Cultural cringe

Last updated

In the fields of cultural studies and social anthropology, cultural cringe is an internalized inferiority complex that causes the people of a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior (cringe-inducing) when compared to the cultures of other countries. In anthropology, cultural cringe is related to the concept of the colonial mentality (belief of inferiority), and usually is manifested in the anti-intellectualism deployed against intellectuals, scientists, and artists native to a colonized country or a former colony. Moreover, at the personal level, cultural cringe also is manifested as cultural alienation.

Contents

Origin

In 1894, Australian bush poet Henry Lawson wrote in his preface to his Short Stories in Prose and Verse:

The Australian writer, until he gets a "London hearing," is only accepted as an imitator of some recognized English or American author; and, as soon as he shows signs of coming to the front, he is labelled "The Australian Southey," "The Australian Burns," or "The Australian Bret Harte," and lately, "The Australian Kipling." Thus no matter how original he may be, he is branded, at the very start, as a plagiarist, and by his own country, which thinks, no doubt, that it is paying him a compliment and encouraging him, while it is really doing him a cruel and an almost irreparable injury. But mark! As soon as the Southern writer goes "home" and gets some recognition in England, he is "So-and-So, the well-known Australian author whose work has attracted so much attention in London lately"; and we first hear of him by cable, even though he might have been writing at his best for ten years in Australia. [1]

The term "cultural cringe" was coined in Australia after the Second World War by the Melbourne critic and social commentator A. A. Phillips, and defined in an influential and highly controversial 1950 essay of the same name published in the Summer 1950 edition of literary journal Meanjin . [2] It explored ingrained feelings of inferiority that local intellectuals struggled against, and which were most clearly pronounced in the Australian theatre, music, art and letters. The implications of these insights potentially applied to all former colonial nations, and the essay is now recognised as a cornerstone in the development of post-colonial theory in Australia. In essence, Phillips pointed out that the public widely assumed that anything produced by local dramatists, actors, musicians, artists and writers was necessarily deficient when compared to the works of their European and American counterparts. In the words of the poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe (quoted by Peter Conrad [3] ), Australia was being made to rhyme with failure. The only ways local arts professionals could build themselves up in public esteem was either to follow overseas fashions, or, more often, to spend a period of time working in Britain. [4] [5]

As Lawson continued in his 1894 preface: "The same paltry spirit tried to dispose of the greatest of modern short-story writers as 'The Californian Dickens', but America wasn't built that way – neither was Bret Harte!" The cultural cringe of Australians and the cultural swagger of Americans reflects deep contrasts between the American and the Australian experiences of extricating themselves from English apron-strings. Dealing specifically with Australia, Phillips pointed out that sport has been the only field in which ordinary people accepted that their nation was able to perform and excel internationally. Indeed, while they prided themselves on the qualities of locally produced athletes and sportsmen, whom they invariably considered first rate, Australians behaved as if in more intellectual pursuits the nation generated only second-rate talent. Some commentators believe that cultural cringe contributes to the perceived anti-intellectualism that has underpinned public life in Australia. [6]

By country

Australia

It has been posited that Australia's "distinct ambivalence" towards its own history, coupled with a desire to rid the country of its "convict stain", resulted in historical figures such as star cricketer and Australian rules football founder Tom Wills being virtually forgotten. Tom Wills carte de visite.jpg
It has been posited that Australia's "distinct ambivalence" towards its own history, coupled with a desire to rid the country of its "convict stain", resulted in historical figures such as star cricketer and Australian rules football founder Tom Wills being virtually forgotten.

