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Australian here. This is probably not going to earn me any goodwill for posting, however I feel it needs to be said. I grew up in a very working class area, so

by ajxs 6y ago

Australian here. This is probably not going to earn me any goodwill for posting, however I feel it needs to be said. I grew up in a very working class area, so I'm familiar with 'broad' Australian accents and culture. The accent in the videos strikes me as a lame affectation. In the last few years it's become trendy for washed-up alternative Australian youth to remodel themselves after the kids who bullied them in high-school once they hit their 30s. Straight-edge and crust-punk gigs are traded in for the cricket team and "sinking VB with the boys". This put-on accent invariably comes with it. 'Struthless' is another high-profile example of the newfound lame fascination with all things 'bogan'.

namdnay 6y ago
In the UK we call it Mockney, Jamie Oliver being a prime representative of the phenomenon
cam_l 6y ago
Hell, Aussie pollies have been doing this for donkeys ages (also comedians.. wildlife park owners). But I always found it funny that the broadest Aussie accents I've heard outside NT have been in urban Melbourne or Sydney.
mrmincent 6y ago
Same here, there’s something about the schtick that I can’t really warm to, ultimately it’s an insincere adaptation of bogan culture. To me bogan culture was always about letting an object rip and basking in its glory, not making self aware cooking shows. But I’m okay with that, I’m not the target audience and if they’re getting something out of it then I’m fine with that. I’ll stick to my happy middle class serious eats and bon appetit cooking videos.
- tnorthcutt 6y ago
  To me bogan culture was always about letting an object rip and basking in its glory Can you interpret this, for someone who is not familiar with Australian culture?
pasabagi 6y ago
For whatever reason, my brother decided to adopt a really working class accent when he was about 17 - and at the time, I thought it was ridiculous. After fifteen years, I can see that it's not really just a silly affectation. It's actually him engaging with the culture he likes, and the people he likes, being who he wants to be. I don't really see anything wrong with that.
- ajxs 6y ago
  That's a very interesting interpretation of the situation, and I'll credit it. However I can't help but feel that purposefully affecting an accent like this is inauthentic, and untrue to your real self. I can see your counter-argument that, for your brother, this act is bringing him closer to his ideal self.
  - pasabagi 6y ago
    I also think authenticity is a strange bird at the best of times. Humans are basically defined by their inauthenticity. In the bible, the moment humans attain knowledge is also the moment they attain the art of lying, of concealing, of feeling shame for what they are and presenting something different. It's a deep part of how we see ourselves - that we represent things, ourselves included, to persuade, to play, to organize our thoughts. There's something funny going on with our use of the word - we call some people and cultures authentic, while others are called insincere and affected - and I don't think it's strictly related to how performative a given culture is. Somebody could be authentically Italian, and that could literally mean they perform their life at a very high tempo.
barbs 6y ago
Australian here, too. That's a pretty uncharitable and baseless generalisation. His accent is pretty consistent over his videos and in radio interviews [0], and he strikes me as being a pretty genuine, funny person. Of course, he's performing a bit in his videos to entertain, but it's pretty authentic. Hardly trying to be trendy. > In the last few years it's become trendy for washed-up alternative Australian youth to remodel themselves after the kids who bullied them in high-school once they hit their 30s. Where are you getting this from? I don't think I've ever seen this. Struthless is a pretty poor example - his content is typically satirical parodies of social trends[1], but rarely does anything "bogan"-related appear in any of his content. [0] https://soundcloud.com/thebiganxiety/interview-with-nats-what-i-reckon-for-the-big-anxiety https://soundcloud.com/thebiganxiety/interview-with-nats-wha... [1] https://www.instagram.com/struthless69/ https://www.instagram.com/struthless69/

by ajxs 6y ago

namdnay 6y ago

In the UK we call it Mockney, Jamie Oliver being a prime representative of the phenomenon

cam_l 6y ago

Hell, Aussie pollies have been doing this for donkeys ages (also comedians.. wildlife park owners). But I always found it funny that the broadest Aussie accents I've heard outside NT have been in urban Melbourne or Sydney.

mrmincent 6y ago

Same here, there’s something about the schtick that I can’t really warm to, ultimately it’s an insincere adaptation of bogan culture. To me bogan culture was always about letting an object rip and basking in its glory, not making self aware cooking shows. But I’m okay with that, I’m not the target audience and if they’re getting something out of it then I’m fine with that. I’ll stick to my happy middle class serious eats and bon appetit cooking videos.

tnorthcutt 6y ago
To me bogan culture was always about letting an object rip and basking in its glory Can you interpret this, for someone who is not familiar with Australian culture?

pasabagi 6y ago

For whatever reason, my brother decided to adopt a really working class accent when he was about 17 - and at the time, I thought it was ridiculous. After fifteen years, I can see that it's not really just a silly affectation. It's actually him engaging with the culture he likes, and the people he likes, being who he wants to be. I don't really see anything wrong with that.

ajxs 6y ago
That's a very interesting interpretation of the situation, and I'll credit it. However I can't help but feel that purposefully affecting an accent like this is inauthentic, and untrue to your real self. I can see your counter-argument that, for your brother, this act is bringing him closer to his ideal self.
- pasabagi 6y ago
  I also think authenticity is a strange bird at the best of times. Humans are basically defined by their inauthenticity. In the bible, the moment humans attain knowledge is also the moment they attain the art of lying, of concealing, of feeling shame for what they are and presenting something different. It's a deep part of how we see ourselves - that we represent things, ourselves included, to persuade, to play, to organize our thoughts. There's something funny going on with our use of the word - we call some people and cultures authentic, while others are called insincere and affected - and I don't think it's strictly related to how performative a given culture is. Somebody could be authentically Italian, and that could literally mean they perform their life at a very high tempo.

barbs 6y ago

Australian here, too. That's a pretty uncharitable and baseless generalisation. His accent is pretty consistent over his videos and in radio interviews [0], and he strikes me as being a pretty genuine, funny person. Of course, he's performing a bit in his videos to entertain, but it's pretty authentic. Hardly trying to be trendy. > In the last few years it's become trendy for washed-up alternative Australian youth to remodel themselves after the kids who bullied them in high-school once they hit their 30s. Where are you getting this from? I don't think I've ever seen this. Struthless is a pretty poor example - his content is typically satirical parodies of social trends[1], but rarely does anything "bogan"-related appear in any of his content. [0] https://soundcloud.com/thebiganxiety/interview-with-nats-what-i-reckon-for-the-big-anxiety https://soundcloud.com/thebiganxiety/interview-with-nats-wha... [1] https://www.instagram.com/struthless69/ https://www.instagram.com/struthless69/