Sukhmani Khorana

This book examines the intertwined histories of television and migration in Australia, told from the perspectives of migrants who worked in the screen industry and the many more who watched television. Their stories demonstrate how Australia’s growing cultural diversity has challenged conventional representations of ‘Australianness’ on television, and how ongoing advocacy has supported the growing inclusivity of multiple narratives and diverse experiences on screen. Migrants from many backgrounds were instrumental in the establishment in 1956 of Australian television, working behind and in front of the cameras as producers, directors, writers, technicians and actors. From early broadcasting to the digital present, portrayals of cultural differences have often been shaped by appropriation, ethnic stereotyping and racism. This has occurred across a range of formats from drama to comedy to news and reality shows. Many in the industry have responded with resilience and creative adaptation, as they have increasingly taken control of the ways that migrant stories are told and diversity is celebrated. The first comprehensive Australian study of migrants and television, this book considers the ways multicultural audiences have experienced the small screen over seven decades. Drawing on rich oral histories, it analyses the memories of television in the work, school, family life and leisure of migrant communities and their broader engagements with Australian culture. Research in the archives of broadcasters and production companies reveals how non-Anglo Australian characters were constructed, and how such portrayals have shifted. This new history takes us to digital screen production and consumption today, exploring how Australians of many diasporas engage with the global network of screen content in the twenty-first century. It is essential reading for media professionals, advocates, students and those interested in the intersections between media, cultural diversity and the nation.

This book examines the intertwined histories of television and migration in Australia, told from the perspectives of migrants who worked in the screen industry and the many more who watched television. Their stories demonstrate how Australia’s growing cultural diversity has challenged conventional representations of ‘Australianness’ on television, and how ongoing advocacy has supported the growing inclusivity of multiple narratives and diverse experiences on screen. Migrants from many backgrounds were instrumental in the establishment in 1956 of Australian television, working behind and in front of the cameras as producers, directors, writers, technicians and actors. From early broadcasting to the digital present, portrayals of cultural differences have often been shaped by appropriation, ethnic stereotyping and racism. This has occurred across a range of formats from drama to comedy to news and reality shows. Many in the industry have responded with resilience and creative adaptation, as they have increasingly taken control of the ways that migrant stories are told and diversity is celebrated. The first comprehensive Australian study of migrants and television, this book considers the ways multicultural audiences have experienced the small screen over seven decades. Drawing on rich oral histories, it analyses the memories of television in the work, school, family life and leisure of migrant communities and their broader engagements with Australian culture. Research in the archives of broadcasters and production companies reveals how non-Anglo Australian characters were constructed, and how such portrayals have shifted. This new history takes us to digital screen production and consumption today, exploring how Australians of many diasporas engage with the global network of screen content in the twenty-first century. It is essential reading for media professionals, advocates, students and those interested in the intersections between media, cultural diversity and the nation.

This book unpacks how emotions and affect are key conceptual lenses for understanding contemporary processes and discourses around migration. Drawing on empirical research, grassroots projects with migrants and refugees, and mediated stories of migration and asylum-seeking from the Global North, the book sheds light on the affects of empathy, aspiration and belonging to reveal how they can be harnessed as public emotions of positive collective change. In the face of increasing precariousness and the wake of intersecting global crises, Khorana calls for uncovering the potential of these affects in order to build new forms of care and solidarities across differences.

In the 21st century, an accelerated pace of global movements of people, goods, capital, technology and ideas has led to ambivalence regarding cultural identity for individuals, as well as collectives like neighbourhoods and cities. While the preparation, availability and consumption of diverse foods have become symbolic of the very openness of a place, there are concerns that this is only reflective of a superficial and consumerist form of middle class cosmopolitanism. Using food-oriented case studies centred on Australian cities and media, Bonding Over Food argues for a processual understanding of cosmopolitanism. Such an approach helps us understand various kinds of social bonds formed over food as 'convivial' practices that are potentially ethical and/or reflexive as opposed to being driven by 'othering' discourses.

In the 21st century, an accelerated pace of global movements of people, goods, capital, technology and ideas has led to ambivalence regarding cultural identity for individuals, as well as collectives like neighbourhoods and cities. While the preparation, availability and consumption of diverse foods have become symbolic of the very openness of a place, there are concerns that this is only reflective of a superficial and consumerist form of middle class cosmopolitanism. Using food-oriented case studies centred on Australian cities and media, Bonding Over Food argues for a processual understanding of cosmopolitanism. Such an approach helps us understand various kinds of social bonds formed over food as 'convivial' practices that are potentially ethical and/or reflexive as opposed to being driven by 'othering' discourses.