Reel Men: Australian Masculinity in the Movies 1949-1962 by Chelsea Barnett

Author:Chelsea Barnett [Barnett, Chelsea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Australia & New Zealand, Performing Arts, Film, General
ISBN: 9780522872484
Google: LH-JDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Melbourne University Publishing
Published: 2019-02-19T00:18:46.442523+00:00

These establishing shots of the entire King family, as well as the narration’s reference to families, fathers and sons, are important in representing and legitimating the white model of pioneer masculinity.

Much like the model of masculinity celebrated by radical nationalists, the pioneer understanding of masculinity emerged in the 1890s and was located in the Australian bush. The film’s opening narration and scenes establish the importance of the rural landscape, and foreshadow Wally’s struggles with climate, environment, food and foe—according to Ann Curthoys, the pioneer’s obstacles are ‘mainly the land itself’.32 The two models of masculinity also shared a working-class sensibility, affirmed by Chips Rafferty’s casting as Wally. Rafferty’s part in Bitter Springs continued his ‘ubiquitous’ roles as working-class men in Australian films of the fifties; The Australian Women’s Weekly commented that Wally was a role ‘tailor-made’ for the actor.33 But the radical nationalist and pioneer models of masculinity were ultimately distinct. Unlike radical nationalist masculinity, which maligned family commitments and responsibilities, women and the family were important to the pioneer legend. It was this very inclusiveness that explained its popularity: it ‘[crossed] serious social divides of class and gender, celebrating small and large farmers and men and women alike’.34 But while radical nationalism enjoyed cultural proliferation through contemporary historical texts, the pioneer masculinity with which Bitter Springs engaged did not benefit from any such intellectual celebration. What, then, was driving Bitter Springs’ representation of this masculine type?

John Hirst’s work on the pioneer legend (which encapsulated pioneer masculinity) highlighted continuity as one of its key elements. The ongoing legitimacy of the legend caught subsequent generations in a ‘special obligation not to tamper with the world the pioneers made’.35 Yet in the fifties, and the broader postwar context of decolonisation, increasing nationalist bids meant that the very opposite was unfolding. Decolonisation not only sat against the pioneer legend’s emphasis on continuity, but also forgot the hardships of white people—another of its important components. Bitter Springs’ representation of pioneer masculinity functioned as a cultural response to the postwar trend of decolonisation. That this response was offered through a film about Indigenous Australians was fitting; WG Sanders, scholar of Indigenous affairs, argues that Indigenous Australians ‘were the most thoroughly colonised of all peoples’.36 The legitimation of pioneer masculinity in this film both functioned to advocate for the ongoing colonisation in Australia—finally putting to rest the Aboriginal ‘problem’—and aligned with Australian opposition to decolonisation more generally. Certainly, colonialism located Indigenous people as occupying a position that threatened the national interest. In seeking to eliminate this danger, Bitter Springs legitimated white pioneer masculinity and, by extension, white colonisation, thus legitimating the exclusion of Indigenous people from the white national ideal.

Bitter Springs’ efforts to exclude Indigeneity are established in the film’s opening scenes. Wally and his family stop at a small town to hire some men. Although Wally promises them three months’ work, the men fear encountering the unknown: ‘Abos. Wild blacks. Hundreds of ’em!’ Eventually hiring Scottish carpenter Mac, English vaudevillian-turned-stockman Tommy, and Tommy’s small son Charlie, the group continues their trek.

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