Moral Panic Outrage

Hungry Beast did a great little piece on public outrage in this week's episode on ABC1. It outlined the process of moral panic amongst the general public.

I thought it was particularly interesting seeing all the fuss today about John Safran's new show Race Relations, set to start next week on ABC1. The Herald Sun had a poll asking if Safran's new show "breached boundaries of decency" - never mind that the show hasn't actually gone to air yet - the Australian public should be able to formulate a well-founded opinion based on ... well ... the Herald Sun article containing the poll, I assume.

On channel 10's The 7pm Project tonight they ran the story of the public's outrage over Race Relations. Dave Hughes pointed out that the Herald Sun poll earlier that day was 70% against the show and Safran's style of humour.

The poll at 8:11pm looked something like this;

So the cycle goes on and the moral panic continues tomorrow when those reacting to Dave Hughes' statement punch their fists proudly in the air and shout "Yeah! Me too!"

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Is it just me or is the moral panic becoming somewhat absurd? The fact that every little public event, performance, letter-opening or sneeze is being picked apart by Ma and Pa kettle is making it very difficult to make pleasant conversation at the water-cooler.

Example 1 - Today at work;

Me: "Hi, how are you?"
Pa Kettle: "Yeah good. Did you see that crap about hitting your kids with a wooden spoon? A bit of discipline never hurt anyone I say."
Me: (stupidly) "Could using a weapon to discipline them be a bit harsh though?"
Pa Kettle: "What?! A wooden spoon's not a weapon! Use whatever you need I say. Kids these days." (shakes head)

Example 2 - Later in the afternoon;

Ma kettle: "Can you believe that John Safran?"
Me: (stupidly) "What's going on?"
Ma kettle: "He's doing a blackface sketch on his new show!"
Me: "Hang on. But I thought the majority of Australia was for blackface humour?" (Could I have possibly misconstrued the 350 comments on The Daily Telegraph article last week?)
Ma kettle: "He's a disgrace that's what he is! They should take him off tv!"
Me: "But are you just saying that because you hate Jews?"
Ma kettle: "What?! he's Jewish too?"

Is all this outrage - directed at pretty much anything - making the issues that are actually worthy of discussion seem a bit, well, stupid? How can I be legitimately offended by the blackface skit if I don't really care whether dwarves dress up as jockeys and ride some crowd members at a racing carnival? If I have a penchant for skinny Jewish boys making fun of organised religion does that mean I should be all for hitting my child with random kitchen utensils?

... hang on, or should that be the other way around?

It seems like Australia is choosing sides and the battle lines aren't very well drawn out. Beware Australia; the water-cooler is no longer a safe place.

* One more thing; are all those people that joined the "I'm a fan of spooning" group on Facebook feeling awkward?

Will 7pm find it's feet?

The 7pm Project is becoming a rather frustrating 30 minutes. There is so much potential there for a really entertaining, not-so-serious look at news events - yet every night they run well short of the mark.

Firstly, Carrie reads the serious news items with a smirk on her face that suggests she might burst out laughing any second. Unfortunately her work on Rove is what she's most well known for, so it's difficult to take her seriously.

The 'state roundup' where the panel crosses to correspondents around Australia is very hit and miss - some of the correspondents are hilarious, others are cringe-worthy beyond belief (Hans from Perth is particularly bad).

In fact, it seems generally on the show that everyone chosen to comment or be interviewed has been slipped a valium before going to air - the Paxton-esque unemployed girl, the young woman and her mother reunited with their dog, the fat girl who's boyfriend dumped her ... need I go on?

Then there's the other end of the stick with commentators being overly opinionated. Examples include the parking infringement officer (who made a completely out of line sexual advance at the young Ruby Rose) and ex swim coach Laurie Lawrence - both of whom were raving lunatics given too much rope.

The reason for this? The panelists aren't very good at interviewing - they're asking closed questions (questions that can be answered with yes or no) and are having to ride the awkward silence when the guests respond with one word.

Dave Hughes also has a knack of answering the question in the question, eg. "So you're pretty happy to have you're dog back, aren't you?" - it doesn't exactly call for a detailed response with expressions of heartfelt emotions does it?

Then again, Dave Hughes isn't a journalist so he can be excused, however Carrie doesn't get off so easily. I don't know what Charlie Pickering is or does (besides pontificate with an elitist air of self-satisfaction) and Ruby Rose shouldn't be on the show at all.

James Matheison is still the saving grace of the piece. Tonight he made what would have otherwise been an absolute fizzer (the reunion of the shy teenager with her clearly sedated dog) into a funny little piece.

I'm still holding out hope for it but there are so many bleedingly obvious things that could make the 7pm Project better - pre-recorded interviews for example, or maybe just having a chat beforehand to ascertain whether the people you're putting to air are actually interesting?

- Oh, and ditch the Skype 'voice of the people' bit - there's a reason some people don't have a voice.

7pm Verdict

I thought I'd wait til at least night 2 to cast judgement on channel 10's news/talks program The 7pm Project. Overall I think it's good. Dave Hughes and Carrie Bickmore have a comfortable rapport and Charlie Pickering is quick-witted and generally charming - unfortunately he made a comment last night that irked me; when discussing a pair of gay penguins, he referred to one of the male penguins developing a relationship with a female penguin rather than a male as "how things should be". Considering that gay rights are being fought tooth and nail at the moment this sort of ignorance bothers me intensely. Since then, he's getting on my nerves a little bit - what can you do?

Ruby Rose is awkward and punching above her weight - but she might grow into the role. And last but not least; James Matheison - he is the dark horse in this ensemble cast - he's funny, sarcastic, naughty but nice and oh so likeable. Night one he was in studio and was being left high and dry by the rest of the panel - but tonight he really shone on location with Masterchef winner Julie - he was cracking jokes with the family and working well under pressure. I look forward to seeing him develop outside the scripted host format of Australian Idol.

Overall the show's not amazing, but then it's not altogether terrible either. I'm interested to see where it goes and how the cast develop as a team. It's night one ratings were good (of course it remains to be seen if viewers come back for more) and I'm generally happy with any program that takes viewers away from that vaccuous abyss that is Two and a Half Men.

Hughesy's Pickering Roses ...

Alright so that's a really bad pun - mainly on account of the fact the new show channel 10 has lined up for 7pm weeknights will also feature Carrie Bickmore and James Matheison.

The 7pm Project will be hosted by Dave Hughes and Charlie Pickering and will be a (hopefully) humurous look at the news of the day. (It will also star MTV's Ruby Rose - hence the post-title gag ... get it?)

Supposedly there will be a lot of viewer participation in the show and guest comedians. It's being made by Mr McManus' Roving Enterprises and channel 10 have made a 52 week commitment on this ship so let's hope it floats.

I'm just glad there is something that might take some ratings away from the abhorrent crime-against-humanity that is Two and a Half Men.