After going through all of the Australian cities, I learned a lot about the Australian culture and found many similarities and differences between what I saw and how it was represented through film.

Throughout our travels to Sydney, Cairns, and Melbourne, I was able to immerse myself in their culture through guided tours, exploration, and interaction with locals. Each city was so unique; Sydney was a vibrant, large and expensive city, Cairns was an small, outdoorsy, and tropical city, and Melbourne was growing, artistic and sports-loving. Each provided me with a different outlook, and I was able to make comparisons as to how I imagined these cities based on the films we watched and how they actually were.

One difference that I noticed immediately was the representation of the outback. Throughout the semester, we watched many films such as Crocodile Dundee, Australia and The Rabbit Proof Fence that took place in the outback and made it seem like a harsh place where people live. I found the opposite to be the case as it was obvious that the residents live in the cities and suburbs as opposed to the dangerous and hot outback. To see the outback, you would have to travel far inland away from the coastline cities. Another difference I noted was the majority of wildlife that was shown in the films. Australia is obviously known for its unique and diverse wildlife with their best-known animals being the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat, but away from the two zoos we visited, we saw close to no wildlife. Even when we went to more animal friendly locations such as the rainforest, I didn’t see one unique animal or even a “deadly” spider that you often hear about.
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Before I came to Australia, I 3D printed an ornament on the Atlanta skyline in hopes of giving it to someone I met in Australia as a gift and piece of myself to remember me by. I chose to give this special gift to our Melbourne tour guide, Charlene. Charlene was one of my favorite people that I met throughout our entire trip. She was an older woman but had the spunkiness and spirit of a teenager. Talking to her was like talking to one of my girlfriends. Charlene and I first hit it off during our wine tour at Rochford Wines in the Yarra Valley. We shared a love for red wine, and she took a lot of time out of her day to personally educate me about the best vineyards in the Yarra Valley and different aspects that she liked about each. I could tell she was very intelligent, and I admired her infinite love for her city. She told me about her family, her children and her nephew’s new wife who she wasn’t fond of. On many occasions, she said, “She’s just not nearly the girl that you are” which made me chuckle. Later in the day, Charlene mentioned how she and her husband had recently taken a trip to Charleston, South Carolina for the wedding and they both fell in love with it. She said she was dying to go back to America and explore places such as Florida and New York City. I was captivated by Charlene’s adventurous stories and I knew instantly that I wanted to give my gift to her. Luckily, I had it in my purse on the bus, so after the chocolate tour I handed her my gift. I told her how much I have appreciated all of her knowledge and kindness and how I wanted her to have this ornament to remember me by as well as to inspire her to visit Atlanta. She was so happy and surprised that she started to tear up! I was delighted that I waited long enough to give my gift to her. Before I got off the bus at the end of the day, she handed me her card and told me to tell my parents she would give us a free tour of Melbourne any time. This made my day and hopefully will work as a good convincer for my parents to take me back to Australia. 🙂

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I thoroughly enjoyed the ACMI exhibit in Melbourne. Going in, I had no idea what to expect but was quickly intrigued as I saw the variety of historic displays and interactive exhibits that it offered. One exhibit I found particularly interesting and directly related back to class material was called “Representing Australia.” This exhibit consisted of a variety of different photos from movies and television displaying Australia’s beautiful landscapes from the outback, to the suburbs, to its big cities. It aimed to help viewers understand that the images we see on screen shape how we see ourselves and how we are seen by others. Australia’s unique settings and landscapes come to life through moving images. The wide-open spaces of the outback are iconic in film and television. The suburbs, home to most Australians, are rich fodder for everyday dramas and character-based comedy, while the city offers glamour and grittiness. In class, we often discussed how Australia’s landscapes are idolized through film which leads to an increase of tourism for the country. These on-screen personalities shape people’s understanding of what it means to be Australian.

Another exhibit I enjoyed was called “The Bush.” For this display, I stepped into a dark room with a large screen as it played clips from films dating back to the early 1900s of various movies showing Australia’s famous outback. As we discussed in class, the “dangerous” bush is a major theme in Australian film and is often a character in its own right, charged with emotions that range from fear to freedom. This exhibit also emphasized the critical role that sounds play in creating the sense of atmosphere. For example, the 1932 film On Our Selection opened with a ‘bush symphony’ of sound effects and birdsong from the Australian countryside, delighting audiences who had never before heard the sounds of their landscape in talking pictures. Moving image makers often also use special photographic techniques to render the intense light and color of the Australian landscapes. I was in awe of the Australian outback and its vastness in films we watched such as Australia and Crocodile Dundee. It is something that many people have never seen before which makes it that much more fascinating. Overall, I had a great time at ACMI and have really grown to appreciate all the aspects that go into making and developing a film.

