(no subject)

[skygiants]

So Terry Pratchett's The Last Continent!

. . . well.

That sure was a book full of jokes about Australia!

Comments

[agonistes]

Okay, so, gotta be asked, matter of professional interest:

What's the awkward factor wrt these jokes about Australia from former-colony perspective, from making jokes at expense of indigenous cultures perspective, both?

[skygiants]

That is a very good question that I don't feel at all qualified to answer! I think the only thing I can say is that at least none of it approached the hideous awkward levels of "LOL ASIA, AMIRITE?" that was Interesting Times.

[ashen_key]

What's the awkward factor wrt these jokes about Australia from former-colony perspective?

*puts on Australian hat*

Awkward!

Um. Not that I remember much of the book, as I read it once and spent a lot of time going "...:-/" But it was awkward, and I really didn't like it - which was partly the "dear England, kindly fuck off" factor, but mostly just the stereotypes. Of course Australia is ALL DESERT AND BEACH, of course all the Australian wizards wear cork-on-strings on their hats to try and keep away the flies (because this is so amusing, apparently?), of course...I actually don't know where the Australian = Wayne thing came from, but apparently that's a thing overseas? Anyway, that featured, too, IIRC.

It was just very..."LOL AUSTRALIA, ISN'T AUSTRALIA INNATELY HILARIOUS" from memory. Which always annoys the everlasting hell out of me. The Kiwis can do it! Because we mock them back. But from an English writer's POV (former colonial masters) or an American (functionally current imperial masters, given Pax Americana and our leaders slavishly following Washington), it's...very >.<-inducing.

[innerbrat]

I assume the Wayne is actually because Australian = Bruce. And - well, Batman.

I mean, that's a stupid thing, but that's the thing.

[ashen_key]

...Yeah, I admit I'm still confused.

But, eh *shrugs*

[innerbrat]

I don't know! I assume this is like the British teeth thing. I don't know where the meme came from or how it got perpetrated or what, and it sure as heck doesn't make any sense to the people being stereotyped. But apparently all Australian men are called Bruce and all Australian women are called Sheila.

*throws up hands*

[ashen_key]

Well, 'sheila' is slang! Or, was - it's more Old Aussie slang for 'woman' than current slang, so I can see where that came from. But I just...

*rubs head*

Thanks for somewhat explaining, though!

[skygiants]

Thanks for weighing in, I am very glad to have some Australian-hatted perspective on this! And not really surprised by the answer. *rueful*

[ashen_key]

Yeah, it...I like Pratchett best when he leaves other cultures alone, and concentrates on fantasy tropes or digs at his own culture/country.

[skygiants]

Yeah, me too. There are some things that Pratchett is great at digging at, and some things that are just a lot of cheap shots, and when it comes to cultures that aren't his it's pretty much all going to be the latter. Fortunately I think he does get better about realizing that as he goes on - I thiiink this is the last "LOL [CULTURE]" book. Or at least I hope so!

[katta]

I can't even remember what happened in that book, which probably says a lot.

[scifantasy]

Rincewind lands in not-Stralia and goes through a Mad Max meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert sequence while the wizards end up in ancient history talking with the god of evolution and failing to explain sex until, as a final consequence, they bring the rain to not-Stralia.

[katta]

Huh. That raises no memories whatsoever. Possibly I haven't read it. But I kind of think I've read it? Then again, the Rincewind books tend to stray out of my memory as soon as I've closed the covers.

[skygiants]

You really are not missing much.

[allochthonous]

Oh Lord, the Rincewind books. I'm pretty sure this is the last one (I think maybe he shows up in the Science of Discworld books?) which is just as well - about the only thing I can remember from his story is the Luggage (which is undeniably excellent) and an awful lot of awkward jokes and national stereotypes.

[skygiants]

Yes! This is the last Rincewood book and the last pure parody, and next up is Carpe Jugulum, which I sort of think of as kicking off the Great Late Discworld phase after a few semi-mediocre books.

[rushthatspeaks]

I would call The Last Hero a Rincewind book, although I would also call it 'so much pure awesome it is beyond our puny mortal classifications'.

[skygiants]

I always forget about The Last Hero because I've never actually read it! I keep forgetting I get to do that this time around.

[genarti]

The Last Hero is almost an everyone book, which I think is why it's the only Rincewind book I can think of that I like. I like it for the Watch and the wizards and Death and the minstrel and the diagrams of swamp dragons, and I find I like Rincewind a lot better when he's not necessarily the primary protagonist or the one in charge of the narrative. (I realize Rincewind never feels in charge of the narrative, but still.)

[scifantasy]

Well, Rincewind makes an appearance in Unseen Academicals, in what TV Tropes describes as "Demoted to Extra and probably quite happy about it."

[surexit]

Australia's pretty funny, though.

(Sorry Australians ilu.)

(I was trying to find Dylan Moran talking about Australia, but instead I hit him talking about accents and cannot stop laughing, because, "I come here on a plane," will never not be funny.)

[skygiants]

Eh, it felt kind of like a lot of cheap shots to me. "The Sydney Opera House! What a weird piece of architecture, AMIRITE?" I mean . . .

[surexit]

Oh God, yeah, the book is pretty cheap. I mean, I like it mildly, but that's as far as I'll go. I am being facetious, sorry. Australia's no funnier than any other place, obviously.