Despite living in a time of formal equality, Indigenous Australian youth still face many challenges growing up in contemporary Australian society. The marginalisation effects of poverty influenced lifestyles, in conjunction with the stereotypical opinions the dominant white Australian society obtain, influence one’s self worth and esteem, and consequently, their ability to thrive in this modern society. The 2001 motion picture, ‘Yolngu Boy’ directed by Stephen Johnson, clearly demonstrates how Australia’s Indigenous youth are influenced – both negatively and positively – by two opposing forces: the historic Aboriginal traditions, and the modern western culture. However, the film additionally replicates the interdependence between the two conflicting
The narrator describes how the Indigenous Australians in the area were forced to leave their land, saying, "The black people are gone, and so are the dingoes" (Ottley, 2007, p. 5). This quote highlights the displacement of Indigenous Australians by white settlers, as well as the impact of their absence on the environment. Moreover, the artwork in the text portrays the Indigenous Australians as dark and shadowy, emphasizing their marginalization and exclusion from mainstream society. Together, these examples demonstrate how power imbalances are present not only between humans, but also between humans and animals, and between different racial groups. The text serves as a commentary on the
Introductions: Sam: Good morning Declan and viewers. Today we will be discussing and comparing the ‘true blue’ Aussie novel; The Story of Tom Brennan by J.C. Burke and the classic low-budget Australian film 48 Shades by Daniel Lapaine. Declan: That’s right, we will be comparing and contrasting the narrative and characterisation components of these portrayals of growing up in Australia and on that note, what was your experience of growing up in Australia Sam?
As summarized by www.publishersweekly.com , “In this plainly written, powerful memoir, MacDonald, now 32, details not only his own story of growing up in Southie, Boston's Irish Catholic enclave, but examines the myriad ways in which the media and law enforcement agencies exploit marginalized working-class communities. MacDonald was one of nine children born (of several fathers) to his mother, Helen MacDonald, a colorful woman who played the accordion in local Irish pubs to supplement her welfare checks. Having grown up in the Old Colony housing project, he describes his neighbors' indigence and pride of place, as well as their blatant racism (in 1975 the anti-busing riots in Southie made national headlines) and their deep denial of the organized
Personification is a powerful tool used by writers to help the reader understand what is being said. Since the invasion of Europeans in 1788, Indigenous Australians have struggled with displacement and loss of identity. This sentiment is fully examined in Municipal Gum presenting the view that all their traditions and culture have just faded away. Simile
Rob Sitch’s satirical film, “The Castle,” offers a strong exploration of the assumptions of the Australian culture and language. Portrayed through the lens of the Kerrigan family’s modest home, affectionately known as “The Castle,” the film delves into the complexities of belonging, resilience, and the Aussie spirit. The film challenges ideas about cultural identity through language and cinematography. Through the use of cultural symbols, “The Castle” challenges the idea that cultural identities are fixed within an individual. The Kerrigan family's house transcends that mere of a mere place of dwelling; it symbolises their profound sense of belonging and unwavering familial love.
This cinematography of the close-up shot highlights how the threat of globalisation is right at their door due to the growing global economy. The diegetic sound of the knocking in conjunction with the non-diegetic sound of the voice-over highlights the importance of cultural identity and a sense of belonging in the face of change. In the contextual 1990s globalisation was beginning to peak and the historical place in time is represented to impact the cultural identity within Australia.
THE MONTHLY Nowra’s leap “Into that Forest”: Representing Indigenous Perspectives in Australian Literature Do non-Indigenous authours have the authority to write from Indigenous perspectives? Joshua D’Souza evaluates Nowra’s empowering tale ‘Into that Forest’ and his courageous leap into the world of realism. What is it like to witness your culture, your heritage, your native identity misrepresented for Australia to see? Ask Aboriginal Australians, and they will tell you a thing, or two about being ignored.
The novel, “There There” by Tommy Orange follows the stories of a plethora of characters, sharing many unique experiences with the readers. Themes of gender, identity, community, race, and assimilation can be seen throughout these stories, as the characters experience them firsthand. The journeys these characters experience connect these themes to the terms culture, multiracial person, and stereotype through showcasing the impact that these terms have on the characters and their stories. Culture is a term referring to the practices, arts, and achievements of a nation or group of people. Strong traces of culture can be seen throughout the novel, as the characters all have unique experiences with the same culture.
Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status. Concerted cultivation is a parenting style where the parent(s) are fully invested in creating as much opportunity for their child as possible, but results in a child with a sense of entitlement. An example of this would be a parent who places their children in a wide array of extracurricular activities and/or actively speaks to educators about the accommodations their child needs to effectively learn.
It tries to explore the process of reclaiming Aboriginal identity in the works of Sally Morgan’s My Place and Rubi Langford Ginbi ’s Don’t Take Your Love to Town. The paper focuses on how these selected writers engage in the reclaiming process, and also tries to locate the changes that occur in the identity of Aboriginals in Australia during pre-colonial, colonial and in contemporary
Indigenous Australian youth still face numerous difficulties growing up in a modern Australian society, even though they are living in a time of ‘equality’ for all religions, races and genders. This paper examines the main cultural influences for indigenous youth, and challenges they face growing up. In particular, it will explore the ways in which Indigenous youth today continue to be affected, connected and interdependent to both a dominant white culture and indigenous culture. It also includes the reasons why the indigenous youth of Australia continue to be marginalized, oppressed and stereotyped while growing up in a society that claims to be an egalitarian democratic country. Examples of Indigenous youth from the film ‘Yolngu Boy’ are used to explore this topic.
Maturity is the feeling of needing to prove that one is sophisticated and old enough to do certain things. In the short story “Growing Up,” Maria’s family went on a vacation while she stayed at home, but when she heard there was a car crash that happened near where her family was staying, she gets worried and thinks it is all her fault for trying to act mature and angering her father. Society wants to prove how mature they are and they do so by trying to do things that older people do and the symbols, conflict, and metaphors in the text support this theme. First and foremost, in “Growing Up,” Gary Soto’s theme is how society acts older than they are and that they just want to prove they are mature. Maria wants to stay home instead of going
“That’s the problem with the world, too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney. Growing up quickly is a dream for many girls. They will make countless attempts in hopes of becoming a woman faster. In Sandra Cisneros’s, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza becomes one of those girls who spends all of their precious time trying to grow up quickly.
Literary criticism has gained attention in the field of trauma studies after the publication of Cathy Caruth’s Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History and Kali Tal’s Worlds of Hurt: Reading the Literatures of Trauma in 1996 (Balaev, 2014). The early scholarship pointed that the idea of trauma is something that can not be represent for an event (Balaev, 2014). A study of trauma of memory and forgetting, and narrating trauma on The Garden of Evening Mists is conducted by Goh (2013). The author aimed to examine how trauma of memory and forgetting related to one another, and how narrating the trauma can help one heals from the trauma. The study also discussed about the difficulties of narrating the memory, including the trauma.
