The two readings this week interestingly compete and compare cultural boundaries and spaces by using unabashed raw emotion to highlight the adversities two different cultures face when it comes to the corporeal haven and national identity of the Australian beach.
Moreton-Robinson’s examination and review of the CantChant exhibition discusses the adversities the Aboriginal people have had to face in relation to ownership, power roles and cultural beliefs at the beach. The exhibition is a powerful resistance to the classifications thrust upon Aboriginals and their struggle to assimilate themselves into the Australian identity.
Dale Richards is the first Aborigine to reach the main draw of a World Championship Tour contest.
However, for Clifton Evers this Australian identity is the surfing culture that he believes is a habitually born and bred trait for many coastal boys and emphasises that the release that occurs while surfing is primal and masculine, but this is often stunted by the adversities of gangs such as the ‘Bra Boys’ who take an ownership role of the beach.
Both readings focus on the beach as a primary source of cultural identification and space and both agree that the beach encompasses this Australian culture that everyone tries to integrate with. They also agree that the primal instinct for males is ownership. Both readings yearn for the beach as it provides an equal and recognised identity for Aboriginals and fulfils a primordial urge for the typical Australian surfer.
As a comparison, the Maori people of New Zealand lead a much different life than the Aboriginals of Australia. Maoris have been assimilated more into society, their culture and traditions are much more recognised and respected than those of the Aboriginals. This is evident in the New Zealand national anthem containing Maori lyrics, identifying that the Maori people are an important part of the national identity. Even in the Rugby World Cup that is currently underway some form of Maori culture has been included at the start of each game and even the national Rugby team performs a Maori war cry (usually the Haka) at the start of each game.
If men stopped focusing so much on masculinity and forcing their culture into a national identity would society be more sustainable and enjoyable? Do you think the idea of masculinity and culture space inhibits society from ever truly making any progress?
What does it mean to have ownership over something that is public and primal?
Yasmin's Academic Blog 