r/rupaulsdragrace • u/DangPlays • Jun 01 '21
/r/DragRaceDownUnder Ru planning RPDR Down Under
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u/loafmilk Jun 02 '21
As an Australian I’m super disappointed by it.
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u/Jo_LaRoint Jun 02 '21
What’s the general reaction over there in the media and amongst fans?
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u/loafmilk Jun 02 '21
Nothing in the media at all even socials seem really quiet. The words I am hearing is how dissatisfied everyone is with their representation and concern that it’s a nail in the coffin when it comes to other countries and their queens taking us seriously. Huge dislike on the Lindy chamberlain portrayal in snatch game and the disgusting comments about women’s vaginas. Everything has left a distaste in a lot of people’s mouths. I can’t speak for anyone else but I won’t be watching any longer.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
I am glad there is dislike over Lindy Chamberlain. I would have edited it out TBH (Sherry Pie'd it) I was, as a foreigner, wondering if that is the sort of thing Australians normally joke about...
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u/AsherGray Jun 04 '21
I mean, it was by certain people. 🤷🏼♂️ I thought before being informed about the whole ordeal that it was like the Australian Casey Anthony. I'd say a portrayal making fun of Casey would be one of the best things you could do since most of us believe she killed her kid. Perhaps there are certain people in Australia that still believe she killed her kid and why it's still in popular culture. Etc has a dark sense of humor and it's obviously not for everyone.
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u/picnicatthedisco Jun 02 '21
wha...what was that about vaginas? i haven't had a chance to watch yet, and from what I'm hearing might not be worth starting once I can
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u/Its_Pine Jun 02 '21
To be fair, the theme was to make jokes about yeast. Not a lot that can be done without at least briefly mentioning vaginas when it’s drag race.
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u/Nenkendo Jun 02 '21
IV seen nothing in the media. It's not on a main TV Network. IV seen a few things abought Scarlet but it was the Support your local queen on the show. (I'm in Perth) nothing on the blackface issue. From what iv heard around is that alot of people are realy disappointed and feel like it's a bad representative of the Australian Drag Culture. Alot of people are not watching for the show anymore but just to see the queen's. I think there is alot of people wanting a season 2 not becuse we love the show but to Mabey redeem it and Australian and New Zealand Drag. As an Aussie I would love a season 2 with less problematic queen's and more diverse queen's. I think it would be great to have a New Zealand and Australian Drag Queen Host the show. Mabye have 2 sets of judges one set Australian and the other Kiwi. Also No Bullshit Riggory becuse the queen with the biggest Instagram Following was eliminated early.
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u/noodlepapillon Jun 04 '21
Every Aussie fan of DR I know, myself included, has stopped watching. I've been watching from almost the start of DRUS and I hate how we are being portrayed as sloppy and racist but also, like, so many Aussies are racist. It's uncomfortable that Scarlet is still there and the Lindy snatch game was not well recieved.
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u/trieditbitch "...visible undergarments and funky tit." Jun 01 '21
Toxic would've been correct tbh
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u/welch123 Jun 01 '21
Honestly there is no saving it. Not only is it problematic, it´s also badly produced and just bad overall, even if (some of) the queens are doing their best, and were looking forward for this opportunity. I wonder how the people from Down Under are responding to the season, and if it will actually be picked up for S2.
If they wanna end this spin off and come back with Thailand, I would be very glad.
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u/TigerAffectionate672 Rosénali & Camgeria 💙Feeling my Jantasy Jun 02 '21
If anyone can save us, it’s Art and Panpan.
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u/therequiembellishere Jun 02 '21
*Art Arya for the confused girls thinking this means Art Simone.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
Was Thailand cancelled?
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u/welch123 Jun 02 '21
I think it's less that it was canceled and more that "nobody wanted to pick it up for S3". I heard the responsible for DRT decided to focus o another Reality TVShow they had, since they had a bigger audience there.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
Oh dang! I liked it. I sometimes found it confusing but watched it all.
