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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at 30: more important, enjoyable and vital than ever

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-gaunson-265553">Stephen Gaunson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> The lavender painted bus named “Priscilla” continues to pick up new fans while never going out of favour with its legion of original devotees, 30 years after its release. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was shot on location in and around Sydney, Broken Hill, Coober Pedy, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs over six weeks in 1993. Directed by Stephan Elliott, the film screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the May 1994 Cannes Film Festival, winning <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-885750952/view?sectionId=nla.obj-888737519&searchTerm=priscilla+queen+of+the+desert&partId=nla.obj-885806856#page/n13/mode/1up">critical and popular acclaim</a> for its positive portrayal of LGBTQI+ characters. Awards came, most notably for costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for their sparkly, sequin-filled costumes. The film’s cultural brilliance lies in juxtaposing the extreme flamboyance of the costumes and props against the equally extreme rural natural desert landscape. The unexpected revelation for audiences was how perfectly these contrasting elements harmonised. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wGWWeourHUg?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>A smash hit</h2> Less than 12 months since its release, the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) of Australia had the rare success of <a href="https://if.com.au/why-the-adventures-of-priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-turned-the-government-a-profit-in-just-12-months/">fully recouping</a> its A$1.67 million investment. Initially hesitant due to Elliott’s disappointing box office return on his debut feature, Frauds (1993), the FFC was convinced after the screenplay gained attention at Cannes. The film exceeded predictions, grossing more than $16 million in Australia. The film was socially and critically embraced as an instant classic. Ask cinema employees from this time and they will all share similar memories of lines of people outside the cinema doors eager to watch and rewatch (and rewatch again) the musical road movie about a pair of drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence Stamp) as they set out from Sydney on a bus journey across the Australian outback. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tex3dw3RjGk?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> The casting today seems like more of a sure bet than it did in 1994. Stamp was a British actor of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/12/terence-stamp-i-was-in-my-prime-but-when-the-60s-ended-i-ended-with-it">legendary status</a>, having gained critical accolades in the 1960s in films such as Billy Budd, The Collector and Far from the Madding Crowd. However Stamp was equally a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-4869258/Terence-Stamp-79-bids-farewell-active-sex-life.html">regular tabloid subject</a> for his high-profile romances with film star Julie Christie and supermodel Jean Shrimpton. Would audiences be willing to go with the idea of this playboy as the trandsgender woman, Bernadette? It is now impossible to consider any actor better able to deliver Terrance Stamps’s deadpan sardonic lines so perfectly: “Don’t ‘Darling’, me, Darling. Look at you. You’ve got a face like a cat’s arse.” Pearce and Weaving also were a risk. Neither were box office marquee stars at the time. Pearce was known as a lovable Mike from the popular television soap opera, Neighbours. Weaving was a critically respected actor known more for his quirky small parts than as a star in his own right. Both were perfect casting, launching them onto Hollywood careers. Pearce as Adam was a remarkable revelation. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p2QiCFAQ-qQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> The chemistry and connection between the three lead actors makes the film truly succeed. Never do their performances seem showboating or forced. Each has their own arc, personality and journey. And when they climb Kings Canyon in full drag regalia at the film’s end there is something moving about what they have been able to accomplish together. A film that begins to be a slight and joyful comedy about drag performers becomes a deeper essay on the importance of lived experience and friendship (or, dare I say, mateship). <h2>More vital than ever</h2> Drag has a <a href="https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/3894/drag-through-decades-film-tv/">long history</a> in mainstream cinema with its own codes and references. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is crucially different by it not being about “straight” men masquerading as women to mask their actual identity. Instead, Elliot’s film rather positively celebrates these characters in drag as their true and authentic selves. This film stood with others as a wave of Australian cinema in the 1990s unashamedly wanting to celebrate an Australia juxtaposing the blokey masculine stereotype. Ocker characters (men and women) appear in this film, but ultimately they are publicly humiliated for their homophobia. Bernadette kneeing in the groin the vicious and vulgar Frank (Kenneth Radley) often receives a big cheer from cinema audiences: “Stop flexing your muscles, you big pile of budgie turd,” Bernadette scorns. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nc12yOA4jM?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Perhaps the true star of the film were not the actors as much as the iconic 1976 Japanese model Hino Freighter Priscilla bus that became the set for several scenes in the film. Because the bus interior was such a small set, there was no room for the crew with many actually in shot, hiding under clothes and other props. The bus, long thought to be lost, was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-12/bid-to-restore-priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-bus/103699136">rediscovered</a> on a farm in New South Wales in 2019. The bus is currently being restored, with an aim to have it on display at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, Adelaide Hills, in 2026. Perhaps it will be good timing for shooting the recently announced <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/04/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-movie-sequel-original-cast-1235890358/">potential sequel</a>. 30 years after its original release The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert seems more important, enjoyable and vital than ever. All aboard, Priscilla. Long may she run. <hr /> RMIT Capitol will be hosting a <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/thecapitol/events/2024/september/the-adventures-of-priscilla-queen-of-the-desert">screening and introductory panel discussion</a> on September 11 with the film’s costume designer Tim Chappel, executive producer Rebel Penfold-Russell, Melbourne Queer Film Festival program director Cerise Howard, historian Kristy Kokegei and Stephen Gaunson.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/235424/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-gaunson-265553">Stephen Gaunson</a>, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> Image credits: Metro Goldwyn Mayer This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-adventures-of-priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-at-30-more-important-enjoyable-and-vital-than-ever-235424">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

