title: Reconciliation Rescue: An Original Blak Comedy Series and Aboriginal Cultural Perspectives on Humour
Creators: name: Hurley, Angelina R
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Aboriginal humour
subject: comedy series
subject: television
subject: Australia

description: Reconciliation Rescue: An Original Blak Comedy Series and Aboriginal Cultural Perspectives on Humour is a doctoral thesis project exploring the significances and roles of First Nations comedy and humour within Australian culture. The project has two main components: scripts for an Aboriginal television comedy series titled Reconciliation Rescue; and exegesis chapters that contextualise the comedic work. Reconciliation Rescue episodes satirically address processes of 'reconciliation' from Aboriginal community perspectives, centred around protagonist Yalilla as she reconnects with family and First Nations culture after living abroad. The exegesis chapters delve into the broader implications of Aboriginal comedy, examining its role in Aboriginal survival, identity expression, resistance to colonisation, and healing. It diagnoses how Aboriginal voices and perspectives challenge colonial paradigms through humour. The thesis pursues two primary objectives: first, to explore how humour and comedy address everyday issues affecting Aboriginal communities; and second, to examine potential impacts of First Nations humour on wider Australian cultures and identities. In the Reconciliation Rescue episodes, Yalilla and other First Nations characters expose misunderstandings, represent truths, and take on the hard challenge of reconciling differences, in which comedic storying plays key roles, highlighting the power of comedy in facilitating conversations and breaking down social-structural barriers. Given the limited academic literature on First Nations humour, my thesis fills a significant scholarship gap, from Aboriginal perspectives. I explore historical foundations and evolutions of Aboriginal humour, within contexts of family and community, and in interactions with non-Indigenous social spaces. I delve into humorous influences that have shaped my life, and my career path as a writer. Drawing from oral storytelling traditions passed down through generations, I exemplify how humour historically intertwines with First Nations familial/community life worlds, as historical means of coping, empowering, and truth-telling amidst adversities. I further investigate broader landscapes of Aboriginal humour, exploring its roles in combating stereotypes and reaching wider audiences, drawing on international influences while maintaining focus on First Nation 'Australian' experiences and perspectives. Through this exploration, my study sheds light on the richness and diversity of First Nations humour, highlighting its significance as a tool for cultural expression, resilience, and reconciliation. As the creative component of the project, the TV series Reconciliation Rescue, particularly through Yalilla's Aboriginal woman's perspective, embeds themes of cultural identity; family/community capacities for survival and wellbeing through centuries of colonising history; community powers to navigate and challenge continuing institutional legacies of colonialism in contemporary Australia; and pursuit of socially-just reconciliation. In all of this, First Nations people, and their humour, deserve significant roles, as illustrated in how characters in my creative scripts challenge stereotypes and foster authentic understanding. Ultimately, this thesis underscores the key roles of First Nations history, humour, and sovereignty in addressing complex issues, building First Nations resilience to rescue a socially-just reconciliation, across diversities, from the false promises and gaps in mainstream (or, Whitestream) norms and processes.