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I absolutely fell in love with Melbourne during our city walking tour. We had a bubbly and entertaining guide, and I was amazed by Melbourne’s beauty, endless shopping “arcades,” and all of its unique street art. One thing I was impressed to learn was that Melbourne is considered the sporting capital of the world. Our guide explained that Melbourne has a rich sporting history and sport has become a major part of Melbourne everyday life. The city of Melbourne was officially founded in 1835, and sport has been a big part of the culture right from the start. The Melbourne Cricket Club was formed just three years later. By 1853, the Melbourne Cricket Ground opened, and it is now the largest sporting arena in Australia. The first Melbourne Cup horse racing event was held in 1861, and by 1905 Melbourne was home to the first Australian tennis championships. Today, while walking through the town, it was obvious that there is a dominance of sports in Melbourne. I noticed crowds of people young and old gathering to spectate and participate, whether it be cricket, tennis, footy, rugby, etc. Not to mention, the Australian Open was going on during our stay and the matches were telecasted everywhere you could imagine while crowds of people gathered to watch and cheer. I am personally very into sports myself, so I loved this unique aspect of Melbourne.
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The most beautiful winery I have ever been to! Absolutely loved visiting Oakridge Wines.

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Real life Finding Nemo

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Before taking this course, I did not know much about the Maori and Aboriginal cultures and how they differed from one another. Through our travels to New Zealand and Australia, I have grown to understand the distinct differences between the two unique cultures. Although the Maori of New Zealand and the Aboriginal people of Australia are sometimes conflated in the Western mind, their roots and histories are independent of one another. The ancestors of the Maori were Polynesian explorers who settled the island over 1,000 years ago, whereas Aboriginal Australians’ beginnings go back 50,000 years.

One major difference I noticed between the two cultures was that the Maori had a bigger influence on the culture of New Zealand compared to the Aboriginal culture in Australia. It is common for visitors to see a Maori dance being performed before rugby games in New Zealand and a Maori monarch, which is further proof of the acceptance of the indigenous people with the rest of the population. The Maori people, such as our bus driver Douglas, seem extremely proud of their culture and their country. It was obvious that the Maoris take pride in their Maori language and their traditions of tattoos and other cultural practices. In Australia, it was clear that the Aboriginal culture remain Australia’s forgotten people. Indigenous Australians suffer more than non-indigenous Australians in every area of societal suffering. It appears Aborigines top the statistics, twice the rate of infant mortality, far lower education rates, far higher incarceration rates, higher alcohol and drug addiction and many more leading to the final insult of dying about ten years earlier than the non-indigenous. In the past, Australia has done great injustice to Aborigines. That extends to localized genocide, forced conversions to Christianity, and the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parents. Until relatively recently they were not considered entitled to a vote, and until 1992 had no claim or entitlement to anything in Australia under the doctrine of Terra Nullius. By experiencing both cultures and seeing the Maori and Aboriginal people in their everyday lives in both Australia and New Zealand, it was clear that the Maori culture is more appreciated and celebrated than the Aboriginal culture.
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I had an amazing time at the Great Barrier Reef, and it was an experience I will never forget. I took a snorkeling safari along the outside rim of the reef and saw the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. It truly looked like a dream. We saw a variety of fish both big and small, a ten-foot-long jelly fish, sea anemones, and more. Through this unforgettable experience, I learned a lot about the world’s largest reef system and living structure that generates approximately AU$5-6 billion per year.

I was amazed to hear that the Great Barrier Reef stretches 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coastline and is the size of about 70 million football fields or the size of Japan or Italy. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reef and has over 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres. I have always known the Great Barrier Reef is huge in size but couldn’t have imagined it was that large.

Most of all, I was saddened to learn that the Great Barrier Reef is dying at a rapid pace. After climate change, poor water quality is the greatest local threat to the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Every year, millions of tons of fine sediment flow from eroding land onto the reef, choking fish and coral, creating algal blooms and reducing its ability to recover from the impacts of climate change. In addition, an ocean water temperature spike in 2016 caused a massive “bleaching” event, in which colorful corals turned an antiseptic, sickly white which was followed by another bleaching event in 2017. The impact of these two back to back bleaching events is just now coming into focus, with coral reef ecologists documenting a 50 percent decline in corals across the reef in the past 2 years. Our guide on the glass bottom boat explained to me that scientists believe that the reef will never be the same. Under normal conditions, corals can often recover from big bleaching shocks, but conditions are no longer normal. Higher background ocean temperatures mean that dangerous spikes are more likely.
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Ella and I in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

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Sydney was by far my favorite city that we have visited thus far. I was in awe of the big city feel surrounded by beautiful harbors and beaches in addition to trendy restaurants and shops on every corner. I enjoyed every aspect of our time at Sydney from our day at Bondi beach to our nights at Flickerfest to our tour of the Opera House and so much more. Throughout our five day stay, I learned so much about the city of Sydney and its unique history. I was especially interested in learning about the history of the Opera House during our Opera House tour. I was shocked to hear that the building of it was estimated to cost seven million dollars when in reality it ended up costing one hundred and two million dollars. In addition, instead of taking the estimated four years to build, it took fourteen. Despite these surprises, the people of Sydney found it all quite worth it as it now an internationally recognized Australian icon and is one of the most popular attractions in Sydney city. I was also surprised to know that the design of the iconic Sydney Opera House was originally chosen through a design competition. 233 designs were submitted for the Opera House international design competition held in 1956. Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect, was announced the winner in 1957, receiving ₤5000 for his exceptional design. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the revolutionary construction of the Sydney Opera house that made it one of the most recognized buildings in the world and seeing the intricate details that make it the attraction it is today.
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