We've been dudded.

[old man emu]

What is the impression you have of Australia in the 1930s?

 

I bet most will recall images like these:

But was it really like that? 

 

 At its worst in 1932, unemployment in Australia reached 32 per cent,but that also means that 68% of the population was employed. In the 1930s, it was rare for women to be employed to the same extent as they are today. "Mother and homemaker" described the occupation of most women. Sure things were really tough for the unemployed, and tough for most of the employed, was there a cloud of despair hanging over the country with lives stagnated?

 

I say that present generations have been dudded with respect to a realistic portrayal of life in Australia in the 1930s. It was a time of great political and literary activity. Politically there was a great deal going on with people promoting a wide variety of agenda from ultra-conservative to radical anarchy. Not only were there the old, established newspapers which tended to deliver the agenda of the rich and powerful, but there were many small publications which carried ideas ranging from fascism to communism and all stations in between. People attended public meeting to hear or heckle speakers. People associated to form action groups aimed at promoting particular agenda. And governments through their enforcement arm, the police, tried to maintain the political and power status quo. 

 

Since great numbers of people had gone through the trauma of WWI, and the politics around it, such as the Conscription Issue, there was a strong nationalist sentiment calling for severing ties with Britain, embodied in the Australia First movement. Obviously, the rich and powerful pushed against that idea, as they have done ever since. It is interesting that racism in the forms of support for the White Australia policy and anti-Jewish feelings were still strongly held by most. It is interesting that in the late 1930s, with the approach of the 150th centenary of the establishment of the British colony, there was a strong movement to remove the paternalism and restrictions being applied to Aborigines. We know in our own times of the objections to Australia Day, but in 1938 Aboriginal people, and their European supporters of the Aboriginal Progressive Association marked the 26th January with a day of mourning.

 

On the literary side people like Miles Franklin encouraged and supported writers and poets. There was a strong literary set in Sydney with people like poet Kenneth Slessor, author Xavier Herbert, a collection of other poets and authors as well as musicians and actors. Local film production battled against the might of Hollywood and Ealing Studios. Smith's Weekly brought satire and social comment to the working class. The Bulletin continued to support the creation of a distinctive Australian literature into the 20th century, most notably under the editorship of Samuel Prior (1915–1933), who created the first novel competition. 

 

All these things are worth celebrating. They should be held up to our young as shining examples of what a spirit of nationalism can produce. It is said that history is written by the victors. It seems that this dark and dismal image of the 1930s in Australia is the history product of the victors - the rich and powerful - and thrust on the rest as a means of subjugation.

[nomadpete]

OME, I  agree with all the above. However, the last sentence confuses me.

In what way do you see subjectation being imposed?

[old man emu]

Two different words with close but subtle difference in meaning.

 

Subjection: the condition of being under the political control of another country or state.

 

Subjugation: the act of defeating people or a country and ruling them in a way that allows them no freedom.

 

The idea of the control of the masses by the ruling elite seems to have been a strong one in the inter-war period. Consider Fritz Lang's movie Metropolis  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film) and Orwell's 1984. 

[nomadpete]

An accidental misspelling on my part.

 

My question remains unanswered.

 

In what way does partial presentation of that period of time constitute subjugation of the western masses?

[old man emu]

I'm talking about Australian history and how the 1930s are depicted as universally terrible. Compared to our current luxuries, things were not luxurious, but neither were the 50s or 60s. But Life went on and people were happy enough with their lot. What I said was that the rich and powerful maintain the image of dismal times in order to make the powerless fear a return to them. Was what I wrote rhetorical or poetic licence?