Your Average Too Run Of The Mill Aussie Bloke, Social


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Your Average Too Run Of The Mill Aussie Bloke

Your Average Too Run Of The Mill Aussie Bloke The typical Australian: lazy, beer guzzling, faded blue singlets, thongs, slang words. This is the dominant reading formed by the media, commonly in advertisements and novels. The image constructed by such media is one of an unfit ‘couch potato’ who sits around all day drinking and watching television. This stereotype is not only downgrading, but constructs Australian males as underachievers in society. Some Australians may be like this, as for many the pursuit of leisure is a serious business. Indeed texts such as Chris Franklin’s – Bloke (2000) and The Wind and the Monkey (1999) support this theory of the common Australian man. However texts such as Crocodile Dundee (1986) and The Castle (1999) do not. Michael J Crocodile Dundee is not your average Joe. He is far-from the dominant reading of your average Australian male in that he is a genuine, free spirited Australian who hunts crocodiles with his bare hands and stares down giant water buffaloes. The text ‘Crocodile Dundee’ follows New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to meet and interview Michael J Crocodile Dundee, a man who runs a safari business and has just survived an attack by a crocodile. “Crocodile” Dundee is constructed as being a hard, rugged Aussie bushman who has a way with the animals. After the crocodile attack, “hundreds of miles through snake infested swamps he crawled on his hands and knees right into Katherine.” After spending a few days touring the safari park, Sue invites Dundee to come back with her to visit New York. Dundee has never been to a large city. He is constructed as being stupid in the way that his culture is so different from the Americans. “It’s all right, he’s Australian,” people would say. However, with Dundee’s Aussie outlook on things, he scares off muggers, unmasks transvestites, hitches rides with mounted policemen and sleeps on the floor of his hotel room. Michael Dundee has such a loving attitude towards life that he leaves a positive lasting impression on everyone he meets. He tries his best to greet everyone he sees in the street by saying, “G’day, mate.” The viewer of this text is positioned to react in a positive way towards Dundee. Dundee may not always abide by the laws of America, but he acts on what he believes is right. There are many scenes in the film where Dundee was seen knocking someone out for some reason or another, but at the same time the viewer is still positioned to look at his positive aspects. Crocodile Dundee is set in the cultural context of outback Australia and it’s Aborigines. Michael Dundee was born in the Australian outback and raised by the Aborigines of his area. He sometimes performs many cultural acts that only the Aborigines do. Such as “He’s gone walkabout.” In outback Australia nothing changes, the towns are small and everybody knows one another. The social context of the outback Australian in comparison to New York is portrayed as being very primate for its time. Another text that shows no relevance to the dominant reading of Australian males is The Castle. This text follows the life of an Australian man by the name of Darryl Kerrigan. Darryl is a tow truck driver and father of four whos only distinguishing feature is his reverence for his home and family. The dominant reading of this text is of a hard working, down to earth, Aussie who loves his family and his home, even if they are situated right next to a major international airport. Darryl Kerrigan is constructed as being a strong-hearted man who will stop at nothing to stick up for what he believes in. Hence, when government officials demand that he sell his house for an expansion of the airport, he fights back through the legal system- all the way to the Supreme Court. As he says, “A man’s home is his castle.” Darryl Kerrigan seems to be a great father and he always makes positive comments about this wife’s cooking. “See, why would we ever want to go out to a restaurant, when we get stuff like this is coming up day after day?” Darryl possesses a sense of idealism that is expressed by the morals he stands for. He not only shows this by not giving in, but elaborates it by not making other people feel down when things are at their worst. In this, the viewer is positioned to react toward Australian males in a positive way. Although there are some scenes that might prompt the viewer to react negatively towards Australian males, in most cases these scenes are merely only Darryl retaliating to protect his rights. The Castle is set in the cultural context of Australian metropolitan society, at a time