The mind trick to make chores more enjoyable

There are days where it just feels hard to carry out our activities and complete daily tasks as needed. When this occurs, it may be helpful to ask yourself this mindset-changing question from Tim Ferriss’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminphardy/2017/12/13/by-asking-himself-this-9-word-question-tim-ferriss-changed-his-life/#436b84ab5df5">Tribe of Mentors</a>: “What would this look like if it were easy?” The productivity guru said we sometimes perceive problems as unnecessarily difficult, leading us towards <a href="https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/11/ask-yourself-what-would-this-task-look-like-if-it-were-fun/">paths of most resistance</a>. “But what happens if we frame things in terms of elegance instead of strain? Sometimes, we find incredible results with ease instead of stress,” he explained. “Sometimes, we “solve” the problem by completely reframing it.” What does easy look like? For <a href="http://money.com/money/5661915/tackle-financial-to-do-list/">Money.com</a>’s Nina Semczuk, things are easier when they are fun. To achieve this, Semczuk combines “hideously boring” chores such as grocery shopping and laundry with enjoyable things such as seeing friends, bike riding and dancing. However, be careful of your budget when pairing these activities – for example, balancing your books while dining out at an upscale restaurant is probably not the greatest idea. “It takes a bit more creativity to find strategic options that hit all three criteria: fun, easy, and aligned with your goals, but once you do, you’ll not only feel excited to get those tedious tasks completed, you’ll do it knowing you stayed true to your goals,” she wrote.

