Role of Media in Forming Australias National Identity - Essay Example

Role of Media in Forming Australia’s National Identity The present day Australia is a multicultural society, the national identity of which is still in the process of formation. Having broken away from British rule, Australia no longer identifies with the United Kingdom, and is getting more concentrated on establishing one’s own, unique national identity. This paper sets out to analyze the modern influences that are shaping cultural and national identity of the Australian society with the emphasis on media. In an article ‘Australia's National Identity’ by Richard Woolcut, the author’s interviewee, Mr. Noel Pearson maintains: “Australian identity is more than a melting pot […] our nation is a multi-layered fabric of people, culture and circumstance. We are not just a melting pot, we’re not just simple colours in a mosaic, we are, in fact, more complicated than that. […] We, as individuals, have within our breasts layers of identity according to sex, sexual preference, culture, religion, recreation, professional ties, vocational patriotism and political preference.” Furthermore, commenting on the role of media and its influence upon national identity, Louw (2005, p. 104) states that mass media play an important part in developing and circulating sets of common understandings [national identity] and when it comes to formation of contemporary identities, television has become as become as important as print. We will therefore in this paper look at these themes being discussed and will analyze the way in which contemporary movies and television programs help shaping Australian national identity. Australian national idea would be impossible without the notion of multiculturalism. Many refer to Australia as a ‘melting pot’, where a lot of nations blend into one united nation. Justin Healey (2000) states: “The policy of multiculturalism has served Australia well. It poses no conflict with national identity, it only adds more value, and also attributed a very crucial point to our developing nationhood.” Following this statement, we will analyze the media-sphere, scrutinizing such areas as television and cinema, trying to dissect it along diversity, multiculturalism and acknowledging aboriginal ancestry. The wide variety of specialized media in the Australian media space results in their being called ‘narrowcasting’ companies, which indicates that diversity in the media is supported not the way it is expected to be. Diversity is mostly misunderstood as a variety of entertainment diversity (news, sport, entertainment channels etc), but not cultural diversity. Out of the culturally homogeneous multitude, minority television, SBS among them, is standing out by supporting national identity through acknowledging cultural and national diversity. Since its formation in 1980’s the SBS has been reflecting multiculturalism and adding diversity to the broadcast system. The program guide for this channel contains a mix of shows in different languages and different formats, thus covering a wide variety of minority audience. For supporting multiculturalism SBS channel has been much praised and received numerous positive responses for being ‘a truly heterogeneous public institution’ (see Hawkings, 1996). Despite the possible similarities, SBS channel is different from the so-called ‘exile TV’, which is focused only on catering to the needs of small immigrant groups. It is suggesting innovation, because it addresses different fragments of society, dissecting the Australian nation along different lines: sex, religion, origin, nationality etc. By acknowledging diversity and at the same time treating their audience as an unalienable part of the Australian national community, SBS channel makes a tremendous contribution to shaping national identity of Australia. It is clear, at the same time, that such channels are unlikely to win mass popularity like entertainment, sport channels etc, but their role for the society, despite all the recent criticism, is undoubtedly great. In the context of this course, the question of national diversity in movies provides ample ground for research, because it not only involves the questions of multiculturalism as a representation of international ethnic groups, but also touches upon the questions of Aboriginal movies and intra-national diversity. The formation of the national idea in Australian cinematograph is marked by a disputable concept of ‘white multiculturalism’. Some argue that white multiculturalists appropriate ‘non-white commodities’ to preserve the ‘white nation ideology’ while others say that those white multiculturalists who “use ethnics as national objects … contribute to the development of cultural diversity in Australian film and television.” (Aquila, 2001). A good example of this is “Head On” (1997) by Ana Kokkinos. It was a remarkable phenomenon in Australian culture and cinema because it has gained mass popularity, becoming a box office success. The movie is touching upon a number of issues that are central to the Australian society, covering topics such as sex, sexual preference, culture, religion and thus gives plenty food for thought and contributes to national identity. Before that movie, the cinema trend was to depict white people of Anglo-Saxon origin, with scarce, if any trace of Eastern European or Asian migration trends, and clearly little mention of aboriginal people. In this way this movie can be called both a commercial and cultural success, telling the story of a second generation Greek-Australian gay teenager Ari, who doesn’t identify himself as a member of solely Greek community, but rather the new country and nation he was living in. Living in an Australian society, he recognized the freedom of sex and sexual preferences, which is a taboo in his home culture and plunges into hedonistic lifestyle, which draws him closer (not something to boast of, clearly) to representatives of Anglo-Australian community. Even though