Total Control: “Black bitch” offending the offenders

Abstract

Total Control (2019–2024) is a political drama that follows the story of Rachel Griffiths as the prime minister of so-called Australia and Deborah Mailman as her political rival. Available on demand on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) iView, Total Control was initially called “Black Bitch” to draw attention to the historical racial slur but was forced to change its title due to a social media storm. Total Control demonstrates striking parallels with the treatment of real-life Indigenous women in politics. This article looks at the role of social media as a platform that provides a way for Indigenous women to engage in public politics. It discusses these technologies as providing settlers with the means to publicly malign Indigenous women. It draws from research on the use and abuse of social media in relation to Indigenous users and is underscored by the blurred boundary between fiction and non-fiction Indigenous realities.