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Flamin’ hell. ‘Summer Bay Slaughter’ video for film festival.

YouTube videos which parody Home & Away's Alf Stewart are set to screen at the Sydney Underground Film Festival.

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Two years ago a Facebook page parodying Home and Away character ‘Alf Stewart’ attracted attention for its explicit content, including references to an “Alf Stewart Rape Dungeon.”

Now the YouTube videos which revoice actors including Gold Logie winner Ray Meagher, are set to screen at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville as part of the Sydney Underground Film Festival.

Summer Bay Slaughter Part 1, The Dungeon and Alf Stewart at the Logies, both of which went viral on YouTube will screen on September 8th.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the videos’ creator, ‘Mr Doodleburger’, will also appear at the festival, answering questions from the audience.

It’s unclear whether the videos breach any defamation law given they would likely fall under allowances for satire, and indeed whether they are parodying the TV show and characters rather than actors including Ray Meagher -or both.

SMH reports the Seven Network and Meagher both declined to comment.

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  2. I have the feeling Seven and Meagher will wait and see whether the content brings the character (and this by extension a ‘harm’ to the show) into [significant] disrepute. There’s been successful litigation on this basis before re brands and trademarks.

  5. Parody and satire are defenses to copyright infringement, not to defamation. Also, it’s only defamation if it’s defaming a real person or company, not a character.
    You could probably argue that it’s defamatory to Ray Meagher, and you could also probably argue that it doesn’t constitute ‘fair dealing’ meaning it infringes Seven’s copyright.
    Who knows, there might even be discrimination laws that it’s breaking as well?

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