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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OTHES DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Aboriginal Drama and the Clash between Cultures: Black versus White Australia as Mirrored in the Plays The Keepers , Murras and The Dreamers ” Verfasserin Nicole Hahnl angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2010 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 190 344 333 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: UF Englisch UF Deutsch Betreuer: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Franz-Karl Wöhrer DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY I confirm to have conceived and written this M.A. thesis in English all by myself. Quotations from other authors are all clearly marked and acknowledged in the bibliographical references, either in the footnotes or within the text. Any ideas borrowed and/or passages paraphrased from the works of other authors have been truthfully acknowledged and identified in the footnotes. Nicole Hahnl HINWEIS Diese Diplomarbeit hat nachgewiesen, dass die betreffende Kandidatin oder der betreffende Kandidat befähigt ist, wissenschaftliche Themen selbstständig sowie inhaltlich und methodisch vertretbar zu bearbeiten. Da die Korrekturen der/des Beurteilenden nicht eingetragen sind und das Gutachten nicht beiliegt, ist daher nicht erkenntlich mit welcher Note diese Arbeit abgeschlossen wurde. Das Spektrum reicht von sehr gut bis genügend. Die Habilitierten des Instituts für Anglistik und Amerikanistik bitten diesen Hinweis bei der Lektüre zu beachten. Aboriginal achievement Is like the dark side of the moon, For it is there But so little is known. (Ernie Dingo) 1 1 This is an extract from Ernie Dingo’s poem “Aboriginal Achievement”, to be found in Kevin Gilbert’s collection of Aboriginal poems Inside Black Australia. An Anthology of Aboriginal Poetry, p. 29. Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 2. Culture Clash ............................................................................................................ 5 2.1. Culture Clash - A Definition .............................................................................. 5 2.2. Colonization and Colonialism in Australia ........................................................ 6 2.2.1. (Definition and Characteristics of) Colonization........................................ 6 2.2.2. (Definition and Characteristics of) Colonialism ......................................... 7 2.2.3. The Effects of Colonial Rule ...................................................................... 9 2.3. The Framework for Australian Colonialism: Social Darwinism and Its Antecedent .................................................................................................................. 12 2.4. Colonialism and Genocide ............................................................................... 16 3. A Historical Overview ............................................................................................ 19 3.1. Ancient and Pre-Cook History ......................................................................... 19 3.2. Early White History ......................................................................................... 20 3.3. Policy of ‘Protection’ ....................................................................................... 22 3.4. Early 20 th Century ............................................................................................ 23 3.5. Late 20 th Century ............................................................................................. 25 3.6. Recent History ................................................................................................. 27 4. Why Drama? ........................................................................................................... 29 4.1. The Beginnings of Aboriginal Drama ............................................................. 29 4.2. Some Defining Characteristics of Aboriginal Drama ...................................... 30 4.3. New Developments in Aboriginal Drama ....................................................... 32 4.4. What is ‘Aboriginality’? .................................................................................. 33 4.5. Aboriginalities and Drama ............................................................................... 35 5. The Plays: The Keepers , Murras and The Dreamers ............................................. 40 5.1. Bob Maza: The Keepers (1988) ....................................................................... 42 5.1.1. The Author ................................................................................................ 42 5.1.2. Short Summary of the Play ....................................................................... 44 5.2. Eva Johnson: Murras (1988) ........................................................................... 45 5.2.1. The Author ................................................................................................ 45 5.2.2. Short Summary of the Play ....................................................................... 46 5.3. Jack Davis: The Dreamers (1982) ................................................................... 48 5.3.1. The Author ................................................................................................ 48 5.3.2. Short Summary of the Play ....................................................................... 51 6. Main Issues of Culture Clash as Presented in the Three Plays ............................... 53 6.1. The Quest for Identity: Black vs. White and the Future of Cultural Hybridity 54 6.1.1. ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’: Self-Perception versus Social Perception................ 54 6.1.2. The Construct/Construction of ‘Aboriginality’ ........................................ 57 6.1.3. Caught Between Two Worlds: Urban Aborigines And Their Struggle to Retain Their Cultural Identity................................................................................. 62 6.1.4. Traditional Aboriginal Identity and Possible Ways for Aboriginal Identities in Contemporary Australia: Jack Davis’s Worru .................................... 66 6.2. Politics and Power ........................................................................................... 69 6.2.1. The Connection Between Politics and Power as Mirrored in the Plays ... 71 6.2.2. Imprisonment, Deaths in Custody and (Police) Violence ........................ 78 6.2.3. Discrimination and Segregation ............................................................... 82 6.3. Dislocation and Uprootedness ......................................................................... 86 6.3.1. The Pain of Unbelonging .......................................................................... 86 6.3.2. Effects of Dislocation and Uprootedness: Alcohol, Unemployment and Poverty .................................................................................................................. 90 6.4. Language and Culture Clash ............................................................................ 98 6.4.1. The Culture Clash as Mirrored in the Language of the Plays ................ 100 6.4.2. The Use of Sign Language ..................................................................... 103 6.4.3. The Importance and Function(s) of Native Languages in Aboriginal Drama ................................................................................................................ 104 6.4.4. The Function(s) of Aboriginal Humor.................................................... 106 6.5. Aboriginal Resilience .................................................................................... 110 6.5.1. Examples of Aboriginal Resilience as Presented in the Plays................ 110 6.5.2. Aboriginal Resilience as the Reversal of Existing Power Structures as Presented in the Plays ........................................................................................... 114 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 124 8. Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 129 8.1. Primary Sources ............................................................................................. 129 8.2. Secondary Sources ......................................................................................... 129 8.3. Electronic Sources ......................................................................................... 132 INDEX .......................................................................................................................... 135 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 138 GERMAN SUMMARY (Zusammenfassung in deutscher Sprache) ........................... 139 CURRICULUM VITAE .............................................................................................. 141 - 1 - 1. Introduction On 13 February 2008, the world’s attention was drawn to the history of race relations between Australian Aborigines and European-descended Australians as former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd voiced a public apology to all Indigenous peoples who had suffered (and still suffer from the aftermath of) colonialist injustices. 2 More recently, Australia’s new Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced her government’s intention to hold a referendum