Pauline Hanson's Please Explain
| Pauline Hanson's Please Explain | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Please Explain |
| Genre |
|
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 85[a] (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 3 minutes |
| Production companies | Pauline Hanson's One Nation Stepmate Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | YouTube Sky News Australia |
| Release | 12 November 2021[1] – present |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Elections as Leader
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Pauline Hanson's Please Explain is an Australian animated conservative political satire web series that is produced by Stepmate Studios, a Melbourne-based production company,[3] for Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a right-wing populist political party in Australia founded and led by Pauline Hanson.
Set at Parliament House in Canberra, the series follows Hanson (voiced by herself) teaching a class of Australian politicians, and parodies current political events while promoting the One Nation party and its policies. Episodes are released on One Nation's YouTube channel every Friday and re-aired on Sky News Australia.
Viewers have raised money for the series through donations and by purchases from One Nation's online store, most notably One Nation-branded alcohol (namely gin,[4] rum[5] and vodka).[6]
The series has been subject to numerous controversies due to its content.[7][8]
Episodes
[edit]Specials
[edit]| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thank you for helping make 'Pauline Hanson's Please Explain' possible! | 17 November 2023 |
Season 1
[edit]| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | School's in Session | 12 November 2021 |
| 2 | Preferences | 12 November 2021 |
| 3 | Political Donations | 19 November 2021 |
| 4 | Excise Taxes | 26 November 2021 |
| 5 | Climate Change Policy | 3 December 2021 |
| 6 | Political Dishonesty | 10 December 2021 |
| 7 | Political Self-Destruction | 17 December 2021 |
| 8 | Political Correctness | 24 December 2021 |
| 9 | Immigration | 14 January 2022 |
| 10 | The Prime Minister's Pension | 21 January 2022 |
| 11 | Australia Day | 26 January 2022 |
| 12 | Pork Barrelling | 28 January 2022 |
| 13 | Housing Affordability | 3 February 2022 |
| 14 | How to Pass the Buck | 10 February 2022 |
| 15 | The ABC | 17 February 2022 |
| 16 | A Labor Greens Government | 24 February 2022 |
| 17 | Party Policies | 3 March 2022 |
| 18 | The Canberra Swamp | 10 March 2022 |
| 19 | Disaster Management | 17 March 2022 |
| 20 | Presidential Politics | 24 March 2022 |
| 21 | Inflation | 7 April 2022 |
| 22 | The Campaign Easter Special | 14 April 2022 |
| 23 | The Media | 21 April 2022 |
| 24 | Voter Fraud[b] | 28 April 2022 |
| 25 | Keyboard Warriors | 5 May 2022 |
| 26 | Political Ads | 12 May 2022 |
| 27 | Battle of the Ballots | 19 May 2022 |
| 28 | The Aftermath | 17 June 2022 |
Season 2
[edit]| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A New Term | 2 February 2023 |
| 2 | Economy in the Toilet | 9 February 2023 |
| 3 | The Voice | 16 February 2023 |
| 4 | The Zero-Sum Game | 23 February 2023 |
| 5 | Playing the Victim | 2 March 2023 |
| 6 | Under the Bus | 9 March 2023 |
| 7 | The Teal Housewives | 16 March 2023 |
| 8 | The Big Red Dragon | 23 March 2023 |
| 9 | Back to the Future | 30 March 2023 |
| 10 | The NDIS | 6 April 2023 |
| 11 | The Woke Mind Virus | 20 April 2023 |
| 12 | Captain Planet | 27 April 2023 |
| 13 | Jimonomics | 4 May 2023 |
| 14 | Jobseeker | 11 May 2023 |
| 15 | Box Tickers | 18 May 2023 |
| 16 | Woke Cinema | 25 May 2023 |
| 17 | Rental Crisis | 1 June 2023 |
| 18 | Chicken Little | 8 June 2023 |
| 19 | The Higgins Case | 15 June 2023 |
| 20 | The Future | 22 June 2023 |
| 21 | Recession | 29 June 2023 |
