Comic Connections

By Marina Douglas

What do you think of when someone says the word “Australia”? Many think of home, and probably nearly all those who don’t think instead of Vegemite and terrifying wildlife. Apart from our fantastic foods and native species, another defining part of Australian culture is its comedians. Australian comedy has typically been silly, ironic, often crude and at times self-deprecating. Many of our comedians have reached world-wide acclaim and are now thought of as integral to our community identity. With social media more dominant than ever, comedians on social media provide critical connection for people of the Australian diaspora.

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According to Duncan et al (2004), about 1,000,000 Australian expatriates live outside of Australia. Despite the distance, many of these people maintain ties with Australia through Facebook. My own sister immigrated to England several years ago and still makes posts about missing the classic “Aussie spirit.” However, it is easy for her and most other Australians overseas to keep their sense of “Aussieness” by following Facebook pages for national icons such as Hamish & Andy. Since 2003, this comedy duo have found great success in their various radio shows and the “Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year” television series. They embody a widely enjoyable aspect of Australian culture and as such, many amusing images, video clips and podcasts can be accessed via their official Facebook page. Kuttainen (2015) states that diasporas as discontinuous territories are linked by communication and narrative, and the Hamish & Andy Facebook page is exemplary in providing both of these things to members of diasporas.

As Ma Mung (2005) says, cultural networks are of great prevalence in the community organisation of diasporas. The cultural network created by comedians on Facebook is not only limited to uniting people of the same cultural background; in the case of Hamish & Andy, people of varied backgrounds are finding common interest and organising themselves based on this interest. This is a wonderful aid in increasing positive connotations of Australians and our culture.

References

Blake, H., & Lee, A. (2008). Hamish & Andy. Retrieved from http://facebook.com/hamishandandy

Duncan, M. et al. (2004). Imagining Australia: Ideas for our future. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Network, narratives, and the making of place: People Networks. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Ma Mung, E. (2005). Diaspora, spatiality, identities. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image Credits

Shutterstock, Inc. (2015). Happy casual business group laughing at something they see on the screen of a computer tablet. Retrieved from il4.picdn.net 2.jpg