I feel
like I've been a little distracted recently. Bug-eyed homophobes
disguised as X Factor winners, dating apps, sex texts; they've all
pulled me away from my one true love; TV.
As I have mentioned many times before, I am a hardened binge-watcher and the colossal-ly shit weather that's hit the UK over the last few weeks has provided me with the perfect opportunity to bang through some shows that are yet to make it to our shores (shores that, due to last week's downpour, can now be found in Leicester). First on my list was Chris Lilley's latest offering- Ja'mie: Private School Girl.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Chris Lilley's work, get familiar with it; if you haven't watched Summer Heights High at least then we can't be friends. Each of Lilley's series' focuses on a group of characters that are all played by Lilley himself, regardless of whether they are male, female, young, old, black, white or Asian; he does it all.Ja'mie: Private School Girl continues the story of Ja'mie King, a character first introduced to us in Summer Heights High. Shot using a single camera and interspersed with talking-head interviews, the show mimics a documentary that follows Ja'mie as she completes her final term at Hillford Academy.
Although the show seems to have been well received by Lilley's fans, Ja'mie: Private School Girl seems to have divided the opinions of TV critics, with some declaring the show a “crowning glory” and other's branding it “transphobic drag” (Phil Dyess-Nugent, of The AV Club, I'm looking at you).
And here is where I pull out my soap box, stretch out and take a swig of water.
First up, let me make it quite clear that I don't find Ja'mie: Private School Girl to be transphobic. In fact, what I do find to be a tad transphobic is referencing trans-sexuality and drag in the same sentence, as if the two are in any way related. To put it quite simply, Ja'mie: Private School Girl isn't transphobic because the show isn't laughing at trans-gender people; it doesn't feature a transgender character, or actor. Ja'mie: Private School Girl has nothing to do with trans-gender people at all.
I'm assuming that the trans-gender-ness that Phil Dyess-Nugent is referring to is the fact that Lilley, a man, plays the title character, a teenage girl. However, the humour in Ja'mie: Private School Girl isn't supposed to come from the sight of Chris Lilley wearing a school dress and applying lip gloss; if that's what has got you laughing then you've missed the point entirely, and I suggest that you head to HMV and pick up the Little Britain box set, I imagine it's pretty cheap at this time of the year. The comedy in Ja'mie: Private School Girl comes from the fact that the script is routed in reality, like all good comedy; the brilliant script is just magnified because it's performed by A GUY IN A DRESS.
For me, Lilley's decision to play Ja'mie just underlines and exaggerates the point that I think the show is trying to make; girls like this exist, and we helped to create them. Ja'mie: Private School Girl is a social commentary, an anthropological exploration into the culture of teenage girls; whether it's a culture that they've created, a culture that we've created around them, or a bit of both.
Also, it's really bloody funny.
PS- I've also seen some critics call the show bigoted. Personally, I think that's bullshit, but I went to town on the baked Camembert over Christmas, and this soap box is starting to sag beneath my weight, so I'll have to save my defence for another day. However, does a bigoted protagonist result in a bigoted show?
As I have mentioned many times before, I am a hardened binge-watcher and the colossal-ly shit weather that's hit the UK over the last few weeks has provided me with the perfect opportunity to bang through some shows that are yet to make it to our shores (shores that, due to last week's downpour, can now be found in Leicester). First on my list was Chris Lilley's latest offering- Ja'mie: Private School Girl.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Chris Lilley's work, get familiar with it; if you haven't watched Summer Heights High at least then we can't be friends. Each of Lilley's series' focuses on a group of characters that are all played by Lilley himself, regardless of whether they are male, female, young, old, black, white or Asian; he does it all.Ja'mie: Private School Girl continues the story of Ja'mie King, a character first introduced to us in Summer Heights High. Shot using a single camera and interspersed with talking-head interviews, the show mimics a documentary that follows Ja'mie as she completes her final term at Hillford Academy.
Although the show seems to have been well received by Lilley's fans, Ja'mie: Private School Girl seems to have divided the opinions of TV critics, with some declaring the show a “crowning glory” and other's branding it “transphobic drag” (Phil Dyess-Nugent, of The AV Club, I'm looking at you).
And here is where I pull out my soap box, stretch out and take a swig of water.
First up, let me make it quite clear that I don't find Ja'mie: Private School Girl to be transphobic. In fact, what I do find to be a tad transphobic is referencing trans-sexuality and drag in the same sentence, as if the two are in any way related. To put it quite simply, Ja'mie: Private School Girl isn't transphobic because the show isn't laughing at trans-gender people; it doesn't feature a transgender character, or actor. Ja'mie: Private School Girl has nothing to do with trans-gender people at all.
I'm assuming that the trans-gender-ness that Phil Dyess-Nugent is referring to is the fact that Lilley, a man, plays the title character, a teenage girl. However, the humour in Ja'mie: Private School Girl isn't supposed to come from the sight of Chris Lilley wearing a school dress and applying lip gloss; if that's what has got you laughing then you've missed the point entirely, and I suggest that you head to HMV and pick up the Little Britain box set, I imagine it's pretty cheap at this time of the year. The comedy in Ja'mie: Private School Girl comes from the fact that the script is routed in reality, like all good comedy; the brilliant script is just magnified because it's performed by A GUY IN A DRESS.
For me, Lilley's decision to play Ja'mie just underlines and exaggerates the point that I think the show is trying to make; girls like this exist, and we helped to create them. Ja'mie: Private School Girl is a social commentary, an anthropological exploration into the culture of teenage girls; whether it's a culture that they've created, a culture that we've created around them, or a bit of both.
Also, it's really bloody funny.
PS- I've also seen some critics call the show bigoted. Personally, I think that's bullshit, but I went to town on the baked Camembert over Christmas, and this soap box is starting to sag beneath my weight, so I'll have to save my defence for another day. However, does a bigoted protagonist result in a bigoted show?
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