Heartland Stereotypes

Powerful forces such as media, culture and myths about race and gender can shape a misreading of society, events and other people through negative stereotypes. Indigenous Australians are categorised as an aggressive minority group in Australian society and is also a social group which has suffered dramatically due to mainstream white culture. However, this stereotype has actively been reinforced through Australia's history as well as its media influences and lack of understating of Aboriginal cultural differences. This argument will be supported by Ernie dingos statement on the television series Heartland, which portrayed the idea for reconciliation between non-indigenous and indigenous. However, it will also explore the lack of understanding

from white Australia towards aboriginal culture and past events which have shaped an idea of the native population resisting to conform to tradition mainstream white society beliefs. This argument will also be reinforced through the notion that whites have always been an aggressive group towards the indigenous Australians due to society not wholly understanding the cultural differences, forgetting past events which oppression and discrimination was a common theme. Therefore, Indigenous culture has been shaped by white stereotypes which negatively portray the aboriginal people through inappropriate knowledge of white people and also creating the idea that ‘intersubjectitivty' can be used to mend the cultural gap between the indigenous and non-indigenous groups.

The term "Indigenous" can be defined as ‘to be born in a specific place' (Cunningham 2003, 403-404). The Australian indigenous population is a historical minority group which has been negatively affected in the past decade from media influences which have been used to present negative aboriginal stereotypes, discriminating against the Australian indigenous population through racism. For example, Towards the end of the television series ‘Heartland' (1994), the tension from past actions is resolved with a kiss between an aboriginal male called Vincent (Ernie Dingo) and a white female called Beth (Kate Blanchet). "They embrace, and after tenderly kissing Beth, Vincent asks ‘how do you feel about kids?' Beth beams a smile at Vincent's eagerness. He cheekily goes on to explain ‘it's all part of our plan... to breed you mob out" (King 2009, p. 44). Therefore, Ernie Dingos statement connects with Australia's history that aboriginal people should be made invisible and their presence erased from the Australian landscape. This idea can be supported through Australia's past action with the attempt to breed the colour out of aboriginal people between 1915 – 1940 organised by "Aboriginal protector" AO Neville. However, kissing an Aboriginal man, especially as a prelude to sex, is a radical reconceptualisation of Kate Blanchet's role as a white woman, challenging the belief of multiculturalism. However, the kiss can also demonstrate the reconciliation between aboriginal and non-aboriginal. Just as Vincent and Beth come together, indigenous and non-indigenous Australia can come together. Hence, a more significant national story is being told through the love affair between Vincent and Beth.

Redfern Now is an Australian drama series screening on ABC1.

The series is based on modern day Australia, instead of the being in the past like Heartland. The series tells powerful contemporary stories about indigenous Australians in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. The television series demonstrates the idea that aboriginal culture is surrounded by negative influences such as conforming to white Australian beliefs, which is being presented to the broader white community as indigenous people resisting change to adjust to other mainstream cultural backgrounds. For example, in episode 4 of season 1‘Stand Up', Joel (Aaron McGrath) does not correctly present himself during the national anthem, being asked by Mr Parish (Ewen Leslie) ‘Do you know what the national anthem is?', Joel replied ‘it is a song sung, sung at footy grand finals and cricket games, like when Australia play India or England and that' (Redfern Now, 2012). The example provides evidence that the school has a strong and unified white tradition, and the students are expected to look and demonstrate themselves in a manner that proudly represents the school. Individualism is not necessarily welcomed, representing Joel as an outsider due to him not conforming to the social norms of the school he is attending. However, the example also demonstrates that white Australia can easily disregard history and often blame indigenous Australians for not making the cultural leap to conform to non-indigenous social norms. Australians forget historical factors such as the stolen generation that have shaped social traditions of Aboriginal people. Therefore, racism, inequality, and injustice are influenced by the lack of understanding of aboriginal culture and past events, shaping and challenging white Australia due to them believing Aboriginal people are resisting to conform to more modern and traditional beliefs of ‘modern white

Australia'.

