As the morning sun peers above the horizon, the sky illuminates with a brilliant orange glow. The light gently uncovers some crimson sand dunes. In the distance, a few silhouetted kangaroos skip across the desert as their shadows begin to fade. It is another beautiful day in the Australian Outback. This describes the bulk of what most of us can relate to.
Unless you have lived or visited there, or you happen to be a culture buff, your knowledge of present-day Australia aside from what you see in the media may be scarce. The country has adopted a sort of introverted personality, not really caring to speak out for itself. Media influence has become the voice of Australia, the source from which we learn about this unknown culture.
What does life look like in the everyday life of an average Australian? What state does the country find itself in today? In the duration of this essay, I would like to examine a few of the facets that will allow us to catch a glimpse of what the culture of modern Australia looks like from a well-researched, well-balanced perspective.
Historians believe Indigenous people have inhabited Australia as far back as 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of years the cultures of these people have remained untouched by the civilized world, left to practice their own way of life. These people lived a simple life, mainly consisting of hunting for food and providing other necessities of life. The Australian Museum’s website offers further detail into the Indigenous mind. It explains the emphasis these people put on storytelling. It was a way of education for their children, teaching them about history and their environment. This tradition of storytelling is called “Stories of the Dreaming.”
In his book, History of Australia, Francis G. Clarke states, "Australian history has been written for over two centuries, beginning with European explorers and colonists attempting to convey something of the complexity of the strange upside-down world they encountered in the Southern Hemisphere. Their descendants who have been born and brought up there continue to try to explain their country, its peoples, and its power, to themselves as much as to others. In many ways, Australia defies description, and its history both before and after the arrival of Europeans is rich and multilayered." His statement poses an intriguing thought—that Australia is a mystery continent just as much today as it was the first European settlers.
It wasn’t until 1788 that the Western way of civilization made its debut. In order to rid their country of lawbreakers, Great Britain adopted the continent as a settlement for its convicts. This significantly impacted the Indigenous people’s way of life. The Australian Museum website tells us that an estimated 750,000 people inhabited the continent prior to British settlement. Since 1788, the Indigenous people in Australia have dwindled down to 2% (about 410,000 people) of the current population.
Nearly two and a quarter centuries have passed since Great Britain established settlement in this great land. Much has changed since then. We have already learned that the Indigenous population has become a minority in Australia. Their culture has not only been drowned out by the advent of Western civilization, it has also adapted to the new way of thinking. Methods of travel, advances in construction, and foreign thought have influenced the native mind.
The Indigenous people’s voice may well be declining in 21st century Australia. While the Indigenous people may not represent the most influential aspect of modern Australian culture, there is still some interest in their story. A publication, Journal of Vacation Marketing, has done some extensive research on the current interest level of the tribal culture. They have found that the Indigenous Cultural Tourism (ICT), which apparently handles the relation between the natives and the modern world, feels that this culture may be slipping away even further. The ICT studies the interest level of the Indigenous peoples in mainstream media and those who actively pursue further information about the tribal history. Their finding would allow me to conclude that, much of the modern culture of Australia is without the knowledge of the foundation of their own history. Much of what is known is the prevalence of the European roots.
Modern Culture.
What is it about Australian culture that eludes us? What does modern Australia look like? The answer you will find is varied, dependent on whom you ask or where you look. One cannot ascertain a balanced perspective without first examining a few essential components that together form Australia’s identity.
With the advent of the media, we find ourselves under its streaming influence. Like American media is generally considered to have a bias or a slant towards one group’s perspective, the Australian media has created its own definition of the country’s collective identity. One such façade is the cultural obsession, Mark “Chopper” Reid. The man—a former convicted criminal who has spent 23 years in prison—has rudely invaded Australian pop culture with his crass behavior. His vulgar, reckless actions are comparable to the champions of America’s MTV-brainchild: Jackass. The people of Australia have not shunned, but warmly embraced his demoralizing television programming. He has had a number of books written about him, appears frequently on YouTube, inspired a spin-off television show, earned his own movie; and has also endorsed some beer advertisements.
Mark Reid’s film, Chopper, released in 2000, was covered by ABC’s Australian subsidiary radio station. They interviewed the director, Andrew Dominik, and questioned the ethics of the development of such a film. Dominik stated that wanted to show Reid’s ludicrous behavior but also focus on some of the emotional issues that Reid struggles with. Dominik seems to empathize with Reid, “ ‘…I just see him as a human being. I mean I see him as being a pretty flawed human being. I mean he's got an engaging personality, but I mean I judge people on their actions more than what they say or, you know, I've known a lot of charming people that I have no respect for, you know. I'm not saying that I have no respect for him, but I mean I'm aware that it's funny. I mean I find it's funny and all that. But I'm not just - I think the laugh - a lot of the laughter is guilty laughter.’ ”
Cultural enthusiast Chad Swanson doesn’t think it’s so funny. Swanson writes passionately as he expresses his opinions on the influence of Reid in Australian culture, stating that idols of society, like Reid, have obscured the country’s identity. He believes that this is a deconstructive way to launch a political assault aimed at the stagnant government. Although Swanson is extremely passionate about the preservation of Australia’s culture, he does not support the tactics employed to initiate change on the political scale.
