Popular Culture In Post-War Australia

Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne explores racial issues directed at the Indigenous Australians. Gwynne’s story is based on events that occurred in the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. This book clearly shows that Australia is not the land of the fair go for certain demographics, while other demographics do experience Australia as the land of the fair go. People who have money will experience Australia as the land of the fair go, but the people who do not will not be able to experience Australia as a land of equal opportunity. Indigenous Australians are also included in the demographic of people who cannot experience Australia as the land of the fair go.

American influence played a part in the progress of fashion in Australia to a major extent. A great change taken place in Australian society after World War 2 is that rather than changing according to British culture, the society had drifted to American culture which means that they have a massive importance on Australia. The American way of life was shown to Australians a lot which changed their opinions and lifestyles. Things like fashion are an important way for people of Australia to share their common likings and heritage but Australian fashion was often outweighed by American fashion. An example of American influence being heavy on the progression of fashion in Australia is that before WW2, Australia had a small but prosperous film industry.

Australia became known as a workingman’s paradise at the turn of the twentieth century, however, for a large majority of the population Australia was far from a paradise. Due to their rejection of the British class system, and the instalment of the eight hour working day and a basic wage Australians believed themselves to be an egalitarian society with equal opportunities. And this much was true, for the working class, white male. For the rest of the population, the women, children and non-Europeans life was a different story. For them, Australia was not the workingman’s paradise it claimed to be.

After the events of World War 2 in 1945, multiculturalism in Australian popular culture has emerged significantly. Evolving through the forms of food and tourism/ travel multiculturalism has contributed to the modern Australian identity. World War 2 left Australia with a much smaller population and the government realised that they needed to “populate or perish” As a result immigrants looking to find better lives started arriving in Australia between 1947-1963 brining new foods and customs. Food from different cuisines became a major part of Australian culture during the late 1900’s with many different types of food becoming available throughout the country. Forms of transport changed within Australia, as the increased population, caused

As patriotic Australians we pride ourselves to be a nation that accepts and respects the beliefs of all cultures, but on this historical day majority of Australians tend to forget the true meaning behind the celebration. If you ask today’s society, what they did this Australia day mass numbers would respond with “binged on alcohol” and “indulged in a barbecue.” Consequently, this day cannot be called a national celebration when some of our fellow Australians are grieving while others are out celebrating an occasion they know little about. Giving due regard to the indigenous people and their mostly negative perspective on this issue should be a priority. A new date, not the 26th of January should be established, as rather than unite, it seems to divide Australians into different viewpoints.

Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war. Finally, by 1939, Australians were questioning the validity to support and defend the 'Mother Country ' at all costs. These are just three of the World War II experiences that helped shape the nation.

Should Australia change the date of Australia Day? Some of you may be wondering why this is such a controversial issue and some of you might already know. If you don’t know why I’ll tell you. The date that we celebrate Australia Day is not the date we became our own country, you may be thinking “so what?” well I’ll tell you, the day we are celebrating is the day Great Britain invaded Australia and the start of when they tortured and killed thousands of the Australian indigenous people, there are multiple dates available that were important to Australia or represent Australia and this date has no monument recognizing the day so why is this day so important.

Ah Australia. The land of opportunity. The land of freedom and equality. The land of wealth and good health. The lucky country.

During World War 2 (1939 – 1945), Australia had a variety of impacts on both its government and its people. The war had a great effect on the place of indigenous people in Australia as indigenous men and women joined services throughout the country. The Aboriginal Australians, both the men and the women had contributed in the second Great War. Meanwhile, when the Aboriginals of Australia had jobs during World War 2, Australia’s economy boomed with the help of the war as many Australian troops had gone out to fight for the British. The economy had boomed during the period of the Second World War as Australian products could be produced as well.

The Ngunnawal People have been living within the borders and surrounding mountains of the Australian Capital Territory for over 25,000 years. The way the Indigenous people used the land to live off was extremely efficient and sustainable. They had a bounty of knowledge about the land surrounding them, and over generations, devised resourced management skills to ensure maintenance of the animals and plants, and most importantly, the land in which provided these things. Aboriginal culture existed long before Captain Cook arrived in Australia in 1770. He claimed the land to be "Terra-Nullius", meaning that the land did not belong to any person. This claim obviously seemed ludicrous and crazy to the Indigenous people whom already lived on the land.

Australian identity and what constitutes Australian culture are prominent ideas explored by Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro. Throughout the novel, there is a strong sense of cynicism towards Australian culture as it is painted as ambiguous and indefinite. This is established through the analogy of Paul representing Australian society and his parents representing the British influence on Australian culture. Goldsworthy also explores the European influence on Australia through Kellar’s character. Goldsworthy’s broader message is that Australian identity is in fact quite complex and open to interpretation due how culturally diverse it is.

Australians supported the decision to go to war very enthusiastically in 1914 mainly because they were very loyal to England but of course, there are other reasons which influenced their decision. Because Australia was extremely loyal to their ‘mother country’, they of course did not hesitate in following Britain’s declaration on war. Australians had very little experience before World War 1 which started on the 28th of July, 1914 and continued until the 11th of November, 1918. It was said that the cause of World War 1 was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Sophie who was the Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. World War 1 was also known as ‘The Great War’, it was supposedly the war to end all

Douglas Grant, was an Aboriginal Australian soldier who fought during World War 1. Grant had experience as a draughtsman, public servant and factory worker. During World War 1, he was captured by the German army and was held prisoner at Wittendorf, and later transferred to Wunsdorf, Zossen, near Berlin.

In the book chapter ‘ Understanding Australia’s neighbours: an introduction to east and southeast Asia’, Nick Knight briefly outlines the importance of Australia’s bilateral relationship with Asia in terms of political engagement, with the aim of foreign policy and trade. Drawing largely upon the main complications occurring with Australia’s sense of national identity and history . Knight accounts the comparisons between Asian and Australian societies, despite apprehensions and criticisms the Australian influential figures were keen to maintain a relationship in order to benefit from Asia’s economic, social and political spheres.

From the 1970’s Australians have been viewed as bush people as they were seeming as heroic and brave. Never the less, internationally, Australians have been showcased as vulgar, racist that have strong pride for their country. Consequently, Australia has also been viewed as an alcoholic nation as companies continuously push the stereotype to market their products. In turn, Australian’s collective identity is made up of multiple other stereotypes that have been fed into. Despite being incorrectly portrayed; the Australian identity has a positive effect on Australian culture. Not only does it bring commercial value, it brings personal identity in the country making it truly unique to