‘Aboriginality' can be defined as the subjective experience of both Aboriginal people and non-aboriginal people who engage in any intercultural dialogue (Marcia 1993, p 31). However, ‘Aboriginality' is not a fixed thing, it is created from our history, showing indigenous people have always been oppressed in Australia. This idea can be conceptualised in the aboriginal mythology of the first arrival of white people in Australia. For example, ‘Aboriginal people meeting their first white men in 1788 thought they were ghosts, spirits of the dead returning to be with their relations. The reality of the invasion only became clear sometime later, probably in 1790 when the British military and penal settlement was well established' (Marcia 1993, p.32). Therefore, the example provides evidence that Aboriginals have experienced the problem of racism and oppression since the founding of Australia, through the aboriginals having little understanding of the British plan to colonise Australia. However, the example also supports the idea that Indigenous Australians dating back to colonial and post-colonial ages of 1770 – 1788 saw whites as a group, they did not see them as a ‘race', it was only the whites who created this concept of different races. Therefore, through Aboriginal mythology, it creates an idea that white people have always been an aggressive group to the Australian indigenous population through colonisation of Australia and the segregation of different groups by categorising them in ‘races'. However, it has also shaped our misunderstanding of society and other people (aboriginals) to believe that Indigenous Australians are the violent minority group in society, forgetting previous events which aboriginal people have suffered severely in due to the oppression of the white people.

Culture can be defined as ‘the whole complex of traditional behaviour which has been developed by the human race and is successively learned by each generation’ (Birukou 2013, p.2). Indigenous Australians are heavily influenced by their own culture. However, this causes s a problematic view of aboriginals in society, due to it being different to mainstream white Australia culture, this often influences mainstream society to isolate the indigenous population and their culture. Marcia Langton classes aboriginality as a field of ‘intersubjectivity' which can be defined as existing between many conscious minds. However, ‘intersubjectivity' can also be used as a way to understand reconciliation (Carey, 2017). For example, this can be broken down into three categories; one being that representations the are by made by and for aboriginals, two stereotypes made by non-indigenous about indigenous, and three dialogue shared between aboriginal and non-indigenous. Therefore, Through Marcia Langton's idea of ‘intersubjectivity,' the cultural gap between white Australia and indigenous Australia could be mended together by understanding reconciliation between the two different cultures. Therefore, this idea can be used effectively through the understanding of the three-step process and the negative representation of indigenous through incorrect stereotypes from uneducated whites. Hence, Aboriginal culture has been shaped by white stereotypes which have negatively influenced the connection between Aboriginal culture and white Australia culture, creating an understanding of improper knowledge about indigenous culture, promoting ‘intersubjectivity' as a solution to mend this cultural gap.

In this essay, I have argued that powerful forces such as the media, culture and myths about race and gender use negative stereotypes to harmfully portray the Australian indigenous population to shape our understanding of society, events and other people. The argument has been supported by Ernie Dingos statement in Heartland which outlined Australia's history, supplying the information that indigenous Australians should be made invisible and their presence wiped from the Australian landscape. However, the kiss in Heartland also challenged a white women's role in mainstream society, showing that indigenous Australians and white Australians can reconsolidate, portraying a more prominent national picture. However, racism, inequality and injustice have also been influenced by a lack of understanding of aboriginal culture and past events. Hence, challenging white Australia society due to the idea that indigenous people have always resisted conforming to traditional beliefs of mainstream white society. Supporting the notion that whites have always been an aggressive group towards the indigenous Australians through the creation of different ‘races', segregating the Aboriginal people as a violent group in society. Lastly, Aboriginal culture has been shaped by white stereotypes influencing a conflicting belief of indigenous culture due to the improper knowledge of non-indigenous, supporting the idea that intersubjectivity can be used as a solution to mend the cultural gap between Indigenous and Non-indigenous Australians. Therefore, powerful forces such as the media, culture, and myths about race and gender, shape our understanding of society, events and other people through the adverse representation of indigenous Australians in society.