Towards a New LGBT Biopic: Politics and Reflexivity in Gus Van Sant’s Milk

Post print (Author accepted) manuscript made available here in accordance with publisher copyright policy

The Naked Community Organizer: Politics and Reflexivity in Gus Van Sant's Milk

Post print (author accepted) manuscript made available in accordance with publisher copyright policy

'Your heart goes out to the Australian Tourist Board': critical uncertainty and the management of censure in Chris Lilley's TV comedies

Chris Lilley’s domestic reputation as a writer and creator of nationally award-winning material has largely not suffered, in contrast to other shows featuring provocative themes. What is distinctive about Lilley’s work that allows him to forestall accusations of ‘racism’ that other shows would face? In order to address these questions, this article investigates key components of Lilley’s comedies in three major contexts. First, I consider the work in the framework of post-2000 Australia. How might the depicted themes of aspiration and disenfranchisement dispose at least ‘middle’ Australian viewers to find favour with Lilley? Second, I look at the material in the context of ‘cringe’ comedy. A key theme that emerges throughout critical appraisals is the uncertainty about the ethical value of the humour. How do Lilley’s shows create a sense of critical ambiguity that plays out in Lilley’s favour? Finally, I examine the framing of Lilley’s non-white characters, contrasting critical responses to them with the reception of another well-known performance of blackface on Hey Hey It’s Saturday. How might the more contained criticism of performance and scripting flaws (that Lilley’s work received) displace more serious charges

‘Mr G is deffinately bringin’ Sexy back': characterizing Chris Lilley's YouTube audience

Post print (author accepted) manuscript made available in accordance with publisher copyright policy.This essay investigates how consuming Australian comedian Chris Lilley's TV material on YouTube allows for different forms of participation than are allowed by the experience of watching Lilley's work on broadcast TV. It examines the themes that emerge in user comments and the nature of the pleasure that fans get from Lilley's shows, particularly involving the popular gender non-conformist and female characters, Mr G and Ja'mie. The essay refers back to an earlier essay by the same author, which noted the relative popularity of some of Lilley's characters with professional critics. While there was some congruence between the critical responses analysed in the earlier essay and YouTube users' assessments, there were also themes and responses specific to the YouTube usership (for instance, a relative dearth of homophobic commentary regarding Mr G's sexuality). In offering an analysis of fan-specific data, the essay accounts for the appeal of Lilley's satirical comedy to fan communities that do not typically feature in critical analyses of satirical media. By suggesting how user comments shape others' experiences of the entertainment, the essay re-positions YouTube fans as creators of culturally valuable material in their own right

Donor Conception in Lesbian and Non-lesbian Film and Television Families

Post Print (author accepted) manuscript made available in accordance with publisher copyright policy

From Nazi Whore to Good German Mother: Revisiting Resistance in the Holocaust Film

Abingdon and New Yor