main themes of the movie are not as much dealing with national issues, still there is a considerable part of the movie, which contributes to the question of national identity through highlighting various forms of diversity: cultural, sexual and ethnic. Another bit to the cultural mosaic is the aspect of aboriginal ancestry, through portrayal of aboriginal people. Re-establishing connections with one’s aboriginal ancestry is important because it intends to fill the gap in the national culture and history. This is obviously an attempt to correct the mistakes of the imperial past, the tactics of which was to wipe out the aborigines and then assimilate them into the culture. The trends all across the world demonstrates strive towards reviving the aboriginal past and restore it as a part of national identity (US Indians, AU aborigines, Maya, Aztec, African tribes etc). Until the 90’s Australian cinema had a tremendous number of movies shot about the indigenous population (about 6000 in fact), and virtually nothing made by the indigenous population about themselves. Critics faced problems of not finding a sufficient amount of critical literature on the topic of indigenous film makers. Indigenous film making process also faced series of other problems like inability to understand the culture by the Anglo-Saxons, their inability to lead the dialogue, stereotypical perception of the indigenes as being ‘stone age’ and ‘primitive’ and inaccurate representation of the indigenes. One of the good illustrations of this cultural gap is the movie Jedda (director Charles Chauvel, 1955), which is now regarded as classics of Australian cinema. It was the first movie to star two aboriginal actors and also the first in Australia to be shot in colour. It dissects Australian society along the line of being white vs. non-white, portraying the main heroine, Jedda as being torn between two cultures – the aboriginal and that of settlers. The new family Jedda is living represents both intolerance to diversity and recognition of the fact that her culture has to be accepted as it is, because ‘tribal instincts can’t we wiped out in a small life span’ (Palmer, D & Gillard, D, 2001). As a result of this cultural counter-standing little Jedda dies showing Australian cinematic racism at its worst. One of the central characters to the movie, Marbuk, is portrayed as a ‘Tarzan in black face’ (see ibid), demonstrating again the failure to recognize their culture by the Anglo-Australians. Both sides of the story: Jedda with Marbuk, and the McManns, represent different sides of the conflict, yet constituting one whole – one nation. Thus the movie can be called as contributing to forming Australian national identity through depicting diversity. Another remarkable example is the commercially successful movie called “Beneath Clouds” (2002), directed by Ivan Sen, it being largely an autobiographical story. It is a movie made by an aboriginal writer about aboriginal people. Lena, the main heroine, is a half blood indigene, denies her aboriginal origin, which is painful to deny and impossible to live with. She longs for the mossy hills of Ireland – the country of her father, while escaping the grim reality of her surrounding. Vaughn, her partner in the journey from New South Valley to Sydney, a full blood indigene, also accompanies her in her this journey. Having escaped from a low security prison, he is unwillingly traveling to see his dying mother. He also doesn’t seem to show appreciation of his descent either, showing interest in American gang and youth culture. The setting of the movie – the Australian nature and the road (symbol of journey and change) emphasizes the theme of aboriginality. The importance of this movie is that it shows the indigenous point of view, without criticizing or humiliating their culture, as it was seen in the previous movie. This fact, to an extent, shows the perceptive evolution of the ‘Native Australians’, from savage to civilized and perfectly normal. From the suggested reading it appears that the theme of aborigines and attitude to them has still to undergo considerable change, where a constructive dialog has to be present in order for the two ethnic groups of one nation to understand each other. It is, however, possible that this perception will take a long time to change due to long-standing stereotypes. Nevertheless the movie has done a good job in making a significant contribution to shaping Australian national identity. As seen from the materials suggested above, television and films are more than significant contributors to shaping the national identity. The process of forming National identity is continuous and is evolving and changing in response to constant fluctuation of the social, political, economic, cultural spheres. Having analyzed suggested materials it is logical to conclude that Australian national identity is impossible without constant emphasis on acknowledging and appreciating diversity in all of its forms; for that reason the role of media in the process of forming a uniform Australian nation cannot be underestimated. References 1. Aquilia, Pieter. (2001) "Wog Drama and 'White Multiculturalists': The Role of Non Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity." JAS, Australia's Public Intellectual Forum. 67, pp. 104-08, 223-24. 2. Beneath Clouds, 2002. [Film] Directed by Ivan Sen. Australia: AFFC. 3. Hawkins, G. (1996). SBS—Minority television. Culture and Policy, 7(1), 45-63. 4. Head on, 1997 [Film]. Directed by Ana Kokkinos. Australia: Strand Home Video. 5. Jedda, 1955. [Film] Directed by Charles Chauvel 6. Justin Healey (2000), Australia’s National Identity, Vols 126,133 The Spinney Press Australia NSW 7. Louw, Eric (2005) The Media and Political Process. Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd 8. Palmer, Dave, and Gary Gillard. (2002) Aborigines, Ambivalence and Australian Film. Metro (No. 134), pp 128-134. 9. Richard Woolcott (2000) AC, Australia’s National Identity The Australian Read More

