Good morning and welcome fellow active citizens. Today we will be examining the wide spectrum of cultural identities, values, and beliefs that Australian poetry and film are underpinned with. By the end of this presentation, you will walk away with knowledge of the Australian Identity through the works of two Australia poets Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Bruce Dawe and one of our beloved Aussie box office smash ‘The Castle’.
Josephine Rowe’s (2014) ‘Brisbane’ raises the question of the value of an incomplete story, and if there even is such a thing as an incomplete or complete story (Rowe, 2014). ‘Brisbane’ spans no longer than six paragraphs total yet provides enough narrative for the reader to construct their own version of the story. Rowe’s short story integrates aspects of realism and modernism, blending them to create a piece that both explores un-filtered reality and defies traditional rules of literature. Her work uses a unique fragmented narrative structure, along with an interesting use of narration and time that creates a sense that the present is being haunted by the past.
From the quote mentioned above, Comparably, our Australian identity that is also exhibited in the film, is emphasized. We, as a nation, believe that we are compassionate, resilient, accepting and that in times of need we will come together and unite as one. This is the true Australian identity. However, from other countries perspectives, Us, Australians are conveyed as being racist, disrespectable and that we are not accepting.
Literature has the strength bring to light the numerous characteristics of a country, ultimately, highlighting aspects its national identity. Every nation possesses its own distinction, in particular however, the unique context of the Australian Identity is often defined by the nations unique landscapes, phenomena, shared values, and connections. This is explicitly exposed through the poem “My Country” written by Dorothea Mackellar as she effectively illustrates the multiple aspects of the Australian identity with a focus on the collective love and correlations to the land. The composer supports this notion to a high extent through the poem as viewers explore the euphoric experiences she faced whilst staying in Australia. These experiences
Poetry is used to passionately express one’s thoughts, beliefs, and feelings on life. This has been a transcendent form of expression for centuries, and still has great influence over people’s ideologies. Damien Morgan wrote the poem Sir to celebrate ANZAC Day. Not only does it express the national pride associated with the day, but it implies that Australian society has changed the way it celebrates and respects this tradition. Since the landing at Gallipoli, Australia has celebrated ANZAC Day.
What is it about ‘the bush’ that is so special to Australians? The bush has an iconic status in Australian life and features strongly in any debate about Australian national identity. The Australian landscape was something that was uniquely Australian and very different to the European landscapes. It is a symbol for a national life. Today I will be analysing two poems that have contrasting views on what the Australian landscape means to them.
Henry Lawson Henry Lawson is a famous Australian writer best known for his bush poetry and short stories. He was a Bushman that lived in the Australian outback and wrote mostly about bush life. His work displayed the Australian lifestyle with an honesty readers could relate to and acknowledge. Some say “Lawson was something of a legendary figure in his lifetime” (Matthews para 15) and that he “was arguably the first Australian-born writer who really looked at Australia with Australian eyes”. (Henry Lawson Bio para 12)
Good morning/ afternoon Ms/Sir and boys, an identity can be seen as defining us as people and may be cultural, ethnic, religious, gendered, class-oriented or ideological. The Australian identity over time has been stereotyped and generalised to us being these people who are bronzed gods and live in the bush fighting animals, we also see stereotypes of us as a nation of drinkers and sports enthusiasts, but we all know this identity has been falsified and is not true for the majority of Australians. Australia is a country that can be described as diverse, multicultural and unique. I have been recently studying the work of Paul Kelly, in particular his song, from little things big things grow. The song tells the inspiring story of the Gurindji people's fight for equality and land rights in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Woody Guthrie was one of the most popular American folk singers. He wrote over 100 songs in his lifetime! In 1940, he wrote one of the most iconic folk songs- “This Land Is Your Land”. He traveled across the USA singing people this song.
Australian culture is based upon an aggressive form of self-imposed conformity, which viciously attacks anyone who is deemed unique. Contrary to the promoted ideals of mateship, having a fair go, and egalitarianism, Australia does in fact function under a subconsciously discriminatory system that vilifies ‘outsiders’ who threaten the status quo. The documentary The Australian Dream directed by Daniel Gordon released in 2019 and the novel After Darkness by Christine Piper published in 2014 both represent this toxic culture in different ways. While the documentary shows the dehumanisation of AFL player Adam Goodes because of his calling out of racism towards Indigenous players, After Darkness deals with the more complex issue of Japanese internment
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
The rhyme scheme in this poem is ABCB, with end rhyme in the verses and identical rhyme in the chorus. Rhyme is when two words have the same sound. An example of two phrases that rhyme from Waltzing Matilda is ‘under the shade of a Coolibah tree’ and ‘who’ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me’ (Paterson, 1917) where ‘tree’ and ‘me’ rhyme. Rhyme helps the poem sound better and establish poetic form. Repetition is where the author repeats the same words or line of a poem more than once.
Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, it’s a great pleasure and even more of an honour for me to be invited to address one of Australia’s most significant national occasions “ ANZAC Day”. I am Claudia Elfar; a year 12 student from Bethlehem College representing the school’s English club, studying poems of war experiences and the effects of those experiences on the soldiers. ANZAC day marks an influential event that makes us think , question and remember the conditions, effects and nature of war. It is the day perceived for the remembrance of bravery and endurance of those who fought and faced danger.
Keith and I graduated together from Kingston High in 2009. Although I didn’t know him as well as I’d have liked to, I’d seen him around, and we wished each other well after the graduation ceremony. I’d told Keith my hopes of moving to Australia for a year, and Keith shared his plans for college in Pennsylvania that fall. Monday, August the tenth 2009: Before plunging into the rigors of college, Keith and his friends and family were on holiday.
A type of literature I was never, well fond of – poetry. But I realised, that poetry is such a powerful medium, despite its mere length. I found that the poem, “I Was Only 19”, by John Schumann was such a powerful piece of poetry, where the unit alone gave me an insight on how the language and text choices within poems can either perpetuate the dominant attitudes and values of Australian cultural and social identity or depict the ideals of marginalised groups. This poem served to identify the ANZAC legend, where it effectively highlighted through my de-construction that within the context of war, were the values such as mateship which come to permeate Australian poetry. Australia is host to a multitude of representations that are manifested through the lens of society in various avenues, but stereotypes are only limited to the manipulation of information.
