Why 'Cleverman' Is One Of Australia's Most Important TV Shows

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the rich and storied history of superheroes is familiar with this phrase. Like "Up, up, and away!" or "I'm the goddamn Batman", the mantra first uttered by Spider-Man's uncle half-a-century ago has endured as one of the genre's most recognisable catch-cries. Part of its longevity is in no small part due to the fact that, as much as the quote has become a cliche, it's also an inescapable truth.

This is a strange realisation to have, as superheroes have always had a somewhat tenuous relationship with the truth. Not in a general "personal honesty" sense — Superman has been banging on about 'truth, justice and the American way' for more than 75 years now — but in the sense that superhero stories, for all their escapism, have historically had a rough time of reflecting the world as it actually is. Essentially, if you were an alien trying to learn about human history through superhero culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, you'd be forgiven for coming away with the impression that unstable, damaged billionaires are frequently altruistic and excellent templates for vigilantism, redheads are absolutely everywhere, and people who aren't white pretty much don't exist.  

Thankfully, after much too long, Cleverman is here to change that. Set in a dystopian near-future Australia, the six-part sci-fi/drama — a joint Australian, US and NZ production — premiered on ABC last night and, within the confines of its opening scene, asserted itself as one of the most important stories that will grace our TV screens in this lifetime. Made by an Indigenous creator, with an 80% Indigenous cast, Cleverman is a much-needed arrival on our TV landscape, for all corners of society.

Indeed, the series' obvious vitality is not limited to the fact that it is, at its core, a way to provide young Indigenous Australians with a Superman figure of their own, though this is central to the show's conceit; series creator Ryan Griffen has explicitly said that the roots of Cleverman came from a desire to give his young son a comic book-style hero to whom he can relate and look up to, but the significance of this impressively stylish local series goes beyond the visual reassurance of filling its universe with an actually diverse society.

In the space of 52 minutes, viewers were exposed to more aspects of Indigenous culture than most non-Indigenous Australians received during 12 years of schooling (and arguably beyond). Importantly, the series puts the Indigenous concept of The Dreaming, and several other cultural perspectives, front and centre — the titular Cleverman, a type of community shaman, serves his people as a conduit between the otherworldly realm and our own world.

At the outset of the series, the character played by celebrated Indigenous elder and actor Uncle Jack Charles is the present Cleverman but, without giving too much away, it's a mantle soon passed to young man Koen West (Hunter Page-Lochard), much to the chagrin of his estranged brother and respected community leader Waruu (Rob Collins). And, as Koen comes to terms with being imbued with powers he doesn't quite understand yet, something is stirring in The Dreaming — or, possibly worse, seems to have escaped.

It's thrilling, engrossing stuff — that perfect mixture of mythology and history that makes for fantastic tales of superheroism — but at the same time as deftly intertwining Indigenous history, culture and traditions throughout its narrative, Cleverman keeps one foot firmly planted in our own reality by using its dystopian universe to pointedly, and poignantly, provide criticism on a wealth of current issues in Australian life, from racism and xenophobia to some truly uncomfortable-to-watch parallels to the way our country "processes" asylum seekers (and to its treatment of its own Indigenous peoples).

Essentially, the world of Cleverman is largely similar to our own, except for the presence of 'Hairymen', or 'Hairies' — preternaturally strong, long-lived and agile non-humans loosely based on creatures featured in Indigenous Australian mythology (notably Gamilaraay and Bundjalung lore) over the past 60,000 years. They frequently speak in Gumbaynggirr language, and share knowledge of The Dreaming with Indigenous Australians, along with a handful of other spiritual and cultural traits. 

After a young woman who happens to be a Hairy attacks a group of bigots on public transport (yet again tapping into one of white Australia's favourite national pastimes), the authorities begin a crackdown that relegates the super-beings to a cordoned-off ghetto known as "The Zone". And it's here, in watching several Hairies be "processed" by slur-happy human guards — after a little girl has been shot dead in the street — that real, but essential, discomfort settles in; seeing a group of people corralled like animals through a pen while an authority figure literally brands them and dismisses them as "apes" and "monkeys" is just one moment in the episode that so accurately and devastatingly deconstructs the indefensible treatment of Indigenous Australians and other people of colour at the hands of white Australia (and White Australia, for that matter). 

Yet, despite that discomfort — which hopefully stems from a place of knowing this part of our history is a deeply shameful thing — it is must-watch TV for myriad better reasons than worrying about having our Anglo feelings hurt for finally being called on our bullshit.

As Jack Latimore wrote in his excellent recap of the first episode for The Guardian (seriously, read it — he provides a perspective on the show that I could never hope to), Cleverman's pilot covers a lot of ground in a relatively short space of time. In doing so, it has provided a wonderfully rich setting utterly overflowing with barrier-breaking storytelling potential and, more importantly, it's been built by Indigenous Australians for Indigenous Australians, a framework we've historically seen far too little of (through no fault of their own). But that just means that the rest of us still have plenty to learn from openly engaging with it.

ABC is clearly aware of what Cleverman represents, having already renewed it for a second season on the strength of its pilot episode alone. And the world is taking notice, with the show gaining US broadcast through Sundance TV, while the inclusion of international actor and Game Of Thrones star Iain Glen — who appears as media mogul Jarrod Slade — has ensured a degree of global attention, which, for a nascent Australian show, is a magical thing to have up its sleeve.

Cleverman has given us the power. Now, it's all of our responsibility to ensure it succeeds as best it can. 

Cleverman airs on ABC at 9.30pm Thursdays, and is available to watch on iview.