Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr Sarah Baker
Lecturer, Cultural Sociology
School of Humanities, Griffith University
Friday 1 October, 10am-12pm
Volda University College Australasian Study Tour
Defining Culture
the whole way of life of a people, their
customs and rituals, their pastimes and
pleasures, including not only the arts
but also practices such as sport and
going to the beach
(Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987: viii)
Myth
Myth - a systematic organisation of signifiers around a
set of connotations and meanings
(Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987: xi)
so much of Australia
seems to be about
pleasure made for it.
Especially the South East
coastline along which the
majority of Australians
choose to live. The beach
has become an integral
part of our life and our
identity Robert Hughes,
art critic.
(cited in Bonner, McKay and McKee 2001: 270)
The Beach
and the City
So, as the bushman became less
relevant to modern Australia, the
ideology which once mythologised
him, valuing his harmony with the
natural environment and his tough
physicality, now supports the beach.
Consequently the central image of the
Australian beach is not that of the
tropical hideaway. That does exist,
but is reserved for holidays, preferably
outside Australia. The beach that
contributes to everyday existence
must be metropolitan, therefore
urban.
(Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987: xi)
The
Lifesaver
The Surfer
while lifesavers give
up their time to patrol
the beach, surfers are
seen to be indulging
themselves on the
beach all day whilst
living on the dole. If the
lifesavers are the
heroes of this myth,
then the surfers are its
anti-heroes.
(Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987: 65)
Cronulla can be a
dangerous place to go surfing.
Shark Island is the premier
wave of the area ... The waves
at this surf break rise, warp,
peel, and mutate over a
shallow slab of rock. The men
who ride the island are
respected by other surfers and
are considered brave and
tough. These men know
how to negotiate the dangers
of Shark Island. They paddle
out to the waves through
currents hidden below the
surface of the water, which
help them avoid the harm of
the exploding swells. The men
can tell at a glance what waves
will peel evenly and allow a
safe ride.
(Evers 2008: 418)
Surfer as
underdog
The battler figures
within Australian
cultural history as the
embodiment of
national values of
hard-work,
egalitarianism and
perseverance. the
battler is closely
related to the pioneer
myth In essence,
the battler is an
underdog figure,
someone who
struggles to succeed
against-the-odds.
(Butler 2009: 392)
The white,
bronzed Aussie
the battler is the key actor
in the drama of white
Australian history; the key
exponent of the Australian
values of egalitarianism and
mateship. The whiteness of
the battler is amplified by
the historical resonance of
the term its very
mustiness harks back to an
earlier time when
inequalities of income were
not strongly associated with
ethnicity, and when nonwhites did not struggle
economically (because they
were politically invisible).
(Scalmer, cited in Butler 2009: 399)
Cronulla Riots
On Sunday December 4, two
teenage volunteer lifesavers
were attacked by two males,
apparently Lebanese. The
attack provoked a very hostile
reaction in and around the
beach. Lifesavers get respect
from the Australian community,
particularly in beachside areas.
People know that lifesavers do
literally save lives. The
weekend volunteers are not
paid for what they do. For
someone to attack lifesavers
was to commit a very
provocative act which was
likely to cause an angry
reaction.
(Barclay and West 2006: 77)
This is Australia?
In contrast [to confrontations
based on competition for land or
labour], as the use of the Australian
flag, the national anthem, and
rioters appeals to other national
icons and the Australian way of life
indicate, the contemporary
challenge involves ownership and
access to membership in the nation
and its culture.
(Inglis cited in Hartley and Green 2006: 352)
References