The Aussie 1918–1931

Cartoons, digger remembrance and First World War identity

Bibliographic Data

ID12658705
AuthorsJane Chapman (0000-0002-0735-7630, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume17
Issue4
Pages415-431
Publication date2015-09-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-670X • E-ISSN: 1469-9699
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1461670x.2015.1074866
OpenAlexW2211289235
LanguageEN
References cited24

Feelings of community, cultural definition and memory were kept alive through the soldiers’ mass circulation tabloid, the Aussie, examined here in the light of theorisation of memory and representation, applied to both text and cartoons. The publication's aim for veterans’ values to become shared national values is analysed in the light of its high-profile usage of soft cartoon humour and also of nostalgia—highlighting the limitations as well as the effectiveness in terms of Australia's evolving national identity. When the post-war economic situation worsened, deeper issues of national tension were glossed over by the use of scapegoats such as “profiteers” and “lazy workers”. The armed forces were obliged to take on a political role of lobbying for their cause, but the Aussie as “cheerful friend” experienced its own identity crisis that proved to be terminal

Aesthetics · Art · Circulation (fluid dynamics · Feeling · Identity (music · Media studies · National identity · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Sociology · Comics and Graphic Narratives · History · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Psychology · Social Psychology · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access