Chad Swanson’s website, which he calls Convict Creations, is a hub for his rants about the unique attributes embedded in Australian culture. A lot of his writings appear to be based on his own independent research or on opinion, but the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts lends credibility to his findings by providing a link to his site. Stating that there is a declined interest in Australian culture, Swanson hopes that the information provided on his website will inspire a renewed interest in his homeland.
Swanson is deeply concerned about the welfare of his country. He writes, "Australia is a country where most people can't even remember the words to the national anthem, where alternative flags are often waved in preference to the official flag, and where a yes vote couldn't even get up for a republic referendum - despite 90 per cent of Australians supporting it. If ever there was a country where it would be difficult to imagine another Adolph Hitler coming to power, it would be Australia." His thoughts seem to bear the notion that the country’s citizens have become disenfranchised and have become unconcerned with the nation’s affairs to the extent that they are passive enough to refrain from any action.
Lucky Country?
You may have heard Australia described as “the lucky country.” The Culture and Recreation Portal on the Australian Government’s website states that Donald Horne was the first to coin the phrase. It is commonly used today to describe the country as independent, remaining isolated from the conflicts in the rest of the world. The phrase is used to denote a carefree attitude toward life that many Australians possess, abstaining from the cares of the politics that other countries busy themselves with. Horne tells us otherwise. The Australian Government’s website quotes Horne’s response when asked about the phrase that has become embedded in modern society. Regarding “the lucky country”, he says this: “ ‘That sentence was a rather brutal indictment of his country at the time. It is a direct, uncompromising and seemingly unambiguous commentary on Australia in the 1960s.’ Horne was critiquing an Australia that did not think for itself; a country manacled to its past; and still in colonial blinkers: 'if we are to remain a prosperous, liberal, humane society, we must be prepared to understand the distinctiveness of our own society.‘ ”
His words echoed a rather disillusioned society during the 1960’s, but I am led to believe that this mindset has impacted Australia’s modern citizens. It seems as if Australia still finds itself in an identity crisis.
However, Australia has begun to look forward and attempt to create a life of its own. In his book, Big End of Town: Big Business and Corporate Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, author Grant Fleming examines the corporate business world in Australian society. According to his book, Australia has been neglected attention as a serious contender in big business. He tells us that Australians are discovering the value that interaction in global markets will hold for their own economic development. Corporate branding is a significant step that will gain respect among its global peers. Once these measures are taken, Australia will garner more worldwide interest, which I believe could lead to the development of its own national backbone. Perhaps then Australia will begin to understand its position as a country in the global village.
Environmentalism.
Australia isn’t all politics. It is also engaged in responding to global crises, such as global warming, which shows some effort to collaborate with other countries to solve a world problem. Reason magazine, based out of L.A., featured an article about one unusual approach that Greenpeace has given some consideration. The article made mention of a possible substitution of kangaroo meat for beef. According to their research, they find that “replacing beef with kangaroo just 20 percent of the time would eliminate 1J megatons of greenhouse gases by 2020.” The article goes on to say that kangaroos do not contribute any dangerous greenhouse gases, and that the idea would sit well with the local farmers. I find it surprising that they would consider eating the symbol of their country, but according to the Kangaroo Industry Association, kangaroos are viewed as menaces to the rural communities because they cause destruction to the farmer’s crops. While the magazine article did not elaborate on the rest of the Australian public’s opinion on consumption of kangaroos, I can only assume that the answer would be a mixture of those in favor and those who oppose the idea.
Australia Day.
An interesting thing to note about the Australian culture is that the country is nearly devoid of any holidays. In past years, they have attempted to observe some American holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, but they didn’t rally up enough vigor and never caught on. When searching for traditions of Australia, I found some helpful information on Chad Swanson’s website, whom I have mentioned earlier. He confirms my presumption by saying that Australia doesn’t really have many traditions, aside from Australia Day, which lands on January 26th. Apparently, despite that there are only a few holidays, Australia Day is reason to celebrate. The Seattle Post – Intelligencer wrote about the effect this Aussie holiday has had on the people of the United States. A bar in Seattle called the “Kangaroo and Kiwi Pub” serves as a place for displaced Australians and Americans to gather in celebration of the country’s history. Even the Aussie’s main holiday has its critics. Skeptics are wary of the celebration of the criminal history that started the country off in the first place.
Conclusion.
Based on the ideas that were expressed by the writers regarding Australian culture, it seems that everyone is waiting for the people to discover their own identity as a nation. Once Australia figures out how to escape the clutches of its imposed position as a former convict nation, while respectfully embracing its heritage, it will begin to develop a unique voice in the world. I find myself among those curious to discover more about this country, but I hold my reservations. Judging Australia’s international matters, I am not entirely convinced that this concerns them much at all. Some countries, like Switzerland, prefer not to become involved with other countries and make it a point to remain in isolation.
The importance of Australia’s political influence on the global scale will remain up for debate, but the most important matter at hand is the discovery of Australia’s identity. Just as we all must establish who we are and our relation to the world as people, the collective people of Australia must understand and acknowledge who they are as a nation. No longer are we simply led to believe that life is all just “another day in paradise” for Australia, as appealing as that sounds, we understand the country has struggles and triumphs of its own. Modern Australia is not just another city in another location; it is a country that deserves attention.