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The role of media in identity formation
The role of media in identity formation
The role of media in identity formation
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Australian identity is an ever-changing concept, arising as subject matter in copious debates, and often leading to speculation as to what it truly means to be an Australian. Stereotypes, defined as, “generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group” (Lippmann 1922, Allport 1954) are often picked up by outsiders and in turn proliferated through iconic texts; rarely privileging Australian identity and ultimately leading to fallacious and simplified conceptions. Recognised as a prevalent aspect of Australian life, stereotypes are incessantly perpetuated through means of media, leading to prejudice; moreover, silencing the true Australian identity.
The Aussie Bushman stereotype, exploited throughout a range of texts, often results in misleading and inaccurate representations of Australian identity. The typical Bushman is characterised by their easy going and fair go attitude; demonstrating the importance of mateship and the irrefutable need to be resourceful, physically strong, resilient and quick on their feet. This ideology is foregrounded in a plethora of texts, such as; Crocodile Dundee, The Men of The Open Spaces and The Australian Legend, all revering Aussie Bushman traits. It is undeniable that there is an inextricable correlation between identity and culture; as Australia becomes increasingly multicultural, the more prevalent changes in national identity become. Stereotypes often disprove this idea, providing falsified depictions of Australian identity and failing to encompass such cultural diversity. This, in turn, can be detrimental to the nation, resulting in prejudices and; ultimately, serving as a hindrance for globalization.
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Grimes, L. (n.d.). Henry Lawson's Ballad of the Drover | Suite101.com. Linda Sue Grimes Writing Profile | Suite101.com. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from
Lippmann., & Allport. (n.d.). Stereotypes. Changing minds. Retrieved May 13, 2012, from http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/stereotypes.htm
Longstaff, S. (n.d.). Australian identity | St James Ethics Centre. St James Ethics Centre | St James Ethics Centre. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.ethics.org.au/ethics-articles/australian-identity
Stereotypes of Australia. (n.d.). Convict Creations - Re-Imagining Australia. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.convictcreations.com/research/australianstereotypes.html
The Australian Identity. (n.d.). Convict Creations - Re-Imagining Australia. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.convictcreations.com/research
The 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
Hannie Rayson’s play ‘Hotel Sorrento’ explores the changing nature of Australian cultural identity. Rayson successfully perpetuates and challenges common Australian stereotypes in order to establish how the Australian National Identity has changed over time. She presents these stereotypes through the characters expectations of gender roles, attitudes towards Australian culture and the theme of ownership.
Longstaff, Simon. "Australian Identity." Ethics.org.au. St. James Ethics Centre, Dec. 1995. Web. 16 Aug. 2011. .
These stereotypes include; drunk, violent, lazy, petrol sniffer, live in the outback, un-educated, criminals and have to fit the image of dark skin with wide noses (Korff, 2014). Indigenous youth are confronted with these during their school life. They will be called names and bullied because people believe these stereotypes, assuming they apply to all Indigenous people. Tammy Williams, from Black Chicks Talking is an example of the bulling Indigenous teenagers face during school. At school one year, a group of teenagers from the school wrote nigger above her school photo in the year book. This was just part of the bullying she received during her school life for being Aboriginal. Tammy is not a stereotypical Aboriginal. She has travelled to America, has won multiple awards and is now a lawyer. Botj, from Yolngu Boy, is a stereotypical Aboriginal. He is a petrol sniffer, smoker and criminal and he is lazy. However, there is a story behind why Botj is like this. Botj is a troubled teenager who drinks and smokes as his father is an alcoholic. He had a troubled family life and this contributes to the actions he takes. The media is largely to blame for the negative stereotypes of Aboriginal People. The media reports negative stereotypes of the Aboriginal community, drinking problems and violent behaviours, which intern makes the white Australian community believe the negative stereotypes that have been
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.