| 22 | The Nationals | 6 July 2023 |
| 23 | Woke Vision | 13 July 2023 |
| 24 | Censorship | 20 July 2023 |
| 25 | Referendum | 27 July 2023 |
| 26 | Housing Australia Future Fund | 3 August 2023 |
| 27 | Gender Confusion | 10 August 2023 |
| 28 | Global Boiling | 24 August 2023 |
| 29 | The Uluru Statement | 31 August 2023 |
| 30 | 60 Day Dispensing | 7 September 2023 |
| 31 | Behind the Scenes | 14 September 2023 |
| 32 | Qantas | 21 September 2023 |
| 33 | Net Zero | 28 September 2023 |
| 34 | The Media's Voice | 5 October 2023 |
| 35 | Vote No | 12 October 2023 |
| 36 | The Blame Game | 19 October 2023 |
| 37 | Airbus Albo | 24 November 2023 |
| 38 | Minecraft | 2 December 2023 |
| 39 | Alphanese | 8 December 2023 |
| 40 | What is a Woman? | 15 December 2023 |
| 41 | The Christmas Special | 22 December 2023 |
Season 3
[edit]| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Distractions | 1 March 2024 |
| 2 | Chinese Spies | 8 March 2024 |
| 3 | Diversity, Inclusion, Equity | 15 March 2024 |
| 4 | Champagne Socialists | 22 March 2024 |
| 5 | The Albanese Government | 29 March 2024 |
| 6 | Digital ID | 5 April 2024 |
| 7 | Carbon Capture Storage in the GAB | 12 April 2024 |
| 8 | Net-Zero-Bot | 19 April 2024 |
| 9 | eSafety Commissioner | 26 April 2024 |
| 10 | Immigration Junkies | 3 May 2024 |
| 11 | Bad Budgets and Big Computers | 17 May 2024 |
| 12 | Political Hit Jobs | 24 May 2024 |
| 13 | The Polls | 31 May 2024 |
| 14 | The Man from Snowy Hydro | 7 June 2024 |
| 15 | The State of Queensland | 14 June 2024 |
| 16 | Inside Albo | 21 June 2024 |
| 17 | The Big Rort | 5 July 2024 |
| 18 | NDIS: The Movie | 12 July 2024 |
| 19 | Division | 19 July 2024 |
| 20 | Cashless | 26 July 2024 |
| 21 | A Migrant A Minute | 2 August 2024 |
| 22 | Oppression Olympics | 9 August 2024 |
| 23 | Broken Promises | 16 August 2024 |
| 24 | National Insecurity | 23 August 2024 |
| 25 | Forgetting Adam Bandt | 6 September 2024 |
| 26 | Albo's War on Everything | 13 September 2024 |
| 27 | Censorship (A.K.A. Misinformation and Censorship) | 20 September 2024 |
| 28 | I'm Not Scomo (A.K.A. I Promise I'm Not Scomo) | 4 October 2024 |
| 29 | Day in the Life of a Green | 11 October 2024 |
| 30 | The State of Melbourne | 18 October 2024 |
| 31 | QueenSLAM 2024 (A.K.A. Queensland Election) | 25 October 2024 |
Controversies
[edit]Due to its content, the series has been subject to numerous controversies, mostly due to the content of specific episodes, which, while satirical, has been perceived by some as defamatory or offensive. The series has also been accused of promoting disinformation.[9]
A report from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) labelled the series "far-right", which Hanson has denied.[10][11]
Controversial episodes
[edit]Voter Fraud
[edit]In April 2022, the party was warned by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) over the episode Voter Fraud, where Labor is shown rigging postal votes for the 2022 federal election to get elected (therefore falsely implying electoral fraud). In the episode, then-Opposition Leader (and later Prime Minister) Anthony Albanese is seen laying in bed sick with COVID-19 and is offered a soup that contains a live bat by Penny Wong. Wong hands Albanese electoral ballots (including one of his dog Toto), with Wong telling him to fill in the ballots to rig the election in favour of the Labor Party. The episode has been geoblocked in Australia on all of One Nation's official social media accounts upon request from the AEC. The AEC also warned the party for its lack of official authorisation at the end of the cartoons, which has since been added to every episode.[12]
The NDIS
