American and British cultural influence in the 1970s

British influence on the Australian culture

White British settlers arrived in Australia in 1788 and the extent of the British influence is still evident today. The British Union Jack features predominantly on our national flag, and the Queen is Australia's Head of State. British models also form the basis of Australia's legal and political systems, as well providing our national language.

Up until World War II, Britain remained the dominating cultural influence in Australia. Britons also dominated the make-up of Australian society - most of Australia's citizens were either born in Britain, or had British descendants. In the years following the war, British subjects were encouraged to migrate to Australia under an 'assisted package' scheme, which helped with the cost of migrating to Australia and provided housing and employment options upon arrival. Between 1945 and 1972, over one million British migrants settled in Australia.

Before 1945, many people, including Australians themselves, considered Australia to be nothing more than a white British colony; a nation whose national identity was relatively indistinct from the British. During this period of Australia's history, our modes of entertainment, food, fashion, sporting culture and our social values and attitudes were largely dictated by British culture.

American influence on the Australian culture

One of the most significant changes to have taken place in Australian society since the end of WWII, however, has been its drift towards American, rather than British culture. As the American way of life was projected further into Australia via popular culture, it would rapidly alter the ways we spent our money, entertained ourselves, dressed and socialised. Eventually, many of our British cultural legacies would give way to new American ideals.

In the decades since World War II, however, the penetration of American popular culture into Australian society has raised ongoing concerns about Australia's ability to carve out its own national identity. Local cultural products like films and music are an important way for people of a country to explore and share their common culture and heritage. Australian characters, themes and issues, however, are often outweighed by representations of the American way of life.

American films and television programs depict American people in American settings and American music deals with American, not Australian concerns. Many people have feared that if Australians are starved of distinctly Australian cultural products, the national identity will be at risk.

Introduction - British and American influence in the 1970s

Australian society in the 1970s was a fusion of many cultural flavours - European, Asian, Indigenous Australian and British to name a few. From the 1970s onwards, however, the pervading influence of American popular culture would shift Australia further away from its traditional British ties, towards a more Americanised society.

A new national anthem

In 1977, Advance Australia Fair became the Australian national anthem. It replaced the previous official anthem God Save the Queen.

A 1977 national poll found that 43 percent of Australians preferred Advance Australia Fair as the national anthem, while just 19 percent chose God Save the Queen. This reflected a marked shift in public attitude - Australia's nostalgic bonds to Britain were rapidly dissolving.

Music and radio in the 1970s

The influence of foreign acts on the Australian music charts carried over from the rock 'n' roll era into the following decades. Popular American acts of the decade include folk rock artists Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and disco acts like Donna Summers and the Jackson 5. British acts like the Rolling Stones and T-Rex and European groups like ABBA also enjoyed huge success in Australia.

See Image 1

In 1973, the government introduced a code of practices to prevent the Australian music industry from being swamped by foreign products. It set down a minimum requirement for the amount of Australian music to be broadcast on radio. The resulting increase of local music on radio play lists saw acts like John Paul Young, AC/DC and Olivia Newton-John achieve chart success.

At the close of the decade, however, the industry remained dominated by foreign, mostly American, music.

Cinema in the 1970s

In the face of stiff competition from foreign, mostly American, products, very few films shown in cinemas during the 1950s and 1960s were Australian. In the 1970s, amidst fears that Australia would soon lose its national cultural identity, the Australian Government helped kick-start the Australian film industry by actively supporting local film and television producers.

Between 1970 and 1985, around 400 films were made in Australia. Even at the height of the Australian film resurgence, however, local cinemas continued to be dominated by American films like Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977) and Rocky (1978).

See Image 2

American programmes like The Brady Bunch and Happy Days enjoyed widespread popularity in Australia during the 1970s. British programmes like Fawlty Towers and Dr Who were also popular.

The overwhelming dominance of foreign, mostly American, programmes on Australian television was, however, facing mounting public opposition in the early 1970s.

Reasons for American dominance of Australian television

Since the advent of television, America had been able to produce television programmes much more cheaply than they could be produced in Australia. This was largely due to America's large population, strong economy and huge entertainment industry.

American television companies could then afford to sell these programmes to Australian TV networks at an extremely low price. This discouraged the production of much more expensive locally-made television programmes and led to a flooding of the domestic market by less expensive, imported content.

Resurgence of Australian television in the 1970s

Television plays a significant role in forming the culture, beliefs and values of a nation, and the overwhelming dominance of American content on Australian television was becoming a great concern to many.

In the face of increasing public opposition, Australian television stations began to give local programmes a greater platform throughout the 1970s. Many programs, such as Homicide and Kingswood Country, held their own against foreign programmes and were consistently listed in the nation's top ten most-watched shows.

Food and shopping in the 1970s

American fast food chains rapidly extended their reach across Australia during the 1970s. In 1971, McDonald's opened their first restaurant in Australia and by the end of the decade there were 105 stores throughout the country.