The term cultural cringe is most commonly used in Australia, where it is believed by some to be a widely accepted facet of Australian culture. [8] In Another Look at the Cultural Cringe, [9] the Australian academic Leonard John Hume examined the idea of cultural cringe as an oversimplification of the complexities of Australian history and culture. His controversial essay argues that "The cultural cringe ... did not exist, but it was needed, and so it was invented." A manifestation of Australian cultural cringe can be expressed in the almost obsessive curiosity of Australians in wanting to know what foreigners think of Australia and its culture. [10]

Some commentators claim the cultural cringe particularly affects local television programming in Australia, [11] which is heavily influenced by imported shows, mainly of American and British origin. The Federal government has legislated to keep a quota of Australian content. [12]

Some argue that a form of cultural cringe resulted in anti-heritage attitudes which led to the demolition of many world class pre-war buildings in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide (Australia's three largest cities at the time), destroying some of the world's best examples of Victorian architecture. [13] Modernism was promoted to many Australians as casting off imperial Europe to rebuild a new independent identity, and the existing pre-war architecture, which was a feature of Australian cities, was denigrated. [14] This resulted in many calls to demolish the Royal Exhibition Building, labelled the derogatory term "white elephant". It was not until Queen Elizabeth II granted the building Royal status that Australians began to recognise its value. The building became the first in Australia to be given World Heritage status. [15] This reaction against the cultural cringe continues in some fields such as architecture, where local architects are shunned for using introduced styles. [16]

It has also been claimed that cultural cringe has led to federal government information technology contracts going to large foreign multinationals, rather than domestic IT companies. [17]

Convict stain is another manifestation of cultural cringe. For several generations following the cessation of penal transportation, many Australians felt a sense of shame about being descended from convicts, and many did not even attempt to investigate their families' origins for fear of finding convicts in their lineage. In recent decades community attitudes have changed, and many Australians with convict ancestors are now more comfortable investigating and discussing their past, wearing their forebears' status almost as a badge of pride. Colloquially, attempts by non-Australians to negatively connote convict pasts are laughed off by Australians, who are now more inclined to associate criminal forebears as evidence for the possession of more positively perceived Australian attributes such as anti-authoritarianism. [18]

Brazil

In Brazil, the phrase complexo de vira-lata (the "Mongrel complex") denotes the same as cultural cringe. It has been attributed to playwright and journalist Nelson Rodrigues in the 1950s. The term is often evoked to criticize some attitude by any Brazilian toward a foreign culture or politics deemed as submissive and self-dismissive.

Canada

Many cultural commentators in Canada have suggested that a similar process also operates in that country. [19] Nearly all Canadian cultural industries, including music, film, television, literature, visual art and theatre, have had to struggle to some extent against a perception among Canadian audiences that Canadian works in those fields were less important or worthy than American or British works. [20] [21] The specific phrase "cultural cringe" is not widely used to label the phenomenon in Canada, although it has been used in isolated instances; [20] more typically, Canadian cultural commentators speak of a "Canadian inferiority complex" [22] or label specific instances of the phenomenon with satirical terms such as "beaver hour".

Prior to the 1970s, Canadian radio stations gave almost no airtime to Canadian music, and apart from CBC Television, Canadian television stations spent very little money on Canadian-produced programming; in response the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) developed Canadian content requirements for radio and broadcasters.

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, the term Guacanagarix complex  [ es ] (Spanish: complejo de Guacanagarix) is used of Dominicans who express negative attitudes towards their homeland after travelling overseas. The term originates from Guacanagaríx, a cazique (tribal chieftain) of the Taíno people who was regarded as overly welcoming towards Christopher Columbus and European explorers. [23]

New Zealand

New Zealanders are said to suffer from a cultural cringe, which has been wearing off in recent years. [24] The New Zealand English accent is said to have been influenced by a cultural cringe since the 1900s but it too is lessening in recent years. [25] It appears that the attitude has lessened markedly in the 2000s following the success of the award-winning The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy which showcased much New Zealand scenery and film-making talent and boosted international awareness of New Zealand. The TV show Flight of the Conchords , which screened on HBO in the United States from 2007 to 2009, furthered American and international awareness of New Zealand (while ironically using cultural cringe as a frequent plot device), as have motion pictures such as The World's Fastest Indian .

