Democracy Manifest

"Democracy Manifest" (also known as "Succulent Chinese Meal") is a 1990 Australian news segment video by reporter Chris Reason. It is "one of Australia's most viral videos", according to Sportsbet.[1] The Guardian called it "perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the past 10 years".[2] YouTube has several postings of the video, and they "have more than one million views each".[3]

Surrounded by police, the man is amazed at being arrested, exclaiming: "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!"

It features a man who is being arrested[upper-alpha 1] at a Fortitude Valley Chinese restaurant for the purported crime of "dine and dash". Wrestled into a police car, he speaks with the commanding voice of a trained stage actor. As the police fumble, he exclaims "This is Democracy Manifest", "Get your hand off my penis!", "What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?", and "I see you know your Judo well".[4]

The video was made in 1990, but it was not uploaded to the Internet until 2009. A mystery developed about who the man was, with theories centring on Hungarian chess player Paul Charles Dozsa known for his dine and dash exploits. In 2020, an aging Australian man, later identified as Cecil George Edwards, appeared in a punk rock video by the Australian band, The Chats, that revealed his true identity as the man in the now-viral 1990 video. The revelation led to an interview with Sportsbet and a feature in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Synopsis

The video shows an unnamed man being escorted by police out of a Chinese restaurant into a waiting police car. He is clearly agitated by this situation, and when told he is being placed under arrest he boisterously exclaims in a stentorian voice, "I am under what?". As police wrestle him into a headlock and try to force him into the car, the man booms in the controlled voice of a classic stage actor, apparently addressing an audience, "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest". As the scuffle escalates, he shouts, "Get your hand off my penis!" and then incredulously asks, "What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?" As the police struggle to contain the man, he compliments them on the headlock, "Ah, yes. I see that you know your Judo well." He is then man-handled into the car, feet-first, while asking someone inside the vehicle, "And you, sir, are you waiting to receive my limp penis?", and bidding his audience "ta ta and farewell". By this point, members of the public can be heard to chuckle in the background.

History

The video was taped by then-freshman reporter Chris Reason at Seven News.[5] As it turned out, the police arrested the wrong man in a case of mistaken identity; they thought he was "an international criminal." They actually arrested Cecil George Edwards, a petty criminal with a flair for acting and multiple aliases, who was released later that day to the embarrassment of the police.[5] The clip remained obscure until a raw video version was uploaded to the Internet in January 2009 when it became an immediate viral video.[2]

The raw footage was missing Reason's voice-over explaining who the man was, or what the incident was about, and Internet speculation attempted to resolve the mystery. Theories about the man's identity centered on Paul Charles Dozsa, a Hungarian chess player and notorious dine and dasher,[6][7][8][9] but there were also serious doubts about this theory. It was questioned as to why the arrest was filmed from so many angles, why it was filmed at all and why the allegedly-Hungarian man did not sound Hungarian. Friends, family and acquaintances of Dozsa also stated that the man in the video was not Dozsa.[10][11][12][13][14] Other theories included that the man was politician John Bartlett, the video was a skit from a television show, or that the man was a real dine and dasher named Gregory John Ziegler.[15]

The mystery of the man's identity continued until 2020, when Australian punk band The Chats published a music video titled "Dine 'N Dash" that re-created the viral video with an older man acting the part of the arrestee.[16][4] The actor then identified himself in an interview with Sydney Morning Herald as Cecil George Edwards the man in the viral video, now going by the name of "Jack K". Asked why he made such a show during the arrest, he said he wanted to appear crazy so he might be placed into an asylum where it would be easier to escape. It was also revealed he had an artistic career making paintings, including some of the arrest.[5]

In 2020, "Jack K" was interviewed by Sportsbet in a video titled "Democracy Manifest Guy Speaks".[1] The interview includes the original Seven News archival footage of the event that was last broadcast to the public in 1990. In this footage Reason confirms his identity, "When Cecil George Edwards was arrested in a town mall last Friday, the Valley police thought they'd caught Queensland's most wanted."

