WHITE BREAD MEDIA

Racialisation

When considering the idea of ‘white bread media’, I feel that two main aspects come to the forefront of this debate; the negative portrayals of particular races by the Australian news media and the lack of diversity in Australian television dramas. Tanja Dreher discusses both of these issues in her chapter, ‘White Bread Media’ (Forthcoming 2014).

Racialisation occurs when complex social or political issues are explained in terms of race/ethnicity/religion (Dreher 2013). For example, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Muslims became “the folk devils of our time” (Dreher 2014). More locally, this racial generalisation occurred following the ‘ethnic gang rapes’ in Western Sydney. In 2012, the initial coverage of the ‘Sydney riots’ (Gridneff 2012) racialised Muslims yet again. It wasn’t until later reports were Muslim representatives given a chance to explain that “the actions of a very small minority should not be used to tarnish the reputation of the whole community” (Willan 2012). In each of these cases, the Australian news media helped fan the flames in terms of racialisation by blaming an entire race for the actions of a few and essentially, gave the enemy a false face.

These misrepresentations could be a major contributing factor to the lack of cultural diversity in Australian soap dramas. However, having never watched a soap opera in my life, my opinion is purely speculative. After considering secondary research (Dreher 2014, Kalina 2012) and discussing the issue with friends, I tend to agree with the Neighbours’ executive producer that “there is more sound and fury about this issue in the media than among viewers”. However, I also agree that if these soaps are trying to create a realistic representation of life in Australia, a multicultural cast is necessary.

References

Dreher, T (forthcoming 2014) ‘White Bread Media’ in The Media and Communications in Australia eds. S Cunningham and S Turnbull, Allen and Unwin

Dreher 2013 ‘White Bread Media, lecture, BCM310, Emerging Issues in Communications and Media, University of Wollongong, delivered 6 May 2013.

Willan, F 2012, “Muslim leaders respond to riots”, NINEMSN, September 18, accessed on 20/09/2012, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8534458/muslim-leaders-respond-to-riots-live-stream

Gridneff, N 2012, “Fury at Sydney protests”, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 16, accessed on 20/09/2012, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/fury-at-sydney-protests-20120915-25z0a.html

Kalina, P (2012) ‘Diversity still out of the picture’ Sydney Morning Herald available online at http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/diversity-still-out-of-the-picture-20120229-1u1jg.html