Australia

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Comment on whether tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions

I think that tourism is a culprit to a certain extent.
This is because one of the main purposes of travel is to see or experience another country's or community's culture. So when a tourist has experienced the culture and wants to bring a part of it back with him to his home country, pictures are not enough. So by commodifying a culture by for example, making a souvenir, and selling it to the tourist, the tourist will be able to bring home that souvenir as a memory of that cultural experience.

However, when there is too much merchandising or souvenirs made, and too many tourists buy them, it may reduce the vast, intangible and authentic culture of that community into just one tangible piece of a man-made item.

Disneyization in Australia, the changes bought upon by tourism.

Disneyization exists in Australia.

Case study I used is Dreamworld in Gold Coast

link: http://www.dreamworld.com.au/

The four principles of Disneyization:
Theming -clothing institutions or objects in a narrative that is largely unrelated to the institution or object to which it is applied
Hybrid consumption - a general trend whereby the forms of consumption associated with different institutional spheres become interlocked with each other and increasingly difficult to distinguish;
Merchandising - the promotion and sale of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and/or logos, including such products made under licence;
Performative labour - the growing tendency for frontline service work to be viewed as a performance, especially one in which the deliberate display of a certain mood is seen as part of the labour involved in service work

Theming
There are 13 worlds in Dreamworld. Each world has a different theme. Examples are Nickelodeon, Australian Wildlife & Tigers and The Wiggles. In Nickelodeon world, the rides offered are all themed or named after a Nickelodeon show or character such as the Rocket Power Bumper Beach, Angry Beavers Spooty Spin and many more.

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/Attractions/Nickelodeon-Central/Rides--Attractions/

The restaurants or dining stalls are also themed as well. For exsample, the Diggers Rest sells cold drinks, sno cones, ice cream while The Snark Attack Food & Bar sells fish n chips and chicken strips. So the name of the stall implies what it is selling.

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/Visitor-Information/Dining/

Hybrid consumption

Both the theme park rides and attractions are in the same vicinity or area as the souvenir shops or shops selling merchandise. So more than one form of consumption is at work.

Merchandising

There are many souvenir shops in Dreamworld. Each shop sells different items carrying different brands or logos. For example, the Wiggles shop sells DVDs, CDs, toys, books and everything only about the Wiggles. It is also the only executive Wiggles shop in the world while Surf Central sells The latest gear from top surf wear brands including Billabong, Rip Curl, Roxy & Quicksilver. So the goods sold bear some form of copyright images or rights.

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/Visitor-Information/Shopping.aspx?tileid=633941484393476044

Performative labour

One of the criterias for the recruitment of new employees was 'Bright, bubbly & fresh faced with a big smile and lots of enthusiasm!' So as part of the job or service, there has to be a deliberate display of a certain mood.

http://about.dreamworld.com.au/Employment/Our-Vision--Values/Our-Vision--Values.aspx?tileid=633940742216345930

The changes bought upon by tourism

Some positive changes:

More economic revenue for the country thus leading to a better standard of living for the locals
Australia becomes more established more on the world map
Australia becomes more globalized due to the constant cycle of tourists leaving and entering the country.
Certain areas of the country are taken care or well-preserved as they serve as tourist attractions such as the sacred lands of the Aborigines and the Aboriginal people themselves
Australia's culture is more exposed to the world

Some negative changes

Overcrowding
Environmental damage to the tourist attractions. eg the beaches, The Great Barrier Reef etc.
Traditional values may be lost
Crime increases
Resources may be used up quicker.

Events & Festivals

WOMADelaide international music festival

The WOMAD stands for ‘World of Music, Arts & Dance’ festival. It was co-founded in the UK by Peter Gabriel and made its debut in Australia in 1992. Since then it has gone on to become one of Australia's favourite outdoor festivals and in 2010. it attracted 81,500 attendances over four days.

The program features performances and workshops on seven stages by some of the world's best musicians, dancers and DJs, alongside street theatre and visual artists, the popular Taste the World cooking program, Artists in Conversations sessions and an All-Star Gala finale, together with around 100 food, crafts and display stalls and KidZone for children.

The next edition of WOMADelaide with the theme: 'Sounds Of The Planet' will be held from Friday 11 - Monday 14 March 2011, outdoors in Adelaide's beautiful Botanic Park.

