Creativity Architects
Customs and Values AboriginesStatus of Aborigines Australian English (Strine) Poetic deception Christianity Jesus and Convicts Drinking Shouts and rounds Facts Odd facts of Australia Etiquette Important social rules Immortals Iconic battlers Tall-poppy syndrome The misunderstood icon Traditions A time to be sombre and to not Underdog Siding with the loser
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Cultural Differences between Australia and EnglandAustralia seems refreshingly free of class prejudice. Here people take you for what you are, and are less concerned with how you speak, what job you do, where you went to school etc. I enjoy meeting people from many walks of life and treating each other as equals. Paul Davies - British migrant Australians and the English speak a similar language, use a similar political system and share a Queen. They are also primarily a Caucasian people diversified due to migration from non-Caucasian regions. Cultural differences stem from history, environment, and geographic location in the world. In regards to history, urban Australia was initially populated with English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish criminals and soldiers to guard them. It wasn't a mix that appealed to many potential migrants around the world. Consequently, up until the 1980s, it was only low class migrants that found Australia appealing. Today, few Australians want to remember their history and naturally, few English want to let Australians forget it. In regards to environment, England has shocking weather that makes people miserable. On the positive side, it's a safe country where the most dangerous wildlife to be encountered is a ruminating cow. On the other hand, Australia is a harsh land with plenty of sunshine, snakes, spiders, sharks, droughts, and bushfires. The English have long used the environment to explain why Australians are good at sport but no good in culture. In the minds of the English, Australians spend more time outdoors playing, while the English spend more time indoors creating and learning. In regards to geographic location, England is part of Europe and the prosperity of Europe is in its interests. Australia is in the eastern hemisphere and the prosperity of Asia is in its interests. Economy
From CIA World Fact Book LanguageBoth Australians and English speak the same language, but they speak it in different ways. In England, pronunciation varies according to class and region, which reflects England's class conscious society and regional rivalries. In Australia, pronunciation varies according to gender and ideology. Australian men with a positive attitude to Australia are more likely to speak like Bill Hunter, Paul Hogan, Kerry Packer, Lindsay Fox or Bob Hawke with a broad Australian accent. Australian women are more likely to speak like Cate Blanchett with an accent that sounds like someone educated at Oxford University. Australian men that don't like Australia are more likely to speak like a woman or someone educated at Oxford university. Contrary to myth, there is no regional variance in Australian English. People in Perth do not speak differently to people in Melbourne. Furthermore, there is no racial accent. Very few children of non-English speaking migrants speak with ethnic accents. Aside from pronunciation, Australian English has been heavily influenced by American English. Most of Australia's television shows are American and American research dominates Australian universities. Consequently, Australians often use the American spelling for words such as 'organization.' They use both American and English grammar. For example, both the American "the couple is happy" and the British "the couple are happy" are acceptable in Australia. Finally, Australian English is more informal than British English. Australians quickly get on to first name basis and refrain from using titles such as Mr, Mrs, Lord or Your Highness. Australians also frequently corrupt the language via the use of diminutives such as 'arvo' instead of 'afternoon' or 'uni' instead of 'university.'
SportsThe English have traditionally been very inventive when it comes to sports. They have invented soccer, rugby union, rugby league, squash, hockey, test cricket, one day cricket and 20/20 cricket. They have also invented tennis and polo. Unfortunately, they aren't very good at any of the sports they have invented. Australians play all of the English sports and have also invented some of their own such as Australian football, indoor cricket, touch rugby, surf life saving, polocrosse, new vogue dancing, and callisthenics. With soccer as a possible exception, Australians are superior to England in every sport. For reasons unknown, soccer in Australia has largely been confined to non-English ethnic communities. England refers to soccer as 'football.' Australia, like every other English speaking nation, refers to it as soccer.
Macadamia stuffed Emu Fan Filled with red pepper just on summer salad FoodDuring the penal era, the staples of Australian colonial society were wheat, potatoes, beef, milk, eggs, sheep as well as fish &chips. These staples were English staples. Outside of colonial society, Aborigines ate kangaroo, echidna, koala, ants, grubs, snakes, lizards and moths. Because the colonists were starving, they would have eaten the native Australian cuisine if they could, but they didn't know how to hunt or find it. Furthermore, native produce was not suitable for farming so it could only sustain people living a nomadic existence. In the last couple of decades, both Australia and England have gained greater access to a diverse range of produce and have had migrants introduce varied recipes of the world. Consequently, both Australia and England have developed fusion cuisines. Potentially, the Australian cuisine will end up being the superior because the greater range of climatic conditions produces a greater range of products to work with.