Influences

Since being uploaded to Youtube in 2009, the video has become a viral hit in Australian culture.[5] When Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2019, comparisons were made between both respective arrests and "it didn't take long for Aussies to all make the same joke".[17]

It has been the subject of an orchestral work composed by Michael Tan (and conducted by Sam Weller) that was performed at the Sydney Opera House by Ensemble Apex.[upper-alpha 2][22]

Slipstream Brewing Company, a microbrewer in Yeerongpilly, Queensland, makes a beer named 'Succulent Chinese Meal'.[23]

References

Notes
  1. One journalist states the arrest has never proven to be real, but also provides no evidence it was not real.[3]
  2. Weller is a classical saxophonist and conductor.[18][19] He helped form the Ensemble Apex.[20][21]

Citations
  1. "Meet Mr Democracy Manifest". Sportsbet. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  2. Naaman Zhou (30 December 2019). "From iSnack2.0 to Tony Abbott's onions: the best Australian memes of the decade". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  3. Butler, Josh (5 March 2020). "The 'Democracy Manifest' Meme Guy May Not Be Dead, According To The Chats". 10 Daily. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. Smiedt, David (9 March 2020). "Why It's Important To Keep Eating At Asian Restaurants". GQ Magazine. Newslifemedia Pty Ltd. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  5. Drevikovsky, Janek (8 March 2020). "'This is democracy manifest': Mystery star of viral video found at last". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. Leedham, Nicole (4 May 1995). "Thief served up his just deserts". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. Paul Chamberlin (3 November 1988). "Ex-Chef eats on the run again". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  8. "Former Chef Fined For 54th Eating Offense". Associated Press. 2 November 1988. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  9. Phillips, Daisy (11 June 2016). "VIDEOS The Backstory Behind 'Democracy Manifest' Guy Is As Funny As His Video". Sick Chirpse. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  10. Perrie, Stewart (5 March 2020). "Aussie Band The Chats Team Up With The 'Democracy Manifest' Bloke For New Music Video". LAD Bible. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  11. Tyler Jenke (16 June 2019). "A succulent Australian mystery: Just who is the bloke in this iconic video?". The Brag. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  12. Blair, Tim (7 September 2013). "This Week On The Web". Daily Telegraph. News Limited – via Gale.
  13. Percival, Tom (12 June 2016). "Story Behind The 'Democracy Manifest' Guy Is Even Funnier Than His Video". UNILAD. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  14. Pan, Alexander (6 March 2020). "The Story Behind The 'Succulent Chinese Meal' Guy Is Weirder Than That Cop's Judo". GOAT goat.com.au. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  15. Wenger, Charles (8 November 2019). "The Succulent Enigma of Paul Dozsa". Level Up Chess. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  16. Newstead, Al (6 March 2020). "The Chats want you to enjoy a meal, a succulent sonic meal". ABC Australia. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  17. Stewart Perrie (12 April 2019). "Aussies All Made The Same Joke After Julian Assange Was Booted From Ecuadorian Embassy". Lad Bible. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  18. "Sam Weller" (PDF). Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  19. "Talented conductor shows great potential". University of Sydney. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  20. "In Conversation: Sam Weller and Ensemble Apex". Re:hearsal Magazine. Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  21. Eslake, Stephanie (22 March 2017). "Backstage with Sam Weller, Ensemble Apex: THE NEWEST YOUNG CHAMBER ORCHESTRA IN SYDNEY". Cut₵ommon Magazine. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  22. Tan, Michael (2 December 2019). "Democracy Manifest with Symphony Orchestra". Retrieved 23 March 2020 – via YouTube.
  23. "Succulent Chinese Meal". untappd.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020. An easy drinking Gos [sic] with additions of Lychee, szechuan pepper and lemongrass with no added MSG.
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