Perhaps one of ABC’s cheekiest web series yet will be launched on iView next week. In a time of Abbotts and Turnbulls squabbling for that prized coffee mug that says World’s Best Prime Minister and in most circumstances failing, and a time of turmoil and unrest all over the globe a show like DAFUQ? can either be 100% accurate or a disaster. This tongue in cheek poke at the ever-growing trend of citizen journalism, and sometimes just plain lazy journalism, couldn’t be better timed for a launch.
DAFUQ? is a Vice-like gonzo journalism mockumentary following three intrepid travellers also known as four nerve-grating hipsters. There’s Pandora (probably not her name on her birth certificate) played by Amberly Cull as well as Lee D and Rift (also not real names) played by Matt Lovkis and Henry Inglis respectively. Lovkis and Inglis are the brain-fund behind this project as well.
The question is what’s more dangerous, poking fun at a considerably turbulent topic or the fact that their mockery is eerily accurate. There are countless arguments preaching that the hipster is officially dead. Perhaps they have all become part of a trend normcore, or perhaps they’ve just adapted and blended once more. Pandora flying as Icarus might too close to the Twitter sun or her rivalry with another generic journalism student will keep you smirking through to the end of the season. Whereas Rift’s struggling relationship with his Dad will either seem hilarious or revolting.
This show darts between the lines of feeling terrifyingly real, and clearly forced. Lee D as a character is so dumb, and so heinously ignorant that he can’t possibly be real and yet Pandora’s catch phrases and wardrobe choices can be seen and heard on the streets of Melbourne or Brisbane or anywhere in Australia on any given day. Her murderous intent to gain Internet fame is possibly the most entertaining development of the series. Then Rift’s dismal aussie hip-hop career in the funniest way possible, well, let’s not hurt anyone’s feelings here.
The show occasionally bleeds into its other programs as well, making the mockumentary even more accurately hilarious. If you’re willing to laugh at your own generation you’ll find yourself grinning along with DAFUQ? And if you find yourself asking exactly that word, then perhaps DAFUQ? has already taught you who they’re really addressing that question to.
SCORE: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
DAFUQ? debuts on ABC’s iView on the 15th of February.
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