Thursday, October 06, 2005

It Certainly Seemed Like Multiple Mad Jacks Bradshaw To Me

Speaking of goths, just saw the Nick Cave-penned Oz-western The Proposition. It's fine stuff - soulful Irish hero, venal, genocidal English villains, and all - the kind of film where you're surprised to learn, watching the credits roll, that there was only one character named "Mad Jack Bradshaw". It also does its bit to further raise the profile of the funny-looking and suddenly-ubiquitous Danny Huston, which I think is a good thing.

Curiously, there was a warning before the film that it might be offensive to viewers of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage. I'm not sure if this is something done regularly in Australia, or if I'm missing some serious point, but to display a warning aimed specifically at the delicate sensibilities of one section of the audience seems like a bit of a cruel spoof of PC. (On the other hand, in the cruel-spoof-of-PC stakes, I don't think there are any restrictions on the display of imagery associated with pigs over here.)