is a reality show, It’s hard not to miss some of the actors which appear in the vision on You Tube; Jabba, Angry Anderson, Ian Turpie and myself without thinking something is up. The unofficial clip of Houso’s which ended up on YouTube has had over 22,000 hits and people seem to like what they see. Basically my show is part of the Aussie tradition of doing comedy about true battlers. Housos’s in still in production and SBS have yet to give an on-air date.”
A couple of things. The video hardly "ended up" on YouTube...
And... this is a PR dream for Fenech and Houso's.
Bring it, stooges.
(Photos courtesy: http://www.facebook.com/housostv)
