The Long Search For Australian Identity. Quadrant, 89-95. Nourry, D. (2005). Body-Politic (National Imaginary): 'Lest We Forget...Mateship (Empire) Right or Wrong. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 19:3, 365-379.
I am analysing Beneath Clouds within context to ‘Representing Australia’, and the key components relating to the text such as prejudice, racism and colonialism in Australia. In particular I will research the effects that colonialism has had on the new generation of Indigenous Australians . The text Beneath the Clouds; a journey of two teenagers in remote Australia, characters Lena and Vaughn are drawn together as their lives take the same path to Sydney. The debateable romantic relationship between the two is ambiguous, portraying an unspoken connection, with an approach toward aboriginal life, post colonialism, a colourful representation where I will also explore the effects of racism and prejudice from an adolescent standpoint. My research will focus on the
Another film where mateship is evident is Animal Kingdom. Despite being a relatively new film (2010) Animal Kingdom represents of side of Australia that many are unaware of. This film differentiates from the previously mentioned film for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are both set in very different environments. Animal Kingdom is set in a small suburban Melbourne town, whereas, Ned Kelly is set in dense bush-land and rural north-east Victoria.
For example, even though individuals may want to be defined by their own individual actions, they tend to be defined by the actions of those who conform to group identities. Internationally, Australians tend to be defined by Boganism because Bogan’s are among the few people who want to define themselves as Australian. Just as a molehill is a king on a flat landscape, in the absence of alternative Australian identities, the Bogan’s have a monopoly on what it means to be an Australian. In short, social policy has been written on the basis that the Australian identity exists and Bogan’s simply filled the empty void. They might only comprise 10% of the population, but they perhaps comprise 90% of the imagery used to describe the Australian stereotype.
Australians were making it very clear that they wanted to defend their colonies as a place for only white people. By the year 1890, all colonies of Australia had its own anti Chinese law in place to try to reduce the number of Chinese immigrants in Australia. In the decade of public debate leading up to Federation in 1901, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not included in any of the conventions and consultations, and they were largely ignored. After federation aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were excluded from Australian society generally, and from the rights, responsibilities and benefits which other Australian citizens enjoyed. Not only did this effect on the lives of aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, it affected all non-European cultures in Australia.
Jack Davis’ didactic play explores the nature of white society and the mistreatment of indigenous Australians as they struggle to survive in sub-human conditions amidst the great depression. Davis uses a variety of dramatic literary techniques to depict how hostile white culture controls society using apartheid-style policies. The lack of recognition and understanding led to unfair actions, as the indigenous battled to survive the depression. The ironic and contemptuous justification of power for misguided political agenda, unfortunately led to mass dispossession of the indigenous. Contrastingly, not all white Australians can be generalised by the behaviours of the few, with a couple of dissimilar figures being used to demonstrate alternate approaches as to the acceptance of the indigenous.
In conclusion the High Court established that native title should be wiped out from pastoral leases. In order to do so the governments referred to the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 (Cth) and the Racial Discrimination Act to determine the outcome. Within the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 there was a 10 point claim which was campaigned against by the National Indigenous Working Groups. As a result to this campaign and support from the broader communities within Australia amendments were made within the Native Title Act to ensure justice and fairness was demonstrated towards Indigenous
It is this juxtaposition of the two cultures that allows the responders to see the loss of indigenous bond to nature to industrialisation. The confrontation that Noonucal instilled in her poem forces her responders to discover the pain the aboriginal
Constructing a Culture: A people’s History of Australia Since 1788 (pp.224-2400. Penguin, Ringwood, Australia. Smith, B 1976, The Antipodean Manifesto: Essays In Art and History, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Smith, B 1995, Australian Painting 1788-1990, Oxford University Press, Australia. Smith, B 1979, Place Taste and Tradition, Oxford University Press,
What are the key issues in achieving social justice for Aboriginal people in Australia? “There is a strong and inescapable link between social justice for Indigenous peoples and the goal of reconciliation between indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians” [1] Indigenous people struggle to achieve access and equity in Australian society and they lack both ideological and economic bases of power. This essay outlines the concept of social justice and explores the key issues and problems in achieving social justice for Aboriginal people in Australia. Through statistics it becomes clear the lack of social justice for the Indigenous people and the plight that they are suffering in contemporary society. These problems are then addressed through