To understanf this theme it is neccessary to examine Australia`s history.
Courtesy of conolial settlement and a restrictive acially based immigration in force until the late 60`s, Australia is a country of white European ancestry.8).
The British diaspora had it`s origins in the colonial period (1788 - 1900) and the dominion nation period (1901 - 1950) in which England was thought of as "home- by many Australian-born people and where those of Brtitish ancestory.
made up a lare majority of the population. Australian films of the 20`s, 30`s and 40`s portrayed the country as . the fairest child of the motherland. where society, public ideologies and business conditions unevenly and self-consciously projected the cinema and society as continaution of British society.9).
The ocker films of the 70`s can be seen as a backlash against decades of simpering Australian filmmaking, harking back to the notions of England as the old country and the feelings of exile with no notions of going home' alone in an oppressive, barren land, trapped in the inhospitale Australian landscape. Ocker films may also be an acknowledgement of the immigartion surge from non-English speaking countries in the late 70`s. .
"The Adventures of Barry McKenzie- for example, defined Australian identity and culture against the British. The very idea of Australia as British and England as home is staged to reveal its absolute implausibility, with Barry McKenzie stumbling from one embarrassing scene to the next as the rirdiculous half-wit. In the Australian ocker films of the late 70`s Britain is still used as the privilged point of comparison, but now to establish characteristics if a sovereign Australian society and people. They demonstrated just who Australians were by providing a [.] culturally different foil, showing who they were not. 10) .
Ocker films provide a truly unflattering view of Australians and their national identity of the era.
