KCB101 Assessment 3: Final Essay
- Jun 11, 2017
- 9 min read
The portrayal of the ‘Aussie bloke’ cultural group within the media both nationally and internationally immediately draws some very specific connotations. Images of Banjo Patterson’s The Man from Snowy River, Crocodile Dundee, the Aussie digger, have helped form part of the ‘Aussie bloke’ psyche. This essay will attempt to disseminate how the ideology of the ‘Aussie bloke’ has evolved more broadly in the media over the last twenty years, by juxtaposing three different characters from two Australian films and an Australian Sitcom. Darryl Kerrigan, The Castle – 1997, Kenny Smyth, Kenny - 2006 and Josh, Please Like Me – season one. A general discussion around the cultural group will lead into a more thorough examination of each of the texts and how the cultural group is represented utilizing media communication concepts. These concepts will include orthodox and doxa ideology, hegemonic and subordination masculinity, social class and stereotype ideology, gender identity, intertextuality, binary opposition and connotation.
The Aussie bloke as a representation within the media is an evolving concept. Traditionally, media texts including, magazines, books, poetry and newspapers have helped to define the cultural group as discussed by Waling (2014). Waling also suggests that ideologies associated with the ‘Aussie male’ stem from conventional stereotypes including, masculinity and heterosexual orientation. More contemporary themes such as the Aussie larrikin, mateship and the idea of a fair go have also developed over the years to paint an image of what an Aussie bloke is. However, does this ideal of the Aussie bloke still exist in the media today? Hogan quoted in Koha and Madigan (2015) suggests that part of what defines the Aussie bloke as an ideology is no longer as distinctive as it once was. McCrindle also quoted in Koha and Madigan (2015) agrees with this assertion and states “Australians have become more sophisticated but in doing so we have become more compliant – we have lost that irreverence, that push-back, that once defined us”.
Certainly, there has been a sophistication pertaining to the representation of the Aussie bloke within the media in recent times. As discussed by Asia Pacific Focus (2010), Australians attended more cultural events and live music performances than NRL and AFL games in 2009. There has also been speculation within the media, that specific behaviours which once defined the Aussie bloke have progressed over time. According to World News Day (2013) “the Stereotypical Aussie bloke may soon be a thing of the past. Men are becoming more hands on in their roles as fathers…Aussie blokes are romantic and increasingly value their time with their families”.
Now that we have a general idea of how the Aussie bloke is depicted in society, we shall examine three well known media texts. The analysis of each of the different media texts will attempt to give more clarity around the ideological conceptions of the cultural group by examining various communication and cultural concepts.
The fictional character Darryl Kerrigan of the film The Castle (Stich et al, 1997) is characterized as an Aussie bloke through hegemonic masculinity, connotation, orthodoxy ideology and intertextuality concepts.
In the opening sequence of the film, Darryl is framed through narrative intertextuality as discussed by Schirato and Yell (2000, 54). Relying on the audience’s understanding of a patriarchal family, Dale Kerrigan’s (the son) narration introduces Darryl with connotative descriptions such as “dad is the backbone of the Kerrigan family” (Grisrud, 2006, 16; Stich et al, 1997). In this opening sequence, Darryl is portrayed as a loving family man, a small business owner and someone with simple pleasures such as breeding greyhounds and spending nights in with his family watching television. It is therefore appropriate to view Darryl as an Aussie bloke orthodoxically rather than through a doxa ideology as discussed by Ott and Mack (2013, 141 – 142). The concept of the Aussie bloke is not indisputable, rather it is merely a commonly agreeable concept amongst society.
The Castle also shows the actions of Darryl as hegemonically masculine as outlined by Connell (2005, 93). Upon notification that his family house is to be compulsorily acquired by the Government to make way for a new airport, Darryl demonstrates his patriarchal status in the film. Taking responsibility to fight the decision, Darryl calls a meeting of the local neighbours and engages a solicitor. Suffering set-backs and facing adversity, Darryl does not give up on his family or the principle that “a man’s home is his castle” (Stich et al, 1997). His luck finally turns when in a quintessentially Australian manner he strikes up a friendly conversation with a stranger outside of court, who turns out to be a Queens Council barrister.
Utilizing the key terms of connotation, intertextuality, orthodoxy and hegemonic masculinity, the writers of the Castle created an iconic Aussie bloke in Darryl Kerrigan. As Buckmaster (2014) notes, the film “…catapulted Darryl Kerrigan straight into the pool room of cinematic legends”.
The character of Kenny Smyth can be described as an ‘Aussie battler’, a concept that is a defining characteristic of the ‘Aussie bloke’. Huijser (2009, 66) discusses this concept of Kenny being an Aussie battler and how the film uses a mockumentary genre to endear Kenny with the film’s viewers.
By analyzing concepts such as intertextuality, subordination masculinity, social class ideology and stereotyping, we will explore how Kenny fits within the cultural group of the ‘Aussie bloke’.