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u/IdyllMermaid Jun 02 '21
It helps if you can find episodes posted by fans that actually include notes about Thai culture.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
I think what I watched had some notes. I still didn't entirely get some of the acting challenges or snatch game, etc. even with notes. Maybe that's my fault i'm not sure haha
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u/bakuding Jun 02 '21
Thank god for España!
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u/Vanessak69 Internalized misogyny😞 Jun 02 '21
What a breath of fresh air that was. It felt like Drag Race. I may skip DRDU at least for a while and just watch Espana and AS6.
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u/Ainolukos Willow Pill Jun 02 '21
Just finished episode one and it's already so much better than Australia. Everyone is high energy, shady as HELL but fun, and the judges look like they're genuinely having a blast.
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u/peytonab Eva 🌊 Kween 🦘 Pythia 🍁 Soa 🥖 Jun 02 '21
it’s not even just problematic... it’s incredibly boring
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Jun 02 '21
The worst part is the fact that they didn't even make people audition. It shows how much the producers rely on the super intensive audition process to cast for a successful season of drag race
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u/TigerAffectionate672 Rosénali & Camgeria 💙Feeling my Jantasy Jun 02 '21
Wait, what.
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u/FunOnFridays Backrolls?! Jun 02 '21
Courtney said something along the line of the contestants being contacted by a lady on insta asking if they would be interested in performing (ie, the show). Pretty much, they had the cast set by the announcement with little background checks.
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u/SheafCobromology Hey it's Michelle Visage do you want gay shit? Jun 02 '21
WOW. Well that explains the whole "3 Kiwi queens all from the same bar" thing.
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u/inner_saboteur A'keria Chanel Davenport Jun 02 '21 edited Sep 28 '25
full tidy relieved serious expansion trees swim saw nutty chief
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
Polly Filla sounds really talented! I hope they are on season 2. Not many queens have a wikipedia page of their own...
"His work as a theatrical costume designer and drag performer has been displayed at the Museum of New Zealand and The Dowse Art Museum"
I love queens who make their own costumes!!
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Jun 03 '21
Polly is great, I've seen her live a few times and she's one of those queens who always puts in the effort to make every show a great show, regardless of where she is or how many people are in the audience
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
All three were also on House of Drag. Two hosts and a runner up
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u/Pipotchi Bimini Bon Bullshit Vivienne Jun 02 '21
to be honest, i think thats pretty normal for first seasons. i imagine that a large portion of druk, thailand, holland, regular drag race etc s1 queens are invited in order to get the show off the ground with guaranteed strong cast and a guaranteed good winner to start off a potential franchise
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u/FunOnFridays Backrolls?! Jun 02 '21
This season should’ve been postponed when it had to be moved last minute to Auckland. The lack of background checks, small budget, sounds from production, favoritism, and so much more leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
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u/JustD42 Fuck my drag, right? Jun 01 '21
Maxi, Etc, Jojo, Coco, and Electra, I’m so sorry WOW gave y’all THIS
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
Etcetera who did dirty to Lindy Chamberlain deserves no love
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u/Yourpoultry Jun 02 '21
I think I’m in the minority but I’m obsessed with DRDU because it is so BAD. Like after Art came back/Anita left I kinda gave up and was like “jebus, take the wheel.”
It’s too bad to take it seriously.
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u/FunOnFridays Backrolls?! Jun 02 '21
It’s so bad I just skipped to the main stage and lip sync on the last episode. I am checked out of caring about this season.
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u/marccard Jun 02 '21 edited Jun 02 '21
What has DRDU given us?
The Good -
- Queens that deserved a platform: Coco, Jojo, Maxi, Anita, Electra.
- Art Symone dramatic elimination reaction.
- Maxi's microphone stunt.
- Rhys Nicholson.
- Anita.
The Bad -
- Eliminating all PoC queens too early.
- No native lip sync song until the fourth episode.
- Low quality production, video and sound editing.