WineEngland is widely recognized as the most objective wine market in the world. The English are large consumers of wine and demand quality, but they lack a wine industry of their own that inspires parochial attitudes that cloud perceptions. Consequently, English supermarket shelves are stocked with the best wine from Chile, South Africa, America, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Australia. In what is a good sign for Australia, the English consume more wine from Australia than from any other nation. Australian wine shelves are predominantly stocked with Australian wine. Like every other significant wine growing nation, Australians believe their wines are the best in the world. Today, Australia is the world's largest wine exporter behind France, Italy and Spain. ExpatriatesAustralian expatriates are very successful in England. In music, Kylie Minogue has almost become English pop royalty. In the humanities, Germain Greer is celebrated as a great feminist thinker. Clive James is a poet, thinker, talk show host, and cultural commentator. Rolf Harris is a painter and singer songwriter that has had a number one song on British music charts as well as numerous popular television shows. Many of the Australian expatriates provoke mixed feelings in Australia. Some Australians are proud that their fellow country men and women have done well. Other Australians hope the country men and women stay in England and never come back. While Australia has produced numerous individuals that have gone on to become celebrities in England, few English have become celebrities in Australia. Political systemBoth Australia and England are Constitutional Monarchies with the Queen as the head of state. The main difference between the systems is that England has a House of Lords, whose members attain their position through birthright. Australia has a Senate that functions in a similar way to the House of Lords, but whose members are elected by voters. The Queen makes no decisions affecting Australia. Anti-establishmentBoth England and Australia have strong left-wing political movements that seek to overthrow the establishment. Although strong in resolve, the left-wingers in England have never been able to realise their objectives because ultimate power resides with the Royal Family and House of Lords, both of which attain their position by birthright. No matter how much political support left wingers can gather, they can not gain ultimate power with any method except armed rebellion. In the 19th century, armed rebellion looked likely so all the dissidents were sent to Australia. Today, those in power in England have sufficient intelligence to manage the social sphere in a manner that ensures they can hold power forever. In Australia, the left-wingers have taken control of the universities, the ABC, the SBS, the teachers unions, funding bodies, the courts and even government. Oddly, despite holding the reins of power, they are still governed by an ideology of dissent, which at times has made them sound absurd. For example, in 2007, Robert Manne, Australia's leading intellectual, wrote a letter to The Australian newspaper arguing that debate was under threat. The Australian publicly responded: "There is no better way to start the day than with a good chuckle. Happily, there was Robert Manne in the letters pages of The Australian yesterday to give us one...Manne says debate is "presently under threat", which would be why people were too terrified to march in their hundreds of thousands against the war in Iraq. You hardly ever hear a word against the Government's Work Choices legislation either, do you? David Marr can never get a word in...Pity we won't be able to hear through the mouth gag he is forced to wear, both hands tied behind his back to prevent him from writing books, essays, columns and, now, letters to The Australian." PlaywrightsWilliam Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright in English history. Shakespeare wrote comedies in a poetic fashion that were entertaining, thought provoking and provided profound insights into human behaviour. The genius of his work is evidenced by his appeal across cultures and the ability of his work to survive political scrutiny across time. Few historical writers have been so fortunate. David Williamson stands alone in the world of Australian playwrights. An immensely talented man, Williamson weaves good humour into his psychological explorations of political, family and moral issues in Australia. Story tellingAcross time, the English have proved that they are the world's best story tellers. Charles Dicken, Lewis Carol and JK Rowling created children's stories that resonate across the world's cultures and across time. For the adults, Jane Austin blended logic, morals, and emotions into stories that have likewise intrigued people the world over. George Orwell explored political concepts, with a particular interest in group-first totalitarian regimes that protected the interests of their individual rulers. Although highly political, Orwell was a man who proved himself to be very open-minded and willing to change his political beliefs. Consequently, his work provokes thought on political viewpoints, rather than a lecture on a political viewpoint. Australia's most critically acclaimed novelist is Patrick White, who won the noble prize for literature in 1973. Despite winning world acclaim, White never won much acclaim in Australia. His lack of appeal in Australia was probably a result of his negativity towards Australians and his constant intrusion into political issues of his day. Peter Carey is one of only two men to have won the Booker Prize (a novel written in the English language by a commonwealth citizen) twice. Like White, Carey got involved in political issues, which made him as many critics and prevented widespread acceptance of