Reference:

http://www.womadelaide.com.au/

http://www.womadelaide.com.au/womadelaide-2010-gallery

The Melbourne Cup

Known as the greatest 3200 metre handicap horse race, its history dates back to 1861. The Melbourne Cup was bron out of the rivalry between the Victoria Turf Club and Victoria Jockey Club
The winner would receive a modest prize-money and a hand beaten gold watch. The conditions for the race would be a sweepstakes of 20 sovereigns, 10 sovereigns forfeit or 5 sovereigns if declared, with 200 sovereigns added money".

The uniqueness of the race stipulated handicap conditions and a distance of two miles.

The Melbourne Cup has long been lauded as the race that stops a nation and the race which has become ingrained in the Australian culture. It is a race built on dreams, on hard luck and triumph. It is a race which is also survived by tragedy.

But while the Cup continues to evolve it will remain the greatest 3200 metre horse race any where in the world and, by the nature of the conditions, arguably the most challenging to win.

reference:
http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/history-of-melbourne-cup.asp
http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/melbourne-cup.asp

Sydney Festival

Sydney Festival was originally created by the Sydney Committee, the NSW State Government and the City of Sydney with a view to attracting people into the city centre during the holiday month of January.

The first Festival took place in 1977 and it has grown to become one of Australia's largest annual cultural celebrations with an international reputation for modern, popular and intelligent programming. It is described as a celebration of Sydney and its style and energy reflect the confidence, diversity and vigour of one of the world's most beautiful cities.

For three weeks each January, the Festival offers a rich program of around 80 events involving upwards of 500 artists from Australia and abroad covering dance, theatre, music, visual arts, cross media and forums. It makes use of most of the main theatres across the city including Sydney Theatre, City Recital Hall and venues at the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Festival also presents a number of quality, free outdoor events such as the long-running Festival in The Domain with two massive free concerts, each attracting up to 100,000 people.

http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011/About-Us/

Perth International Arts Festival

Since its inception in 1953, The Perth International Arts Festival has grown into the longest running annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere and annually offers some of the world's best theatre, music, film, visual arts, street arts, literature and free community events.

In the past 57 years, it has became a festival of major international event with a worldwide reputation in the arts for its innovative development, presentation of new works and provision of quality arts.

The Perth Festival is committed on showcasing local works of excellence on an international platform, thus raising the national profile of the arts, and also to expose the cultural and environmental contents of Western Australia including Indigenous culture to the outside world.

For over 50 years the Festival has welcomed to Perth some of the world's greatest artists. The three-week long Festival, in February of each year, attracts more than 300,000 patrons to events in Perth as well as in the Great Southern region.

http://perthfestival.com.au/about-us/

Tasmania Taste Festival

the Taste Festival, with all its sights, sounds and flavours, is a much anticipated highlight on the Tasmanian events calendar.
During the Festival, Hobart welcomes hundreds of thousands of Tasmanian, interstate and international visitors to historic and vibrant Sullivans Cove, and treats them to the very best of performance, music and the premium food and beverage that Tasmania has to offer.

2010 marks the 22nd year of the Taste Festival. Hobart waterfront is transformed into a buzzing festival site for seven days and nights.

This year's theme is Sensational Taste Visitors can join in by sampling the best of Tasmania's sensational produce while enjoying the atmosphere created by local musicians and performers.
The Festival features over seventy stalls showcasing the very finest Tasmanian food and beverage in a food and wine lover's gourmet experience.

Stallholders have been selected from all around the state to participate in this year's Festival, particularly for their innovative use of local ingredients, as well as their food design and presentation.
With free admission, this year's Taste Festival was held in a newly renovated location.

http://www.tastefestival.com.au/

Brisbane Festival

Brisbane Festival is one of Australia’s premier festivals and Brisbane's annual cultural event.

Brisbane Festival was developed by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council in 1996 as an initiative to foster the arts.

The Festival evolved from Brisbane’s Warana Festival, first held in 1961. Warana, meaning blue skies, was the beginning of Arts Festivals in Queensland. In these early festival days, a trip to the Queensland ballet cost 10 shillings, the Grand Parade of floats down the city-streets was a major event and the festival was a celebration of Spring and the city’s cultural activities. The theme of the Warana Festival was "entertainment for the people, by the people". Over the years regular Warana features varied, but included a drama festival and eisteddfod, a writers' week, a George Street Colonial Fair, a Miss Warana Pageant and various religious, sporting and other outdoors activities.

