"Learning Australians is not easy." So begins a new comedy webseries from director Tony Rogers (Wilfred) and writer Rob Hibbert (Images You Should Not Masturbate To) in which aspiring Indian migrants get classroom lessons on words like "arsewipe" and "Jimmy Grants".
It's not a new idea. In 1957, John O'Grady's They're A Weird Mob exposed how a mid-century working class Australia seemed to a (fictional) Italian migrant.
But the idea could not be more relevant. From Tony Abbott's "Team Australia" to Clive Palmer's views on Chinese people, from abusive rants on public transport, banning of native headresses at music festivals and the ongoing concerns about asylum seekers, race is well and truly in the national dialogue.
The videos do not shirk away from this dark underbelly. "A recent survey reveals that 30 percent of Australians are casual racists,” says one teacher pointing at a chart. “Which means 70 percent are full time."
Yet another highlight is a swearing cocky called Chopper, the use of rhyming slang, impersonations of Pauline Hanson and a re-enactment of a Ned Kelly hold-up.
Though the series is made by Rogers and Hibbert, Indian actors fill the screens of the webseries. How to Talk Australians stars Vishal Kotak, Jeffrey Dsouza, Chum Ehelepola, Robert Santiago, Vikrant Narain, Sybil Quadros, Ananth Gopal and Kamla Chandar.
Six episodes of the eight part series have been aired so far.
