Beyond empire: Australian cinematic identity in the twenty-first century

Abstract

Australian cinema has played and continues to play an important part in the formation and formulation of Australia. This article explores the relation between Australia and empire through the analysis of three iconic cinematic characters: Barry McKenzie, Mick Dundee and Kenny Smyth. The point of departure is the notion that Australianness has been constructed as an identity caught between empires, between the old (British) empire and the new (American) empire. Australian cinema itself has been for most (if not all) of its history caught between the British Empire and the American Empire. Yet, recently there are signs that Australian films are repositioning Australia as part of the Global Village, suggesting that Australian national identity might be moving beyond the imperial articulations of Australianness. The evolution of the relation between Australia and Anglo-Empire symbolized by the three characters studied here hints at the possibility of a twenty-first century post-imperial Australianness.