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Alice Springs unhappy with ABC2 series

The manager of a trashed hotel, and an almost trashed local Council, speak out against Dumb, Drunk & Racist.

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Ron Thynnes, General Manager of the Aurora Hotel, Alice Springs, says nobody from the show has been in touch the foyer was trashed by locals during the filming of Dumb, Drunk & Racist.

“There hasn’t been one phone call from Joe [Hildebrand], his crew, those Indian people…anyone, asking how the girls were getting on.

“We didn’t even hear from the Chamber of Commerce…Tourism Central Australia, it was just shocking.”

But Executive Producer Nick Murray says Cordell Jigsaw has been in contact with at least one of the staff involved since the incident.

“We had a lot of correspondence with one of the girls and was aware of their situation through that.” he says.

“We also sent gifts and notes to both of them via the hotel after the incident.”

Meanwhile Alice Springs council says show failed to get the permit required to film in a public place.

Cordell Jigsaw’s Nick Murray, says the crew did not apply for a permit because it is effectively a news crew.

“We wouldn’t normally apply for a permit anywhere to shoot with the kind of crew that we had,” he said.

“It’s effectively a news crew with a host and some people standing on a footpath, so there are no lights.

“It’s not the kind of shoot that you would normally get a permit for.”

Both Radhika Budhwar and Amer Singh told TV Tonight the crew was not filming when trouble spilled.

Source: ABC

9 Responses

  1. Hmmm I really wanted this show to fire, but to be honest I was a little bit underwhelmed by it. I think the show could have had a lot more fun with the whole thing and shown the “fun and humor” of our country.

    Louis Therox straddles this balance brilliantly.

  2. I really like this show. I only started part way through the second episode, but ended up going to iview for the bits I’d missed. The scenario’s are all things that actually happen, but the visitors appear to understand that they are a series of isolated incidents, and issues and incidents are being taken out of context (or put into a false context) in the world media.

    Events like this happen, but they don’t happen in every city in Australia. It truly is showing the good, the bad, and the ugly of Australia, but the good definitely dominates (even if the ugly is often the bit most viewers remember).

    Most surprising of all is Joe Hildebrand as the host. He’s not who I would have expected (or picked if I had any say in casting), but I’m glad Cordell Jigsaw did. He puts a different perspective on it, being pretty factual, without dragging emotion into it too much.

  3. Ok, I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I’ve really found this series thought provoking. And it does seem to represent a part of Aust that is racist. I’ve watched all eps and cannot recall any of the Indian visitors supporting the caste system of their country. Personally I hope the issues they have encountered helps them to understand the absurdity of caste in india.

    I found the conversation in the hotel room to be an honest account of the problems and anger… I’m not sure why Max finds it all so offensive but am interested to know why… Offensive because it’s so close to the bone? Maybe but that’s no reason to not tell the story is it? I thought the older indian woman had a similar view to Bill Brysons book on Aust re Australians and aboriginals.

    I’m looking forward to next weeks ep.

  6. I recently made some comments in regard to the above show without having seen it.Since then i have watched it and found to still have the same reservations.Although some might say it shows a real portrayal of Australias negative aspects,i feel it wasnt an honest assessment of everyday life in general for the majority of us.I dont think it was well executed or well thought out.I found Joe Hildebrand to be ‘sketchy’ at times.I dont think it showed a well balanced view.I think the above article and the story in the link just shows they were just trying to get a story

  7. My previous article, linked here, went into more detail on Alice Springs etc.

    I’ve had some concerns over some elements of the series thus far but next week is the best one: They visit country women at Mt Isa, a lesbian couple with kids and a hens night on the Gold Coast. They are also challenged on their own prejudices.

  8. What is not mentioned here is that this group and crew upset and disturbed local Indigenous people. What is also not touched upon in depth is the background of the folk from India, a country where even today social mobilty is still restricted by a discriminatory caste system that officially does not exist. IMO not the best idea for a show and one that can be applied to most societies and nations across the world.

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