The typical Australian: lazy, beer guzzling, faded blue singlets, thongs, slang words. This is the dominant reading formed by the media, commonly in advertisements and novels. The image constructed by such media is one of an unfit couch potato who sits around all day drinking and watching television. This stereotype is not only downgrading, but constructs Australian males as underachievers in society. Some Australians may be like this, as for many the pursuit of leisure is a serious business. Indeed texts such as Chris Franklins Bloke (2000) and The Wind and the Monkey (1999) support this theory of the common Australian man. However texts such as Crocodile Dundee (1986) and The Castle (1999) do not. Michael J Crocodile Dundee is not your average Joe. He is far-from the dominant reading of your average Australian male in that he is a genuine, free spirited Australian who hunts crocodiles with his bare hands and stares down giant water buffaloes. The text Crocodile Dundee follows New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to meet and interview Michael J Crocodile Dundee, a man who runs a safari business and has just survived an attack by a crocodile. Crocodile Dundee is constructed as being a hard, rugged Aussie bushman who has a way with the animals. After the crocodile attack, hundreds of miles through snake infested swamps he crawled on his hands and knees right into Katherine. After spending a few days touring the safari park, Sue invites Dundee to come back with her to visit New York. Dundee has never been to a large city. He is constructed as being stupid in the way that his culture is so different from the Americans. Its all right, hes Australian, people would say. However, with Dundees Aussie outlook on things, he scares off muggers, unmasks transvestites, hitches rides with mounted policemen and sleeps on the floor of his hotel room. Michael Dundee has such a loving attitude towards life that he leaves a positiv...
