Reconciliation Week ad accused of ‘stereotyping white men’

An advert for Reconciliation Week has come under fire from viewers who have branded it “sickening” and “patronising” for its portrayal of the “average Australian”.

The promotional video was released ahead of the country’s annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, and portrays the “average Aussie” as a white middle-aged football fan, who is apparently ignorant of Australia’s history.

He begins by saying: “As an average Australian I know a fair bit about this country,” before pointing out how Aussies invented the ute, and have the “tastiest” coat of arms in the world.

However, he’s then met by an Aboriginal woman and a long line of others who list a series of historical facts and events, while he looks on mystified and clearly confused.

It was blasted by many after being uploaded online, with one viewer saying: “Patronising, badly produced and probably counter-productive.”

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Another called it “sickening”, and one wrote: “Does anyone actually believe that the goal of this is reconciliation? Most of what is said here is either blatantly false, a half-truth or a lie by omission. ‘hey there white guy minding your own business, let me explain how ignorant you are for being happy and proud with some white guilt Marxist propaganda’. Aboriginals never even invented the wheel or a written language, if you compare the cultures accurately and factually your not gonna like the result so maybe you should just stop….”

Others hit out at the producers for comparing Aboriginal people to the Greeks, with one writing: “The Greeks gave the world democracy, philosophy and advanced forms of mathematics to name just a few… The Aborigines of Australia gave the world the woomera, the didgeridoo and the boomerang. To even speak of them both in the same sentence is an insult.”

Another said it was promoting “resentment”, while one more said it was “dividing the nation”.

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However, another described the ad as “fantastic”, and speaking about its release, Reconciliation Australia explained: “The ad campaign highlights some of the lesser known aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and achievements, to prompt Australians to ask themselves: what are some of the things I don’t know about our shared history?”

According to a survey by the Australian Reconciliation Barometer, commissioned by Reconciliation Australia, many Australians are unaware of, or reject, fundamental aspects of history. In fact, it states: “More than one in three Australians do not accept that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were subject to mass killings, incarceration, forced removal from land and restricted movement, throughout the 1800s.”

Starts at 60 has contacted Reconciliation Australia for comment.

So, do you think the advert could prove to be divisive? Or do you think it’s a good idea?