Hey Hey or No Way?

Have been trying very hard not to get myself into the recent media vortex of the “Hey Hey” skit that put Australia back on to the international media radar for all the wrong reasons. The main issues here are: “Is it offensive?” and “What constitute a good humour and what not?”

I’ve been reading all the posts, arguments and debates over the last week and all sorts of ammo were triggered – White Supremacy, Positive Discrimination, Excessive Political Correctness, and not to mention Racism. The issue here for me is more about: “Are we continuing to stereotype people unconsciously because we found ‘people who dance in an explosive wig with painted face’ funny?” There are lots of things that are funny to us because a) they are inherently funny b) because they are stupid c) because they are alien to us, and I think the when we are dealing with c) that’s where we are treading dangerous waters.

The “Hey Hey” skit could be funny without people realising the bad implications 20 years ago, but is it still relevant and reasonable in the 21st century where people are trying to correct their views and after making the famous “Sorry Speech” to the Aboriginal people? I think that’s where we need to ponder on. I found it very interesting that when they said that the group itself is multi-cultural and not white, it is not racist – that is such a common fallacy nowadays. This is because racism is not restricted to Anglo-descent or the Whities, but exists in all races. The skit might not be considered as offensive if they were actually done by African- Americans because they are having a good laugh of their own history. However, any other ethnic group will not have that kind of safety zone to play around with. This is because then you will be considered as poking fun at other people’s history. The intention may not be malicious, but the impact is completely different.

Harry Connick Junior’s reaction to the skit was very understandable. As an American, he grew up in a completely different culture, his music is very influenced by the African-American stream and probably he’d seen a lot more issues than we Australians did. Just imagine that if the Americans did a skit of “Aboriginal Hayho with didgeridoos “ do you think the Australian media will let that go so easily? The table could be completely turned and Australians will be condemning the American media for even allowing this kind of skit to go on air. So it is not surprising that Harry Connick Junior had such a huge reaction to this and the American media are furious about this. A lot of time we just need to put ourselves in other people’s shoes I think.

When people argue that it is “just for a good laugh” I think we need to think about is what we are laughing at. Shock values have been the recent favourites of a number of programs of late. It seems that any publicity is good publicity has been the token value for some producers in the media. Cultural sensitivity is a touchy issue and the balance is really difficult to strike. Earlier I mentioned that if African-Americans did the skit, it might not cause such an up roar. However, they might still be condemned of perpetuating stereotypes among themselves. The other night I was chatting with a friend and we were also thinking did we, as non-Anglo actors or media practitioners voluntarily or unconsciously perpetuated our stereotypes among our peers? We make fun of ourselves from time to time, but does it do more good or more harm to us and our peers? This maybe something we need to think about too.

And here I am not talking about Australia as a racist country. There is racism in Australia but I believe it is not more or less than any other originally homogenous countries. I had heard stories from my Indian friends when I grew up in Hongkong and knew how some people talked about the Indian population in Hongkong. However, it is unfortunate that in the past Australia has a more media savvy profile as a racist country. I do believe the age of White Supremacy is something of the history books, but as an increasingly multicultural country, we do need to figure out how we deal with or get to know cultures that we don’t know and understand them instead of “finding it funny, so let’s have a good laugh” because the consequence could be beyond one’s imagination, as in the “Hey Hey” case. And by this I am not talking about being overly politically correct either, because then we are throwing ourselves into another pool of murky water. For example, as a Chinese Australian, I do think that if we stop celebrating Christmas because we are scared of upsetting people of other faiths, then we should stop celebrating all festivities, including the Chinese New Year parade. Understanding and integration is a complex issue and it requires all forces to work together. Laughing at cultural issues apart from your own is always dangerous and no matter one likes it or not, there will be people who are not happy about it.

I am not here to tell people what is right and what is wrong, but one thing I really feel about this is “you have to be in their shoes to understand their concerns”. Simply thinking, “If I were them I will be ok with it” a lot of time doesn’t work because you will never be them – and that is clearly indicated in the grammar. And there is no point shooting missiles randomly around either because that will just induce more damages and opening up more wounds instead of having an issue healthily debated and dealt with. I personally think that the whole “Hey Hey” Saga will come to an end when its media value disappears because that’s what Australian and international media do nowadays. But did we actually learn something after all the mud slinging? That’s something to find out in time.