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Weiss on White ... Getting it Wrong
"There's only one thing in the world worse than being witty and that is not being witty."
"if you're going to slam us at least get it right dickhead."
Now what made me remember that, after all these years? It was a Mr. Weiss of the Observer who wrote in his introduction to his analysis and critique of Australian culture, "Having just spent a couple of weeks in Australia...." Hmmm. Well what did Mr Weiss's "couple of weeks" teach him so that he could educate his fellow Americans about what they call "Downunder"? For starters, Mr Weiss finds Australian culture to be "thin" and white". Something like sliced white bread I suppose. And who invented THAT insult to our taste buds anyway..... "Thin"? you ask. Well, yes as our culture is young and some of us are from convict stock. Apparently Mr Weiss spent some time in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda (for American readers, much of St Kilda is known for its prostitutes and drug-dealers - it is a bit like a sleazy version of St Marks Place, New York). Had he spent time in the aboriginal area of Redfern, Mr Weiss would possibly have come to the conclusion that Australia is still primarily populated by aborigines. Our culture white? I don't THINk so! If Mr Weiss had taken a couple of minutes to look at the statistics, or if he'd stayed a little longer in the sunburnt country, he'd have found out, that like America, we are a nation of immigrants. And what's more, if he'd look at our top ten languages (English Mandarin, Arabic, Other Chinese, Indonesian, Serbian, Cantonese, Bosnian, Tagalog (Filipino) and Vietnamese) in that order, he'd have realised that the population is far from white. Or maybe Mr Weiss is not aware of the racial background of Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese people. The 1996 census found more than four million people, or 24 percent of the Australian population, were born overseas, 5% of the population being born in Asia. Let's move on though. Mr Weiss not only dislikes "white", he's also unhappy with the fact that Australia has apparently imported the worst of American culture. And that our sportsmen wear Nike. He expects our actors to make public statement on the treatment of our illegal immigrants. I'd be careful there Mr. Weiss ... glasshouses ..... I think it is true that we import the worst of American culture. It is quite a common world phenomenon and not exclusive to Australia. America imports the worst of Australian culture. Just look at Crocodile man. That's they way it is. Popular culture is popular culture. No one suggests that Micky Mouse or Skippy the Kangaroo, pies floating in soup or hamburgers in sweet bread are the cultural icons we'd all want to be known by. Just as not New Yorkers spend their evenings at Carnegie Hall but instead stay tuned to the Crocodile Man, so do most Sydney-siders not spend their evenings at the Opera House and are happy to settle down to watch the Simpsons. Do the Simpsons represent the high point American culture? I wouldn't think so. And certainly Crocodile Man is not what we Australians think of when we think of the culture that produced Patrick White, Sydney Nolan, Peter Carey, Sir Robert Helpman, Arthur Drysdale, Men at Work, Australian Rules, Judy Davis and Tim Winton. There's "popular culture" and "high culture". Most of us know the difference and can enjoy both. Whatever country we are in. On our racist past, Mr Weiss brings up Calwell's "two Wongs don't make a white" quote. Like America and most Western countries Australia has nothing to be proud of in her treatment of non-whites. Some countries had slaves and forms of apartheid or racial segregation. Others picked on Jews. At least one encouraged the drug trade in China. But all this has nothing to do with the price of fish in 2002. Is Mr Weiss talking about culture or heritage? Does he know the difference? Does he drink his coffee American-style - out of a paper cup - or Australian-European style - out of china? Does he think that our Italian and Vietnamese immigrants entered Australia as cultural tabula rasas, and that nuoc mam and ravioli and other dishes that grace the tables of restaurants patronised by average Australians, were invented post 1950? Does he THINK? As to Kidman and Crowe not being brave enough to condemn the Australian government in their acceptance speeches at America's center of culture; we may have imported the worst of American culture, but we haven't quite stooped to pretending our actors are politicians. Kate Juliff New York March 2002 |
