The course involves studying the origins, development, historical accuracy and political implications of images that have played a role in Australian public discourse from the beginning of European colonisation to the present day; it involves looking at the concept of national identity and the use of images and myths in the construction of identity and a national history, to the extent that either of these actually exist. The origins of a masculinist (drinking) culture and mateship for example, is bound closely to three powerful images: (i) "The Bushman"; the independent, itinerant worker bonded to his 'mates', (ii) "The Digger"; the miner-cum-1st World War soldier, the heroic figure embodying the youth and vigour of the 'new' country; (iii) "The Livesaver"; the more recent, post-war, more disciplined expression of masculinity; by this time the Australian image is more strongly linked to the coast than the outback.
The reasons for this masculinist culture is strongly linked to demographics; men outnumbered women 2:1 until the 1840s when it slowly began to change (the vast majority of convicts were male), and the imbalance continues today in rural areas where mining and farming are the primary industries. The situation is reversed in urban areas. It is likely that this masculinism has convict origins and is also borne out of perceived need to 'protect' white women from the alien country/aborigines/asians (but interestingly not from other white males). The men toil over the land and the women keep home. Masculinity and alcohol were linked at an early stage; the pub was often the first building to be erected in a new settlement and the public bar became a gendered space where women were not permitted; it was also egalitarian - the expression of a classless society where men drank in rounds ('shouts') in order to get drunk. Women were present only as barmaids or in the adjacent 'Ladies Lounge" where they were often served the slops. This continued until 1965 when two feminists chained themselves to a public bar and sparked a national outcry; as well as letters of support they also received death threats. The law changed soon after.
Other legends, such as the Bushman (and later Crocodile Dundee, Steve Irwin etc), became popular as an expression of Australian identity because it is so un-British; the bushman legend later developed in to the ANZAC myth as a result of Gallipoli. It is interesting, as of course so few Australians live in the Bush relative to the cities! Images of Australia are also consistently white-male; fears of an "Asian Invasion" reached a hiatus in the late nineteenth century: explicable due to huge asian populations, Japanese imperial expansion and the failure of white Australia to colonise the vast and empty north of the country, plus an influx of Chinese during the 1850s Gold Rush (though most of these left by the Depression of the 1890s). It was also linked to English fears of European invasion at this time, and there is a wealth of 'invasion literature' in this period. The fears led to the White Australia policy (nb the defeat of Russia by Japan in 1905 sent shock-waves through the European world); there was a growing realisation that Britain could not be relied upon to protect Australia. After the WWII and the end of Japanese imperialism, mass immigration and multiculturalism changed the country hugely.
There is no singular, definitive national identity. Sport plays a central role in Australia in providing a unifying, imaginary community within a huge and diverse country - rural/urban; coastal/bush; asian/aboriginal/white-British/European; working class/middle class; sport transcends all of these. The recent introduction of NRL (rugby league) franchises to Victoria (a non-rugby state - which, incidentally unlike NSW was never a penal colony), and the same for AFL (Aussie Rules) to NSW and Queensland is important in bringing the different states closer - the federal system expresses difference as much as it does similarity. Time will tell how successful this will be, but it is facilitated by greater movements of people between the main urban coastal centres. Cathy Freeman - an Aboriginal Australian, won gold in the 400m at the Sydney Games and became a national hero and icon; 'Our Cathy' saw a shift from the white-male sporting hero (rugby player, cricketer or Lifesaver) to an aboriginal-female heroine. As an expression of "Australianess" this represents a remarkable cultural shift in attitudes to Aboriginal Australia specifically but also to white Australian identity in claiming she is part of the "us". The shift in attitudes to Aboriginal Australia has continued with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Apology last year. The implications of the 1992 landmark Mabo case, in which the High Court recognised native title and effectively undermined the original British claim that the land was 'unoccupied' in 1788, is yet to be fully played out, and Australian history is still in the early stages of being re-written in order to incorporate the indigenous peoples who have been excluded from the national narrative for so long.
There are other Australian myths, images and legends (e.g. the Pioneer legend, the timeless continent, the tropical paradise) but that's a brief overview. Comments, thoughts, views etc are welcome...
No comments:
Post a Comment