‘White-Multiculturalists’ is a term coined by Gassan Hage in White Nation: Fantasies of a White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society, which refers to film makers and producers who assume control of the national space by embracing cultural difference as a theme of character in their films.[i] The term refers to those who use and appropriate ‘non-white’ commodities in Australian film and television to preserve a ‘white-nation’ ideology.[ii]
Hage argues that, “‘white-multiculturalists’ share in a concept of themselves as nationalists and of the nation as a space structured around a White culture where Aboriginal people and non-White ‘ethnics’ are merely national objects to moved or removed according to a White national will” and that of those films made by ‘white multiculturalists’ the protagonist often resolves their issues with assistance from their ethnic partners, which exploits diversity in order to sustain the power of the hero’s ‘white Australian’ world. The examples that Hage uses to demonstrate his point are the Spanish-Australian father helping ‘Scott’ in Strictly Ballroom(1992) and the Greek-Australian helping ‘Carl’ in Death in Brunswick(1991).
The term ‘White-Multiculturalists’ is disputed by Pieter Aquilia in his article, ‘Wog Drama and ‘White Multiculturalists’: The role of Non-Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity,’ as he argues that Hage fails to see how such film makers are actually contributing to the development of cultural diversity in Australian film and television. Aquilia draws on many examples of film and television to argue his point, predominantly demonstrated works which cast actor Alex Dimitriades as a central protagonist, i.e. The Heartbreak Kid(1992), Heartbreak High(1993), Wildside(1997) and Head On(1998). Aquilia argues that the ‘white-multiculturalists’ producers’ casting of Dimitriades coincided with a push by Actors Equity and the Office of Multicultural affairs to redress the under- & misrepresentation of non-Anglo-Australian character roles.[iii] This push, Aquilia believes, permits Australian audiences to experience the critical value of the ‘other’ and help incorporate their search for identity into the national self.[iv]
…
Taking up this debate from my own personal perspective, coming from a Half-Anglo, Half-Filipino family, I can see value of both arguments presented in relation to ‘White-Multiculturalists’. I believe the screen time, on mainstream Australian television, that ethnic minority groups receive is still fairly limited, especially in relation to popular soaps, Home and Away or Neighbours, however, due to the establishment of SBS and an increase in multicultural films, minority ethnic groups are more widely available to Australian audiences.
Interesting to note is the comparison between Serhat Caradee’s Cedar Boys(2009) and David Field’s The Combination(2009). Both films centre around Lebanese culture, one with a non-Anglo director and the other with an Anglo director. What is surprising with Cedar Boys is that it somewhat falls into Hage’s argument with the protagonists yearning to be absorbed into the predominantly Anglo eastern suburbs affluent culture, assisting the Anglo-female lead Rachel Taylor in her conflict, concluding with a rather tragic ending for all non-Anglo characters in the film. While in The Combination the ending is indeed also tragic, the issue of race relations is explored in depth between the on-screen romance between protagonist John and Anglo-female lead Clare Bowen. Furthermore, the popularity of Firass Dirani’s performance led to the subsequent lead role in the third series of Nine Network’s Underbelly for 2010. Dirani consequently won the 2010 Cleo Bachelor of the Year Award.
It could be argued that this inclusion of Lebanese characters and culture, albeit as criminal depictions, in mainstream Australian film and television, contributes to the presence of diversity and an alternative view of national identity on Australian screens, aiding in shaping a truly multicultural national cinema.
It is useful to consider the term ‘White-Multiculturalists’ in the analysis and reading of films as the tensions in mainstream culture between different ethnic minority groups and Anglo-Australians continue today and can be contextualised and scrutinised, in conjunction with critiques of filmic representations in the future of Australian film and television.
[i] Pg. 104 of Pieter Aquilia’s article ‘Wog Drama and ‘White Multiculturalists’: The role of Non-Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity’
[ii] pg. 104 of Pieter Aquilia’s article ‘Wog Drama and ‘White Multiculturalists’: The role of Non-Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity’
[iii] pg. 105 of Pieter Aquilia’s article ‘Wog Drama and ‘White Multiculturalists’: The role of Non-Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity’
[iv] pg. 106 of Pieter Aquilia’s article ‘Wog Drama and ‘White Multiculturalists’: The role of Non-Anglo-Australian Film and Television Drama in Shaping a National Identity’
