Australian Identity And Ideal

Sharon: Good Morning Brisbane. Your back today with your very own host, Sharon Samuel, and today I am joined with the Indigenous rights and cultural experts, Bella Simmons and Sarah Nel. Today on Aboriginal affairs, we will be exploring the representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the Australian docudrama TV film, ‘Mabo’. Released in 2012, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Blackfella films have created a film that reflects the trials and tribulations Indigenous and torres strait islanders had to face. Rachel Perkins, Director of the film ‘Mabo’ helps us recognise the special connection, Aboriginals and Torres strait islander people have with their land. So Bella or Sarah, can you please

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.

In the history of Australia, there are a variety of people in their respective areas have made outstanding achievements, made a contribution to the identity of Australia. Among these people, Anh Do is probably the most instructive and interesting person. As his book "happy refugees" implied, Anh experienced suffering in his early years. At the same time, he has maintained an optimistic attitude, this pain into an inspirational story, to share with you. At present, Anh has made achievements in various fields such as writers, films, television, artists, live performances and corporate speeches (Anhdo.com.au 2017). Anne 's story is sure to shape the identity of Australia. This report will analyze the achievements of Anhe and his

In this essay we will try to provide a brief overview of educational issues of Aboriginal communities in Australia and Victoria and the elements that influence the educational outcomes of young Aboriginal people, such as culture and contemporary challenges. In addition to this, the inclusion of Aboriginal content in the Victorian curriculum and classroom practices will be explored as well as contemporary government policies.

Despite living in a time of formal equality respecting all forms of cultures, religions and genders, Indigenous Australian youth are still confronted by multitudinous challenges growing up in contemporary Australian society. This essay explores the film ‘Yolngu Boy’ to gain an understanding of the issues and challenges Indigenous Australian youth face today. The reasons investigated are why Australian Indigenous youth are continuously being affected, connected and interdependent to both a dominate Western and Indigenous Australian culture.

This week’s learning has significantly developed my awareness of Indigenous origins, history and culture. I discovered the multiple recordings of Indigenous origins and events that occurred before and after European settlement. Before starting this unit I did not have proper knowledge of previous government policies of discriminating the lives of Indigenous Australians such as protection, assimilation, integration, self-determination, multiculturalism and the Howard Government’s mean-spirited practical reconciliation (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016); and how Indigenous Australians struggled to earn the equality (Miller, 2012) to reach the current policy of ‘Closing the Gap’. What this week’s learning have highlighted that today Australian classrooms acknowledge, respect and deliver Indigenous Australian histories more adequately than ever before. I now understand that Indigenous perspectives would help students to learn the interconnectedness of Indigenous histories and relate these to contemporary life for Indigenous Australians (The Department of Education, 2017). This understanding is essential for me to evaluate my own knowledge of Indigenous Australian histories and policies to develop a holistic approach to include Indigenous perspectives in classrooms.

The poem is proven to construct an impression of Australian identity by expressing the values, voice and poetic devices. The values help us relate to Australian identity by telling u us that Australia is full of important values such as masculinity, loyalty, the bush. All of these values are backed up with the poetic devices that help describe the values using imagery, rhyme and other techniques. Voice also helped the reader understand the poem better between the adventures and relationship between the horse and the

The poem I Was the Son of an Englishman by Komninos from the contemporary era actively and effectively portrays the changing nature of Australian culture and society, as it illustrates the diversity in the new Australian identity. After the Second World War, Australia changed in many ways and the new settlers began to make significant contributions to the Australian culture and identity. Poets from the contemporary era began to reflect modern Australia, as the rise of multiculturalism started to contribute to our new ideas, attitudes, values and beliefs about Australian identity. Komninos’ language can be seen in stanza three where it says “if I was the son of an Englishman, i’d really be true blue...i could desecrate the countryside, and destroy

The second half of the 1800’s consisted of “federal spirit”, a term to express the feeling of fellowship and common cause which they believed all Australians shared and which nourished the Federation movement. This “federal spirit” was formed from the visions of various groups in Australian society. The spirit and visions drove the formation of the nation today known as Australia. These visions of Australian society included a vision of national identity, a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole. A vision of a “White Australia” developed from the fear of invasion of outside nations. The desire for economic progress and a uniform tariff policy, called upon a push for Australia to federate. Each of these visions were driven out by groups that formed in Australian society to ambition to a united nation that it is today.