Port Arthur was Australia’s largest and most notorious prison holding the most vicious and hardened criminals from 1837 to its closure in 1877. The aim of Port Arthur was to produce useful goods and useful citizens, reformed men who have rejected a life of crime and embraced a law-abiding future. It was known for its tough punishment and structure. This essay will discuss the daily life at Port Arthur for convicts, punishments convicts received, trades that were practiced there and the merchandise that was created through those trades and what become of Port Arthur after transportation finished.
Throughout the world, in history and in present day, injustice has affected all of us. Whether it is racial, sexist, discriminatory, being left disadvantaged or worse, injustice surrounds us. Australia is a country that has been plagued by injustice since the day our British ancestors first set foot on Australian soil and claimed the land as theirs. We’ve killed off many of the Indigenous Aboriginal people, and also took Aboriginal children away from their families; this is known as the stolen generation. On the day Australia became a federation in 1901, the first Prime Minister of Australia, Edmund Barton, created the White Australia Policy. This only let people of white skin colour migrate to the country. Even though Australia was the first country to let women vote, women didn’t stand in Parliament until 1943 as many of us didn’t support female candidates, this was 40 years after they passed the law in Australian Parliament for women to stand in elections. After the events of World War Two, we have made an effort to make a stop to these issues here in Australia.
Thus, this creates connotations to patriotism and pride towards the country the reader lives in. Coupled with the large image of Australia filled with smaller images of people of all ages, and race, sporting the Australian flag, influences the reader to enter the article with a positive attitude towards Australia Day, as it seems to put this day in high esteem, which consequently convinces the audience, before even commencing to read, that the day is about ‘unity’ and not division. The smaller images of a non-traditional and traditional stereotypical Australian prove that race play no part in this celebratory day, creating the sense of Australia being an accepting
Struggles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people for recognition of their rights and interests have been long and arduous (Choo & Hollobach: 2003:5). The ‘watershed’ decision made by the High Court of Australia in 1992 (Mabo v Queensland) paved the way for Indigenous Australians to obtain what was ‘stolen’ from them in 1788 when the British ‘invaded’ (ATSIC:1988). The focus o...
The purpose of this paper is to examine why the justice system fails for First Nations persons and alternative rehabilitation methods used by Aboriginal people, comprised of Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people, in hopes to rehabilitate offenders and prevent criminal behavior in the Aboriginal community from precontact to today. Through the attempts of Aboriginal people to take control of their own destiny’s in the ever going struggle to attain self-government I will examine the aims and structure of one of these alternative rehabilitation methods, the Sentencing Circle used today to address the need to return to community based “Restorative Justice Programs” in the Aboriginal community
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
There is a reference to our multiculturalism in the lines ‘All cultures together as one. Yet, individual until the game is won’. These lines acknowledge the fact that even though Australia is an increasingly Multicultural society, all Australians, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, share the same values, principles and national identity.
Within Australia, beginning from approximately the time of European settlement to late 1969, the Aboriginal population of Australia experienced the detrimental effects of the stolen generation. A majority of the abducted children were ’half-castes’, in which they had one white parent and the other of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Following the government policies, the European police and government continued the assimilation of Aboriginal children into ‘white’ society. Oblivious to the destruction and devastation they were causing, the British had believed that they were doing this for “their [Aborigines] own good”, that they were “protecting” them as their families and culture were deemed unfit to raise them. These beliefs caused ...
The bush and its unique landscape was something that distinguished Australia from the European sceneries familiar to many new immigrants. Australians romanticized the bush in their attempt to establish self – identity.
The multiplicity of cultures has played a significant role in defining Australia’s identity. In order to understand the problematic nature of the application of multiculturalism in Australia, it is imperative to observe and analyze two claims of the concept of multiculturalism. The first claim of the concept of multiculturalism is associated with identity, while the second claim is associated with recognition. At this juncture, it is important to pose the following question; how is the application of multiculturalism affected by identity and recognition within Australia’s diverse