How Did Television Influence Australian Popular Culture

Television became a major force that influenced Australian popular culture. It contributed to many changes in the Australian way of life during the 1950s and 1960s and Australia has constantly kept evolving often due to the introduction of television. Popular culture is the mainstream of ideas, products, attitudes and perspectives preferred by the majority of society. Australia’s popular culture was heavily influenced by foreign nations, which led to a very globalised country with many of its ideas and values from other countries, in particular the U.S. and U.K.

Television was a major force that influenced Australian popular culture after its introduction in Australia in 1956. It became the leading form of entertainment within 3 years

of its arrival. People spent more time on the couch watching television during their leisure time rather than going out the cinemas or other places. The introduction of television led to the decrease in film, live theatre and end of the newsreel. With the television coming from the U.S., many of the first TV shows were American which contained their way of life and the massive exposure to this new way of living was absorbed by Australians as they wanted to be just like their American counterparts. They wanted to look the same, act the same way, do the same things and think about the same things. Australia wanted the entertainment that the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom had been talking about. The UK also had a fair influence on Australian popular culture because whilst most programs on commercial channels were sourced from the US, much of ABC’s content was from the BBC. This BBC influence led to the ABC making its content current affairs, documentaries and news programs. Television was a major part in the evolution of our national identity. It created an environment for distinctively Australian stories to be shown with Australians sharing their different cultural experiences. It helped lessen the gap of our geographical location, having the ability to stay in tune with global events.

In 1956, television was officially launched with Bruce Gyngell introducing TCN9 Sydney, the first TV station in Australia to begin regular broadcasting with “Good evening and welcome to television” which was a moment captured in history in Source A.

The majority of the content on television between 1956 and 1963 were sourced from overseas with 83% of content coming from America, as it was cheaper to import programs than produce them in Australia. Of the content that was produced in Australia most of it had strong American influences and weren’t truly Australian. Shows like I Love Lucy and The Flintstones were some of the most popular programs with the 10 most popular programs being American displaying American themes, issues and their way of life. With the lack of local content due to the infiltration of US television programs people wanted to be American. The exposure to American culture through television was larger than ever before. Most programs had “American families in American settings, dealing with American concerns and themes” and it was with these influences that people started identifying and copying the values, ideas and trends that were seen in the US programs. The television provided the direct path for values, humour and style from the US and UK to start influencing Australia. It transformed the way that information was received with ideas being spread to Australia faster than ever before, their interaction with the rest of the world and awareness and experience of other global events changed significantly. It exposed people to other cultures and worldviews, providing information that shaped popular public

opinion.

In the 1960s, television in Australia underwent numerous changes that resulted in Australia becoming even more connected with more foreign influences. A quarter of a million television sets were manufactured in the 1960s. The television set became cheaper and as it became more readily available due to its price it made its way into most households. By 1965 it was estimated that 9/10 Australian families had a television set and was the most popular form of communication. The local television content quota was increased which meant more Australian produced shows, containing Australian ideas and themes and a smaller influence from other nations even though their programs were still largely popular. Homicide was a major TV hit in Australia as well as a turning point in Australian television history. It proved that people wanted to see Australian programs with Australian actors, humour, themes and concerns. The television was also connected to the international satellite system. It meant that people, everywhere could watch the same thing live, no matter where they were in cities or remote towns. The connection to the international satellite system helped our involvement in significant televised global events like the moon landing in 1969 and The Vietnam War. Skippy was a huge hit for the Australian television industry when it was produced in 1966-1968. It was a part of Australian popular culture with its soundtrack, movie, books and merchandise as seen in Source B. It became the biggest international success story for Australian television and our greatest television export, being sold to over 80 other nations including France, Britain and Germany. Skippy was the most successful program ever from a global perspective.

Television drastically changed Australian popular culture and the Australian way of life during the 1950s and 1960s. It helped shape the nation into what it is today and many of the ideas, values and some television programs that were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s still remain on our screens today.