Australian Multicultural Policy and Television Drama in Comparative Contexts
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Australian multicultural policy and television drama in comparative contexts Harvey May BA (Comm), BA, B Bus (Hons)(Comm), Post Grad Dip Ed A thesis submitted in 2003 for the award of Doctor of Philosophy Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology Key Words Multiculturalism, Cultural Diversity, Television, Drama, Casting, Minorities, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States. Abstract This thesis examines changes which have occurred since the late 1980s and early 1990s with respect to the representation of cultural diversity on Australian popular drama programming. The thesis finds that a significant number of actors of diverse cultural and linguistic background have negotiated the television industry employment process to obtain acting roles in a lead capacity. The majority of these actors are from the second generation of immigrants, who increasingly make up a significant component of Australia’s multicultural population. The way in which these actors are portrayed on- screen has also shifted from one of a ‘performed’ ethnicity, to an ‘everyday’ portrayal. The thesis develops an analysis which connects the development and broad political support for multicultural policy as expressed in the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia to the changes in both employment and representation practices in popular television programming in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The thesis addresses multicultural debates by arguing for a mainstreaming position. The thesis makes detailed comparison of cultural diversity and television in the jurisdictions of the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand to support the broad argument that cultural diversity policy measures produce observable outcomes in television programming. ii Contents Glossary of Abbreviations ……………………………………………………… vii Statement of Original Authorship ……………………………………………… ix Acknowledgements …………………………………………….……………….. x Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter One Theory, terms and methodology Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 6 Multiculturalism ………………………………………………………….. 10 White ……………………………………………………………………… 14 The second generation …………………………………………. ……... 16 Representational anxieties ……………………………………………... 19 Television and policy studies …………………………………………... 22 Classifying populations …………………………………………………. 24 PART ONE AUSTRALIAN POLICY ENVIRONMENTS Chapter Two The multicultural project Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 27 Pre-war and post-war immigration …………………………………….. 30 Fathering multiculturalism and Fraser ………………………………… 34 Multiculturalism under Labor …………………………………… ……... 37 The Agenda ……………………………………………………………… 41 1996: back to the future? ……………………………………………….. 45 Multicultural and strategic hybridity ……………………………………. 52 Conclusion: assimilation revisited …………………………….……….. 56 Chapter Three Cultural diversity, television and policy Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 61 Liberal multiculturalism and ethnic TV ………………………………… 62 An Australian look ……………………………………………………….. 63 The ABA, the BSA and cultural diversity ……………………………… 66 Casting, policy and the cultural diversity debate 1992-1996 ……….. 68 Creative Nation case studies: SBS Independent and the Commercial Television Production Fund ………………………………74 SBS Independent (SBSI) ……………………………………………….. 75 The Commercial Television Production Fund (CTPF) ………………. 77 Conclusion: cultural diversity policy discourse and television ……… 80 iii PART TWO INTERNATIONAL POLICY AND PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 84 Chapter Four The United States: affirmative action, 'quotas' and diversity rights Policy and industry contexts ……………………………………………. 87 Television broadcasting overview: USA ………………………………. 89 Power to the people: multiculturalism in the USA ……………………. 90 Policy contexts …………………………………………………………… 93 Network programming and production: historical contexts …………. 99 Racial narrowcasting ……………………………………………………. 102 Changing times ………………………………………………………….. 105 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….. 110 Chapter Five The United Kingdom: policy remits for diversity and an 'everyday' multiculturalism Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 113 Television broadcasting overview: the UK ……………………………. 114 Race relations in the United Kingdom ………………………………… 115 Policy contexts …………………………………………………………… 118 Programming contexts ………………………………………………….. 125 Production contexts ……………………………………………………... 131 Conclusion: a remit for everyday multiculturalism …………………… 133 Chapter Six New Zealand: biculturalism and targeted subsidies Television broadcasting overview ……………………………………... 