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As a Queenslander now living in the UK, seeing Bluey for the first time filled me with homesickness in a way that no other media has. Despite the huge media in
by rmccue 1y ago
As a Queenslander now living in the UK, seeing Bluey for the first time filled me with homesickness in a way that no other media has.
Despite the huge media industry in SEQ, it's so rare to see it actually represented as itself (rather than dressed up as Manhattan, eg). I also remember growing up and feeling that there was never really any media I could relate to; everything "Australian" is set in Sydney, Melbourne, or some non-descript outback setting. There was always a feeling of being second best - always America in the news, not Australia; always NSW or Victoria for settings, not Queensland; always Sydney or Melbourne, not Brisbane.
The first time I watched Bluey, immediately I could see not just vague Australianisms, but actual places and sights I recognised. From small details like the bus stop signs to scenes which I can pinpoint exactly in Brisbane. Combine that with stories which I don't just identify with, but which I feel I can remember viscerally.
- afavour 1y agoAs a Brit living in the US, I'm jealous. My comparative experience was seeing Peppa Pig for the first time. And it's crap.
- the_af 1y agoI'd argue Peppa Pig is not crap, it's quite funny and surprisingly watchable by grownups. Not something I'd watch by myself, but I didn't get bored when I watched it with my daughter. Of course, the art style is no good, intentionally so, I suppose for budget reasons. I'd argue Bluey is "a better Peppa": similar kind of humor (slightly more elaborate, but not by a lot) but with great artwork.
- tialaramex 1y agoPeppa hanging up on Suzy because she has just been able to whistle following basic instructions while Peppa has been frustrated to discover she can't do it is stuck in my head.
- afavour 1y agoI think part of the problem is definitely that Bluey exists. It's a "Better Peppa" and when watching Peppa I can't help but compare them. Given I'm a Dad myself I find the difference in the Dad characters to be illuminating: Daddy Pig is a klutzy idiot who, more often than not, makes mistakes other have to fix. By comparison Bandit is an incredible parent (maybe too incredible at times, so says my ego)
- Tade0 1y agoAmong my friends who are also fathers we're in agreement that Daddy Pig is in for an episode titled "Shared Custody". Meanwhile Bandit talks and acts like a real person would - well, at least one with top-tier parenting skills.
- varjag 1y agoUnlike Bandit, Daddy Pig didn't have to fight in War on Terror so he doesn't have to compensate.
- _carbyau_ 1y agoThere have been articles written - including words from the writer of the show - that mention the issue of Bandit's impossible dad standards. So yeah, don't take Bandit as the benchmark for being decent, but as something to aspire to. I figure that in a world where good role models are lacking for men in so many ways, here's a good one.
- dgfitz 1y agoPeppa pig is crap. Full stop.
- paradox460 1y agoPeppa just feels like one more of those random grab bag of terrible kids shows. There's no comfort like bluey has, no quiet episodes. It's just noise for the children, with rather dumb, flat characters My kids will watch it, if someone like Grandma or the neighbor put it on, but their attention wanders. Bluey? They stay locked on for the entire duration of the episode
- Grazester 1y agoHow old are your kid? I would argue Bluey is for an older audience. A 3 year old can never fully appreciate Bandit.
- paradox460 1y ago2 and 3. They love Bingo and Bluey but are indifferent to Bandit and Chili
- pixl97 1y agoHey wait, without the original Peppa Pig, we'd have never got the MeatCanyon version of it.
- pests 1y agoOddly just watched my first meatcanyon video today on pirate software and now seeing it mentioned again.
- AlexeyBelov 1y ago"Full stop"? You didn't even explain why. If anything, it's a comma, not a full stop.
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- glenngillen 1y agoThat might not entirely be an accident, given Joe Brumm was originally an animator that worked on Peppa Pig and decided he wanted to do an Australian version of it when he moved back home.
- josephg 1y agoThere are plenty of great TV shows and movies set in London at least. Its weird - I know about little american towns like Boulder, Colorado. I've never been there. But I know what it looks like because its featured - or at least mentioned - in plenty of movies and shows. But the population of Boulder is just 100k. Australia has lots of way bigger cities - like Brisbane, Queensland (population 2.8 million) or Perth, WA (2.4 million) that are never depicted on screen. Even on Australian TV, I basically never see brissie or perth shown at all. I only know what they look like because I've visited. But maybe that's normal in the english speaking world - at least outside the US. We've gotta raise our game and make more good content.
