In light of our discussion this week of audiences and the importance of dominant perspectives I have been thinking about the ways in which producers create alternate meanings within popular media. Two recent tv shows “Black Comedy” and “Legally Brown” air on ABC and SBS respectively are observational comedy shows with a difference. This time it is a perspective coming from within the comedic prism of minority subjects. They play on the relationship between minority cultures and their dominant context, how the greater Australian narrative has influenced the intro, extro, and retrospective views of indigenous and muslim Australians.
This is what I believe class teacher Rachel meant by “subverting the codes to create an alternate meaning.” – introducing the traditional practices and processes of media practice into a world where other social and cultural codes dominate. Black Comedy actor Bjorn Stewart said that his natural, personal approach to sketch-writing was enhanced by “understanding classic tropes and working out the artifice”. These interesting examples are important to the modern transformation in conventions of culturally and politically fused satire. An approach of anti or reverse interpellation completely changes the audience’s perspective of the texts and their characters within.
Here is a scene from black comedy that shows a greatly exaggerated approach to ironic and sarcastic characters to remove any interpellation: (breif language warning at 2:50)