where major developments and expansions were abundant. This text shows how easy it was to clear land to expand a major development. These days clearing land is not as easily done, in fact there are programs (i.e. green peace) to prevent the clearing of forests. Nevertheless negative constructions of Australian males are persisting in Australia today. A good example is in the song ‘Chris Franklin – Bloke’ and beer advertisements. The dominant reading in these texts is that Australian males are all lazy, beer guzzling, labourers who wear thongs, faded blue singlets and have beer guts. This matches the dominant reading portrayed by most texts in today’s society. Both texts are supposedly about your average Aussie bloke. ‘Chris Franklin – Bloke’ constructs the Aussie male as being no more than an uneducated eye sore, who has nothing better to do with his money than drink it away. “I'm a labourer by day, I piss up all my pay.” The construction of the Aussie male is much the same in beer advertisements, in that they express that everything will be all right as long as they have their beer. One such example contains the following dialogue. “Don’t worry. We got plenty of beer,” he says as he opens a truck full of beer. Both texts position the reader to react in a negative way toward Australian males. They promote a sense of lower social stature and encourage the assumption that Australians are all heavy beer drinkers. Both texts lead the audience to believe that all Australian males are like this. The chorus of Chris Franklin’s – Bloke shows a marginalised view of Australian males. “I'm a bloke. I’m a yobbo, and my best mate’s name is Robbo. Winfield is my cigarette. I dress in flannelette. Shearer’s singlet that is blue. Throw in a few tattoos. You know you wouldn't want me any other way.” Depending on the audience both texts could also come across in some ways as a positive view of the Australian male. In some cases males pride themselves on this yobbo image. In Australia it is quite normal to see this stereotype or ocker image because, in a way, it is part of our culture. In other countries it might be seen as being outrageous. The ocker image is part of the cultural context of these texts. Many years ago this cultural context was more common in Australia, however in this day in age it is tending to fade out and a more multicultural context is coming in. Another text that supported the dominant reading portrayed by the media is The Wind and the Monkey. This text follows the life of Les Norton, a casual hitman and a foreman in charge of all the fork lifting in Newcastle. When Les is not on the job he is either at home smoking or down the pub drinking. Once again we see the construction of a labourer who likes to drink, much the same as in Chris Franklin’s – Bloke and the beer advertisements. Other Australians around him fit the dominant reading also. “ They all seem to be in their fifties or sixties, wearing shorts and thongs with huge stomachs, bandy legs, and ruddy faces that said their lives revolved around three things – boats, beer and fishing.”(p.125) At times the reader could be fooled into thinking, that Les is more civilised than once thought. However whenever the chance Les proves his ignorance. “Stuff making a great mess and having to clean up, rather head down the pub”(p30) Just as in Chris Franklin’s – Bloke, The Wind and the Monkey only shows a marginalised view of Australian males. It shows this by only writing about the Australians who fit the common stereotype. With Les’s mischievous personality, drinking problems and intent for a fight it is easy to suggest the viewers of this text are positioned to react negatively towards Australian males. Les is always getting into fights. “You looking for a blue are you?”(p.158). The Australian slang used in this text is similar to what is portrayed in most dominant readings. Slang such as “fair dinkum,” “old mate” and “bugger it” is associated with the Australian male in today’s society. The ocker image is also a part of the cultural context of this text. Hence most texts seem to look past the true features of Australian males. They seem to prefer to dwell on the negative factors, moulding them into more than they really are. In concentrating on the negative issues, texts have chosen to lead viewers to believing that this is what Australians are really like. Australia and its people have always been represented as the underachievers of society and, with time this should change. Bibliography: Bibliography Barrett R. G, The Wind and the Monkey, Harper Collins Publishers, (1999) Chris Franklin, Bloke, (2000) CBS FOX Video, Crocodile Dundee, (1986) Village Roadshow Pictures, The Castle (1999) Channel 10, XXXX advertisements, (2001)

Word Count: 1597