What does australian identity mean to you?

What does the Australian Identity mean to you? To me, the Australian Identity is about a country that is very diverse, multicultural, and unique. We have our strong values that we treasure such as the Australian dream of owning a home, equality between class systems, and the Australian love of the underdog as seen in the Australian comedy, the Castle. Our society has evolved from our convict ancestors into a stoic, relaxed, materialistic, and anti-authority nation. Australians give a fair go to anyone who has the courage to try whatever they want to achieve in life, and to me, this is what shapes the Australian Identity.

To begin with, Australians have a dream of being a home owner as displayed through Darryl’s disbelief that the government can just take his home. He is proud of his home and what he has made of it, as seen through his repeated third person and metaphoric statement, “It’s not a house, it’s a home and a man’s home is his castle”. Darryl’s ‘castle’ symbolises that his home has similar qualities to the medieval fought, both are well-protected and heavily fortified as shown by Darryl is protecting his home from authority through the legal system. Australia has one of the highest rates on home ownership in the world and to us, a home is full of love, relationships, and experiences, and it is not a commodity that can be bought which is shown in the Castle through emotive statements like, “a house is not built of bricks and mortar, but of love and memories”. We may be rather materialistic, but a home is beyond that for us.

Another important part of the Australian identity, to me, is equality between our class systems. Seen in the Castle through the relationship between Darryl and Lawrence, there is this notion of equality. Costuming, profanity, and colloquialism are used to display the social class difference between them. Lawrence wears suit, even to just visit Darryl, which immediately displays his higher class. Darryl is portrayed as a very middle class man, simple, but with strong values, for instance, “…it’s a place for the family to turn to, a place to come back to but that doesn’t seem as much as a big f****n’ driveway”. Although these two come from very different backgrounds, they begin to intermingle and in a way, support each other. Towards the end of the movie, we perceive a party scene that graphically represents the Australian dream that everyone is equal. People are tightly packed into Darryl’s home yet, despite class, everyone is enjoying themselves. To me, this is what makes us Australian, the ability to accept one another not based on how financially secure they may be.

Finally, the Australian love of the underdog is very important aspect of what makes us Australian. This movie itself is a story of a triumphing underdog. Made in eleven days with a budget of $500 000, the movie ending up make $10 million in the box office. As Australians, we love people who are down to earth and humble and we dislike anyone who tries to stand above us. This aspect traces back to our convict past where most white Australian were criminals that resented authority because of how they had been mistreated. This is represented through Daryl’s struggle against the multinational Airlink, as seen in the emotive, colloquial and mixed metaphoric statement, “…have the guts to stand up and shove it right up those people who think they can stand all over you”. He rises up, changing the life of the entire street and winning the court case. His story is told across news channels, and becomes a popular story within Australian communities, hence showing the love and appreciation of the rising underdog. Darryl begins as the underdog, along with the other members of his street, completely out of place in the legal scene, yet he fights on, pushing for what he believes in right. To me, Australians have always been underdogs, from our convict days, to Gallipoli and to now and loving other underdogs is an important part of the Australian Identity.

Overall, the Australian Identity to me is all about acceptance of one another, supporting the underdog, and owning a home. I perceive these as very important aspects of what it means to be Australian. To me, the Australian Identity is about being “just” and appreciating each other. So what is your opinion on and what aspects create, for you, the Australian identity?