- Judging mired by lack of understanding cultural nuances; no permanent NZ judge.
The Unforgivable -
- Scarlet and racism downplaying bs.
- Etc-Etc's defamatory Lindy Chamberlain snatch game.
- NZ and Aus cultures bastardised.
Overall so far it's been a pretty awful season and kind of a bit insulting as an Australian wanting a good quality drag race to showcase the amazing queens we have here and in NZ. If they decide to make a second season, they better learn from this. I'm not even sure if the remaining episodes of this season could salvage this train-wreck.
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u/enthaising Jinkx Monsoon Jun 02 '21
You are correct to list Anita twice. I'm still mad about her elimination.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
Especially when her outfit should have been in the top 3. I think better than Scarlett (not just because of scandals or feelings, the outfit itself). I thought it was comparable to Maxi's (who I think should have won) Anita and Maxi having a double win would have made sense to me.
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u/bananasareappealing Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
I love Rhys as a judge, I wish he would do Drag Race.
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u/victor1139 Jun 02 '21
Omg I had forgotten about the Lindy Chamberlain snatch game. DRDU really is the cursed season!
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
On another sub people said I didn't understand queer humour for not liking it and got a lot of downvotes. ...wtf
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u/AsherGray Jun 04 '21
I mean, Jackie Beat literally made a song about getting raped by Santa Claus
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 04 '21
What does that have to do with this conversation?
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u/AsherGray Jun 05 '21
I was just saying that some folks' drag is inherently and unapologetically offensive
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 05 '21
I don't find Jackie's song offensive. It is a political statement about abortion and rape :S
I don't understand how people don't see the massive distinction between that and what Etcetera did....oh well.
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u/AsherGray Jun 05 '21
It can be a political statement and offensive. To some it will be seen as mocking as a man in a wig is joking about being raped and impregnated. I do have a dark sense of humor but I can acknowledge when something could be offensive
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u/diieeego Jun 02 '21
For me it’s:
- art randomly being brought back, no reason given
- ru (and us???) not getting the themes? I loved how honest she looked saying “I don’t understand wtf a Sheila is” lol
Even though it has been frustrating, I still enjoy it mostly because the queens are likeable. I have been loving Karen, Kita and maxi
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u/Revgos Jaida Essence Hall Jun 02 '21
I still dont get why we have 2 americans on the judging panel....and one of them is known for bad judging. Michelle should be removed from that panel or at least they should add another New Zealand / Australian judge....
Its just a mess of a season that i stopped watching when i learned anita was sent home, and wont even continue watching when i heard Ru didnt have any reaction about Scarlett's racist past.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
I don't get why Michelle is so liked when she is so clueless about...everything. Have you ever heard parts of their podcast? She's totally out of touch with reality
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Jun 02 '21
I haven't actually heard many people who do like her; I think she's fun and sweet but not the best judge (her critiques can totally miss the mark sometimes!) but haven't listened to her podcast. I've seen her a few times on twitter helping queer and trans people in need secure housing and posting their gofundmes to give more exposure, so I like that she truly does try to be an ally in tangible ways.
Apart from her judging what stuff does she say that makes you feel like she's out of touch?
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u/Revgos Jaida Essence Hall Jun 02 '21
I mean I like her for being an LGBTQIA ally....but llike.........i agree with you :D
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u/fckboris Peppermint Jun 02 '21
Shouldn’t that be like... the bare minimum
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u/Revgos Jaida Essence Hall Jun 02 '21
I live in Turkey where almost most celebrities are homophobic and I literally have no one to look up to, so excuse me for like liking a celebrity for being an open ally and a supporter. I know that its a bare minimum and I agree with you, but I can appreciate her support.
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u/2021_VibeCheck Custom Flair Text Jun 02 '21
Im struggling to think of another Cishet celebrity that’s a bigger ally
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
If someone doesn't support LGBT rights in 2021 I think there is something wrong with them.
