AustLit

'An episode of the popular panel discussion television program Q&A, aired 28 May 2012 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, included Barry Humphries, an Australian satirist; Miriam Margolyes, an actress and Charles Dickens enthusiast; and David Marr, a journalist and commentator. It centered on the issue of whether the Australian identity is changing. An audience member suggested to Margolyes that Australian students should be studying not Dickens but Patrick White, that "we should be celebrating our own cultural identity." To this Margolyes replied, "I agree, but it doesn't mean that you have to cut out the others that are there." This conversation developed, fueled by the comedic elements that you might expect of such a panel, until the host, Tony Jones, a journalist, refocused the discussion by declaring that the question is really about "Australian identity, whether it is changing, whether we need to redefine it." This conversation finally takes us to a place in the discussion of teaching Australian literature and national identity that we have been reluctant to visit. With a tone of great sarcasm Humphries asked Marr, "Do you go around all day long worrying about your identity, David?" To which Marr replied, "No, I think it is a ridiculous waste of time. Let's just be" ("Episode 17"). (Introduction)