his work in Australia. Tom Keneally is another internationally acclaimed novelist. His most famous work is Schindler's Ark, which was subsequently made into Schindler's List by Steven Spielberg. Like other Australian novelists, Keneally has got himself involved in political issues, which have prevented widespread acceptance of his work in Australia. MoviesBehind America, England has arguably the world's most internationally successful movie industry. The staple of the English industry is the romantic comedy that deals with a considerate English gentleman in a feel good story. Not surprisingly, most of England's famous actors are the likes of Jude Law and Hugh Grant that play the kind of emotionally sensitive funny man that a woman might advertise for in a personal ad. Australia's industry was successful in the 70s and 80s, but it is not successful today. In 1988, Paul Keating, then treasurer of the left-wing Labor government, developed a cultural agenda and saw funding as a way of realising his political objectives. Keating scrapped the unbiased system of tax concessions that had proved successful and announced it would be replaced with funding for film distributors, sales agents, and broadcasters. The funding system allowed Keating's party to have more control over the type of movies being made, distributed, promoted and shown. The outcome was movies that were supportive of Keating's left-wing ideology, but were boring, insulting and emotionally unappealing. Even though the Australian industry as a whole is rubbish, Australia has produced plenty of actors and actresses that have found great success in Hollywood. Most of the Australian actors, such as Russel Crowe and Mel Gibson, are quite masculine in comparison to the English actors. Conversely, the Australian actresses, such as Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, have been able to retain a strong feminine quality that has seen them win the kind of elegant lady roles traditionally won by the English. TelevisionAustralian soaps like Neighbours and Home & Away are immensely popular in England. They portray happy neighbourhoods populated by good looking teenagers and their loving families. The soaps might appeal because they fit an idealised conception of Australia for the English. Alternatively, maybe the episodes are well written. In the past, the English liked Prisoner, which was an Australian soap set in a woman's prison. Perhaps Prisoner offered another conception of Australia for the English. While Australian programs have been popular on English television, not many English programs are popular on Australian commericial television. For reasons unknown, commercial television in Australia favours American made programs. However, the government funded ABC has often showed English programs such as The Bill, Black Adder, Mr Bean, The Goodies, Dr Who and Little Britain. Rock MusicEngland has a very successful music industry that has produced some of the world's largest rock acts, such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. At times, English music can be dreary and depressing, with Coldplay being a classic example. Unlike it is in Ireland, political music is frowned upon in England and treated as somewhat of a joke. Australia's biggest rock export is AC/DC, whose music centres around sex and drinking. Other rock bands include Midnight Oil, which inherited the Irish tradition of mixing politics and music. The desire of Australian rock musicians to be political got a bit farcical in 2006 when Australia's leading musical acts banded together for a protest concert. Whereas musicians from other countries have made stands to eliminate war, poverty or religious conflict, the Australians were protesting against employees and employers being able to negotiate individual contracts, rather than employers needing to negotiate through unions representing their members. The protest concert smacked of people desperately trying to cling onto some kind of ideology about being the defenders of the under class.
ComedyEnglish comedy is highly intelligent. Comedy by the likes of Monty Python was self-depreciating, and concerned with pointing out the absurdities of life. Traditional Australian humour, by the likes of Paul Hogan, inherited England's piss-taking and intelligent elements and was very successful as a result. Modern Australian humour has regressed into sarcasm and insults. With the aid of government funding, left-wingers now dominant Australia's comedy scene with elitist jokes that belittle those they don't like. Today, the most notable comedy team is The Chaser on the ABC. The Chaser grew out a newspaper started by private school boys from Sydney. With their private schoolboy background, their jokes are of the vein: "Princess Di was just a slut for sex, Stan Zemanek was a racist, Sarcasm is a central feature of left-wing Australia humour. Left-wingers create a stereotype of an extreme character and subsequently use sarcasm to make it as ugly as possible. For left wingers, the ugliness is a source of hilarity that leaves them in stitches. Such humour can be seen at the anti-Australian values website http://valuesaustralia.com. It can also be seen in Kath & Kim; another ABC creation that aims to belittle stereotyped ideas of Australians. The comedy duo create fictional characters of culturally crass, low class Australian women that can be laughed at. The jokes are of the vein: s "And Sharon got kicked out for doing a wee between two cars and Mum won the prize for the loudest singing on the train home!!" Stereotypical differences between Aussies, Brits, Americans and CandadiansAussies: Believe you should look out for your mates. Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad.
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Cultural comparisons
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