Traditional Ideologies :: essays research papers

Traditional IdeologiesThe texts that we, the reader, tend to relate to most are the texts that reflect our set or include certain social issues of the present. Texts such as these are therefore quite commonly found beside the beds, on the coffee tables and in the bookcases of many another(prenominal) Australians. These texts, in a way act as a barometer for set, and shifts in values in our society. This can be seen in many instances.For example, take the feature bring The Castle. The typical Australian family, the Kerrigans, represented in this film was not chosen by accident. No, no they were chosen because the writers of this film knew that everyday Australians could relate to the Kerrigans and in some ways see themselves in this simple family. The film endorses many Australian values and attitudes, to which the everyday Australian can not only relate to but also commiserate aswell. The text acts as a medium for the viewer to realise his/her feature values and helps the vi ewer to recognise the social values that surround him/her.However, texts do not merely inform the reader of values present in the society. They can also reflect the current shift in values and attitudes away from the dominant ideologies. This can be seen heavily in the falsehood Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. In this text many characters are seen to have clean different roles in the family that one would expect. Lester Lamb is an excellent example of this. The tralatitious role of the man in the house is to go out and survive hard for his money and come home to a wife who would upkeep him and look after the house and the kids. However, Lester is portrayed as a subtile man who cooks and cleans regularly aswell as helps with many of the household chores. He also seems to have no quarrel with his wife having most of the control everyplace the household or him having to pull his give birth weight. This is of course a pure tone away from the traditional ideology of what a man should act like.This smart characterisation represents the shift away from the traditional gender roles that have for so long been enforced in our society. Which leaves the reader thinking, once again, about their own values and the now shifting values of the society.This point can be further seen in the short story Neighbours, which is also written by Tim Winton.