‘Eating a Meal? A Succulent Chinese Meal?’ Viral Video is Officially Preserved in Australian Archive
A famous viral video is being preserved by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, an organization charged with the preservation of the country’s audiovisual cultural heritage.
The news reporters and photographers gathered outside the China Sea Restaurant in Brisbane on Friday, October 11, 1991, waiting for police to apprehend Jack Karlson could never have anticipated not only what they were about to witness, but that it would still be talked about and consumed almost 35 years later.
No doubt readers have already seen the video: a visibly confused Karlson emerges from the restaurant and slams shut the police car door. When told he is under arrest, he replies, “I’m under what?”
Karlson then launches into his famous, impromptu lines: “Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest.” Later followed by, “What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?”
The Shakespearean delivery of his lines speaks to his acting background, having starred in theater productions and television shows.
The reason the police arrested him that day remains unclear. The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) says it’s either because he was mistaken for an infamous dine-and-dasher, Paul Charles Dozsa. Or it’s because he was using stolen American Express credit cards. Karlson did have an extensive criminal record.
Either way the clip was shown to Australian TV news viewers in 1991, but it was then buried in an archive for years until 2009 when Russell Furman discovered it on the original camera tape and uploaded it to YouTube.
YouTube had only been available in Australia for just a couple of years and Furman’s main intention in uploading it was so he could share it with friends. Furman says that in 2013, popular YouTuber Ray William Johnson spotlighted the clip, calling it “the best arrest I’ve ever seen in my life.” From there, it really blew up and began spreading like wildfire across the internet, seeping into online cultural lore.
The NFSA says that Karlson’s reaction and words “became shorthand for irreverent Australian humor,” which is why it has been chosen for preservation.
“The recording demonstrates how voice and performance can transform an everyday news event into a lasting piece of cultural folklore,” the NFSA adds.
It’s certainly a piece of media with a fascinating history, and, in a way, it embodies Weegee’s F/8 and Be There mantra. Photographers and videographers, particularly those who cover news, simply don’t know when something iconic and memorable is about to unfold.