See Image 3

These food outlets offered fast, affordable food that could be consumed in-store or at home. This convenience, combined with greater numbers of stores and aggressive promotional campaigns, meant that fast food quickly became an established part of the diets of many Australians.

Throughout the 1970s, the trend towards American-style foods was echoed in the supermarket sector. Many new kinds of snacks and drinks were offered and the range of existing foods, like breakfast cereal and confectionery, was expanded to include new American products. The range of American-style pre-packaged and frozen foods also increased as part of a general trend towards convenient, time-saving foods.

Impact of changing food habits

The influence of America on food consumption in Australia has had significant social and economic repercussions.

The supermarket explosion, for example, meant that consumers could save money and satisfy all of their shopping needs in one place. On the other hand, smaller vendors like butchers, bakers and greengrocers were unable to compete with the convenience and low prices offered by large supermarkets and were forced to close.

As well as changing the kinds of foods Australians consumed, the trend towards American convenience foods also affected the amount of time people spent preparing food. During the 1940s, it was estimated that Australians spent around six hours per day purchasing and preparing food. By the 1970s, this had dropped to two hours.

Sport and our British heritage

Since the early days of the Australian colony, sport has been a fundamental aspect of Australian cultural life. Sport is one area of Australian society that, for decades, resisted American influence and retained a strong British influence.

Popular contemporary sports like cricket, horse racing, and rugby union were all originally transferred to Australia from Britain. Australia and Britain also share many great sporting traditions like rugby internationals and The Ashes cricket matches. Australians still relish beating England 'at her own game'.

Sport and the American influence in the 1970s

From the 1970s, American culture was changing the nature of Australian sport. This was accelerated by advances in communications technology, which enabled more widespread, frequent and up-to-date broadcasts of American sport into Australian homes.

From the 1970s, the American influence also changed the way sport was presented. Many Australian sporting matches began to feature American-style glitz and glamour, such as football games where players and the crowd were boosted by cheerleaders and mascots. The World Series Cricket tournament, developed in the late 1970s, was inspired by American baseball. It featured brightly-clad players, night games and shorter match times - all designed to appeal to a modern television audience.

The quest for an Australian identity

While the British and American influence has played a major role in defining the shape of Australia that we know today, a number of other influences have contributed to the development of the Australian identity.

As settlers in an unfamiliar land, the Australian identity was long bound to the stereotype of the tough, heroic bushman who fought to tame a difficult landscape. Australian values like 'mateship', 'fair go' and the 'Aussie battler' emerged as a result of this myth. Throughout the prosperous post-war years, however, a new Australian ideal emerged. Australians were thought to be part of a more laidback culture that enjoyed the 'good life'.

As migrants moved into Australia over the decades, they introduced new stories, traditions and perspectives to Australian culture. The traditional concepts of an Australia as a white British colony, or a land of struggling bush-dwellers, no longer seemed to fit with the diverse new reality of society. As Aboriginal people were finally acknowledged as the original owners of the land, the role of Indigenous values in the construction of a true Australian identity had also become apparent.

Australian society has absorbed many cultural influences across the decades - not just British and American, but Indigenous, Asian, European and many more. As such, the Indigenous and migrant influence has intervened in the American and British effect on Australian culture.

In the face of globalisation, however, the future of Australia's unique national identity was increasingly challenged by the development of a global culture.

Globalisation, Americanisation and Australian culture

American influence had pervaded almost all areas of Australian cultural life in the 1990s. This process, however, was not unique to this country. It was part of the broader process of globalisation, whereby the cultural, political, economic and social spheres of individual countries were becoming increasingly mixed and interdependent. This process was largely driven by communications technology such as the internet.

America was influential in many fields, particularly that of economics and the diffusion of cultural products, so the process of globalisation was often considered a process of Americanisation.

Globalisation of culture - good or bad?

Debate rages over whether or not this interdependence of cultures and the pervasion of foreign, mostly American influences, will have a positive or negative effect on Australian society.

Globalisation's critics believe that it promotes a bland, homogenous global culture, dictated by American consumerist ideals. It is feared that the world will end up wearing the same clothes, eating the same foods, listening to the same music and watching the same TV shows.

Opponents to globalisation also foresee serious social and cultural consequences. Australians may find, for example, that it is increasingly difficult to form a collective identity or sense of community. Our long-held traditions, social values and unique way of life may also be at risk.

Champions of globalisation, however, believe that it will lead to a breakdown of cultural barriers like religion, language and economic status and will help foster a greater understanding of cultural differences.

Looking to the future

Whether or not Australia can continue to carve out a distinct national identity in the face of Americanisation remains to be seen. Australians, however, continue to enjoy seeing their own stories represented on television, in film and in music despite the saturation of American products. Furthermore, many people believe that throughout its history, Australian society has continually absorbed a range of foreign cultural influences and transformed them into a distinctly Australian culture.