In the context of this course, the question of national diversity in movies provides ample ground for research, because it not only involves the questions of multiculturalism as a representation of international ethnic groups but also touches upon the questions of Aboriginal movies and intra-national diversity. The formation of the national idea in the Australian cinematograph is marked by a disputable concept of ‘white multiculturalism’. Some argue that white multiculturalists appropriate ‘non-white commodities’ to preserve the ‘white nation ideology’ while others say that those white multiculturalists who “use ethnics as national objects … contribute to the development of cultural diversity in Australian film and television.

” (Aquila, 2001). A good example of this is “Head On” (1997) by Ana Kokkinos. It was a remarkable phenomenon in Australian culture and cinema because it has gained mass popularity, becoming a box office success. The movie is touching upon several issues that are central to Australian society, covering topics such as sex, sexual preference, culture, religion and thus gives plenty of food for thought and contributes to national identity. Before that movie, the cinema trend was to depict white people of Anglo-Saxon origin, with scarce, if any trace of Eastern European or Asian migration trends, and clearly little mention of aboriginal people.

In this way this movie can be called both a commercial and cultural success, telling the story of a second-generation Greek-Australian gay teenager Ari, who doesn’t identify himself as a member of solely the Greek community, but rather the new country and nation he was living in. Living in Australian society, he recognized the freedom of sex and sexual preferences, which is a taboo in his home culture, and plunges into a hedonistic lifestyle, which draws him closer (not something to boast of, clearly) to representatives of the Anglo-Australian community.

Even though the main themes of the movie are not as much dealing with national issues, still there is a considerable part of the movie, which contributes to the question of national identity by highlighting various forms of diversity: cultural, sexual, and ethnic. Another bit to the cultural mosaic is the aspect of aboriginal ancestry, through the portrayal of aboriginal people. Re-establishing connections with one’s aboriginal ancestry are important because it intends to fill the gap in the national culture and history.

This is obviously an attempt to correct the mistakes of the imperial past, the tactics of which was to wipe out the aborigines and then assimilate them into the culture. The trends all across the world demonstrate strive towards reviving the aboriginal past and restore it as a part of national identity (US Indians, AU aborigines, Maya, Aztec, African tribes, etc). Until the ’90s Australian cinema had a tremendous number of movies shot about the indigenous population (about 6000 in fact), and virtually nothing made by the indigenous population about themselves.

Critics faced problems of not finding a sufficient amount of critical literature on the topic of indigenous filmmakers.The indigenous film-making process also faced series of other problems like the inability to understand the culture by the Anglo-Saxons, their inability to lead the dialogue, stereotypical perception of the indigenes as being ‘stone age’ and ‘primitive’, and inaccurate representation of the indigenes. One of the good illustrations of this cultural gap is the movie Jedda (director Charles Chauvel, 1955), which is now regarded as a classic of Australian cinema.

It was the first movie to star two Aboriginal actors and also the first in Australia to be shot in color. It dissects Australian society along the line of being white vs. non-white, portraying the main heroine, Jedda as being torn between two cultures – the aboriginal and that of settlers. The new family Jedda is living in represents both intolerance to diversity and recognition of the fact that her culture has to be accepted as it is, because ‘tribal instincts can’t be wiped out in a small life span’ (Palmer, D & Gillard, D, 2001).

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