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I first came in the mid-80s. It seems like a lifetime ago now. Back then, Americans knew even less about Australia (basically what they knew was Men at Work, INXS, Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee -- and, if they really knew their stuff -- Prisoner: Cell Block H and Bryan Brown movies) than they do now. And Australians knew even less about Americans (especially black Americans) than they do now. I got crazy questions on both ends, usually inquiries about things like kangaroos in the streets from Americans and having to shoot your way to work and back from Australians.
Having said that, it's still unusual for a more accurate portrait of urban Australia to be seen in America. Relatively few Australian movies get released in the US and those that do (like, say, "Animal Kingdom") go to the arthouse circuit and aren't seen by most moviegoers. The miniseries "The Slap," perhaps the most accurate portrayal of contemporary urban Australia in recent times, was only shown in the US on DirecTV, a satellite service that only has a sliver of the total US TV viewership. Similarly, Chris Lilley's work ("Summer Heights High," "Angry Boys") are seen only on HBO, a premium pay-channel most viewers don't get.
Therefore, their perception of Australia is shaped by Australian tourism commercials, the big crossover movies of the last few decades ("Mad Max," "Crocodile Dundee," "Muriel's Wedding," "Australia," "Strictly Ballroom," etc.) and the wave of Australians who've made it in the US/UK: Cate Blanchett, Ryan Kwanten, the Hemsworth brothers, Nicole Kidman, Dame Edna, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Murdoch, Peter Allen, Olivia Newton-John, Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana, Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Toni Collette, Guy Pearce, Rose Byrne, Gotye, etc. Not an Asian or black Australian in the bunch.
When combined with a vague awareness of something they've heard about the White Australia Policy and it's no shock that many Americans think of Australia, a small population of Aborigines aside, as a largely Anglo (in the traditional usage of the word relating to those with ethnic roots in England) country with little ethnic variety.
I first came in the mid-80s. It seems like a lifetime ago now. Back then, Americans knew even less about Australia (basically what they knew was Men at Work, INXS, Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee -- and, if they really knew their stuff -- Prisoner: Cell Block H and Bryan Brown movies) than they do now. And Australians knew even less about Americans (especially black Americans) than they do now. I got crazy questions on both ends, usually inquiries about things like kangaroos in the streets from Americans and having to shoot your way to work and back from Australians.
Having said that, it's still unusual for a more accurate portrait of urban Australia to be seen in America. Relatively few Australian movies get released in the US and those that do (like, say, "Animal Kingdom") go to the arthouse circuit and aren't seen by most moviegoers. The miniseries "The Slap," perhaps the most accurate portrayal of contemporary urban Australia in recent times, was only shown in the US on DirecTV, a satellite service that only has a sliver of the total US TV viewership. Similarly, Chris Lilley's work ("Summer Heights High," "Angry Boys") are seen only on HBO, a premium pay-channel most viewers don't get.
Therefore, their perception of Australia is shaped by Australian tourism commercials, the big crossover movies of the last few decades ("Mad Max," "Crocodile Dundee," "Muriel's Wedding," "Australia," "Strictly Ballroom," etc.) and the wave of Australians who've made it in the US/UK: Cate Blanchett, Ryan Kwanten, the Hemsworth brothers, Nicole Kidman, Dame Edna, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Murdoch, Peter Allen, Olivia Newton-John, Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana, Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Toni Collette, Guy Pearce, Rose Byrne, Gotye, etc. Not an Asian or black Australian in the bunch.
When combined with a vague awareness of something they've heard about the White Australia Policy and it's no shock that many Americans think of Australia, a small population of Aborigines aside, as a largely Anglo (in the traditional usage of the word relating to those with ethnic roots in England) country with little ethnic variety.
The perception of Americans may be a little off, but there is some truth to it. To be fair to Americans, Australia is 92% White, much higher than the USA. About 56% of Australians claimed ancestry from the British Isles, compared with around 25% of USA population. The USA is 72% white, 12.6% black, 4.2% Asian, 1.2% Native American or Hawaiian, and 10% mixed races. 8.6% of the USA White population is of Spanish ancestry. Around 16% of Americans claim German ancestry, 6% Italian, 3% Polish, 3% French, 2% Dutch, etc, etc. The White population in the USA is much more continental European than the British-centric Australia.
Much of their immigration was and is UK based, whereas the USA is more ethnically diverse than Australia. Our immigration was from a much wider pool, and still is. If it was any different, Australia would not be 92% White today.
The perception of Americans may be a little off, but there is some truth to it. To be fair to Americans, Australia is 92% White, much higher than the USA. About 56% of Australians claimed ancestry from the British Isles, compared with around 25% of USA population. The USA is 72% white, 12.6% black, 4.2% Asian, 1.2% Native American or Hawaiian, and 10% mixed races. 8.6% of the USA White population is of Spanish ancestry. Around 16% of Americans claim German ancestry, 6% Italian, 3% Polish, 3% French, 2% Dutch, etc, etc. The White population in the USA is much more continental European than the British-centric Australia.
Much of their immigration was and is UK based, whereas the USA is more ethnically diverse than Australia. Our immigration was from a much wider pool, and still is. If it was any different, Australia would not be 92% White today.
We will never know the true number of whites vs non whites in Australia, as our census does not ask any such question and we have no standard definition of what white is.
The current population of Australia is by ancestry about 12% Asian (that does not include people from the middle east), 3% Indigenous or Black African, 2% Native Pacific Islander and 2% Arabic, (The Middle east and northern Africa) where you draw the line on thoes people being non white or not is anyones guess.
We still have a long way to go before we get to the USA that true, but the population is changing rapidly.
Australia is linguistically just a diverse as the USA 250-300 different languages are spoken in both Countries, 24% of aussies regularly speak a language other than English compared to 20% of Americans, and unlike the USA Australia does not have a dominate second langauge. I’m sure most people would be surprised by that alone.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 08-14-2012 at 02:49 AM..
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