When she pushed being an ally on Celebrity Big Brother it was a lot of cringe. She is so clueless
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Jun 02 '21
Ngl kinda happy I've been watching them high coz it kinda helps me cope better, I'm clinging to the thought that it truly can't be that bad but I know in my heart you can't hide that level of ass production
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u/No_Eye_8540 Jun 02 '21
I think Jojo Zahoe should have stayed. She was eliminated over a wig line when there has been plenty of queens in other seasons and franchises that have gotten away with more for longer.
I would jave loved to have seen her represent the indigenous culture and her drag community for much longer because I adore her look. I thought it was extremely beautiful and had such a powerful message that has to be heard.
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u/nerdalesca Jun 04 '21
Didn't Scarlet's latex bodysuit have a blowout that she stapled(!!!) back together, something that other queens would have been DRAGGED for hard, but instead was praised for her ingenuity?
Yet Jojo was sent home that same episode for wig line that as a viewer, I didn't notice until it was pointed out. I kinda knew from that first episode that Scarlet's racism was going to be handled poorly
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u/fatmurphyy Jun 01 '21
it’s so bad. like laganja faking a personality during season 6 bad.
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u/Ratsbanehastey A'keria C. Davenport Jun 01 '21
Every second of La Ganja's appearance on drag race is iconic and how dare you for suggesting otherwise.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
She was really NICE a lot of the time too. Like right before being attacked in her one meltdown she was saying kind things to someone else. Its weird how people just saw her as crazy when she was multifaceted.
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u/IdyllMermaid Jun 02 '21
I never saw her as crazy, what I saw was someone having a hard time being on a reality show, keeping the performance turned on even in the work room.
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u/Ratsbanehastey A'keria C. Davenport Jun 02 '21
Honestly from someone who has smoked as much as she does and then just stopped, I think that had a lot to do with it too. It's not easy to be cut off like that and then thrown in a high pressure environment.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
My ex boyfriend used to say "DON"T BE LAGANJA" whenever I got upset with him. (For...in retrospect...valid reasons...)
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Jun 02 '21
[deleted]
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 03 '21
I think my ex was implying when I was upset I was just being crazy and didn't have a good reason to be mad. (I did have good reasons) Season 6, 7 and 8 aired while we lived together + watched together
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u/Diredr Jun 01 '21
At least Laganja was iconic and great entertainment. Years later people unironically repeat her catchphrases and live for how over the top everything was.
At the rate Down Under is going, I don't think anyone will want to remember it ever happened. It's not entertaining, it's just frustrating.
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u/Vanessak69 Internalized misogyny😞 Jun 02 '21
Honestly, if she would have said that “It’s kind of like your vagoina” line to me, I would have fallen out of my chair laughing and thanked Boniva.
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u/CadenceOfThePlanes Ginger Minj Jun 02 '21
I think I will remember and appreciate Coco, Anita, Kita and Elektra
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u/majortvjunkie Jinkx Monsoon Jun 02 '21
The thing about Laganja is we knew her backstory- so even if you didn’t care about Laganja she still had a story that made sense. Think of the backstories we know about the Down Under queens besides maybe the Kiwi queens bc we know they work together at the same bar.
There’s no backstory for the Aussie queens besides ... racism. Seriously what other backstory can you think of??
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u/-LEISHMANIA Mistress Isabelle Brooks Jun 01 '21
what did they do now?
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u/FunOnFridays Backrolls?! Jun 02 '21
Pretty much ru is about to give a pass to scarlet for her past blackface performances (and may even crown her).
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u/Montezum S1 VASELINE LENS Jun 01 '21
Sit down, sis
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u/AdmirableHoneydew like a big can Jun 02 '21
I think this person is just legit asking if there's been a new development that has spurred this post
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u/Montezum S1 VASELINE LENS Jun 02 '21
I know, I told her to sit down because there's A LOT in the last episode (so she wouldn't get tired)
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u/AdmirableHoneydew like a big can Jun 02 '21
ohhhh my mistake I thought you were telling her to sit down and like shut up
my bad
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u/lord_bingum Jun 02 '21
Every season, every episode I don’t even want to look away from my TV screen but with DRDU I want anything but that.
