Comedy Lost in Translation: Jonah from Tonga and the Criticism from America

Jonah from Tonga is an Australian television series created by and starring Chris Lilley. Chris Lilley plays Jonah Takalua, a 14-year-old boy of Tongan descent. The television show first premiered in Australia on ABC1 and then premiered in America on HBO in 2014.

The series was not well received in America and was criticized for Lilley’s portrayal of Tongans and the use of make-up to make his skin darker. Morgan Godfrey wrote in The Guardian how Lilley was “acting out a modern minstrel show” (2014). “I would suggest that what has been ‘seriously lost in translation’ is the role and place of irony: in this case, the gap between how a character imagines him/herself to be and how they appear to the audience” and in this case Lilley appeared to be racist and absurd to these audiences that did not understand the ‘Australian humor’ (Turnbull 2008).

Some people argue that Americans did not ‘get’ the comedy and satire behind the dialogue due to the fact that the majority of American television shows “have been slimmed down, toned up and ironed flat for American network television because that is what an American audience wants and expects from a sitcom” (Turnbull 2008). However, most people argue that the show is just “quite blatantly racist – playing on the cultural traits and responses to an ethnic community” (Hardy 2014).

HBO was criticized for airing the show and an online petition has been created in the United States and Canada to ask HBO to no longer air the show (the petition has received over 6,450 signatures). A positive from the airing of this show has been the enormous support that Tonga and Tongans have received from all over the world (Tonga Herald 2014). This show is an example of how comedy can be lost in translation and gives proof to why comedy has to be adjusted for various places due to values and what is seen as acceptable.

Reference List

Hardie, G 2014, ‘Jonah from Tonga: genius or racist?’ InDaily Adelaide Independent news, viewed on 18 September 2014 http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/05/09/jonah-tonga-genius-racist/

The Tonga Herald 2014, ‘We Are The Future’, TongaHerald.com, viewed on 18 September 2014 http://tongaherald.com/jonah-from-tonga-controversy-leads-to-global-outpouring-of-love-and-support-for-tonga-and-tongans/

Godfery, M 2014, ‘Jonah From Tonga: the modern minstrel show?’ theguardian.com, viewed on 18 September 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/23/jonah-from-tonga-the-modern-minstrel-show

Turnbull, S 2008, ‘It’s like they threw a panther in the air and caught it in, embroidery’ Television Comedy in Translation, viewed on 18 September 2014 https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/pluginfile.php/260150/mod_resource/content/1/Week%207_Turnbull.pdf

Hollywood: The Media Capital for Australia?

American media is taking over Australian screens nationwide (James, J 2012).

It is difficult to go to a movie theater in Australia and see a movie that was produced by an Australian company. Almost all of the films are from American cinema. “Media capitals are places where things come together and, consequently, where the generation and circulation of new mass culture forms become possible,” which is exactly what Hollywood is (Curtin 2003, pp. 133). When Australians watch films or television shows from America they are taking in that culture and becoming familiar with it, it becomes “tremendously influential” (Curtin 2003, pp. 133). Curtin explains how “US television was Hollywood television, which had an international afterlife but was never-theless an emphatically national phenomenon” (2003, pp. 139). Hollywood was once a local media capital in Los Angeles and then grew into this universal monstrosity that took over screens everywhere. This happened because the “producers primarily focus on national audiences, thinking little about viewers at the local or global levels,” (Curtin 2003, pp. 139) which in turn makes Hollywood cinema a national sensation.

Could you imagine a world where films and television shows were only screened where they were made with actors and actresses all from that same place? There would be no new culture or influence, which I believe some people argue is a problem with America. While Hollywood is flowing its culture to all places of the world, little is backfiring on America. This issue of ‘no new culture or influence’ is also a problem for Australia. I believe that Australians would sometimes enjoy not having any ‘new culture or influence’ because they are already down poured with Americanisation. Andrew Guild, an Australian, expresses how he feels towards this issue by saying,

“The Americanisation of Australia’s culture is a sad and terrible thing. It is a process whereby ordinary Australians are bombarded every day with images of American lifestyle, so much that it merges almost unnoticed into their own lifestyle. It is a process whereby our home-grown entertainment industry is overwhelmed by the enormous powerhouse of the American economy, with drastic effects upon the modern Australian nation” (2004).

Sticker that gives evidence to the fact that Australia is not pleased with America’s bombardment (Guild, A 2004).

Hollywood creates shows like MasterChef, The Bachelor, The Voice and X Factor and Australians then see these shows but want to make them more personal to Australian culture. Therefore, Australian versions of the popular American shows are created and viewed in Australia. This sheds some positive light on the “sad and terrible thing” that is happening. By taking these shows and ‘Australianising’ them, Australians can hear words and phrases that are familiar to them, rather than familiar to Americans.

Though some people may view media capitals as a bombardment I believe they hold a positive use. Through these media capitals people are able to learn what is happening universally and see what a culture is like; how they dress, speak, the lingo they use, how they react to situations, what different cultures find popular; it’s all very intriguing and we all have the power to choose what to culturally take in and what to do without.

Reference List:

Curtin, M 2003, ‘Media capital: Towards the study of spatial flows,’ International Journal of Cultural Studies (volume 6), University of Wisconsin, pp. 202-228, viewed on 3 September 2014.

Guild, A 2004, ‘Discussing the cultural influence of the USA upon our nation’s way of life,’ The Americanisation of Australian Culture, Ironbark Resources, viewed on 3 September 2014.

James, J 2012, ‘Is Australia Becoming Too American?’ People, Society, Kiki & Tea, image viewed on 4 September 2014.