At the risk of inciting the wrath and hatred of conservatives left, right and centre, I’m going to give that downright wanker Andrew Bolt a good kicking and defend Californication. About a month ago, the Boltster wrote a snide and deriding criticism of the show which is now up to around its 5th or 6th episode on Channel 10 in Australia.
To be fair, Bolt was correct in his statement that the show was marketed essentially for its sexual content and the unrivalled amount of nudity that is shown in what is dangerously close to prime-time at 9:30pm. And he was right in suggesting that if you don’t like it, turn it off. But this piece is far from an impartial analysis ‘upon first view’ that most reviewers make. This is where Bolt’s fair criticism comes to a grinding halt.
Bolt calls the show ‘pornographic’, and those responsible for allowing its broadcast in Australia ‘pornographers’. Yes, there is an incredible amount of sexual activity in the show, gratuitous nudity also. But there is also a very deep story, which I’ll get to later. Californication is not pornographic. It is what it is categorised as – a comedy-drama. A sex-filled comedy-drama romp perhaps, but that nevertheless; the show is not ‘mainly concerned with sex’.
Bolt also compares the opening dream sequence of the first episode to the Mohammed cartoons, in terms of its controversiality; he also labels the nun’s habit and the crucifix ‘props’ to propel the sexual downward spiral, something that’s clearly against all healthy morality. Apparently. For those not familiar with the show, the series opens with the main character, Hank Moody, receiving oral sex from a nun in a church. This ends up being a dream; a fantasy. And one that, I’m sure, a quick Google search will reveal Hank is most definitely not alone in enjoying. To say that the nun’s habit and the crucifix has been desecrated is to be incredibly naive. Religious icons and symbols are used everyday to further cultural and political agendas. Why not be used to further a plot? One that is essentially harmless to the basic tenets of all Christian faiths? The character of Hank is an atheist, who has in fact written a book titled “God Hates Us All”. The opening scene doesn’t just further the plot – it sums it up in a few short seconds.
To his credit, Bolt sums up his own argument, however naive and overreaching, very eloquently…
Californication is instead an attack on one specific kind of morality – and specifically on the values, teaching and imagery of the Christian faith that largely founded Western societies such as ours, and preached rules to help us to behave less heartlessly to each other.
I disagree. I say that Californication is an attack on a different kind of morality – Bolt’s. The kind of morality that prohibits freedom of expression in the name of ultra-restrictive political correctness. The kind of moral morass in which sex is still taboo. The kind where porn should be kept down the back corner of video stores and newsagents and DVD sellers so those buying it can be separated from the ‘normal’ folk. The kind where creativity that’s not considered in a classical vein, where arthouse films, where smutty novels, where action-packed page-turners, where ripper yarns such as The Da Vinci Code are considered dangerous and malevolent.
Bolt makes a huge mistake in his article, and blames Channel 10 executives for allowing the travesty of Californication to perpetuate in Australia. I say take it up with the makers of the show themselves. They are the ones trying to express a heartfelt story in a hugely entertaining way. The show is about a man who has lost everything he holds dear – and is barely managing to keep his life on the straight and narrow. He dabbles in drugs and has a number of somewhat interesting sexual encounters, but they all have an effect on how his character evolves, and a lot of them are very funny, and deliberately portrayed thus, in order to accentuate how, well, fucked-up, Hank Moody’s life has become.
If Bolt really took the time to wade through all the breasts and god-forsaken nekkidness that comprises a lot of the show, he’d uncover a story of a broken man who is still in love with his wife and who truly cares for his daughter. Potty-mouthed and sex-crazed he may be, he’s just trying to keep his head above water. Which can be said for a lot of people, myself included.
So keep your filthy conservative hands off truly creative, expressionist work, Andrew. Take your own advice: turn the bloody thing off and shut the bloody hell up.
Until next time…