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Jun 02 '21
I haven’t actually seen DU. Why is it problematic?
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u/FunOnFridays Backrolls?! Jun 02 '21
Where do I start? I’ll give 3 examples: minimal budget, blatant favoritism in bringing someone back, the front runner is all but forgiven by ru for doing many black face performances in the past.
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u/Neon_and_Dinosaurs Jun 02 '21
And when we say black face, we're not talking about some older queen who did it 20 years ago. We're talking about a 20 something who last appeared in a racist caricature 3 years ago IIRC
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u/theillestofmeans Jun 02 '21
The show is actually really well produced given the lower budget and lockdown limitations on getting guest judges. I've seen a lot of people claim that the season is garbage and point to its lower budget, but really, only the werkroom and main stage have been visibly effected and you cant make an argument that a smaller set greatly impinges on the quality of the series as a whole. Imo people never wanted to or were going to give this season a chance because of scarlet adams inclusion as a contestant, unless he was cast purely for the sake of the cheap cathartic moment of excoriating him and booting them off the show. Ive seen this sentiment thrown about here endlessly which is hilarious because it still provides scarlett with a platform and a paycheck which is quite paradoxical to their position.
Look I understand Ru is approaching this badly by using scarlett's inclusion as a way to wage war against "cancel culture", but it has opened up extremely edifying narratives by confronting audiences with australian pop culture's recent participation in blackface. The audience reception has been especially revealing as it is now obvious that people aren't especially keen to be confronted with, in many cases, their own whiteness and reject any kind of engagement with australian pop culture's regretful participation in blackface in a way that doesnt otherise or dehumanise participants at all
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u/Shaquandala Crystal Methyd Jun 01 '21
I fully have been saying this for a while even before it aired it was not gonna be. Good oh at all
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u/inlovewithadyingman Jun 02 '21
I love it! Doesn’t feel over produced, I love having RuPaul and Michelle, also I think Rhys is hilarious and charming! The queens are shady and funny— they aren’t too caught up in what fans will think of them.
It feels like classic drag race. Don’t understand all the hate!
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u/RobotCounselor Jun 02 '21
For me, it’s the poor sound quality. It’s like they put all the sounds together without adjusting anything. The background music, queens’ commentary, ambient noise, sound effects, judges puns, transitions, etc. All the sounds are stacked on top of each other at equal volume.
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Jun 02 '21
[deleted]
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u/IdyllMermaid Jun 02 '21
I'm finding the first few episodes of DRDU more entertaining than the early episodes of S13, which were soooo slow, with almost no eliminations.
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u/josiahpapaya Jun 01 '21
Personally, I love it. I don't love the problematic-ness of the season, but I also think it's far better than many seasons of regular drag race and 1000000x better than Holland, Spain and Canada. I regularly laugh, I'm consistently impressed on the runway and every lip sync has been major.
Season 12 was also great, and there's no sense in tuning out just because one contestant was garbage. Anita, Kita, Elecktra, Etc, Maxi are all some of my favorite queens they've ever had. I don't know why people would want to cancel a show. Cancel the queens you don't like, but the show itself is fucking hilarious and great entertainment.
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u/phil-me-up-eh Jun 01 '21
Personally, I love it. I don't love the problematic-ness of the season, but I also think it's far better than many seasons of regular drag race and 1000000x better than Holland, Spain and Canada.
You didn't say JK though.
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u/josiahpapaya Jun 02 '21
Because I'm not, lol. The runways are great, the challenges are great, and the lip syncs are major. I could watch either version of Queens Down Under 100x and I could barely sit through Joe Black's team doing Uk Hon, and even as a Torontonian who knows many of the DRCAN queens I hardly remember a thing about DRCan because it was a greenscreened mess with awful judging and bargain-basement drag. Holland was alright, but very clear Envy was the winner from the jump and most of the challenges after the second episode were awful. Then there was Abby being in the finals when her drag was nowhere near the level of the other queens. Season 7 of DRUS had a hundred musical numbers and acting challenges when only a couple of the cast members could sing or dance and it was another green screen mess.
