Suburbia bashing
Encyclopedia
Suburbia bashing refers to a negative discourse about suburbia
that is relatively prominent in Australia
, particularly in the mainstream media. Sprawling cities define the urban Australian landscape. The iconic "quarter -acre" block is often cited as fundamental to the Australian Dream
. It has both cultural and political currency. There is a profound cynicism that exists in much commentary on suburbia that is promoted by “intellectuals and others seeking to delineate the suburb”. This discourse dates back to the boom of suburban development in the 1950s and criticises a culture of aspirational homeownership.
Dame Edna Everage
typifies this tradition as she demonstrates both “nostalgia and disdain for the Australian suburb and suburban life”. In 1901, the year of Australian Federation, “almost 70 per cent of Sydney’s population were living in the suburbs” Despite the fact the majority of Australians still live in the suburbs, or maybe because of it, this practice of “suburbia bashing” perseveres in the mainstream media
Suburbia bashing is entrenched in questions of national identity. Disparaging commentary about the suburbs often appears in contrast to the national mythology of the Australian bush. The landscape that is portrayed in the tourism advertisements, by poets and painters, does not represent the experience of the majority of Australians. The suburb and the bush are counterposed, “the bush (cast as the authentic Australian landscape) with the city (regraded as blighted foreign import)” The bush landscape is a masculine construction of a more “authentic notion of Australian national identity” exemplified by the poetry of Henry Lawson
Conversely, the suburb is feminised, epitomised by Dame Edna for more than fifty years, and more recently, by comedic team Jane Turner and Gina Riley in Kath and Kim
In 1966 prominent journalist Allan Ashbolt
described Australian reality as distinctly suburban:
Behold the man – the Australian of today – on Sunday morning in the suburbs when the high decibel drone of the motor-mower is calling the faithful to worship. A block of land, a brick veneer, and the motor-mower beside him in the wilderness – what more does he want to sustain him.
Ashbolt satirised the suburb that represented Australian nationalism, rooted in the post-World War II era, as passive and uninspired, inscribed strongly in spatial terms. Architect and cultural critic, Robin Boyd
, also criticised suburbia
, referring to it as the Australian Ugliness. Boyd observed a “pursuit of respectability” in suburban spaces Ashbolt and Boyd represent this intellectual “tradition of abuse of the suburbs and of the majority of Australians”. Suburban space has been characterised by “conformity, control and some sense of false consciousness”. Boyd writes of a contrived and superficial sense of place, centred on a “fear of reality”.
The Australian ugliness begins with fear of reality, denial of the need for the everyday environment to reflect the heart of the human problem, satisfaction with veneer and cosmetic effects. It ends in betrayal of the element of love and a chill near the root of national self-respect.
The ugliness that Boyd describes is qualified as “skin deep”. However, in the tradition of suburbia bashing, he proposes that there is an emptiness of spirit that can be read through an uniformed appreciation for aesthetics.
More recently there has been suggestion of a “new Australian ugliness”. New suburban developments have seen the proliferation of what have become known as “McMansions”. McMansions epitomise the suburbia that is attacked by Boyd for both its monotony and “featurism” Journalist Miranda Devine refers to an elitist perception that those who live in such suburban assemblages display a ”poverty of spirit and a barrenness of mind” that is derived from a politics of aesthetics and taste, as expressed by Boyd fifty years ago. In this “new Australian ugliness” some commentators attribute a rise in consumer culture: “There’s a concern about over-consumption. But there’s little thought of why – beyond advertising-driven gullibility”. Academic Mark Peel has rejected notions of gullible “consuming” residents of new suburbs by explaining his own “choice” to move to Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
Peel alludes to a discourse of suburbia that is elitist, and is based on matters of taste. Taste has translated into a socio-cultural divide. When Miranda Devine
refers to the elites, she refers to an inner-city population. The divide is between the urbanites and the suburbanites, and the conflict is over national identity.
SubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
that is relatively prominent in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, particularly in the mainstream media. Sprawling cities define the urban Australian landscape. The iconic "quarter -acre" block is often cited as fundamental to the Australian Dream
Australian Dream
The Australian Dream or Great Australian Dream is a belief that in Australia, home ownership can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security...
