The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: The Yanks are going

To learn how Australians find love and lose it, go to Who We Are

by David Dale
Coca-colonisation update: if Australians were just cultural clones of Americans, then the movie Wolverine would have sold $8.5 million worth of tickets on its first weekend. In fact, it sold $6.6 million worth. That left a giant question mark hanging over our national identity.

For three decades, film distributors in this country have operated on the assumption that any big budget international movie will make in Australian dollars roughly one tenth of what it made in American dollars. Thus Titanic made $US601 million over there and $58m here, becoming the highest grossing film of all time in both countries. Jurassic Park made $US357m and $33m; The Sixth Sense made $US290m and $29m; Independence Day made $US306m and $29m; Forrest Gump made $330m and $31m; Shrek the Third made $US321m and $34m.

You see the pattern. We were a bit more keen on Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings than they were, and a bit less keen on Star Wars and Spider-Man, but most of the time we've been predictable mini-mes of American moviegoers.

That was until Wolverine, which made $US85.1 million in its first weekend over there, and $6.6 million here - a success in anybody's language, but not the same success in each place.

Everything was in its favour: a star who happens to be Australia's most popular person; huge publicity, both free and paid-for; and no significant competition in the multiplexes. Its local box office should have been much bigger. Has the tall poppy syndrome set in already for Hugh Jackman? Or might other forces be at work?

If there's one thing this column is noted for, it's drawing the longest possible bow and propounding outlandish theories about social change based on flimsy evidence. Plus being unable to count. So three things we're noted for.

We're about to do at least one of them again. Consider these two charts:

America's favorite movies of the past 12 months: 1 The Dark Knight $US533m; 2 Iron Man $US318m;
3 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $US317m; 4 Hancock $US228m; 5 Wall-e $US223m;
6 Kung Fu Panda $US215m; 7 Monsters vs Aliens $US183m; 8 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $US180m;
9 Quantum of Solace $US168m; 10 Horton Hears a Who $US155m.

Australia's favourite movies of the past 12 months: 1 The Dark Knight $46m; 2 Australia $37m;
3 Mamma Mia! $32m; 4 Quantum of Solace $US31m; 5 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $29m; 6 Sex and the City $27m; 7 Kung Fu Panda $26m; 8 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $22m; 9 Twilight $22m; 10 Slumdog Millionaire $20m.

What do we observe? First, that beyond superficial similarities, the one-tenth-of-America rule no longer applies. We have cast off the cultural colonisers and achieved our own independence day.

Secondly, Australian actors were the drawcard in two of America's top three hits of the past 12 months.

Thirdly, the majority of moviegoers in the United States appear to be boys under the age of 14, or people who think like boys under the age of 14.

And fourthly, Australians are more diverse in their tastes than our cousins across the Pacific. In addition to action adventures and kiddy cartoons, we are open to historic melodramas, musical comedies, epic romances and teenage vampires.

It would be irresponsible to mince words. Australians are simply better human beings than Americans. Be still my patriotic heart.

To debate this theory, go to Comments

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.