- bombcar 1y agoPart of the problem is selling into America - as an American, I can recognize London (smog and Sherlock Holmes!), Paris (Eiffel Tower), Sydney (Seashell Opera House), and New Zealand (Middle Earth). I can't recognize Brisbane (and visiting it would feel like visiting Bluey). Producers are SCARED of using unrecognizable areas (and/or for live-action, just film near where everyone is located). If it makes you feel better, the USA has tons of large cities - far north of 100k, north of 1 million (especially if considering urban areas), that rarely or ever get featured in TV or movies; and if they do, it's often older ones. Which is sad, mind you. Every city should have its own feel (too many places now feel like suburbs of Los Angeles, even in Europe or Asia), its own beer, its own food, its own media and music.
- 2muchcoffeeman 1y agoI don’t think it’s just unrecognisable places, it’s non American culture. Australia has made a bunch of really good shows. But it’s often quite Australian. I think it’s hard to break through on a meaningful level.
- samplatt 1y ago>I can't recognize Brisbane Eh, lumping the gold-coast in with Brisbane is easy enough. Tanned bodies, barrel waves, way more tourists than you expect... it's basically California except it faces east, not west.
- omnicognate 1y agoPeppa Pig doesn't attempt to portray a particular place afaik. Axel Scheffler's books often have visual references to Blackheath/Greenwich, with particular places often recognisable. Perhaps you think those are crap too, though.
- afavour 1y agoOh, I know. But Peppa is resoundingly British even if it's not deliberately channeled. It still makes me think of home.
- peterstjohn 1y agoTry Hey Duggee - it's not as explicitly British-coded, but there's a ton of stuff in there if you were watching Spaced in your late teens and now find yourself a parent…
- skrebbel 1y agoSeconded, Hey Duggee is a fantastic show. In a way it's the anti-Bluey - same delightful vibes, just as playfully animated, but intentionally ridiculous (and, to me, hilarious) stories.
- xattt 1y agoWere you longing for all locations being on hills, or endless roadwork done by Mr. Bull?
- nelox 1y agoWhen visiting Los Angeles a few weeks ago from Sydney, it was wonderful to see relos’ kids watching Bluey on Disney Plus, in top spot too. Everyone loves it. Heartwarming.
- polotics 1y agoWell well I think you owe the world, as well as some daughters, to go through your memory of place and fish out street-view references for scenes... Please! :-)
- rmccue 1y agoI'm afraid I don't have the specific episodes burned into my brain well enough to remember the names of them all. :) That said, one that's burned into my brain is when they're walking along the South Bank riverside; the episode is apparently called "Ice Cream". The shot at ~0:48 in this video: https://youtu.be/cBti7aQBMk4?si=o3sWwfKJwQ-VEa8e&t=48 https://youtu.be/cBti7aQBMk4?si=o3sWwfKJwQ-VEa8e&t=48 Is approximately from here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y1UmtCK5si8drVaD7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y1UmtCK5si8drVaD7 - It's not exactly the same as the show, but that's more a limitation of Google Maps; I bet you could recreate the shot. There's also usually an ice cream vendor just about there. :) The bridge in the background is Victoria Bridge, the clock on the right is the Suncorp building (I think now demolished), the weird multi-part building next to it is Brisbane Square Library (now also a Suncorp building), and the arched building to the right of that is the Treasury Building (formerly the casino). The rest of the shots in that episode are from various other parts in the parklands if you walk along it, including the lagoon beach, fountains, and walkway. The whole area (and the ibises) are an iconic part of Brisbane, as a legacy of Expo 88. Aside from that, I think quite a lot of the shots in the city take place in real places, whether recognisable places like Mt Coot-Tha or random shops in the suburbs.
