An article entitled Let's Ingore Snobbery of Old Europe recently appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald written by German sociologist Jens Schroeder in which the author argued that Australia's egalitarianism (read: lack of culture, class or distinction) is a unique achievement and something to be celebrated. Schroeder intimated that whilst Europeans would be ashamed of such egalitarianism, (and often are on Australia's behalf), Australia can nevertheless afford to be proud.
Sound like a bit of a back handed compliment? A bit like saying, for example, "Hey Stephen Hawking, you are severely crippled, but that's what makes you special"? Well, be your own judge and check out Schroeder's article for yourself.
OK, now you've read it. Let me rant.
Commencing rant... now.
Listen up Australia. Apparently we are, quote, "a vibrant nation in a booming region" and we have, wait for it, "more to offer than beach, beer and (alleged) crassness."
Well, thank god for that.
"Proudly plebeian, Australia has no need to apologise for its egalitarianism and should celebrate its achievements more self-consciously. For Europeans... Australians are the plebeians of the Western World." These are the first two seemingly incongruous sentences of Schroeder's article. The first remind tells us we should be proud of our culture. The second reminds us that according to those that matter, we have none. It struck me as strange that Mr Schroeder should start his self-esteem boosting crusade by characterising Australia through the very Euro-centric lens from which he seeks to encourage us to escape. "Ok, so Australia, you're backward, a cultural wasteland if you will. But you have to stop thinking of yourself like that."
Maybe the idea of an emerging Australia shedding it's post-colonial skin is a convenient and original discourse in "tired Europe" (Schroeder's words not mine), but how many Australians really still consider Europe as the centre of enlightenment, and Australia as a simple beer-battered continent with nothing to offer but sun and beaches? Surely we have moved beyond this Paul Hoganesque oversimplification of Australian society.
I feel Schroeder misses an opportunity to shine a light on a more evolved and elaborate Australia, and instead ends up subconsciously reinforcing the very stereotype of Australia as the simple, happy-go-lucky, slap-on-the-back country that he has apparently come here to dispel. Shark attacks, enraged koalas and bogan beach antics might still be the most easily consumable version of Australia for Europe's media (Film's like "Australia" don't help), but a closer look reveals a much more complex (and potentially less romantic) stereotype than the one Schroeder paints.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
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2 comments:
can't help but largely agree with your assessment Mr Jamison. However in the absence of alternate stereotype, it's just too easy to revert to the best last version.
So for mine the question is what is the better alternate stereotype that can be presented for Australia (sad as it is that society at large depends on stereotypes to help us find a sense of ourselves - but that is a counter-rant for another day...)
On this particular weekend, part of me wishes I could invoke the spirit of ANZAC as a proud alternate version of modern-Aus, I'm not sure I could confidently say we have the guts or, unabashed patriotism of the original ANZACs (with no disrespect to those currently serving nor suggesting that the same unabashed patriotism is what we should desire).
Part of me wonders what it would have been like if Keating's vision for a more 'culturally enlightened' Australia had triumphed over his political ego and had time to gain traction over another election cycle. Would we have emerged with a new Australian stereotype for consumption? IMHO I think his vision was too refined to be broadly adoptable. And I don't necessarily see that as a problem with his vision.
No, maybe I'm just proud that people struggle to stereotype us. Maybe it's a good thing that we've done well enough economically, but not too well, so we can't be cast as either econoclasts or Gordon Geckoist-capitalists. Maybe it's good that we're not too Asian, Mediterranean, Anglo, or whatever that we're now not too definable (nearly). And maybe it's good that we so religiously diverse that Jedi can be deemed a category in the Census.
Maybe the only thing we really have defining us is our far-too-highly-performing-status-per-capita sporting phenomenon to really define us these days. Maybe we spend too much time and, ahem, (Melbourne Storm) money on sport. Maybe this is as close as we come to defining ourselves these days. Hey - just look at our bicycling, triathaloning, bicep bulging alternate prime minister. Oh dear lord. Have I just inadvertently credited Tony Abbott with some scant amount of representation of anything I believe in? Oh dear. Time for a very stiff speedo, ewww yuk, I mean, scotch.
Thanks for the (as usual) interesting post.
I definitely agree with you on noticing how ironically Euro-centric is the position of Schroeder while encouraging Australia not to feel a sunny but empty dépandance of Europe anymore.
It is almost ridiculous as when men try to be gender equal and end up only showing even more explicitly that they are the one having a sexist problem and therefore they feel the need to state they don’t.
Statement on what a Nation has to offer should maybe be reserved to come exclusively from its citizens? I honestly feel the same bitterness when reading articles (generally form British press) on how Italy should remember its glorious era of roman empire and resurge from the “sleep of the reason” of the mafia-and-pizza current age. Those foreigner voices result inevitably in a non-demanded defence of a supposed inferiority. And as you know “excusatio non petita…”
Again exactly as gender equality: the very fact that my boss feels like he has to state my work is equally valuable as the men’s one reveal he (subconsciously?) feels this is not true at all.
You have, wait for it, ‘more to offer than beach, beer and (alleged) crassness”.
Right, and a woman has more to offer than a pair of leg, a bottom and a (preferably big) breast.
But let me be provocative. That’s a bit of an easy reaction from a well educated Australian; Schroeder might have missed a good occasion of lightening a deeper reality, but you have the same opportunity here, and I would encourage you to a longer rant..
What is this “much more complex and potentially less romantic” Australia you are experiencing?
What means for you a deeper and less easy consumable version of your Nation?
Oversimplification and stereotypes are obviously fruit of the need of people to enclose a foreigner reality into something simply understandable thus manageable. We can blame them, but the only way to change them is finding a way (words, sounds, verse, paint..) to deliver in a non scaring way the ontology of an essence.
So go ahead, blog.
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