Explain?

[deleted]

Ja'mie is a character that Chris Lilley had on his Summer Heights High show that aired on HBO around the same time as Flight of the Conchords (so around '08, I'd guess). That show was made up of him doing a bunch of different characters all at one school. Essentially an updated version of a variety show but he's settled on one character. I think part of the joke is how Ja'mie is always talking labour how hot she is and Lilley may make one of the least attractive women ever. And I think because it's a man playing her, he gets away with being as awful as teenage girls can be. I def remember some girls in high school acting like this. Also, a prefect is essentially like a hall monitor in the US. So they have some authorities over other students and I feel like many of the people who were in those positions in high school (we had cafeteria monitors) were kind of the rude popular kids.

Ja'mie is actually from Lilley's first multi-character/same actor series We Can Be Heroes (I believe it had a different title when it aired overseas). I think the reason Lilley brought her back for Summer Heights High is because she was the most memorable character from his maiden series and she fit well within the narrative of SHH where again, she tested really positively with viewers.

I understand from a foreigner's perspective, it's hard to see why Lilley keeps getting the funding that he does for his pet projects (especially since his last show got negative domestic criticism) but as an Australian, Lilley's appeal lies in his commitment to bringing a level of reality we don't normally get in our original content. A lot of our prime time homegrown shows tend to tell the same story over and over again or present a very romanticised idea of modern Aussie life. Lilley's shows, although tremendously over the top, do touch on places in our society that very rarely get that kind of attention. The juvenile detention centre and barren outback town from Angry Boys, the slipping through the cracks public school that is Summer Heights High, the over privileged suburbs of Ja'mie: Private School Girl etc. Lilley doesn't just embrace his source material, he slaps it on the wrist too.

The man in drag is just the setup; exposing the self-imposed entitlement of the young, Caucasian and rich is the punchline. Does this make Ja'ime funny? No, not really. Lilley has lost a lot of punch I think since his first product, and none of the show's we've seen from him since have been as tightly wound or focused as WCBH was.

Maybe his next show Jonah (based on his delinquent school boy from SHH) will be better?

Ja'mie is one of several characters created by the star, Chris Lilley.

Earlier series "Summer Heights High" had about a half dozen such characters, and was brilliant,

Now Chris Lilley has been pumping out series that focus on just one character at a time, I find these - Ja'mie included - to be weak and watered down.

He's still a comic genius, but having seen his high potential in Summer Heights High, it's hard to get excited about these single character spnoffs.

Oh by the way prefect is a student picked to enforce the school rules with their peers. Think of something like a hall monitor, or an older student who is tasked with keeping the other students in line.

explain: You need to get a sense of humour.

OP, a prefect is a student (usually a higher level student, like a senior) who is given authority over other students. They are, essentially, student officers.

I've only heard of prefects in private or boarding schools.

A prefect is like what a "school captain" is in the US, but they have a bit more power, ie can give another student detention. In my experience, the cool kids were never prefects. It was the dorky studious types that went for the role.