Australian Speculative Fiction
What is it about Australian Speculative fiction that makes it Australian? I mean, other than being written by an Australian, what is really unique about the Australian Spec Fic scene?
And why would it, or would it not, appeal to an international audience?
And why would it, or would it not, appeal to an international audience?
I still find it hard to conceptualise Farscape as Aussie SF
Me too. Actually I'm with what Lani Tupu said on one of the dvd commentaries - he disagreed with I-can't-now-remember-who-but-they-were-American that FS was Australian sf, and said that it was *hybrid* sf. I'd actually been wailing and gnashing my teeth over the "it's so Australian" claims, and was very glad to hear that from another Antipodean.
To an American the somewhat-Australianness stands out, and they're blind to the American-ness. Whereas *I* saw a lot of American-ness still in it.
The Australian-ness of FS, I think, is in the humour. It's particularly irreverent, and (infamously) liberal with the gross-out use of body fluids. (GJ, how ever did you manage to watch it?) There's also more unconventionality and daring in some of the plots and situations. I wouldn't claim that Americans *couldn't* make such off-the-wall tv, but I'm not surprised that it was a show with a heavy Australian writing/directing influence that did.
Canadian tv also seems a bit different to US, generally. Of course, there's also the factor that we're often comparing quite indie Australian and Canadian tv to mainstream US stuff, so there's a couple of factors operating. Anyway, *of course* it was the Canadians and Germans who got together and made Lexx, which is as off-the-wall as Farscape, but has less humour. At least, the humour it *has* is less subtle. Did I just call FS subtle? Well, ok, the over-the-top aspects are obviously more noticeable, but there's a subtle *all-pervasive* humour as well, which I think is particularly Australian. And Canada produced Witchblade, which is again more unconventional than most US stuff, and due South - again unconventional, but which does have a lot of quirky humour. It still strikes me as a little different from the Australian sort of humour, though, but I couldn't pin down why.
As for written Australian sf, I really don't read enough to be able to say if or how it's different. It wouldn't surprise me if it tends to go in unusual directions (again, may not be possible to separate Aus culture specifically from the fact of being a small community/market). And there might be dry understatement that others (esp in the US) might not quite *get* like we do.
I always appreciate Greg Egan (for example) using Australian settings
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Risky :)
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