The Roles of Legislation and Public Expectations: Australia’s History of Tackling Cultural and Ethnic Diversity

This essay explores the contents of the 1966 movie, They’re a Weird Mob and argues that legislation and public attitudes have been two powerful factors regulating Australia’s process of addressing the impacts of ethnic and cultural diversity. It examines the themes of policy responses and public assumptions, and how they have influenced the country’s ways of coping with diverse backgrounds, values, and practices. The essay also discusses the progress Australia has made in reducing discrimination and valuing diversity.

The Roles of Legislation and Public Expectations: Australia’s History of
Tackling Cultural and Ethnic Diversity
For many years, migration and diversity in Australia have served as one
extensively-studied topic. It is widely believed that changes in immigration patterns
have deeply impacted Australia’s strategies for handling cultural differences. This
situation raises a key question about how legislation and public activities influence the
country’s ways of coping with diverse backgrounds, values, and practices. It is not
hard to understand that resolving this question requires a careful investigation of the
themes of policy responses, as well as public assumptions. With a goal of clearly
explaining Australia’s management of diversity-related matters, this essay explores
the contents of the 1966 movie, They’re a Weird Mob. This essay argues that
legislation and public attitudes have been two powerful factors regulating Australia’s
process of addressing the impacts of ethnic and cultural diversity. By portraying
Nino’s difficult experience of digesting local culture, the director, Michael Powell
calls attention to state policies and the Australian public’s morally problematic act of
forcing immigrants to adopt “Australian” lifestyles. Purnell’s experience of living in
one prejudice-free community reflects that official policies and Australian citizens
have learned to value and celebrate differences in recent decades. These aspects, as
illustrated by this essay, demonstrate the country’s gradual progress regarding using a
multicultural method to driving social development.
An analysis of the movie’s portrayals of Nino’s experience of confronting
people’s prejudiced expectations makes clear the Australian public’s racist sentiments

in the 1960s. Films and other forms of mass media have served as one effective
communication tool for shaping public opinions of the migration history of Australia
(Bertrand and Collins, 1981). An easy look at the contents and themes of Powell’s
movie clearly suggests his goals for building dialogues about the country’s big trend
of educating immigrants to digest Australian culture. Throughout the movie, Powell
(1966) focuses on depicting the Italian newcomer, Nino’s struggles to adopt the values
and norms of Australia. It seems that the male protagonist’s interactions with every
person are intended to teach him to assimilate into the world of the Anglo-Celtic mob
(Wang, 2011). One good example showing Powell’s intent to reflect the Australian
public’s prejudiced attitude towards non-white residents stems from Nino’s
conversation with one police officer in one ferry, which happens in the second time
they meet. Once seeing Nino, the police officer says: “You again? You are drunk this
time?”. After hearing Nino’s explanation, the police officer impatiently asks “Where
are you going?”. These claims, along with the police officer’s indifferent look, fully
reveals his biased idea that people like Nino are those who can easily get into trouble
and hinder the local police’s order-keeping tasks. This example, along with other
scenes, illustrates Powell’s efforts to comment on the Australian public’s stereotypical
opinions of immigrants and their desire for promoting the Australian way of living
(Mascitelli et al., 2016). From these details, one can learn that the movie does an
outstanding job of getting across the idea about white Australians’ racial bias and its
intolerance of cultural differences.
The movie’s depictions of the Italian migrant, Nino’s story of gradually adopting

the Australian way of life reflect immigration policies’ crucial role in shaping the
discriminatory practices of the country. It is true that cinematic representations
directly impact public knowledge about one place’s social circumstances and political
realities. In his movie, when describing Nino’s encounter with Aussie culture, Powell
successfully conveys the message over the restrictive nature of the country’s
immigration policies in the 1960s. One example illustrating this fact comes from the
director’s portrayals of one drunken man’s abusive speech on the ferry. In this scene,
the Australian man refers to one Italian family as “bloody dagos” and makes fun of
their accents. The man’s use of the term “dagos”, which is a sign of prejudice, along
with his claim that “It’s our ferry, not your ferry”, raises thoughts about the nation’s
belief in racial superiority (Jimenez, 2013). Most importantly, the man’s speech
enhances viewers’ ideas of immigration policies’ key function in causing the severe
phenomenon of racial discrimination. At the time when the movie was made, the
White Australia policy, which caused Australia to build a racial hierarchy to receive
desirable immigrants, according to the researcher, Jessica Carniel (2012), was still
influential. The policy is believed by Carniel as having an important position in
shaping the history of the racial bias of the country. Carniel’s words point out that in
Australia in the post-World War II era, the atmosphere of race prejudice was largely
caused by the country’s operation of immigration laws. By portraying the abusive
language of the Australian man, the movie, therefore, effectively represents
legislation’s key part in increasing systemic discrimination.
While perceiving the movie’s description of how Nino is expected to merge into

the social and cultural landscape of Sydney, modern people can easily conclude that
forced assimilation is morally unacceptable in current years. What shapes the movie’s
unique position in the history of Australia is its messages over two issues: cultural
acculturation and assimilation (Mayer, 2007). The fact that Nino eventually becomes
friends with his co-workers from Australia embodies a fine example of acculturation,
which is the phenomenon where groups of people maintain contacts by sharing or
adapting to different cultures (Bolaffi, 2003). This phenomenon is acceptable in that it
conforms to the western world’s principle of protecting individuals’ freedom of
expression and communication (Schorlemer and Stoll, 2012). One equally important
feature of the movie is its conversation over assimilation. This theme can be identified
in many scenes where people Nino meets try to force him to rapidly absorb the
Australian lifestyle. Assimilation involves a country’s behavior of requiring people
from different cultural or racial backgrounds to adopt its ways of living without
respecting their own customs and conventions (Cotesta et al., 2013). Even till the late
1960s, assimilation policies, as asserted by the scholar, Bruce Kaye (2004), were
implemented by Australia to sustain its national identity as a white nation. These
policies are morally wrong because their operations are inevitably achieved through
coercion, which violates human rights. In other words, in the movie, local people’s
actions are problematic as they cause Nino to lose or abandon things that are specific
to his own culture. These aspects help people conclude that Australia’s assimilation
measures are morally incorrect because of their trend of denying the cultures and
identities of non-white peoples.