Scotland

Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell claimed a "Scottish cringe" in relation to Scotland's disdain for free enterprise. [26]

Connection with cultural alienation

The cultural cringe is tightly connected with cultural alienation, the process of devaluing or abandoning one's own culture or cultural background. A person who is culturally alienated places little value on their own or host culture, and instead hungers for that of a – sometimes imposed – colonising nation. [27] [28] The post-colonial theorists Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin link alienation with a sense of dislocation or displacement some peoples (especially those from immigrant cultures) will feel when they look to a distant nation for their values. [27] [29] Culturally alienated societies often exhibit a weak sense of cultural self-identity and place little worth on themselves. It has been argued that the most common manifestation of this alienation among peoples from post-colonial nations at present is an appetite for all things American, from television and music, to clothing, slang, even names. However, the popularity of American culture across both formerly colonized and colonizer countries possibly negate this argument. Culturally alienated individuals will also exhibit little knowledge or interest in the history of their host society, placing no real value on such matters. [27]

The issue of cultural alienation has led the Australian sociologists Brian Head and James Walter to interpret the cultural cringe as the belief that one's own country occupies a "subordinate cultural place on the periphery" and that "intellectual standards are set and innovations occur elsewhere." [9] As a consequence, a person who holds this belief is inclined to devalue their own country's cultural, academic and artistic life, and to venerate the "superior" culture of another (colonising) country.

A more sophisticated approach to the issues raised by the cultural cringe, as felt by artistic practitioners in former colonies around the world, was developed and advanced by the Australian art historian Terry Smith in his essay "The Provincialism Problem". [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians and Melanesians, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural imperialism</span> Cultural aspects of imperialism

Cultural imperialism comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" describes practices in which a country engages culture to create and maintain unequal social and economic relationships among social groups. Cultural imperialism often uses wealth, media power and violence to implement the system of cultural hegemony that legitimizes imperialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples</span> Peoples who identify as Indigenous and have a special attachment to their traditional territory

There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territory, and an experience of subjugation and discrimination under a dominant cultural model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushranger</span> Australian outlaws active during the 19th century

Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under arms" as a way of life, using the bush as their base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Australia</span>

The culture of Australia is primarily a Western culture, originally derived from the United Kingdom but also influenced by the unique geography of Australia and the cultural input of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Australian people. The British colonisation of Australia began in 1788, and waves of multi-ethnic migration followed. Evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage includes the predominance of the English language, the existence of a democratic system of government drawing upon the British traditions of Westminster government, parliamentarianism and constitutional monarchy, American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, and Christianity as the dominant religion.

Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries, originating from all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especially questions relating to the political and cultural independence of formerly subjugated people, and themes such as racialism and colonialism. A range of literary theory has evolved around the subject. It addresses the role of literature in perpetuating and challenging what postcolonial critic Edward Said refers to as cultural imperialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half-caste</span> Type of biracial person

Half-caste is a term used for individuals of multiracial descent. It is derived from the term caste, which comes from the Latin castus, meaning pure, and the derivative Portuguese and Spanish word casta, meaning race. Terms such as half-caste, caste, quarter-caste and mix-breed were used by colonial officials in the British Empire during their classification of indigenous populations, and in Australia used during the Australian government's pursuit of a policy of assimilation. In Latin America, the equivalent term for half-castes was Cholo and Zambo. Some people now consider the term offensive.

Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assimilates the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anzac spirit</span> Concept suggesting Australian and New Zealand soldiers sharing same characteristics

The Anzac spirit or Anzac legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers possess shared characteristics, specifically the qualities those soldiers allegedly exemplified on the battlefields of World War I. These perceived qualities include endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship. According to this concept, the soldiers are perceived to have been innocent and fit, stoical and laconic, irreverent in the face of authority, naturally egalitarian and disdainful of British class differences.

Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be especially controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures. According to critics of the practice, cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange in that this appropriation is a form of colonialism. When cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture, and these elements are used outside of their original cultural context – sometimes even against the expressly stated wishes of members of the originating culture – the practice is often received negatively.

Arthur Angell Phillips, generally known as A. A. Phillips, was an Australian writer, critic and teacher, best known for coining the term "cultural cringe" in his pioneering essay The Cultural Cringe (1950), which set the early terms for post-colonial theory in Australia. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and at the Universities of Melbourne and Oxford, and later taught at Wesley College in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australians</span> Nationals of Australia

Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous intellectual property</span> Intellectual property of Indigenous peoples

Indigenous intellectual property is a term used in national and international forums to describe intellectual property that is "collectively owned" by various Indigenous peoples, and by extension, their legal rights to protect specific such property. This property includes cultural knowledge of their groups and many aspects of their cultural heritage and knowledge, including that held in oral history. In Australia, the term Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, abbreviated as ICIP, is commonly used.

Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. The field started to emerge in the 1960s, as scholars from previously colonized countries began publishing on the lingering effects of colonialism, developing a critical theory analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of imperial power.

<i>No worries</i> English phrase used especially in Australia

No worries is an expression seen in English meaning "do not worry about that", "that's all right", "forget about it" or "sure thing". It is similar to the American English "no problem". The phrase is widely used in Australian and New Zealand speech and represents a feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and "mateship" in Australian culture. The phrase has been referred to as the national motto of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous archaeology</span> Sub-discipline of western archaeological theory

Indigenous archaeology is a sub-discipline of Western archaeological theory that seeks to engage and empower indigenous people in the preservation of their heritage and to correct perceived inequalities in modern archaeology. It also attempts to incorporate non-material elements of cultures, like oral traditions, into the wider historical narrative. This methodology came out of the global anti-colonial movements of the 1970s and 1980s led by aboriginal and indigenous people in settler-colonial nations, like the United States, Canada, and Australia. Major issues the sub-discipline attempts to address include the repatriation of indigenous remains to their respective peoples, the perceived biases that western archaeology's imperialistic roots have imparted into its modern practices, and the stewardship and preservation of indigenous people's cultures and heritage sites. This has encouraged the development of more collaborative relationships between archaeologists and indigenous people and has increased the involvement of indigenous people in archaeology and its related policies.

Criticism of multiculturalism questions the ideal of the maintenance of distinct ethnic cultures within a country. Multiculturalism is a particular subject of debate in certain European nations that are associated with the idea of a nation state. Critics of multiculturalism may argue against cultural integration of different ethnic and cultural groups to the existing laws and values of the country. Alternatively critics may argue for assimilation of different ethnic and cultural groups to a single national identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hirst (historian)</span> Australian historian

John Bradley Hirst, was an Australian historian and social commentator. He taught at La Trobe University from 1968 until his retirement in 2006, edited Historical Studies—Australia's leading historical journal—from 1977 to 1980, and also served on the boards of Film Australia and the National Museum of Australia. He has been described as a "historian, public intellectual, and active citizen". He wrote widely on Australian history and society, publishing two well-received books about colonial New South Wales. Hirst also frequently published opinion pieces in the media.

<i>The Empire Writes Back</i>

The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures is a 1989 non-fiction book on postcolonialism, penned by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back was the first major theoretical account of a wide range of postcolonial texts and their relationship with bigger issues of postcolonial culture, and is said to be one of the most significant and important works published in the field of postcolonialism. The writers debate on the relationships within postcolonial works, study the mighty forces acting on words in the postcolonial text, and prove how these texts constitute a radical critique of Eurocentric notions of language and literature. First released in 1989, this book had a second edition published in 2002.

