Media Destroying Our National Identity Research Paper

This is a reputation that many believe Pauline Hanson is out to destroy. Her controversial views combined with her political power has the potential to divide Australian society, and damage our international image. Hanson believes that the government spends too much money on foreign aid and welfare, specifically Aboriginal welfare services. The problems arose when she publicallyannounced this in her maiden speech at a time of great social change; many people were recognizing that minority groups in Australia were disadvantaged despite what Australian identity would have them believe. “We now have a situation where a type of reverse racism is applied to mainstream Australians by those who promote political correctness.” It is partly true that a ‘type of reverse racism’ exists, however Hanson blows this idea out of proportion, creating controversy. While this controversy potentially aids her political campaign with widespread media coverage, it has the side effect of dividing Australian society. There will be one group of people who agree with her views and another who don’t. Instead of uniting all Australians under the same goals of multiculturalism, Hanson seemingly ‘drives a wedge’ through our society. Multiculturalism is a vulnerable thing for a country like Australia, and Hanson poses a threat to this identity with her primitive views, and her political

When it comes to false representations and stereotypical conversations, Australia is one of the biggest nations on the talking list. From choosing a barbeque with mates over work to kids riding kangaroos to school, it leave many australians with one question. Are we being represented as the raw product, or are texts twisting the facts to make us seem far from the normality?

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.

Mateship. Adventurous. Loyal. Free. Proud. These are the typical words Australians use to describe themselves, to identify themselves as different from the rest of the world. But who is an Australian? Someone that was born in Australia? Only people we choose to call Australian? People with great achievements that we choose to take credit for? Only people that love sport and vegemite? Or maybe only people with ‘Aussie’ accents? The Australian population is a proud one indeed, proud of their nation, their achievements and their own independent way of life, but sometimes us Aussies, forget about the rest of the world and all those other people that make us, who we are.

Present day Australia is met with the issue of outlining a sense of a nationwide community, after the breakdown of the British race patriot idea in the mid-1960s with the introduction of multiculturalism. The Euro-centric perception of Australia was annulled and it was incapable in playing a significant part in Australian policies and priorities. It triggered a calamity of national identity and meaning. The credence that Australian’s were apart of Britain, united by history, tradition and blood needed to be revised. A people who had recognized themselves so strongly with the British race now had to accede their race awareness and apprehend the notion of being a now multicultural society. The dawn of multiculturalism also provoked a quandary for balancing a respect of the British heritage with the abating relevance of the British connection and to construct a new language of community from the residues of the old British ways.

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.

How a country is designed and subsequently populated will have an indelible impression on the joint psychology of that country's population. The people's understanding of themselves as a country will also affect how that nation presents itself to the rest of the world. Much of this will have to do with the country's concepts of nation, nationalism, and community. A nation is a socially-constructed concept dealing with the country itself as well as the population in the lands of that country. Nationalism, on the other hand, is a political principle which deals with the joint consciousness of that nation, including their shared targets of antagonism and satisfaction (Gelner 2006). All countries are affected by their concepts of nation and nationalism, and also by their sense of constancy and community. The history of any given nation will have an indelible impact on the way that the nation constructs itself and develops in the present and also into the future. This is particularly true of a nation which has a history filled with negative perception and has tried to evolve from that primary function. Every nation will invariably develop a unique culture which will be born of the ethnicity and religion of the people who inhabit a given community. Australia has become linked to the concept of an imagined community. Social critic Benedict Anderson coined this phrase by defining an imagined community as one in which there is not innate sense of

Identity is a very important part of being Australian; it is a feeling of being associated with a national group, defined by a common heritage, which may be based on many attributes, including race, territory, language and history. "The Men of the Open Spaces", written be Will H. Ogilvie addresses these issues of Australian identity, constructing a powerful representation of the Australian 'bush ' culture. The text uses past views of popular culture that are still ubiquitous today, to construct a sense of national ideology. The text focuses on a very traditional concept of nationhood and constructs a stereotypical representation of Australian culture. This essay will explore this in relation to the discourses

This can be seen as a potential halt in the development of Australia’s national identity as other countries may ridicule and mock the way in which they believe Australians live.

‘Media discourse is the main source of people’s knowledge, attitudes and ideologies and although media coverage might not generate racism, it can certainly reinforce it. One-sided portrayals and news articles could easily become the reality in the minds of the audience’ (Van Dijk, 2000, pp. 36).

It is applied indiscriminately within the Australian media to label array of factors seen as threatening to national identity, way of life or values. This uncomplimentary use of Americanisation sees Australia as adopting social practices and cultural values which originates in the United States. (Bennett 1999)

It is through the representation of Australian media that the recognition of ethical diversity is constructed and challenged. The term ‘Australianness’ is a paradigm of the values, culture and tradition that makes Australia Australian. The television soap ‘Neighbours’, represents ideas of ‘Australianness’ through the casting of diverse characters, the theme of an Australian neighbourhood and the setting. However, Australian media has challenged the idea of ‘Australianness’ by failing to reveal diversity in a multicultural population. The media has represented ‘Australianness’, through a ‘typical’ Australian family, blonde hair, blue eyes mostly white Anglo-Saxon.

There was once a time, l was proud to call myself an Australian, unfortunately that feeling of pride is slowly dwindling away. There are many reasons why I find myself, becoming dissatisfied with the direction that my country is heading. We can start with the abysmal political system, or how we haven't legalised medical marijuana, or at least ran test on the effectiveness of it, or that we are so politically correct, that we can no longer have a diverse array of opinions within society, If you don't follow the group you're labelled a racist or bigot, there was a time that we claimed that we were a multicultural country, now every time I open any form of social media there is someone talking about , signing a petition

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our

One of the greatest revolutions in the twentieth century was not political in nature, however, it aided in many different political revolutions. This revolution was the communications revolution. The twentieth century has experienced one of the greatest changes in means of communication including technologies such as radio, motion pictures, the Internet, advanced communications and most importantly the television. Sadly, political leaders and the government to convince or persuade the masses that their ideas supercede those of others have utilized these technologies.