Australian Television

There are plenty of American influences in Australia television. Although Australia has probably the most diverse selection of television in the world, American programming is seen all the time. My apartment television only has 4 channels so I do not get to see the full extent of Australian programming. Some of the American programming I have seen here include: House, the Good Wife, Bones, CSI: Mami, NCSI, Survivor, the Amazing Race, Desperate House Wives, Glee, Lost, Late Show with David Letterman, and much more. Considering that these are just the basic channels, I can not imagine what the extended basic channels are provided. Now knowing this, I can understand why the world always seems to know about America and why America does not know much about the world. This must be partially because American popular culture is part of Australian television programming. Much like, how the Vietnam war was brought into peoples living rooms via television.

Even in class lectures, America is constantly brought up or used in some statistic. Ironically, I travel around the world to learn about a different country yet I am constantly learning about America. However, it is interesting finding out the different perspective people have of my country. When it comes to world understanding, I feel many Americans are “out of the loop” compared to the Australians and Europeans I have met here. Perhaps this is because American television dominates the airwaves. I feel like if there was a CSI: Paris than I would know more about France just by watching.

Going back to television, Australia does have its own programming too. My favourite is “Talkin’ About My Generation.” It is a game show where the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y battle in trivia and interactive games. It is quite humourous, but I am not sure if it is a 100% Australian program. It may be an English program. Other Aussie programs include Sea Patrol, Border Security, Master Chef, and Bondi Rescue. I work on Bondi Beach so it is interesting that they can make that into successful programming. It’s really not that exciting of a beach. Border Security is all about the day in the life of working as a customs officer in Australia. It is great watching people trying to smuggle things out or in to Australia. People get really angry when customs checks them out. There are also America shows that Australia made their own version of like: So You Think You Can Dance? Australia, Australian Idol, Deal or No Deal, etc.