Identity. It’s a broad and difficult concept. As Australians, our identity is multi-faceted, having various different expressions. One aspect of my sense of Australian identity is masculinity and the idea of the “Aussie Battler.” An Aussie Battler is a man from the working class, a person who has pride in the country they live in. An Aussie battler is a patriarchal figure who works hard to support their family, often spending their spare time with the family or at the pub. The Piper’s Son, an Australian novel by Melina Marchetta, reflects my sense of Australian identity through it’s representation of Australian masculinity in the depiction of Dominic Finch-Mackee as the archetypal “Aussie Battler.”
The “Aussie Battler” is a facet of my
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Throughout the novel, Dominic’s heavy, and eventually unhealthy dependence on alcohol is talked about. After the death of Joe, Dominic “drinks himself to oblivion.” This display of Dominic’s reliance on alcohol reflects the idea of an Aussie Battler, a person who deals with adversity in the unconventional way of drinking alcohol instead of talking about it.
Through characterisation, Dominic Finch-Mackee can be read as a representation of Australian masculinity through his depiction as the archetypal “Aussie Battler.” This contrasts to the representation of my sense of Australian identity in First Dance, a short story by Penelope Rowe which depicts alcohol, sexual violence and the “pack mentality” as elements of Australian adolescent masculinity.
As an Australian, my sense of identity in terms of adolescent masculinity is that there is a definite nature of sexual aggression, alcoholism and a pack-like mentality. In First Dance, my sense of identity is reflected through the characterisation of the adolescent men. In the short story, the group of teenage boys exhibit a pack. Roy — the natural born leader of the group, keeps his boys in order and makes sure they didn't get “out of line,” depriving them of attention. The rest of the group, looked up to Roy, relying on him. This structure of the group of teenage boys likens them to a wolf pack - Roy being the alpha male with an unspoken hierarchy in the remainder of the
In the 2011 Australian film ‘Red Dog’ directed by Kriv Stenders many issues relating to Australian identity are addressed including the stereotypical Australian values such as conflict with authority and mateship. Stenders uses skilful camera and visual techniques to portray a realistic 1970’s context throughout the movie. Throughout the movie it is evident that Stenders portrays his values and attitudes such as rebellion against authority that abuses power and independence.
Australian people and culture are often stereotyped in the media in different forms, one of them being film. The two films being examined, ‘Red dog’ (2011) and the ‘Sapphires’ (2012), are an example of the Australian identity but from different points of view. ‘Red dog’ shows the kind and positive side which exemplifies mateship and loyalty. The film ‘Sapphires’ ,which takes place in the 1950’s through to the 1960’s, shows a negative and racist view towards the indigenous people. Both the films show different aspects of the Australian identity, not all insights of the films accurately represent contemporary Australian identity as the Australian identity has changed by the evolution of people and their lifestyle.
Finally, Australian Narratives teach us about respect. Through the use of Constable's intense language, "Jules wrenched the cue from Sadie's arm. 'Go on, piss of with your abo boyfriend." it creates a sense of hatred to Lachie and sympathy to Sadie and Walter. However, during chapter 16, Craig Mortlock is being friendly just because David lead the team to victory. "He flung his arm around David. 'Glad I caught you, mate.'" By looking at Constable's way to resolve problems, we can see how relationships work, how respect was shown and how we can apply them to real
Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.
Charlie articulates how he “never understood why you would ever feel the need to shoot the fish in the barrel… (if) they’re in a barrel, you’ve already caught them… they can’t escape... why bring guns into it?” Silvey’s use of characterisation and first person point of view portrays Charlie’s realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards ‘the other’. The “fish” is symbolic of Charlie and how he is different to the people of Corrigan; who are like vultures – constantly seeking the chance to attack those that are considered the ‘minority’. Charlie’s close friend, Jeffrey Lu, is a gifted and committed cricket player who persistently tries to get himself in the local team, however, due to his Vietnamese background, “he’s ruthlessly bullied and belted about by the boys at school.” The emotive imagery and alliteration of “bullied” and “belted” further depict Charlie’s internal conflict in addition to his realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards the peripheral of society. The use of emotive imagery positions readers to realise the extent to which powerful words can have; causing readers to recognise how crude and harrowing humankind can be towards the marginalised. Thus, Silvey effectively conveys to the reader how the indigenous race were isolated from ‘white Australian’ society; how intelligent individuals were ostracised; and, how groups of people with racially different backgrounds were isolated from mainstream Australian society.
Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.
Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree.
The Tropfest films Road Rage (2006) and Lemonade Stand (2012) both represent Australian stories and Australian voices. Both of the films explore the representation of Australians and show many different aspects of Australian culture. The film Road Rage expounds a different more emotional side to the typical stereotype of Australian men. Lemonade Stand also represents Australian culture, through the use of themes such as mateship and the Aussie Battler. Both of the films through the use of mis-en-scene and a variety of different visual and oral techniques show key aspects of Australian culture,
Australia in the late 20th century, was an important period when intelligentsia were seeking to define its nation and its national identity. One powerful communicator was in the writings and articles published in popular newspapers, which offered differing ideas and approaches on this subject. In this essay I aim to analyse two documents in the form of ballads that were published in this period, and to describe how they played a part in constructing an image that could be used to define the nation and create a national identity; in their historical, social, economic and political context.
Australian national identity is a changing view, shaped by the attitudes and values of its citizens, its relationships through trade and alliances with neighbouring countries, the composition of Australia’s society and the rights and freedoms of all Australians. Through Australia’s history during the federation and through to current times our national identity has evolved quite significantly and has come to appreciate what once was frowned upon.
Australia is a multicultural terrain made up of individuals from many contrasting backgrounds with disparate attitudes and values. On the surface, it would seem that Australia is fair-for-all and wholly egalitarian, and it is commonly thought that the majority of the people who live here value mateship and friendliness, and though this is true for some of the population, this representation of Australia isn't the truth for everyone. The tapestry that makes up Australia has frayed edges and broken threads, from a distance it looks accomplished and errorless, but close up there are issues. The way women writers represent Australia in texts is diverse.
These chosen texts reveal the influence of Australian society on the formation of masculine values. The respective authors use characterisation to establish the importance of mateship in this context. However, these relationships often use this ideal in a coercive manner. Due to this, men in these texts often have issues with social or legal boundaries, which stem from male friendships. Conversely, men may draw a distinct Australian identity from their relationships with both women and the land. This emphasises anxieties over a shared colonial history, as European masculinity must meet with a new continent. The authors also present the similar influence of these connections over the development of positive masculine traits, such as hard work
The academic field of cultural studies has, ever since its establishment in Australia, placed great emphasis on the representation of what was broadly defined as “national character,” and popular culture artefacts were not exempt from such restrictions. Various cultural representations of Australian “national character” have been based on the working class ethos and anti-authoritarianism, prejudiced in favour of certain social groups (usually celebrating the white male privilege), and spatially contextualized either in the Australian bush and the outback, or in the coastal cities. Within such a clear spatial polarization, the suburbs were largely neglected and referred to as the Australian ugliness. This paper attempts to disclose the subversive
The film starts with the narrator, Jackson Katz, underlining the extreme notion of masculinity that is presented in our everyday lives. Contrary to popular beliefs, masculinity is a projection that is put up by men and not a fixed state of being. The ‘tough guise’, defined by Katz as “the front that so many men put up that 's based on the extreme notions of masculinity that emphasizes toughness and physical strength and gaining the respect and admiration of others through violence or the implicit threat of it”, becomes the main issue that affects people who identify as male. When Katz brought up the meaning of a man, the film intercuts to scenes of interviewed teenagers who used words like ‘tough’, ‘independent’, ‘muscular’, ‘strong’, and ‘powerful’ to describe their ideas of a man. When asked to describe a man who does not conform to these standards, the teenagers used words like ‘wuss’, ‘sissy’, ‘weak’, ‘bitch’, and ‘fag’ instead. This scene truly underlines the widespread binary gender roles that are seen as common and universal among adolescents. In a sense, this influential
Within the stories “Compatriots” by Emma Lee Warrior and “Traplines” by Eden Robinson, it is shown through further examination that both stories share similar concepts. Both stories demonstrate prominent examples of loss of Aboriginal culture, identity, and the use of stereotypes. Loss of Aboriginal Culture is shown throughout both stories, showing the lack of respect and love the characters in Compatriots and Traplines go through. In Compatriots, identity is a major factor the characters within the story deal with, as it touches about the question: What does it mean to be a true Aboriginal? In Traplines, the struggle to find one’s identity is shown throughout the main character Will, and his journey, as he finds it difficult to figure out where he belongs.