I was passing by McDonald’s in the city yesterday when I chanced upon this toy being sold outside to the general public. Cast alongside Snoopy and Hello Kitty figurines was ‘Mr.Koala’.. At first I thought it was yet another ‘cutesy’ packaging of Australiana, but with a closer look (you try yourself, click on the photo for a clearer view) I was a little shocked.
Ostensibly this character is ‘Nigel’ from Disney’s The Wild movie, but I saw a deeper meaning to his presentation. Now I don’t tend to take symbolic ‘texts’ at their face value anymore (I tend to thing EVERYTHING has a deeper meaning), but even an 8 year old can see what’s wrong with this Australian representation.. Apart from not wearing any pants (a habit which does not make him ‘unAustralian’ in any way) he is clearly holding the Satue of Liberty’s torch.
Now if ever there was a symbol of Australia’s own tenuous current identity, perhaps ‘Nigel’ is it..As I detailed in my previous APEC entry, Australia appears in a crisis of representation, both at home and abroad. Note his confused expression (his furrowed eyebrows bear a striking resemblence to our currently beleaguered PM), legs splayed apart (thus unbalanced) and the seeming ignorance of the torch that stands above and ‘guides’ him..
Now America has for generations attempted to serve as the world’s ‘guiding light’, agressively and didactically imposing its systems onto both ally and enemy alike. This has created ambiguities for sure, but in my opinion none so challanging as to identity. Nigel, the humble Koala bear probably ‘goes down a treat’ in LA, NY and Washington, a cuddly and approachable notion of ‘Australiana’ for the USA, but to a native, he presents an ambiguous and worrying stereotype.
At times I’m really challenged by just how Australia is represented abroad. Today I watched the most recent Wallabies victory over Fiji in the rugby. Whilst I found myself cheering along loudly (especially when Force players like Giteau and Mitchell scored), the commentators (a Scot and a Kiwi) were lamenting having to hear ‘Waltzing Matilda’ being played constantly by adoring fans.. Perhaps Oz is outstaying its welcome in the international arena, and a once humble and modest country is now being perceived as a predictable and self-absorbed nation..