The challenges of racism, workplace discrimination, and ill behavior to the
employees are some of the factors that are explored in the movie. The immigrations
policies have become tougher these days, than it was at that point of time. Suspicious
people in the eyes of the immigration officers face difficulty in entering the country.
The suspicious group of people not only constitutes oif people who are having no
visas or papers required, but also people who have cancelled visas, some history of
crime or offence. Therefore, the immigration officer easily allows Nino to enter
Australian territory which may not be applicable in the present times. Immigration
officers may detent anybody who is “suspicious” in their view.
When Nino met Harry it was seen that Harry was behaving very badly withy
Nino including hurling racist comments. It shows the thought process of Harry that is
anti-Italian. There has been quite a number of efforts and legislations from Australian
government to reduce the effects of racism from the country. However, these could
not successfully contain the problem till date. The Race Discrimination Act 1975 is
one act through which Australian administration aimed at reducing the evil of racism
from the country. The act recognizes the fact that there should be tough actions
against anyone who racially hurts or discriminates other people. The act states
“the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 gives effect to Australia's obligations under the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Its major objectives are to
 promote equality before the law for all persons, regardless of their race, color
or national or ethnic origin, and

 make discrimination against people on the basis of their race, color, descent or
national or ethnic origin unlawful.”
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Australia has gradually upgraded
this vision. The country has considered cultural diversity as one important component
of its social development. In recent years, Australia, as pointed out by the Australian
academic, Renata Summo-O'Connell, has been engaging in building its society “on
the basis of the principle” of cultural and racial differences (2009, p.320). These
aspects, hence, manifest that both legislation and public activities have deeply
impacted Australia’s methods of addressing the effects of diverse needs, viewpoints,
and priorities.
Recently the number of students coming to Australia for studying has increased in
number. They are enrolled in varieties of courses at universities in Australia. All these
institutions have included the clauses of diversity and elimination of discrimination.
There are coaches who are dedicatedly appointed for behavioral therapies who
manage the cultural diversities in Australian institutions (Altbach, 2015). The students
are given lessons of cross cultural communication. If any activities of racial
discrimination even within the universities are found to take place they are duly
judged according to racism laws and the authorities are bound to take strong actions
so that such activities do not take place in the future.
As shown in the movie, Nino is subjected to extreme physical exertion due to
which he ultimately falls sick. Still today the problem of racism in the workplaces of

Australia exists. Even during the time of recruitment the recruitment officers may be
practicing racism within their mind by giving preference to the race they prefer first
and then recruiting people from other nationalities. Australian Department of Industry
has stated that “In Australia, national and state laws cover equal employment
opportunity and anti-discrimination in the workplace”, therefore it is punishable by
law to show any discrimination towards any particular class. The Australian Human
Rights Commission has given the Fair Work laws that prevent any workplace
discrimination or exploitation (Humanrights.gov.au 2018).
Especially after the crisis of World War 2 it was seen that there was an
international problem of refugee crisis and all the countries around the world was
requested by the United nations to Support immigrants from other countries. Australia
developed a detention center at the Manus Island which they called as immigration
processing center (Phillips, 2012). In this island it was reported that several
immigrants were kept in conditions which was similar like detention and
imprisonment. Recently the Supreme court of Papua New Guinea where the detention
center is located at declared that this detention center is illegal and soon it is expected
to close. During the film this detention center did not exist and the immigrants were
treated in a more liberal way.
Australia has also taken up significant legislations to reduce discrimination of
physical disabilities or discrimination on the basis of gender. “The Sex
Discrimination Act 1984 gives effect to Australia's obligations under the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and certain aspects

of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 156. Its major objectives
are to
 promote equality between men and women
 eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status or pregnancy and,
with respect to dismissals, family responsibilities, and
 eliminate sexual harassment at work, in educational institutions, in the
provision of goods and services, in the provision of accommodation and the
delivery of Commonwealth programs.” (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018)
The modern history of Australia allows the world to perceive that issues about the
management of cultural diversity play a critical role in influencing the country’s daily
development. For a long time, scholars and researchers have exhibited their strong
interests in examining the social, cultural, and political factors that shape Australia’s
ways of treating tourists, immigrants, and minorities. An investigation of this topic
shows that over the past several decades, both official policies and the Australian
public have adopted different methods of coping with cultural differences. The themes
of the 1966 movie, They’re a Weird Mob, clearly demonstrate this fact. While
portraying how the Italian newcomer, Nino is forced by local people to digest Aussie
culture. The movie fully reflects that assimilation policies and public behaviors
collectively shaped the serious phenomenon of racial prejudice in the 1960s. Modern
people’s analysis of the movie can deepen their comprehension of Australia’s
significant progress in reducing discrimination and valuing diversity.

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