Social class ideology as discussed by Ott and Mack (2013, 147) where our social placement in society is determined by one’s occupation can be related directly to the character of Kenny. As a plumber working for the portable toilet rental company ‘Splashdown’, Kenny is linked intrinsically to the working-class social ideology of the Aussie battler. This ideology is a central theme that flows throughout the entire film. Intertextuality of the type of work performed by a plumber is utilised to demonstrate that people are generally ignorant of what Kenny does. This intertextuality also helps to reinforce the negative social stereotype (Ott and Mack, 2013, 152) of the work of a plumber. This stereotyping is highlighted in dialogue between Kenny and the Mockumentary film crew in the beginning of the film when he states, “funny part is, parents look at me and go, that’s not much of a job, don’t you wish you did something else?” (Jacobson, 2006).
The working-class ideology of Kenny is also demonstrated through Kenny’s social activities. In the film Kenny is seen socializing after work by sparing in a boxing gym. Boxing is considered “The poor-man’s sport”, Leonard quoted in Kitchen (N.D) and this stereotyping of boxing being a poor-man’s sport assists in creating the ideology of Kenny as a battler.
Dismissiveness of Kenny’s career by members of the public is emphasized when he works on-site at various events, creating an ideology of Kenny’s masculinity being subordinate (Connell, 2005, 94) to those who attend the events. Connell discusses this theory as it relates to cultural distinctions of heterosexual’s vs homosexuals in society, however it can be applied to the prejudices towards the lower working-class by those in middle to upper-classes in western society. In a scene at the Melbourne Cup, Kenny dresses his son up in Splashdown attire to make his son feel valued and part of the team. Whilst working, Kenny is criticized by two female patrons attending the Melbourne Cup festival. The patrons accuse Kenny of being a bad parent. Stating, “Really and truly, have you got this child cleaning toilets?...What’s he doing cleaning toilets? These toilets are no place for a child to be around the toilets of a public racecourse. What sort of diseases could he get? It’s disgusting!” (Jacobson, 2006).
By examining the concept of the Aussie battler through the character of Kenny as a media text, we have been able to crystalize the disposition of the Aussie bloke with more clarity in Australian society.
It has been asserted through the media texts in this essay, that one of the defining features of the Aussie bloke within the media, is their sense of masculinity and how this concept is constructed in opposition to the notion of femininity (Waling, 2014). The character ‘Josh’ from the first season of the Australian situational comedy ‘Please Like Me’, is a young Australian man discovering his sexual orientation as a homosexual. The media text directly challenges the orthodoxically accepted understanding of the Aussie bloke through concepts such as binary opposition, gender identity and stereotyping.
The Gender Identity of ‘Josh’ as an Aussie bloke, is in binary opposition to previous media text’s in this essay (Hartley, 2011, 122; Sternberg, 2017).
Gender Identity is characterised more through social behaviours within society rather than sexuality and Josh’s mannerisms in the series are an example of this. He is feminine in nature and the character exhibits a general disregard for traditional male activities. In the fifth episode of season one, ‘Spanish Eggs’ (Thomas, 2013), Josh is invited by his boyfriend to attend an Australian Rules Football match. Josh’s response is one of disdain stating, “No, no, not AFL I don’t like it, you know I don’t like it, I don’t get it” (Thomas, 2013).
The writers of Please Like me use a stereotypical ideology of homosexuality in their representation of ‘Josh’ to present a modern interpretation of the Aussie bloke. As Gilbert (2015) discusses, the show is not constructed with any complicated plots or twists and turns. It is simple, funny and at times, touching. By presenting ‘Josh’ within this context, gender identification of the media text ‘Josh’ is not shown as radical, rather it is an identifiable characteristic of who Josh is. The stereotyping of his gender allows certain comedic license; however, Josh’s gender is never made to be a central theme within the framework of Please Like Me, rather his relationships are. This can be seen in episode one of season one, Josh’s girlfriend Claire end’s their relationship when she says “I think we should break up…and also, you’re gay.” Thomas (2013).
Through the cultural and communication concepts of gender identity, stereotyping and binary opposition we have seen how the media text ‘Josh’ is an evolved version of the ‘Aussie bloke’.
In Conclusion, we have examined the cultural group of the Aussie Bloke and how the ideological concept of the group is represented in the media. This was done by looking at the beginnings of the cultural group and how it’s identity was originally shaped through mateship, larrikinism, and the idea of the fair-go to name a few. Looking at the cultural group today, we examined changes that have occurred and discovered a more sophisticated view of the Aussie bloke in the media. Taking a more in-depth look at the Aussie bloke, the essay compared and contrasted three separate media texts that have been created in the past twenty years. The concepts of masculinity, connotation, intertextuality, doxa and orthodoxy ideology found that Darryl from the film The Castle presented more of a familiar representation of what the Aussie bloke is. In ‘Kenny’, Social class ideology played a significant role in helping to define Kenny as an Aussie battler. We saw how the media representation of a working class battler can endear a character to it’s audiences and that concepts such as subordination masculinity and stereotyping created this ideology. In examining Kenny as a representation of the cultural group within the media, the concept of the Aussie battler was tendered as an essential element in the ideological framework of the Aussie bloke. Finally, the media text of ‘Josh’ from the Australian situational comedy ‘Please Like Me’ was analysed. In this study, we explored how gender identity and stereotype ideologies were presented in binary opposition to the traditional orthodoxically accepted view of the Aussie bloke.
References
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