The Aussie Battler Personified: Why Everyone Loves Kenny (Report‪)‬

There's a smell in here that will outlast religion (Kenny, 2006) The Jacobson brothers film Kenny was one of the biggest Australian box office successes of 2006, which is unusual for a mock-documentary. This chapter will explore the reasons for the film's success, and in particular for the central character Kenny's popularity. Whereas the strength of the mock-documentary mode is often argued to be its ability to sharply critique dominant social and cultural values, and it tends to achieve this in an 'in-your-face' manner, Kenny is much more subtle in its critique. Indeed, on one level it can be read as a classic Hollywood-style class-based morality tale, in which Kenny ultimately 'keeps it real' and therefore gets rewarded with 'the girl'. In many ways, Kenny is the personification of the white Australian working class man, otherwise known as the Aussie battler, but much less flawed than what he would be if he was in a conventional documentary rather than a mock-documentary. He appeals directly to the Australian egalitarian myth and ultimately gets his revenge on those who do not respect this myth. Interestingly, Kenny's appeal has crossed over to the 'real world' and the actor (Shane Jacobson) now makes frequent 'in character' television appearances in current affair shows as Kenny, as well as being a presenter and participant in numerous television shows.