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Shitsville Express

Joe Hildebrand uses humour for his series -but is it more about stunts than debate?

9shx“Hi. I’m Joe Hildebrand and I live in Shitsville. Why? Because I’m an Australian.”

So says columnist Joe Hildebrand in his opening scene on ABC2’s Shitsville Express, his follow-up to Dumb, Drunk and Racist.

In this series Hildebrand plays tour guide once more, taking four young aspiring politicians around the country to witness, first-hand, some of our more pressing social issues. Each will be asked for their views on how to solve some them with a soapbox oration at the end of each episode.

The young pollies are members of Labor, Liberal, Greens and Sex Party. We begin aboard a red double-decker bus (bound for Shitsville apparently) and Hildebrand rather awkwardly telling his guests that the first issue is crime, and specifically booze-fuelled violence.

First stop is a house in Melbourne with some young women who are drinking up bigtime before heading out for a night on the town. “Pre-loading” is practically an Aussie tradition we learn and there’s plenty of intoxication going on here by obnoxious young women, possibly playing up for the cameras. Let’s hope they weren’t supplied with alcohol too…

On the city streets we meet a 16 year old who says he has been drinking and looking for trouble. Under the glare of cameras, I find myself wondering whether this is indicative of our youth or whether he turns cock-sure ‘hero’ for cameras. I guess there will always be 16 year olds looking for booze and trouble, just check out some Hollywood movies in the 1950s. It will take a lot for these 4 pollies to solve it.

Thankfully the 16 year old was pixellated, but his friends were not on my preview disk. One looked even younger. I trust parental consent has been provided…

One bloodied non-Caucasian man who is filmed on the street yells out to “Take the f****n camera down!” The cameraman obliges, but the editing kept it in. For an ABC2 documentary it’s beginning to borrow from A Current Affair or Today Tonight.

There’s also a visit to a hospital where one poor bloke tells how he was assaulted by drunken hoods.

Nevertheless the 4 pollies also get a quick lesson in the harsh realities of after-dark violence, including what a paramedic faces every working night and the work of the Salvation Army Street Team patrol. Their views are beginning to shift from their original positions.

In Newcastle Professor Peter Miller explains how early lockout times at pubs led to a 37% reduction in violence, and that price is the most effective measure to curbing levels of booze-fuelled alcohol.

However the Sex Party libertarian is concerned about measures that impact on responsible drinkers. For this argument, Hildebrand laughs at her civil liberty push (there’s even a shot of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart edited into the scene). It’s a curious reaction from a host who might be more effective taking a more neutral stance.

But unlike Louis Theroux, or even ABC2’s own Sabour Bradley, humour is part of Hildebrand’s presentation style, and that’s fair enough. But I think it makes the show harder to take seriously. He peppers his narration with punchlines and dresses up in costume to make an ironic point (including dressing up as a flower power hippie to police on the street), shifting the show from doco to satire, entertainment or something in between.

The most effective moment is saved for last when the four meet a wheelchair-bound intellectually and physically disabled young man who was assaulted on his 21st birthday, and his carer parents. It’s poignant and compelling stuff as his father describes the incident, its life-changing impact and the sentencing that followed. The young Greens politician is left in tears. Hildebrand admits if he was the father he would want to kill the perpetrators. Everyone has a reaction which is the point of this reality-doco hybrid produced by Cordell Jigsaw.

But while these kind of formats are a cheaper, swifter sibling to their excellent Go Back to Where You Came From, I find myself confused about whether getting a reaction for cameras is a greater priority than offering considered discussion of the topics. How do we take it seriously, when half the time the host isn’t?

Like Dumb, Drunk and Racist these are often confronting situations which trigger shocks, tears, arguments, helplessness and discussion. But is it adding to the debate or just poking a stick and are there other ways for a documentary to achieve a more considered outcome?

That said, the show has a landed a major coup. At the end of the series the four aspiring pollies will put their theories to Kevin Rudd who “has been to Shitsville and back many a time.”

So has Julia.

Shitsville Express airs 9:30pm Tuesday on ABC2.

10 Responses

  1. @ Armchair Analyst

    Granted such topics are of deep concern to those devoted to responding, treating and long term caring for such victims and naturally the victims themselves, as well as rationalizing with the reasons and restrictions required to manage and prevent further events, and as now a retired volunteer first responder I can relate to your comments
    But given Joe Hilderbrand’s persona, track record and his expertise in the Andrew Bolt style ambushes,ie. come on friendly to someones held principles or previous comments, engage in seemingly friendly banter, but either just before or immediately after they have dismissed their target, they then misconstrue nearly everything the target has innocently contributed and use that against them, “without the right of defense, reply or further elaboration on the targets part.

    So I have asked my self about the timing of the conception,production and eventual airing of the series that co-incidentally ends just before an election campaign was about to begin, where a back bench PM aspirant in the name of Mr Kevin Rudd is drawn into this web of possible embarrassment towards PM Ms Julia Gillard, and in true Joe Hilderbrand form inflict shit stirring embarrassment on both of them and the Labor Party as a whole….Hence my earlier comment after the change of PM’s that it couldn’t happen to a nicer ‘shit stirrer’, and I still feel exactly the same mistrust with Joe Hilderbrands original motives.

  2. if you manage to look behind Joe Hildebrand and his oppinions and the fact he works for News Limited publicationsm, and look at the important topics that this show covers then i think you would enjoy this show. I watched it on Tuesday night and liked it. Will watch again, very topical and a conversation starter.

  3. Ugh…Hilderbrand is a dullard in intellectualist’s clothing. If he had a real qualification besides “opinion for hire” I might pay attention. As it is, give that money to anyone who needs the funding, not this chump who survives on grants and Fairfax column money.

  4. Couldn’t have happened to a un-nicer Shitstirer, as it possibly seems to be all academic now, and could “Shitsville Express” turn out to be ultimate case of pure poetic justice, now that Kevin Rudd is PM.again?

    I wonder if Joe Hinderbrand has a Tee Shirt that has ” Shitstirers can sometimes stir up Poetic Justice” emblazoned across a hollow chest.

  5. Thanks for this article David. You seem to be one of the few questioning the judgement of this strangely titled, (and conceived) series. The sooner the ABC’s new head of Comedy gets started the better – it feels like the ABC is in need of a content driver with some sense of direction as well.

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