KATH AND KIM SPEECH

Good morning Standards Committee of the Australian Government Office of Film and Television Standards and Classifications. I’m Natalie Tierney, a research assistant for the Australian Government Office of Film and Television Standards and Classifications. Today we are assembled for a periodic review of programs. I would like us to first focus our attention on the enormously popular Kath and Kim which is currently airing on ABC. The components of Kath and Kim that will be explored will be the subject matter, setting, socio-cultural context, the range of humour and the effect of cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and ideologies embedded in the sitcom. After the analysis of the various merits of Kath and Kim, it will be concluded that Kath and Kim is suitable for Australian audiences and I will urge you to consider the continuation of Kath and Kim in a suitable time-slot in order to target the correct audience.

The first components that I wish to explore are subject matter, setting and socio-cultural context. The basic plot of Kath and Kim focuses on the affairs of their world which revolves around the suburban home, local suburban area and local shopping complex. This setting is easy for an Australian audience to relate to and therefore the situation has increased realism. The socio-cultural context is also easy for the audience to relate to as it is current Australian middle-class society.

The affairs of Kath and Kim’s world are usually social or relationship issues and sometimes personal issues. If we take a look at the first four episodes of Series One, the more specific issues dealt with are: sex (relationship), homosexual relationships (relationship/social), body image (social/personal) and sport (social). Kath and Kim present issues that the audience can comprehend as they reinforce or challenge values and attitudes already held by the Australian viewers.

The majority of issues that are presented in Kath and Kim are...