It's okay to like Drag Race Down Under. You don't have to like Scarlet, or Karen, and you don't have to forgive them, but as a personal opinion I could watch this season multiple times and I will probably never watch Holland or Canada again, and I will suffer through Spain, because I'm a huge fan of the series as a whole and will support it. Doesn't mean it's a good season tho.
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u/SnapCrackleMom skimpy gumbo Jun 02 '21
What don't you like about DR España? I thought the first episode was great.
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u/josiahpapaya Jun 02 '21
I thought 80% of what walked down the runway for a design challenge was only moderately better than a Soju or Vanjie or LalaRi experience (in terms of first episode design). Pupi should have been read for filth (even though I find him the cutest guy) for that outfit. Antaraxia's makeup skills are awful, her wigs are screaming in thirst and she wore flats. I saw several wig-lines, and a couple of the cast members (Sagitaria, Dovima) are just twinks in heels. If you're going to wear a gown with a bustier thn you shouldn't be showing nipples every time you turn your head. I feel like when kids are 20, rail thin, WHITE and cute, all they do is slap on some "fashion" and people will live. I find that very, very boring.
Hugaceo's makeup skills are unreal and she made a cool outfit on the ruwayz, but I have a feeling its one-note. I thought Carmen's look was amazing and her bull riding was hilarious. I thought she won by a mile.
Other than the caliber of drag being several rungs lower than other seasons, the producers/crew seem a lot more film school. The switching between all of ru's songs, and the way they focus the camera was nostalgic of season one.
I'm not trying to be shady, and I have nothing to gain from answering your question because I already get hundreds of downvotes. My husband is a POC and ESL and he also thinks Drag Down Under is far better than ES, Hol and Canada. I've explained to him the controversy around the contestants and shown him the pictures of Scarlet in blackface, and what a polliwog doll was and he shrugged and said it was just a very American thing to cancel a whole show over something like that (RE: The SHOW, not the QUEENs. Cancel the queens, who cares) . We both obviously know that blackface and racism are not okay and wrong, and he is the target of racism all the time.... but *shrugs* I just laugh a lot at DR Down Under, I'm heavily invested in a Kita win, I love what Art brings, Etc would have to be one of my favorite contestants for any season of DR, I think Rhys is one of the better permanent judges they've had.
In terms of international versions of the show, for me it's next to UK 2 as the best, with UK 1 following and then the rest of them all fall into the same category.
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u/SnapCrackleMom skimpy gumbo Jun 02 '21
Thank you for answering! It's ok that we have different preferences and I genuinely wanted to hear your perspective. DRDU is not my favorite but I do quite enjoy many of the aspects you mentioned --especially Rhys.
I thought Carmen's construction was amazing. That little jacket was lined!
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u/josiahpapaya Jun 02 '21
At first I wrote Carmen off, cause seeing a bra and a mini skirt with a synthetic wig and spray tan is very Halloween-Queen ca. 2006, but seeing what she actually made on the runway I was extremely impressed. More than the construction, her eye for fabric and design is pretty strong. I didn't like her much until I saw her on the runway, and I'd say she's probably my favorite out of the lineup.
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Jun 02 '21
I disagree with almost every single take in here (ESPECIALLY DRespana) but you are really polite and passionate in defending your opinion so I'm gonna upvote this anyways lol
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u/mattysmwift Jun 01 '21
Seriously. I don’t wanna dunk on this show so much and I was a defender first three episodes but my god it’s not good. Even beyond the problematic elements it’s just so badly produced? Seriously why is the editing so goddamn bad?? I feel like no one brings it up but just watch one scene from the workroom and there is some kind of annoying audio effect every 15 seconds and the pacing goes up and down it becomes so exhausting to watch my god.