"Mongrel complex", or alternatively "mutt complex", is an expression used to refer to a collective inferiority complex reportedly felt by many Brazilians when comparing Brazil and its culture to other parts of the world, primarily the developed world, as the reference to a "mongrel" carries negative connotations attributed by Brazilians to the racist perception of most Brazilians being racially mixed as well as lacking in desirable cultural refinement.

References

  1. ↑ Colin Rodrick (ed.) Henry Lawson, Autobiographical and Other Writings 1887–1922 (Angus & Robertson, 1972) pp.108–109
  2. ↑ "The Cultural Cringe". Meanjin. 5 December 1950. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Expatriate Games". The Age . 25 March 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  4. ↑ Alomes, Stephen (1999). When London Calls: The Expatriation of Australian Creative Artists to Britain. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-62031-7.
  5. ↑ Britain, Ian (1997). Once an Australian: Journeys with Barry Humphries, Clive James, Germaine Greer and Robert Hughes. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-553742-4.
  6. ↑ "Anti-Intellectualism in Australia". Radio National. 5 October 2000. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  7. ↑ Haigh, Gideon (2009). "Foreword". In Russell H. T., Stephens. Wills Way. Playright Publishing. p. i. ISBN   9780977522682.
  8. ↑ Kenneth Minogue. "Cultural Cringe: Cultural Inferiority Complex and Republicanism in Australia Archived 26 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine ". National Review . 31 December 1995. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
  9. 1 2 Hume, Leonard John (1993). Another Look at the Cultural Cringe. Sydney, New South Wales: The Centre for Independent Studies. ISBN   0-949769-89-4.
  10. ↑ "Getting over Australia's Cultural Cringe". Abc.net.au. 10 July 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  11. ↑ Tony Moore. "Cultural Cringe Keeps our History out of the Picture". Sydney Morning Herald . 19 August 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  12. ↑ "Australian content in TV programs". Australian Communications and Media Authority. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Simon Webster. "Construction Sights". The Age . 9 July 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  14. ↑ Blow S – The Marketing of modernism in Melbourne, 1950–1970
  15. ↑ Guy Rundle. "Who will save Melbourne from the wrecker's ball?". the Age . 15 March 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  16. ↑ Gabriella Coslovich. "Kicking against the bricks". Interview with Leon van Schaik. The Age . 29 January 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  17. ↑ Lilia Guan (4 August 2006). "An unlevel playing field". Crn.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  18. ↑ The convict stain Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Late Night Live. 8 April 2008
  19. ↑ "An 'Un-American' Cinema Archived 19 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine ", The Knoll. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
  20. 1 2 "Beyond the 'cringe': These Canadian artists have achieved global stature". Ottawa Citizen , 27 January 2002.
  21. ↑ "The advocate". The Globe and Mail , 16 February 2013.
  22. ↑ Merrill Dennison. That Inferiority Complex Archived 13 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine (address to The Empire Club).
  23. ↑ Frank Fuentes Brito (21 June 2021). "Complejo de Guacanagarix y selección adversa". Empírica (in Spanish).
  24. ↑ "Annual Report 1999/2000" (PDF). NZ On Air. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
  25. ↑ Bayard, Donn (1995). Kiwitalk: Sociolinguistics and New Zealand Society. Dunmore Press Ltd. ISBN   0-86469-220-X.
  26. ↑ "I want to end the Scottish cringe", BBC News, 28 February 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
  27. 1 2 3 Ashcroft, Bill; Gareth Griffiths; Helen Tiffin (1989). The Empire Writes Back: Theory & Practice in Post-Colonial Studies. London: Routledge. pp.  9–10, 61, 104–5, 144. ISBN   0-415-01209-0.
  28. ↑ Bhabha, Homi (1994). The Location of Culture. London: Routledge. ISBN   0-415-33639-2.
  29. ↑ Ashcroft, Bill (1989). "Place and displacement". The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures. Routledge . Retrieved 18 January 2007.
  30. ↑ Smith, Terry (September 1974). "The Provincialism Problem". Artforum : 54–59.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.