Mind

Psychological tricks to make life more enjoyable

It happens fast. You crack open a bottle of your favourite drink and put it to your lips. The delicious flavor is nearly overwhelming. But a minute later, you’re barely noticing the taste as you drink it. Or you buy a new car and think it will make you smile every time you drive it for years. But a month later, that sensation is gone. Now it’s just a car. This satiation, known as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-success/201208/how-keep-happiness-fading">hedonic adaptation</a>, occurs for nearly everything that makes us happy. Look around and think of how much you initially enjoyed the things that surround you. Then think about how much you enjoy them today. Wouldn’t it be great to get some of that initial enjoyment back? In a <a href="http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1024500/volumes/v45/NA-45">series of studies</a> soon to be published in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/home/psp">Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MQ1R-O4AAAAJ&hl=en">we</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dy1B5DIAAAAJ&hl=en">found</a> that consuming things in unconventional ways enhances enjoyment of them. This is where chopsticks come in. The art of paying attention In one study, we asked 68 participants to eat some popcorn. While half were told to eat the normal way, one kernel at a time, the rest used chopsticks. We found that those who ate with chopsticks enjoyed the popcorn a lot more than the others, even though both groups were told to eat at the same slow pace. This is because of something well-known to psychologists: When something seems new, people pay more attention to it. And when people pay more attention to something enjoyable, they tend to enjoy it more. This is why many people seek so much variety in what they consume. We buy something and use it for a while until it becomes familiar and mundane, then we <a href="https://unclutterer.com/2010/08/09/hedonic-adaptation-why-buying-more-wont-make-you-happy/">buy something else</a> thinking it will make us happy. Unfortunately, this replacement is costly, and, in cases such as houses and <a href="https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/that-loving-feeling-takes-a-lot-of-work/">spouses</a>, sometimes a very extreme option in response to unavoidable familiarity. Our research suggests another option: Instead of replacing something once you get sick of it, try consuming it or interacting with it in unconventional ways. Make each sip count In another experiment, we studied 300 people as they consumed water. First, we asked participants to come up with their own unconventional ways to consume water. Their responses ranged from drinking out of a martini glass or travel mug to lapping it up like a cat. One even suggested drinking water out of a shipping envelope. They were then told to take five sips of water and rate their enjoyment after each drink. A third did so in the normal way, another third sipped using one of their own randomly chosen unconventional methods over and over and the rest used a different unconventional method for each sip. We found that people who drank water in a different way every time enjoyed their water the most – with even bigger boosts toward the end of the taste test. In other words, their enjoyment did not decline over time. While everyone else enjoyed the water less for each sip, those who drank it in different ways did not show this usual pattern of declining enjoyment. This presents a rare solution to the nearly universal phenomenon of satiation, or the declining enjoyment that comes with familiarity. As long as you can find new and interesting ways to interact with something, you may never grow tired of it. Business opportunities This idea isn’t entirely novel, of course. Many companies are already taking advantage of this concept to provide more enjoyable experiences for customers. Restaurants exist where diners eat <a href="http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/9798">while lying in beds</a>, <a href="http://dinnerinthesky.com/">while hovering in the sky</a> and <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/10/naked-sushi">off of naked models</a>. There is even <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/what-its-like-in-naked-restaurant-bunyadi-london-food/index.html">a restaurant where diners eat naked</a>. The Reddit page <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/WeWantPlates/">WeWantPlates</a> presents a rich catalogue of the many creative and confusing ways that restaurants serve their customers food, from <a href="https://i.redd.it/iwualplfdagz.jpg">nachos in a sink</a> to <a href="https://i.imgur.com/avWimLg.jpg%5D(https://i.imgur.com/avWimLg.jpg">ravioli on a washing line</a>. While there is no limit to the different ways to present the same old thing, at some point the novelty usually wears off. Our research suggests this is a missed opportunity for businesses to offer more variety in how a single food is consumed. For example, when people eat a few slices of pizza at a restaurant, they typically consume them all in the same way. It’s a problem if people enjoy their last slice less because of satiation, because our memory for experiences is shaped heavily by what happened <a href="https://curiosity.com/topics/the-peak-end-rule-says-experiences-are-all-about-the-ending-curiosity/">at the end</a>. Rather than turning off all the lights to make dining more enjoyable, as in the <a href="http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/unusual-restaurants-eating-in-the-dark">dark-dining trend</a>, pizza parlors could encourage their customers to eat each slice in a different way, such as normally, folded in half, backwards, with a fork and knife, with chopsticks or while blindfolded. If they did, we believe they would likely find that their customers enjoy their last slice as much as the first. The bottom line is that variety is the spice of life, not just in what we do but also how we do it. Knowing this can help both businesses and customers maximize enjoyment.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98218/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Written by Robert W. Smith, Assistant Professor of Marketing, The Ohio State University and Ed O'Brien, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science, University of Chicago. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-eat-popcorn-with-chopsticks-and-other-psychological-tricks-to-make-life-more-enjoyable-98218">The Conversation</a>.

Mind

New research proves life is better in retirement

We all know it to be true, but finally the research is here to back it up – life is more enjoyable after retirement. In a report published in the Age and Ageing journal, researchers from the University of South Australia found that after retirement, life only gets better. “We found that you're likely to be happier when you retire,” the paper’s co-author Tim Olds told <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-retirement-idUSKCN0Z82AR">Reuters</a>. This is because retirement is often the first chance people get since childhood to do what they want to do, rather than what they must do. The study followed 124 participants with an average age of 62 as they transitioned into retirement. Analysis of the surveys completed by participants found that average levels of enjoyment were drastically higher than prior to retirement. “Changes were partly due to shifts towards more enjoyable activities,” the researchers write, “but were mainly due to retirees getting more enjoyment out of doing the same activities post-retirement.” Other areas of life which experienced an improvement after retirement include general wellbeing and quality of sleep. Surprisingly, those who switched to part-time employment after retiring even found they enjoyed work more. “People have a different experience when working after retirement,” California State University professor of psychologist Kenneth Shultz explained. “You don’t have to deal with the pressure of a career job, and people tend to not be emotionally invested in it.” Do you think life is more enjoyable after retirement? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/07/my-simple-secret-for-a-happy-retirement/">My simple secret for a happy retirement</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/07/reawaken-your-creativity-in-retirement/">Reawaken your creativity in retirement</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/06/retirement-is-good-for-your-health/">Study shows retirement is good for your health</a>

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