Since colonial times, sporting successes especially in cricket have assisted the emerging nation of Australia to establish its identity. The prevalence of cricket in Australia constitutes what Markovits and Hellerman (2001) coin a, “hegemonic sports culture”, and subsequently represents an influential part of Australian culture. However, the modernity discourse undermines the degree to which Australian identity is taking into account British Legacy.Today the Australian culture is comprised of a differing scope of encounters, nationalities and cultures, subsequently confounding the idea that Australian identity is based on British heritage. The verbose accentuation set on Australia’s

It is important to recognize that Australian history is not just about the arrival of Captain James Cook, but has an inclusive view of the Aboriginal history. Understanding the history of Land rights in particular acknowledges Indigenous struggle which includes the White Australia Policy and also the Stolen Generations. Aboriginal culture is inseparable from the land to which Aboriginal title is attached, and has been a continual struggle of Aboriginal people to be acknowledged as prior owners of the land and for recognition of all rights and obligations that flow from this association. Teaching Aboriginal students requires sensitivity for their special needs and knowledge about Aboriginal cultural protocols. Incorporating a program that relates to current day life for an Indigenous child that also works around Aboriginal parents limitations. (CreativeSpirits, 2015 ) There are plenty of barriers that effect education to an Indigenous Aboriginal, include inappropriate teaching materials and a lack of Aboriginal role models. Aboriginal education requires connection to communities, understanding issues of land rights such as ‘Welcome to Country’ is recognition that Aboriginal people are the original owners of the land. This enables the wider community to pay respect to Aboriginal people, share in Aboriginal culture and build better relationships.

Another limitation was my knowledge of their or any Aboriginal Culture. I can only recall watching ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ (2002) in Year 4 and then briefly touching on the places where Indigenous Australians used to live around Year 10. This raised the questions – who thought a 9 year old child had the emotional maturity to understand what was actually going on in the film? Or acknowledge the short period of time since this event took place. I was also shocked by Scott’s story of his schooling and how much hate he had for his white educator and the impact it still has on him today. This gives me a sense of discomfort being part of the dominant group without fully sharing in the dominant worldview. I can only imagine the difficulties faced by those Australians who have been identified as Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander people throughout the changing landscape of Australian’s history, yet been forced to conform to Western ways of doing or have been cut off from their country and family.

Traditionally Indigenous Australians main form of learning was through practice, art and music using their native language and culture (Foley, 2010, p. 176). Indigenous Australians have been discriminated against, abused and forced to forgo their traditional way of life through assimilation policies. Furthermore, Indigenous Australians were neglected in obtaining any form of education, such as basic literacy and numeracy (Foley, 2010, pp. 180-182). Inequalities for Indigenous Australians continue, creating a common stereotype in today’s society (De Plevitz, 2007, p. 66). It is the history of disposition Indigenous Australians have faced through constant degradation that formed this stereotype (Phillips, 2005). Wyn (2009)

The discovery of gold changed the nature of Australia more than any other event before or since socially, economically, environmentally and socially. The gold rushes of the 1850’s had a significant impact on shaping Australia’s identity.

Since 1788, the non-Indigenous and the Indigenous people have experienced significant historical events together, yet have resulted in two different perspectives. The overtly expressed European perspective has influenced the cultural representation of the Indigenous in Australia through media, education and the government system. Research suggests that the Indigenous people are mainstreamed in popular culture resulting in stereotypical views, misrepresentations and discrimination (Stanesby & Thomas, 2012; Roberts, 2008). While the media has a disgraceful record of representing Indigenous people, there is still a dependence of the media to provide reliable, accurate and unbiased information of issues and events that arise. With a focus on Aboriginal