#704 - That's Not a Podcast...
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The hosts of Michael and Us dive into a cultural time capsule with a deep dive on the 1986 film *Crocodile Dundee*, unpacking its outsized legacy, reactionary politics, and the absurdity of its premise. What begins as a lighthearted look at a beloved Australian comedy quickly turns into a sharp critique of 1980s cultural nostalgia, American exceptionalism, and the commodification of identity. The episode reveals how the film, despite its lack of genuine comedy or depth, became a global phenomenon by embodying Reagan-era fantasies of rugged masculinity, anti-intellectualism, and the triumph of the 'man of the earth' over urban decadence. The hosts also expose the film’s embedded homophobia, transphobia, and colonialist undertones—particularly in its portrayal of Aboriginal Australians and its treatment of New York’s liberal elite. They contrast this with the real-life legacy of Paul Hogan, whose career was built on a carefully curated image, and reflect on how the film’s 2025 'woke' re-release—removing offensive scenes—only underscores how deeply its original content was rooted in a bygone, toxic era. The episode culminates in a biting satire of modern media cycles, with a mock pitch for a dystopian *Crocodile Dundee 34* where the hero returns to a post-collapse America, now a wasteland, to deliver a final, ironic verdict: 'This country fucking sucks, mate.
Crocodile Dundee's global success was fueled by Reagan-era nostalgia, not comedy—its humor is rooted in reinforcing reactionary stereotypes of masculinity, urban liberalism, and colonial superiority.
The film’s portrayal of Aboriginal Australians is deeply problematic, reducing them to caricatures of modernity (e.g., wearing Rolex watches) while reinforcing the myth of the 'noble savage' and the white frontier hero.
The 2025 'woke' re-release of Crocodile Dundee—removing homophobic and transphobic scenes—highlights how cultural artifacts are sanitized for modern audiences, but the original context remains essential to understanding their toxicity.
Paul Hogan co-wrote the screenplay and rewrote the entire script, claiming sole authorship—proving that the 'man of the earth' persona was as much a media construct as the film itself.
Stephen Marsh’s AI essay is a performative defense of AI that benefits only elite writers who can afford to outsource grunt work, while ignoring the real threat AI poses to working-class creatives.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
The Paul Hogan Biopic Trailer & Australian Cultural Identity
Will Sloan introduces a trailer for a made-for-TV biopic of Paul Hogan, using it as a springboard to explore how Australians perceive their national icon—and how that image might seem absurd or offensive to non-Australians, much like how Americans might react to a Don Cherry biopic.
Succulent Chinese Meal: Viral Fame in the Pre-Internet Era
“35 years ago when Jack Carlson was hauled into a police car outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland, he couldn't have known his bombastic speech would be watched by millions around the world become a meme and now be preserved in Australia's national film and sound archive.”
Stephen Marsh: The Canadian Writer Who Hates His Own Work
“He's not the only one who does that, but I have long had a pet peeve, I suppose, as a Canadian who sometimes writes about and comments on Canada for non-Canadian audiences. I have a longstanding pet peeve for the kind of writer who thrives on kind of flattering the idealized image of Canada that a certain kind of American liberal holds by just telling them...”
AI and the Death of the Middle-Class Writer
The hosts debate the real-world impact of AI on creative labor, arguing that while AI may assist elite writers, it threatens the livelihoods of graphic designers, copywriters, and other mid-tier creatives whose work is now easily automated.
Crocodile Dundee: A Cultural Time Capsule of 1980s Reactionary Comedy
“This is fundamentally a Reagan-era movie in which our brooding laconic protagonist brings the rugged individualist masculinity of the frontier to the cosmopolitan metropole and brings a little bit of truth back into modernity as it should be.”
“Imagine crocodile 34 he's got like a fucking mcmansion in the outback like you know he's got he's got all the channels he's got all the apps he's he's married into money so he's living great and then he goes back to america and again like america is the outback now paul if you're listening let's make some money together”
“is fundamentally a Reagan -era movie in which our brooding laconic protagonist brings the rugged individualist masculinity of the frontier to the cosmopolitan metropole and brings a little bit of truth. back into modernity as it should be.”
“It's amazing that this movie was such a hit because every scene is just a variation on like the same joke. The whole second act of the movie is just this again and again and again, where Dundee serves as kind of a canvas on which to paint the broadest Reagan era stereotypes of New York liberals.”
Hosts
Crocodile Dundee
media
Paul Hogan
person
Stephen Marsh
person
Avi Lewis
person
Patreon
organization
The Guardian
organization
Stephen Lewis
person
National Film and Sound Archive
organization
Jack Carlson
person
The Paul Hogan Story
media
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