I once saw a video of a speech by the late journalist Christopher Hitchens about the virtue of having the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theatre. It’s beyond me to attempt to condense his entire presentation here, but the focus was on censorship and its effects.
He put forward questions, “Who is it out there that you would deem worthy to dictate to you on what you can and cannot say?” and “What you can and cannot experience for fear of being offended or giving offence?”.
The highly controversial movie ‘Ken Park’ was released in 2002, directed by the provocative filmmaker, Larry Clark. Like his earlier work, the eye opening 1995 film ‘Kids’, ‘Ken Park’ explored the lives and relationships of a group of teenagers. Both violent and heavily sexual in its subject matter, ‘Ken Park’ portrayed extremely graphic depictions of teenagers engaging in various sex acts alone and with each other. The amateur performers, while all over the age of 18, still looked young enough for the film to feel authentic and uncomfortable for many viewers.
So, Australia did what it does best when folk are challenged by a work of fiction… Following complaints from religious and political figures, the film was banned, limiting its release nationwide. This also applied to film festivals where usually such concerns are overlooked.
Yet in protest, various screenings popped up, such as the one attended by film critic Margaret Pomeranz, an abject supporter of the film. What followed was an embarrassing historical showdown with local police, whose job it was to protect us from seeing boobies and willies.
A bizarre moment in Australian film history to be sure, and one anybody over the age of 35 who calls themselves a film fan likely remembers. For their new show Refused Classification, comedians and film lovers Zachary Ruane and Alexei Toliopoulos take the audience down memory lane, in an informative, energetic and hilarious comedic look at the history of censorship in Australia.
Opening with Zachary and Alexei lampooning as David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz with dodgy wigs and dodgier impersonations, the laughs come at us fast. While looking nothing at all like the hosts of ABC’s ‘The Movie Show’, Refused Classification is adherence to verbatim re-enactments and the two comics’ mannerisms make the illusion oddly complete!
But this is only one element of Refused Classification, as like film loving American film director Michael Moore, Zachary and Alexei explain to us with much vigour and comedic excellence just how a mess like that ‘Ken Park’ screening came to be. The parties involved, the laws which were challenged, the sordid history of Australia’s love with censoring and fucking up an artist’s vision because some Karen got offended.
I already knew much of the story behind Refused Classification, and yet, it was still relayed to me in such an exciting and enthusiastic way. Zachary and Alexei figuratively bounce off each other and literally bounce off the walls to make an otherwise bland history lesson fascinating. But also, they taught me a heap of things about Australian cinema history which had completely eluded me all these years!
Many Aussie film fans have their own stories of how they experienced ‘Ken Park’. Whether they attended an underground screening, bought it from a boutique DVD store, downloaded it themselves or simply found it in a Cash Converters because realistically, nobody actually cares about the graphic content of the movie. This story is one of overreach and control by those who wish to tell adults, “You can’t watch that because ‘I’ say so”.
So, you can tell why Zachary and Alexei and so many other Australians would still feel so strongly about this story, years later. I don’t 100% agree with some of the conclusions that they form (and I’m not sure if Margaret Pomeranz even would), but this is where their passion is fuelled from. Over 20 years later, these two guys can make a doco-comedic-reenactment about such a niche subject and still have the audience eating out of the palm of their hands!
Refused Classification is funny and incredibly thought-provoking work from two blokes who clearly admire Pomeranz for her gall. ‘Ken Park’ may not be a brilliant movie or even Larry Clark’s best work, but it continues something which started 20 years ago: to ignite a discussion about what is and isn’t appropriate for audiences to experience, and whether anyone has the right to make that decision for the rest of us.
Refused Classification is currently playing at ACMI‘s Gandel Lab as part of the 2025 Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 20th.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/zach-ruane-and-alexei-toliopoulos-refused-classification
Photography supplied.