John Safran's Race Relations
John Safran, the enfant-terrible of Australian television leapt onto our screens several years ago in the ABC's Race Around The World programme, where his irreverent take on subject matter appealed to audiences and solidified his reputation as a larrakin filmmaker of sorts.
There has always been a certain level of egocentrism in his work, and if anything, this has intensified with age.
In his latest series, Safran ponders his attraction to Asian women, then embarks on a voyage of self and cultural discovery.
Along the way, he goes "undercover" (somewhat unconvincingly, it turns out), as a black man, smooches a couple of his ex-girlfriends' mothers, and engages in a voodoo ceremony of sorts, during which he imbibes a consciousness-altering substance. It's all good fun.
However, in one episode, where Safran is dressed as a woman, and drinking with a man in a bar in Asia, he lets his guard down a little, and in his drunken state, says some things that are quite …well, sad.
Safran is certainly entertaining, and his self-exploratory schtick seems to be working well for him. This is a very good series. Not just for its entertainment value, but for the insight it offer, perhaps unintentionally, into his psyche. It left this viewer wondering how long his quasi-adolescent schtick can sustain a career. But on a more personal level, it made me feel somewhat sorry for him. Behind the incorrigible exterior, is a man ridden with self-doubt, afraid - but at risk - of ending up quite alone.