Aus History Lit

>>9524076

THE
FATAL
SHORE

>>9524082
I should have clarified that I'm already reading this.
It's good, but I want to read past the convict era, right up to now.

>>9524076
No anon, I'm not going to do your homework for you.

Don't bother with 19th century shit unless you really like social justice
We're fucking boring

File: 1297199398905.png (561KB, 680x798px) Image search: [Google]

561KB, 680x798px

>>9524076
the focus on Sydney in Australian culture is concerning.
Makes me want to write a book based on my experiences in meth addicted shithole towns.
I'll probably end up being interviewed by some bourgeois old woman on ABC RN.
Then I'll become rich and move to Sydney.

>>9524173
This is actually plausible. You should do it.

File: 1429425584732.png (879KB, 800x800px) Image search: [Google]

879KB, 800x800px

>>9524157
>We're fucking boring
Your attitude legitimately disgusts me. What, do you want Australia to be America? Europe? Asia? You are one of the exact causes for what you're complaining about. You think Australia's lifeless and is a leech off U.S and British cultural imperialism? Then you're just gonna fulfill that idea. Interesting, although really suspicious, shit happens under our noses because no one in Australia looks inward, nor do other countries seem to pay us much attention. It does not follow that this place is boring. You're the boring one. Fucking do something about it.

>>9524944

t. under 25 and full of piss and vinegar

Not that anon but you need to fuck right off with this grandstanding horseshit.
>no one in Australia looks inward
You are such a wank, kid.

>>9524944
Okay kiddo, it's pretty fucking obvious that we're being fucked in the asshole by everyone and no-one cares. What are you going to do about it, vote Pauline Hanson? Call me when we have our own Otoya Yamaguchi. Hint: it's not ever going to happen because our national identity is now purely a product of consumerism and commercialisation, we're fucking dead and can't be revived without tearing down what little survives

>>9524076
Just do Chifley to Howard and you'll be good.

not exactly what you asked for but The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery is a very good pre-history/natural history of Australia

>>9524952
>grandstanding horseshit
Alright fair point. But I feel obviously strongly about this. Let me cool off and clarify, because I stand by my points as well as my disgust.

>no one in Australia looks inward
By "no one", I mean any "one" who that-anon (whether or not you really are that-anon) would look towards for a level of introspection significant enough to incite not only legitimate cultural movement, awareness and character that isn't a mere meme, but also global character that isn't a meme. By this I mean that people overseas do love Australia -- but they only love the idea of Australia. It's not as if we're in Eurovision to actually win it (acknowledging that it's strange we're even in a European show to begin with). We're only there because people like idea of mates from down under.

Anyway, another thing I mean by no one looking inward, is that it's rare for some hypothetical "one", even if they introspect, to do anything about it, to try and change that. Australia's intellectual scene is a desert in itself in comparison to other nations. At least, that's the impression. There's actually tons of intellectuals here, in fact, we've put out some good philosophers (not including P. Singer). What's the problem there? How often do you hear them brought up? For one, the size of our population isn't exactly conducive to a large scale intellectual scene. They never pop up in the media. In effect, they're underrepresented outside of universities. Meaning the rest of the world doesn't hear about them, and usually, nor do those in any sphere orbiting the universities. This isn't just a problem with philosophers --
Just about anything at all. Novelists, poets, filmmakers, etcetera.

You could argue that's because the economy doesn't have room. And I know that. But being cool-lethargic, throwing your hands up and saying,
>it's pretty fucking obvious that we're being fucked in the asshole by everyone and no-one cares. What are you going to do about it, vote Pauline Hanson? Call me when we have our own Otoya Yamaguchi. Hint: it's not ever going to happen because our national identity is now purely a product of consumerism and commercialisation, we're fucking dead and can't be revived without tearing down what little survives
only prolongs the problem. In the end it might come down to something like this: how can Australians who browse /lit/ (presumably) out of intellectual interest, even the faintest bit of it, be so defeatist about Australia producing nothing that is seen as significant? What's going on there? What went wrong? Is it just the unbearable lethargic heat? Or what?

I don't know if I covered everything, but ultimately Australia does have things of interest, but they're aren't looked at to a wide degree. I'm sure people are out there who know a ton about Australia, but they seem M.I.A.

>>9525002
I'll quickly add that this isn't a recent thing. P. R. Stephensen wrote all about the exact same thing in 1930 when Australia was seeking to detach itself from British culture, only to find itself sucked into the shadow of American cultural imperialism.

>>9524973
thanks anyway anon

>>9524173
>the focus on Sydney in Australian culture
The fuck you on about?

>>9525002
tldr shorten it down you fuckwit

File: voss-by-patrick-white-australian-writer-and-novelist-b-1912-september-ERHG27.jpg (178KB, 1300x976px) Image search: [Google]

178KB, 1300x976px

Obviously this.

I hated it

>>9525002
I agree but what can be done? What can I, a seemingly average person with no real skills and little actual knowledge of Australia outside my middle class eastern suburbs bubble, do? Genuine question mate. Looking for answers because I feel that mix of disgust for Australia but also that sadness that we're not really anything.