Askew Perspective
After many years of improvement of Australia’s global stereotypes, it seems like we still remain a drunken mob in the mind of the media’s representations of Australian people.
By Zac Eliasaf
A
s we’ve been told so often in television and movies, we Australians are all about drinking. That includes you too. Americans are loud and patriotic, English are posh and clever, and Australians are drunks. I’m sure you’re not associated with the alcoholic population, considering only 7% of the population will drink daily, but no matter who you are, this stereotype as an Aussie is something you can’t avoid.
As with all stereotypes, the idea of Australian alcoholism originated from some truth. Throughout Australia's penal era, convicts …show more content…
If you don’t agree, take the classic Australian film Red Dog. A film spotlighting a dog’s journey, while featuring many Australians citizens. The ‘true blue’ persona of the main characters is conveyed by recurrent casual beers at the pub and many other side actors seen acting drunk and passed out. While watching the film the heavy drunkenness does not really stand out as unusual, even though it has been diminishing in Australia’s recent recovering past.
While this stereotype has carried on for so many decades, its negative repercussions are not always noticed by us Australians. But the stereotype might not be dying, as many young Aussies are now beginning to bring back this heavy alcoholic stereotype, such as the recent ‘shoey’ in Malaysia by a group of Australians who were thought to be ‘intentionally insulting’ the Malaysian flag. This small action damaged Australia’s current reputation globally.
Australian culture has long been a rich story of pride, invention, mateship, compassion and selflessness. From the stories of the brave and humble ANZAC to the Aboriginal dreamtime stories, Australia has so much more to offer than early booze
After many years of improvement of Australia’s global stereotypes, it seems like we still remain a drunken mob in the mind of the media’s representations of Australian people.
By Zac Eliasaf
A
s we’ve been told so often in television and movies, we Australians are all about drinking. That includes you too. Americans are loud and patriotic, English are posh and clever, and Australians are drunks. I’m sure you’re not associated with the alcoholic population, considering only 7% of the population will drink daily, but no matter who you are, this stereotype as an Aussie is something you can’t avoid.
As with all stereotypes, the idea of Australian alcoholism originated from some truth. Throughout Australia's penal era, convicts …show more content…
If you don’t agree, take the classic Australian film Red Dog. A film spotlighting a dog’s journey, while featuring many Australians citizens. The ‘true blue’ persona of the main characters is conveyed by recurrent casual beers at the pub and many other side actors seen acting drunk and passed out. While watching the film the heavy drunkenness does not really stand out as unusual, even though it has been diminishing in Australia’s recent recovering past.
While this stereotype has carried on for so many decades, its negative repercussions are not always noticed by us Australians. But the stereotype might not be dying, as many young Aussies are now beginning to bring back this heavy alcoholic stereotype, such as the recent ‘shoey’ in Malaysia by a group of Australians who were thought to be ‘intentionally insulting’ the Malaysian flag. This small action damaged Australia’s current reputation globally.
Australian culture has long been a rich story of pride, invention, mateship, compassion and selflessness. From the stories of the brave and humble ANZAC to the Aboriginal dreamtime stories, Australia has so much more to offer than early booze