Kaurna Acknowledgement

“We would like to acknowledge this land that we meet on today is the traditional lands for the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country.

We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.”

How are minority cultural groups represented in the

media?

Explore these representations in the

context of the construction of whiteness in Australia.

Stereotypes within society

What images may our modern society associate with Indigenous Australians?

How does this apply in the classroom?

Stereotypes within society

“Stereotypes such as dark skin, despair, levels of alcohol consumption, laziness, levels of intelligence, ability to work and care for children, and levels of criminality are all part of the myths and stereotypes that perpetuate racism in Australia.”

(ANTaR. (2012). Racism in Australia facts. Available: http://www.antar.org.au/node/221. Last accessed 13th Aug 2012.).

Stereotyping within media

Stereotyping is a form of racism

Society often reduces a range of differences in people to simplistic categorisations

Stereotyping within media

Can you think of any such examples within our media and/or advertisements?

Social media & networking

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSn3fmUm0yQ

Australian media

Does media direct reporting to one particular cultural group?

“Most stories in Australian media are aimed at white audiences, with a clear sense of conflict between us and them” (minorities).

The role of SBS and other government supported initiatives

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2012). CULTURAL PROTOCOLS for Indigenous Reporting in the Media. Message Stick. 1 (1), p17-24.

Television

Let’s have a think...

Can you think of an Indigenous Australian actor or actress in a T.V. series or movie?

What role do they play? Is it an Indigenous Australian or is it a character that doesn’t have an ethnic background?

Television Deborah Mailman

First Aboriginal actress to win an AFI Best Actress Award

Plays an Aboriginal woman in TV shows such as The Secret Life of Us and Offspring and movies Bran Nue Day and The Sapphires

Majored in Drama while studying at Queensland University of Technology

Her theatre work also includes acting in an all Aboriginal cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and co-wrote the play Seven Stages of Grieving

<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0537648/bio>

Television Ursula Yovich

The cute girl next door, the funny best friend or the normal suburban family. Ursula Yovich says she never gets to play those roles. Instead she gets typecast for gritty characters with full on story lines about death and loss.

Why do you think directors always typecast Indigenous actors and actresses as Indigenous characters in T.V. series and movies?

<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648/bio>

Television Ursula Yovich

Colour-blind casting, non-traditional casting or integrated casting is the practice of casting a role without considering the actor's ethnicity.

There are many Indigenous actors including Ursula that have never been asked to attend colour-blind casting because directors use their skin colour as a way of determining what character they will play – only the Indigenous character.

Ursula explains that “...the story [her character plays] hits too close to home, I’m exhausted of playing depressing girls. Yes the story needs to be told but my past has now become my personal and professional life.”

< http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s3512848.htm>

Television What are some ways that Australia can

break the stereotypes of Indigenous Australians in T.V shows and movies?

Bucking the trend Carbon Media

Carbon Media delivers public awareness campaigns and developed communication strategies for a diverse range of organisations. It has created children’s television shows that add Aboriginal language into the mix of the industry.

< http://www.carbon-media.com.au/index.php>

Bucking the trend Marngrook Footy

Show

This is a TV show on ABC2 on Thursdays at 8:30pm. It is hosted by Indigenous Australians that comment on the AFL games played on the weekend. It focuses on Indigenous players but does talk about other players too. People who regularly watch the show say it is a “Breath of fresh air because it is funny and makes people laugh.”

Bucking the trend Indigenous T.V.

channel

SBS has recently announced that they are working on releasing a free to air Indigenous Australian channel. This channel will focus on the opinions of Indigenous Australians.

Disadvantage / advantage

“Feeling that one belongs within the human circle should not be seen as a privilege for a few.”

Whiteness studies Race as a social

construction

Biological explanations are insufficient

Fozdar, F., Wilding, R., Hawkins, M. (2009) Race and Ethnic Relations, Oxford University Press, Victoria, Australia

Whiteness studies What is meant by white?

“As long as race is something only applied to non-white peoples, as long as white people are not racially seen and named, they/we function as a human norm. Other people are raced, we are just people.”

Dyer, R. (1997) White, London: Routledge, pp. 1-4

Whiteness studies Peggy McIntosh

Whiteness is “an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, visas, clothes, and tools.”

McIntosh, P. (1990), White Privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack, Winter, pp. 31-36

Racism / antiracism

25 unearned skin privileges

Awareness & combat Discrimination Vs. racial dominance

How do we combat this issue?

Accountability: me, you and others.

Reference List ANTaR (2012). Racism in Australia facts. Available:

http://www.antar.org.au/node/221. Last accessed 13th Aug 2012.).

Atkin, M., Lauder, J. The Racist Aussie Entertainment Industry, Triple J, Available: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s3512848.htm. Last accessed 13th August 2012.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2012). CULTURAL PROTOCOLS for Indigenous Reporting in the Media. Message Stick. 1 (1), p17-24.

Carbon Media, About. Available: http://www.carbon-media.com.au/index.php. Last accessed 12th August 2012.

Dyer, R. (1997) White, London: Routledge, pp. 1-4

Fozdar, F., Wilding, R., Hawkins, M. (2009) Race and Ethnic Relations, Oxford University Press, Victoria, Australia

IMBd. (1990). Deborah Mailman. Available: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0537648/bio. Last accessed 12th August 2012).

IMBd. (1990). Ursula Yovich. Available: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648/bio. Last accessed 12th August 2012).

McIntosh, P. (1990), White Privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack, Winter, pp. 31-36