137 Bicultural New Zealand …………………………………………………. 138 Policy contexts …………………………………………………………… 142 New Zealand on Air ……………………………………………………... 146 Audiences, programming and production……………………………... 149 Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 156 PART THREE AUSTRALIAN POPULAR DRAMA: MAINSTREAMING THE MULTICULTURAL Chapter Seven Australian drama casting and production perspectives Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 159 Casting survey: method ………………………………………………… 162 Casting survey: results…………………………………………………... 163 Self-Identification of ethnicity…………………………………………… 165 iv Industry perspectives: Indigenous casting ……………………………. 167 Industry perspectives: the acting profession and casting …………… 168 Industry perspectives: writing ………………………………………….. 181 Industry perspectives: producing ………………………………………. 187 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….. 191 Chapter Eight Australian television programs: texts and contexts Introduction ………………………………………………………………. 194 Breakers: cosmopolitan serial television The financing …………………………………………………………….. 197 The set-up………………………………………………………………… 201 ‘Have you visited the world lately?’: cultural diversity and Breakers……………………………………………………………… 202 Breakers’ limits…………………………………………………………… 205 Findings from the six week recording period………………………….. 208 Breaking into the mainstream…………………………………………... 211 Pizza ‘chocko comedy’………………………………………………………….. 210 A slice of Pizza…………………………………………………………… 220 Cultural diversity and Pizza: series one……………………………….. 221 Six weeks, popular programming and cultural diversity……………… 225 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….. 238 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 240 Appendix One …………………………………………………………………... 247 Appendix Two ……………………………………………………………………251 References ………………………………………………………………………. 253 v List of Figures Figure 7.1 Ethnicity of Actors ……………………………………….. 161 Figure 7.2 Comparison of Studies ………………………………….. 162 Figure 7.3 Family Background by Region …………………………. 163 Figure 7.4 Self Identification ………………………………………… 163 Figure 8.1 Program Recording Chart ………………………………. 193 List of Appendices Appendix One: Casting Survey Questionnaire …………………………. 245 Appendix Two: List of interviewees who consented to be identified …………………………………………… 249 vi Glossary of Abbreviations ABA ………. Australian Broadcasting Authority ABC ………. Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABCB …….. Australian Broadcasting Control Board ABS ………. Australian Bureau of Statistics ABT ………. Australian Broadcasting Tribunal AFC ………. Australian Film Commission AFTRS …… Australian Film Television & Radio School ASDA …….. Australian Screen Directors Association AWG ……… Australian Writers Guild BBC ………. British Broadcasting Service BSC ……….. Broadcasting Standards Commission BSA ………. Broadcasting Services Act 1992 CLC ………. Communications Law Centre CTPF ……... Commercial Television Production Fund DCALB …… Diverse Cultural and Linguistic Background DCITA ……. Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts DIMA …….. Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs DOCA ……. Department of Communication and the Arts FACTS …… Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations FCC ………. Federal Communications Commission ITC ………… Independent Television Commission ITV ………… Independent Television Network MEAA ……. Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance NAACP …… National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAB ……….. National Association of Broadcasters NES ………. Non-English Speaking NMAC ……. National Multicultural Advisory Council NZOA ……. New Zealand on Air OMA ……… Office of Multicultural Affairs SAG ……… Screen Actors Guild SBS ………. Special Broadcasting Service vii SBSI ……… SBS Independent SPAA …….. Screen Producers Association of Australia TPS ………. Television Programme Standard UPN ………. United Paramount Network VCA ……….. Victorian College of the Arts WB ………… Warner Brothers viii Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signed __________________________________ Date ____________________________________ ix Acknowledgements I thank both supervisors, Professor Stuart Cunningham and Dr Terry Flew, for their guidance, insight and support. I also acknowledge the support of family and friends during the candidature. This thesis would not have been possible without the appreciative contribution of actors and others in the television industry, who were interviewed in 1999 and 2000. x Introduction During the early 1990s, a number of studies exploring multiculturalism and the media found representation of cultural diversity on Australian commercial television drama programs was both minimal in quantity and limited in its portrayal (Goodall, Jakubowicz,