Embedded with Nationalists

This study guide to accompany Embedded with Nationalists, a documentary by Red Ithaka Productions, has been written for secondary students. It provides information and suggestions for learning activities in Australian History, English, Media, SOSE/HSIE and curriculum projects exploring cultural identity.

Given the need for curriculum to be culturally inclusive, Embedded with Nationalists provides students with the opportunity to understand and value Australia's cultural diversity. Embedded with Nationalists is one of three episodes from the Embedded series, where young Australians from a variety of backgrounds are placed into very different cultures in an attempt to bridge racial divides.

Synopsis
What is Australian nationalism? Embedded with Nationalists explores the complexities of Australian nationalism. Do you have to be born here to be able to claim the title of 'true blue Aussie'? What is expected from people who migrate here in order for them to be truly accepted? How does self determination and land rights fit into the debate? Samia Hossain travels the length and breadth of the country in search of Australian nationalism.

Samia Hossain moved to Australia with her family when she was eight years old. Their new home in Sydney's southwest was a far cry from the streets of Bangladesh. Her family retained most of their traditions but Samia and her brother assimilated to the Australian way of life and Samia went one step further when she boldly moved out of home at eighteen.

Samia had always felt as though all Australians accepted her but by the time of the Cronulla riots there was a definite sense of lines being drawn in the sand. The question about who or what it meant to be Australian was laid bare and an 'us' versus 'them' mentality surfaced in many communities. The dream envisioned by Whitlam and his ilk of an Australia where we would live together as one big happy family under the policy of multiculturalism was starting to fade. The rise in patriotism in Australia was not only vocal but also visual. For Samia her own belief in Australia was tested and the idea that she may not be accepted brought her to question her own sense of Aussie pride.

Samia travels to numerous locations around Australia meeting a wide range of people with varying opinions on the matter – but one thing they all shared was a firm opinion about what it means to be Australian. From Germaine Greer lamenting on our 'lousy national anthem' to Aboriginal activist Murrandoo Yanner proclaiming himself 'a new age nationalist', Embedded with Nationalists debates the notion of nationalism within a culturally diverse society. Along the way Samia is confronted by the remnants of Hanson's anti-Asian politics, taught to fish for barramundi in Gulf Country and invited to convert to become a true blue Aussie.