Satirical mediation : stigma, social satire and the representation of public housing tenants and estates in Housos

This paper explores representations of territorial stigmatisation as presented through the medium of television. The Australian comedy series Housos, which aired on a free-to-air television station in 2011, provides an account of the lives of residents on an imaginary public housing estate. The series presents a satirical parody about the day-to-day life on the estate that drew on a range of stereotypes of public housing tenants. These include but are not limited to feckless individuals eschewing work and living on welfare benefits, partaking of substance abuse, committing crimes and causing general disorder. The representations of tenants in Housos were explored and analysed through a resident-led research project conducted over the 9-week first season of the show. The research involved public housing tenants, community workers and members of the public in two Australian states responding to research questions in a creative medium of their choice, such as video diary recordings. Our analysis, which is situated at the convergence of 'traditional' and 'new' media, explores how these different media forms might contribute to the stigmatisation of estates and tenants, but also the ways in which stereotyped and exaggerated media representations of public tenants are received and mediated by public tenants and others.