. It has both cultural and political currency. There is a profound cynicism that exists in much commentary on suburbia that is promoted by “intellectuals and others seeking to delineate the suburb”. This discourse dates back to the boom of suburban development in the 1950s and criticises a culture of aspirational homeownership.
Dame Edna Everage
Dame Edna Everage
Dame Edna is a character created and played by Australian dadaist performer and comedian, Barry Humphries, famous for her lilac-coloured or "wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture," her favorite flower, the gladiola and her boisterous greeting: "Hello Possums!" As Dame Edna,...
typifies this tradition as she demonstrates both “nostalgia and disdain for the Australian suburb and suburban life”. In 1901, the year of Australian Federation, “almost 70 per cent of Sydney’s population were living in the suburbs” Despite the fact the majority of Australians still live in the suburbs, or maybe because of it, this practice of “suburbia bashing” perseveres in the mainstream media
Suburbia bashing is entrenched in questions of national identity. Disparaging commentary about the suburbs often appears in contrast to the national mythology of the Australian bush. The landscape that is portrayed in the tourism advertisements, by poets and painters, does not represent the experience of the majority of Australians. The suburb and the bush are counterposed, “the bush (cast as the authentic Australian landscape) with the city (regraded as blighted foreign import)” The bush landscape is a masculine construction of a more “authentic notion of Australian national identity” exemplified by the poetry of Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
Conversely, the suburb is feminised, epitomised by Dame Edna for more than fifty years, and more recently, by comedic team Jane Turner and Gina Riley in Kath and Kim
In 1966 prominent journalist Allan Ashbolt
Allan Ashbolt
Allan Campbell Ashbolt was an Australian journalist and television broadcaster.He was born in Melbourne and attended Caulfield Grammar School, and served with the Australian Imperial Force in World War II...
described Australian reality as distinctly suburban:
Behold the man – the Australian of today – on Sunday morning in the suburbs when the high decibel drone of the motor-mower is calling the faithful to worship. A block of land, a brick veneer, and the motor-mower beside him in the wilderness – what more does he want to sustain him.
Ashbolt satirised the suburb that represented Australian nationalism, rooted in the post-World War II era, as passive and uninspired, inscribed strongly in spatial terms. Architect and cultural critic, Robin Boyd
Robin Boyd
Robin Gerard Penleigh Boyd CBE was an influential Australian architect, writer, teacher and social commentator...
, also criticised suburbia
SubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
, referring to it as the Australian Ugliness. Boyd observed a “pursuit of respectability” in suburban spaces Ashbolt and Boyd represent this intellectual “tradition of abuse of the suburbs and of the majority of Australians”. Suburban space has been characterised by “conformity, control and some sense of false consciousness”. Boyd writes of a contrived and superficial sense of place, centred on a “fear of reality”.
The Australian ugliness begins with fear of reality, denial of the need for the everyday environment to reflect the heart of the human problem, satisfaction with veneer and cosmetic effects. It ends in betrayal of the element of love and a chill near the root of national self-respect.
The ugliness that Boyd describes is qualified as “skin deep”. However, in the tradition of suburbia bashing, he proposes that there is an emptiness of spirit that can be read through an uniformed appreciation for aesthetics.
More recently there has been suggestion of a “new Australian ugliness”. New suburban developments have seen the proliferation of what have become known as “McMansions”. McMansions epitomise the suburbia that is attacked by Boyd for both its monotony and “featurism” Journalist Miranda Devine refers to an elitist perception that those who live in such suburban assemblages display a ”poverty of spirit and a barrenness of mind” that is derived from a politics of aesthetics and taste, as expressed by Boyd fifty years ago. In this “new Australian ugliness” some commentators attribute a rise in consumer culture: “There’s a concern about over-consumption. But there’s little thought of why – beyond advertising-driven gullibility”. Academic Mark Peel has rejected notions of gullible “consuming” residents of new suburbs by explaining his own “choice” to move to Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
Peel alludes to a discourse of suburbia that is elitist, and is based on matters of taste. Taste has translated into a socio-cultural divide. When Miranda Devine
Miranda Devine
Miranda Devine is an Australian columnist and writer noted for her conservative stance on a range of social and political issues. Her column, formerly printed twice weekly in Fairfax Media newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald, now appears in the News Limited Daily Telegraph with...
refers to the elites, she refers to an inner-city population. The divide is between the urbanites and the suburbanites, and the conflict is over national identity.