NZ On Screen Unleashes A New Comedy Collection

Can comedy be a bit shit and really quite good, all at the same time? Academic Nicholas Holm thinks so. Holm curates a new collection for NZ On Screen, which includes more than 30 titles that celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s distinctive comedic style.

From television shows and blockbuster films to Snapchat content, the collection takes a historical look at Kiwi comedy content that rejects any sense of sophistication, revels in self-deprecating humour and takes the piss out of the every day.

Holm expands on his reasoning in the backgrounder for the collection; “When attempting to define a national sense of humour, New Zealand commentators have historically tended to gesture towards concepts like deadpan, laconisicm, or, perhaps, cheekiness. Others seem keen to hang their hat on “irreverence towards authority” or perhaps a bolder claim towards subversion (whatever that might mean). Attractive as these suggestions might sound, the problem with such qualities is that almost everyone else thinks they’re what makes them special too.

I’d offer that there’s at least one overlooked aspect of our local comedy that might actually set it apart: it tends to be a bit shit ... By this, I don’t mean to say that New Zealanders are bad at comedy — but rather that some of our most successful humour consciously and lovingly flirts with it’s own failure. Indeed, some of our best and most distinctive comedy actively embraces shitness: rough edges, questionable content and disarmingly odd behaviour.”

The collection includes plenty of screen examples to highlight Holm’s point of view. The ability to lean into, and revel, in the lack of production budget underpins John Clarke’s Dagg Day Afternoon, Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste and Brain Dead, and television shows Back of the Y Masterpiece Theatre and Moon TV. Off-colour remarks fuelled Havoc and Newsboy’s travels through a variety of shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s — you’ll find a selection of titles that feature both hosts in the collection.

International success stories Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) and Taika Waititi have made huge careers of getting it wrong in all the right ways. Eagle vs Shark, What We Do in the Shadows and Wellington Paranormal feature, as does Waititi in spectacular local comedy flop Radiradirah.

Digital media is another mine where “shit” comedy can be turned to gold. Snapchat Dude Tom Sainsbury delivers a cast of characters including Gingerbread the cat and ex-National MP Paula Bennett. Online comedy team Viva La Dirt League (currently sitting at over 4.1M subscribers on YouTube) provide gaming-based laughs, while there’s an important message behind the madness in web-series The Eggplant.

But that’s not all! There’s plenty more content to view in the collection, including screen moments from The Project, 7 Days, Eating Media Lunch, A Night at the Classic and more.

Take a dive into the collection on NZ On Screen now.
 

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