- roganartu 1y agoI haven’t watched any scenes from Bluey before (though I have a newborn now so I suspect that will soon change), but I lived in southbank for a few years during uni, basically right beside the cultural center bus stop. I watched the clip and within a few seconds I knew exactly where in the parklands they were. Very cool, thanks for sharing. I had a similar feeling of under representation (for lack of a better term?) most of my life and while classic shows like Kath and Kim or either of the soaps show pretty quintessentially Aussie home interiors and outdoor areas, it still feels very Sydney/Melbourne. The other show recently I’d say gave us that Brisbane feel (and a bit of homesickness, we live in NYC atm) was Love on the Spectrum: Australia. One of the guys is a bus driver in Brisbane and we’d often pause it to try and figure out if we could recognise which route.
- nlawalker 1y agoI'm surprised I haven't seen a "visit Brisbane" (or at least "visit Australia") tourism campaign featuring Bluey anywhere. The show makes it look like an amazing place to visit and live.
- rmccue 1y agoThey definitely have been using it in tourism campaigns, especially with Bluey's World: https://teq.queensland.com/au/en/industry/what-we-do/marketing/blueys-world https://teq.queensland.com/au/en/industry/what-we-do/marketi... https://readytorumble.com.au/advertising/for-real-life https://readytorumble.com.au/advertising/for-real-life It really is an amazing place to live (although hot in the summer!), but career opportunities can be limiting in Australia and Brisbane. Catriona Drummond touches on the same in her substack [1] mentioned in the OP: > As I mentioned, before Bluey I’d resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted to achieve something resembling my ‘full potential’ on a technical level as an artist, I would have to not only probably move to the United States [...] > Even deeper than that, was the pervasive thought that perhaps for my whole life I was just never going to be in the right place at the right time. That being from somewhere like Brisbane just meant I was doomed. [1]: https://goodsniff.substack.com/p/creating-bluey-tales-from-the-art-04b https://goodsniff.substack.com/p/creating-bluey-tales-from-t...
- ghiculescu 1y agoIt is!
- Tade0 1y agoThe setting to me felt oddly specific, but I didn't realise it refers to a particular place and isn't just a collection of all things Australia.
- movedx 1y ago> As a Queenslander now living in the UK As a Brit now living in Queensland, thanks for swapping places with me. Appreciated. Cheers mate. Enjoy the rain and moaning.
- SlowTao 1y agoAs a life long Melbournian, I absolutely loved how intensely Brisbane Bluey is. I know from the outside many see oz as the unified thing but the differences between cities can be drastic. Even between Hobart and Launceston in Tassie is significant. It is like the works of Stuart McMillen (https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/ https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/), and how they depict Canberra in a way the locals can really appreciate.
- hamish-b 1y agoExtremely well said, as someone from the inner west suburbs I totally get it. Brisbane is having it's time in the sun, we deserve it!
- ghiculescu 1y agoBoy Swallows Universe felt pretty accurate (I grew up near Darra), but not in a good way!
- King-Aaron 1y agoIts the plants and trees that I love. Makes me feel homesick for the north when I see the Poinciana trees.
- anitil 1y agoI actually didn't realise how Brisbane it is until I stayed at southbank and wandered around the CBD a little bit. Even curlews were new to me, I couldn't believe it when I first saw one, I thought it was a statue.
- underwater 1y agoYou should watch Harrow, too. It’s a bit cliched as a police procedural, but they show a “TV version” of Brisbane: everyone lives in beautiful big Queenslanders, it’s sunny all the time, etc.
- girvo 1y agoI cannot agree with this enough :) I live right in Red Hill. Bluey is literally my home! This is my neighbourhood! This is the first time I've ever felt that... and its amusing to feel that as a person in my mid 30s from a childrens show. I love Brisbane so much, and this article captures the uniqueness so well.
- defrost 1y ago> it's so rare to see it actually represented as itself Peak Qld as Qld on film was very likely the moon party in He Died With A Felafel In His Hand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gug5ViK3KSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gug5ViK3KSw .. at least IMHO.
- lesuorac 1y agoDon't feel too bad. Whenever you see "America" in a tv/movie, it's actually Canada (Vancouver).
- rmccue 1y agoA bunch of them are literally filmed in Brisbane! Famously, it was used as NYC in Thor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMAzGeL4TW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMAzGeL4TW8