[edit]In April 2023, One Nation was also criticised for the episode The NDIS, which mocks the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). In the episode, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley visit a doctor who tells them that after the Liberal Party was "destroyed in Aston" (in reference to the party's historic loss at the 2023 Aston by-election), the party has been severely damaged but is now eligible for the NDIS. The doctor presents to them a video featuring Albanese and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten who mention perceivably bad things about the NDIS and repeatedly erroneously call the scheme the "National Disability Insurance Scam" before correcting themselves (implying that the NDIS is a scam).[13]
Gender Confusion
[edit]In September 2024, the episode "Gender Confusion" was re-released, which removed Life Education Australia branding that was present in the original version of the episode. The revised episode's description claimed that "originally, this episode didn't get the attention it deserved due to some behind-the-scenes hiccups",[14] likely as a result of Copyright claim by Life Education Australia.
The State of Queensland
[edit]In June 2024, Australian conservationist Robert Irwin's lawyers threatened to sue Hanson over the episode The State of Queensland, which criticises the state Labor government's policies on issues such as crime, native title, health and the economy. It features Irwin and cartoon character Bluey (a dog who is the titular character of a popular Australian children's animated television series set in Brisbane, who the Queensland Government are using to promote tourism in the state). Hanson refused to take the video down and told Irwin to "lighten up".[15]
Notes
[edit]- ^ This includes the episode Voter Fraud, which is unavailable on YouTube or on social media in Australia due to a takedown order from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).[2] Re-uploaded versions are available on YouTube.
- ^ This episode has been taken down from YouTube and is unavailable on One Nation's official social media accounts in Australia, as it has been geoblocked upon order from the AEC.
References
[edit]- ^ "Pauline Hanson's Please Explain (TV Series 2021– ) | Animation, Comedy". IMDb.
- ^ "AEC warns Pauline Hanson's One Nation over false voter fraud claims in cartoon attacking Labor". ABC News.
- ^ "Our Work".
- ^ Couper, Elena (30 October 2023). "Pauline Hanson raises money for satirical cartoon with $100 Christmas gin". www.news.com.au.
- ^ "Pauline Hanson wants Aussies to sponsor her YouTube series by buying her booze".
- ^ Brennan, Aisling (14 March 2024). "Pauline Hanson celebrates 70th birthday by launching a collectors edition". www.news.com.au.
- ^ Antrobus, Blake (15 June 2024). "Robert Irwin threatens to sue One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for defamation over Please Explain cartoon". news.com.au. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Families distressed after 'highly misleading' video used by anti-Voice campaigners goes viral". ABC News. 11 August 2023.
- ^ ""Sowing doubt, without proof": One Nation animations exploit boundary between satire and disinformation".
- ^ "Pauline Hanson slams UNSW report for claiming cartoon series is 'far-right'". www.msn.com. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Pauline Hanson slams UNSW report for claiming cartoon series is 'far-right' | Sky News Australia".
- ^ "AEC warns Pauline Hanson's One Nation over false voter fraud claims in cartoon attacking Labor - ABC News".
- ^ "Pauline Hanson criticised over 'repugnant' video about disability scheme".
- ^ Pauline Hanson's Please Explain (26 September 2024). Gender Confusion | Pauline Hanson's Please Explain. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bulloch, Shayla; Fellows, Taylah; Jones, Iwan (16 June 2024). "Robert Irwin threatens to sue Pauline Hanson over video featuring himself and Bluey". www.couriermail.com.au.