Brisbane Festival was held as a biennial festival from 1996 to 2008 and an annual festival from 2009.

http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/History/0,6,346,06.aspx

Australia's indigenous tribe: The Aboriginals

Aboriginal culture: a rich and timeless tradition

The Aboriginal culture has alot of influence in the country. Despite being one of the factors that bring in tourists to their country, the Aboriginal traditions, custom, rituals and beliefs are remain strong and relevant and has withstood the test of time.

The Indigenous cultures of Australia are the oldest living cultural history in the world, They are believed to have existed since 65,000 years. One of the reasons Aboriginal cultures have survived for so long is their ability to adapt and change over time.

Land is essential to the Aboriginal people. The land is not just soil or rocks or minerals, but a whole environment that sustains and is sustained by people and culture. For Indigenous Australians, the land is the core of all spirituality and this relationship between them and the spirit of the land or 'country' is important to them.

National parks can contain sites of significance for Aboriginal communities, such as rock engravings and artwork. National parks can be significant for Aboriginal people because of Dreaming stories associated with those sites.

In a national effort to 'preserve' the Aboriginal culture, National parks management realize this intrinsic relationship that Aboriginal people have with their 'country'. Thus any sacred sites found in the national parks are usually left undisturbed. Often the land areas have been relatively inaccessible, unsuitable for agriculture, or have been left in its original condition..

Music, song and dance was and is still today a very important part of Aboriginal life and customs. There were songs for every occasion, some of which were expressed in special ceremonies.

In most stories of the Dreaming, the Ancestor spirits came to the earth in human form and as they moved through the land, they created the animals, plants, rocks and other forms of the land that we know today. They also created the relationships between groups and individuals to the land, the animals and other people.

For Aboriginal people all that is sacred is in the land. Knowledge of sacred sites is learned through a process of initiation and gaining an understanding of Aboriginal law. It is, by definition, not public knowledge. This is why the existence of many sites might not be exposed to the outside world unless they are threatened.

Perhaps the most well-known sacred site in Australia is Uluru. Located in the centre of Australia, southwest of Alice Springs, the first European explorers named it Ayers Rock. The caves inside the rock are covered with Aboriginal paintings. In 1985 the Commonwealth Government of Australia returned Uluru to its traditional owners, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people (also known as Anangu).

Links:

http://www.australia.com/about/culture.aspx

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/

http://www.remotetribes.com/aborigines-tribe/

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ayers-Rock

Education in Australia

The education system in Australia is of the highest standard and has international recognition.

More than 400,000 students from around 200 countries receive an Australian education each year

Australia is widely recognised as a world leader in the field of international education and English language training.

Majority of the students that come to Australia to study are mostly from Asian countries such as China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Students are attracted to the valuable skills, experiences and qualifications offered by an Australian education. Australia is a safe and friendly destination and a sophisticated and technologically advanced society with a reputation for quality, excellence and reliability in education services. Additionally, Australian institutions have established campuses offshore and created innovative partnerships in other countries to deliver courses in students’ home countries.

Since Australia is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation, Australian teachers and instructors are experienced in communicating with students who are not native English speakers. Students from around the world are drawn to Australia for an opportunity to learn English in an English-speaking country for study, work or travel purposes

reference: http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/education_in_australia.html

Australia is known for:

its Australian Slang: speaking ‘Strine’

Australians have a unique colloquial language, coined ‘strine’ by linguist Alastair Morrison in 1966.

Words are often abbreviated and then add an ‘o’ or ‘ie’ on the end, examples: mozzie (mosquito), barbie(barbecue) etc.

Australian inventions

Australians were responsible for everyday inventions such as notepads (1902), aspirin (1915), the pacemaker (1926), penicillin (1940), the plastic disposable syringe (1949) and long-wearing contact lenses (1999).

The Aboriginal people invented the aerodynamic boomerang They were also the first society to use ground edges on stone cutting tools and the first to use stone tools to grind seeds, everyday tools which were developed only much later by other societies.

Kangaroos & Koala Bears