Creative writing Australia: breaking the boundaries of culture BY HANNA CHEUNG, YEAR 10, 2021 I remembered seeing ‘The Balcony’ by Brett Whitley in an art gallery. The large canvas was spread with ultramarine blue, with a few casual boats resting like quills on the water that undulated with the wind. I thought, is this us? In Australia, more than 7.5 million more yachts travelled from abroad, floating mindlessly on the ocean, pretending that we have found our harbour of rest, when really, we are lost. Everything in sight has become a synecdoche of Australia, a mix, a conglomeration of no definition. Looking on the surface, Australia’s multiculturalism is flourishing more abundantly than ever, but how do we define culture, when the passing of a second can instantaneously change the shape of the water? It has always been accepted that culture can only be created under the presence of time. New York Times’
We arrived at an unprecedented era where technology and communication can re-write how culture should be depicted. Why do we have to be confined by the restriction, that culture must be singular? Eventually mankind will have to accept that globalisation will force us all to view humanity as one entity. Regardless of what perspective, globalisation is inevitable, and perhaps it is time for the world to learn from our country. Australian economist Dr Henry Ken argues, “Throughout…history, Australia has benefited greatly from its generally internationalist orientation across economic, financial, social and inter-governmental dimensions… we will continue to benefit from being an open economy.” We should no longer be confined by the restriction that culture is singular; that we must fit into a certain shape to be defined as “someone”.
Australia Bureau Chief, Damien Cave expresses: “What I
Australia’s political interactions and economic vitality is
experienced there suggests that this [Australia] is a country
evidence of their active global engagement. Its success to
where the demand for culture is greater than the supply.”
attract immigrants and multinational corporations displays
When culture becomes a commodity, a quantifiable
that it is not impossible to encapsulate multiple cultures.
object, Australia is considered inferior compared to the
So, what caused the polarised opinions on Australia’s
other nations. The equation of history told us that culture
cultural diversity?
can only be formed under traditions, rituals, and a social structure firmly consolidated and imprinted into the local populations. So, is Australia too “young”?
Perhaps it is Australia’s diversity that made it difficult for individuals to relate to the collective multiculturalism. Scattered across the sky, our culture is yet to find
“Authenticity”, “independence” and “completion” seemed
an astronomer to connect the stars to plot the true
to be the essence of every culture. As Harari referred to
constellation of Australia.
in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind: “cultures left to their own devices and did not change”. Indeed, during the past centuries, culture developed and blossomed, and the vast difference between isolated different regions is what made them identifiable and distinctly unique. And where does Australia stand? Out of the boundaries of what culture should be.
In isolation I float in Australia’s water, made of molecules too complex and diverse for me to combine with. As we proceed to become an increasingly diverse community, we question the necessity of moulding “culture” into the shape that it must be. Culture is a dynamic concept, that respond to changes in through its interaction with the external environment
The history of civilisation is too long, and our nation is too
and can transition internally from developments and
“young” for a culture to be manifested.
revolutions. The acceptance and concept of culture will
Yet Australia is different. Australia is an embodiment, a microcosm of globalisation in the 21st century. Change, as it appears, has always been inevitable.
Perspective – Student Research Journal – ISSUE 2, 2021
never stay still. Instead, it is determined by a range of factors, that will amalgamate all traditions as one. We are all yachts that travel on the Earth’s ocean, finding our directions through the journey of time.
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