“You look just like you did in your beds—except this time, you’re dead.”
This is a lyric from the final episode of the Australian comedy Summer Heights High, which has been aired on many television networks over the years, but is now easily watched in segments on Youtube.
The show, a parody of high school life, features Chris Lilley as the three main characters: Jonah Takalua, Ja’mie King, and Hellen ‘Greg’ Gregson (better known as Mr. G). These three characters are Chris Lilley’s tools in constructing a razor-sharp commentary on the sorry state of public high school.
Jonah is a 13-year-old Tongan student at Summer Heights High, whose only passions are break-dancing and clowning around in class—but in his opinion, “That’s not disruptive, that’s entertainment!”
Ja’mie (pronounced juh-MAY) is a stuck-up private school girl spending a semester at Summer Heights High. She makes it her mission to improve the school in ways she sees fit, such as having an expensive formal and a fashion show, because, as she says, “A school that bans formals is a school that bans life.”
Mr. G, the school’s drama teacher, is convinced that he is God’s gift to theater, and creates a musical named after himself. He enjoys fawning over his miniscule dog, Celine, performing dances for his students, and testing student actors by throwing things at them. He believes he is a great asset to the school, stating, “I have an above average sense of smell. So, I use my nose to control certain behaviours. I like to sniff the kids most mornings.”
In documentary style, cameras follow these three characters as they go about their school days. Their antics and interactions with the students around them (played by real Australian high schoolers) provide hilarious entertainment, primarily because of the main characters’ misguided actions, excruciatingly inappropriate comments, and general self-involvement.
This self-involvement, however, is the basis for the show’s true genius. Summer Heights High, through its three main characters, provides a brutal look at the horrors that high school entails.
Ja’mie is the essential teenage brat, who puts down everyone around her and shows just how terribly students can treat each other. Ja’mie uses other students to make herself seem as popular as possible; for example, she asks a girl out on a date and pretends to have a crush on her because she believes it is fashionable to be a lesbian. Her ignorant, rude, and downright mean behavior is always painfully funny, but is also a reminder of the superficial creatures teenagers can become when they are too spoiled.
Jonah, misunderstood and mistreated by most of his teachers, represents the class clown in every high school, who really wants to succeed academically but somehow ends up in trouble nonetheless. Jonah’s story is particularly heartbreaking because it shows how badly some teachers treat students whom they think are disruptive, when those students are truly the ones who need the most sympathy and guidance.
Mr. G is a horrible teacher who is under the impression that he is a beloved and exceptionally talented actor. His abuse of students and his tendency to take everything way too personally provide the insight that teachers are not always the victims, but in a humorous fashion.
Summer Heights High is a show with the unique ability to invoke both laughter and understanding. Because it so flawlessly parodies the worst parts of high school, it exposes wrongs that might otherwise go unnoticed. But it is primarily a source of true entertainment, and is sure to leave you laughing long after you’ve stopped watching.
Summer Heights High is available on DVD, and full episodes can also be viewed on Youtube. Since the show was only aired for one eight-episode season, watching the whole series is strongly recommended
