Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Australian actor Mary Coustas, in the character of Effie Stephanides, entering a radio studio in Papua New Guinea with John Honari. As a prelude to interviewing her, Honari reads out a flattering introductory speech about Effie that she has written and given to him. She mouths the words while he reads it. He then asks her about her religion. Effie asks him about the influence of missionaries in PNG. Honari’s answer is accompanied by shots of young Indigenous people engaged in Christian worship.

Educational value points

• Effie, a character created and played by Mary Coustas, demonstrates how humour can transform a stereotype into a cultural icon, as seen in the way she describes what it means to be Greek Orthodox in this clip. Effie Stephanides is a second-generation Greek-Australian, a Broadmeadows-born hairdresser whose feisty superficiality, broad accent and obsession with her appearance has endeared her to Australians. Although she satirises characteristics of some young Greek-Australian women, her good-humoured portrayal has won her many fans from both Greek and non-Greek backgrounds.

• The clip touches on the changes in the lives of the Indigenous peoples of PNG brought about by European missionaries. From the late 19th century churches sought to introduce Christianity to one of the world’s least explored countries, where diverse and complex Indigenous peoples practised ancestor worship and animism. According to the 2000 census, 96 per cent of PNG’s 5.1 million population declared that they were members of a Christian church.

• The early missionaries mentioned in the clip operated in a colonial environment in which the superiority of the invading culture was not questioned, nor the costs of Indigenous peoples relinquishing their own cultures. Yet, as Honari notes, missionaries continue to command respect and the arrival of Christianity meant not only religious changes, but the provision of a range of related services in health and education.

• This clip uses a fictional character as a presenter who combines informative reporting with comedy. This docu-comedic approach creates tension between the traditional interview focus on the subject of the interview and the intention of the fictional character to generate humour. Australian actor Garry MacDonald championed this genre in Australia in the 1970s through his character, Norman Gunston. This comedic genre pre-dates the successful performances of artists such as Sacha Baron Cohen, whose Ali G and Borat characters expose the assumptions and prejudices of their unwitting interview subjects.

• Effie demonstrates how a fictional character can evolve and shift across performance genres. She appears here as an Australian presenter, an interviewer seeking cultural understanding, but the character originally appeared in the satirical stage show, Wogs out of Work. After working on the television series Acropolis Now, she starred in her own one-woman stage show, Waiting for Effie. Effie is sought after on the conference circuit, further blurring the line between life and art.

• Effie’s role in this clip as a cultural ambassador for Australia illustrates a shift in the popular perception of immigrants to Australia. Southern European migrants in the 1950s experienced racial prejudice from Anglo-Australians and were derided as 'wogs’. Yet by the time the second generation of Greek and Italian Australians grew to adulthood, their perceived peculiarities were widely accepted and Asian immigrants had become the apparent new threat to the status quo.

• Mary Coustas (1964–) is a popular and versatile Melbourne actor, comedian and writer. With many stage and screen credits, her career has included the Logie Award-winning role of Effie in the stage production Wogs out of Work and the 1980s Channel Seven television series Acropolis Now. Coustas has also appeared in various roles in dramas including Water Rats, Wildside and The Secret Life of Us.

Lower third graphic reads, Big Hair Woman. Day 4. The sign on the wall of the building reads, National Broadcasting Commission.

Effie (as narrator) Shannah gave me the name of another relo, John, who worked in radio. I thought I’d do him a favour by giving him an interview. After all, he was a wantok. Jeez, sometimes I am just too nice, you know?

Effie and John walk down an office corridor and enter a recording studio. They sit down at a table together. There are studio equipment and lights in the background.

John Honani Our program is basically looking at bringing people from all parts of life.

Effie Ah, John, I’ve pre-prepared a little intro speech there, if you’d like to read that.

John Ah, have you?

Effie To introduce yourself.

John reads out the introduction. Effie mouths the words as he speaks.

John Oh, this is lovely. ‘Sometimes in life, miracles happen. And today one is happening in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s biggest and most loved and respected megastar is here today and, yes, she’s even more beautiful in real life than most of us think of.’ Welcome to Papua New Guinea, Effie.

Effie Thank you, John.

John Can I just ask you about your religion?

Effie My religion is actually Greek Orthodox. Basically, we believe in the same things that most Christians believe in – you don’t do wrong by anyone, you try not to give anyone a bad haircut, try not to rip anyone off, try not to borrow things – skin products, things like that – that aren’t yours. Basically, do unto others how you want to be done unto yourself. Yeah, you’ve had a lot of missionaries in here?

John Yes.

Effie What influence have they had?

Scenes of people, mainly women and children, attending a church service.

John Effie, very much. Missionaries have brought development, brought civilisation, to Papua New Guinea so missionaries have a big part to play. People of Papua New Guinea respect the missionaries more than, probably, a businessman or a politician.