The Ideology of Crocodile Dundee

[guti...@union3.su.swin.edu.au]

THE IDEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CROCODILE DUNDEE

By Jose Gutierrez
September 18, 1990

The movie Crocodile Dundee deals with problems concerning class,
race, gender, law and order. Mercer (1) has pointed out that
"these are precisely the problems that `Crocodile Dundee' confronts
and solves, usually with a single and very masculine gesture". In
this essay I intend to concentrate on the ideological significance
of this film, particularly on the implicit political agenda hidden
in Part 1 and 2, and its relation to such issues as class, race,
gender, law and order. I'm exploring such connections by dealing
with the way Dundee treats politics in its staged social relations
with the other characters, precisely at the way and the devices
used to confront and solve all the above issues.

My argument is that Crocodile Dundee, despite the fact that it is
pleasant, funny and the hero very much likeable, is very
conservative and portrays right-wing ideology, which is actually
the reproduction of American and Australian mainstream culture. (2)
This in my opinion, partly explains why the film caused a great
sensation among Australian ruling class circles, where even the
Prime Minister could not hide his great admiration for Dundee. Yet,
the film also appealed to a variety of audiences from all age, from
6 to 60, and became one of the most popular Australian films ever
made. What is the reason for this? Does it mean that Australian
society is shifting to the right? Or was the film trying to unite
a society to face an upcoming crisis at a crucial time of
Australian history, in which, far from uniting, society is slowly
polarising itself as the economy deteriorates and workers suffer
the effects of it? The film pretend to ignore class distinctions
in Australia by presenting a hero unaware of it. It cleverly uses
New York as the ideal place to create the myth that class
distinctions do not mean much in Australia. But this myth is of
course fantasy. The myth that Australia's class structure is even
is just untrue. The film exports myths and a cleverly constructed
tourist image of Australia to the rest of the world (3).

But, can this film be seen as an attempt by the local bourgeoisie
to "put Australia on the map" in order to develop the tourist
industry? Certainly there is something like that explicit in the
films. Nevertheless, the films coincide with ruling class attempts
to develop a manufacturing base in Australia and to attract foreign
investments to avoid a major economic crisis. Certainly, the films
become functional to these plans but it has not been made as a
program to divert the masses from political action, although it has
those effects anyway.

The ideology behind Crocodile Dundee has been located as
"populism", Hogan's technique to display his charismatic persona
(4). But the political ideology is disguised as "populism and
Australian nationalism". Crocodile Dundee, as it is the case with
most films distributed by American companies, has become part of
the larger manufactured pro-imperialist culture which penetrates
even the last corner of the world with its conformist and
conservative message. These values are closer to those exposed by
media barons like Murdoch, serving the interests of capitalism
rather than the interests of the working class characters it claims
to represent. Furthermore, Mick Dundee's class is misleading,
since it is only in Crocodile Dundee II that the audience learns
that he is actually the owner of a large estate full of mineral
resources in the Northern Territory which is perhaps bigger than
New York state itself! That populism is cleverly used to present
right wing ideological values is another matter.

Veronica Brady has written that Crocodile Dundee at the surface
seems to be very pleasant, entertaining, innocent, but that in fact
is very violent and servile to US interests and very confused about
its values (5). I would argue that the film is far from confused
about its values, it clearly shows on which side it is. As Brady
herself affirms, its ideology is one which "makes possible for
decent people to applaud welfare cuts, admire millionaires and
condone monopoly, even as they suspect and scorn trade unions and
defend racist remarks by public figures". (6) The film is very
violent in order to appeal to masculine instincts where Mick Dundee
resolves any problem with a flat blow. The films deals with gender
in a way that discriminates against women and homosexuals, falling
within the Dermody/Jacka category of the Male Ensemble film. Even
the scenery is typical of such films: the Australian outback and
the streets of New York City. The leading female character at
first begins as an assertive and independent journalist, yet after
meeting Dundee she passes onto the subordinate role. Our hero's
charm and charisma overwhelms her, making her feel like Jane (Part
1) and Clyde (Part 2), placing her as a dependent character who
cannot act on her own initiative. Every time she feels confident
of herself and makes her own decisions she makes an error.
Firstly, when they are left alone in the bush Mick begins to assert
himself as the guide. The outback is no place for "sheilas" he
tells her. When she confronts him and decides to keep bush-walking
on her own, she is attacked by a Crocodile. Mick immediately comes
to the rescue and saves her life. Late at night, whilst camping,
she admits defeat. "You were right" she says, no place for women.
In the second film, she worries about Mick and disobeys his
directive to stay there and goes to see what is happening with him.
Wal cannot let her go on her own and the result is that they end up
shooting at Mick by mistake. There is no time in both movies for
Sue to take the active leading role, except in New York where Mick
is unemployed and stays home all day. But this is not a dangerous
situation.

The film is very servile to capitalist interests because it does
not question anything about the system. Neither does it explore
the connections between US military strategy and Australia. The
film may make fun of some nasty features of the system, but it
offers fairly simple solutions. For example, street assault is
dealt with a knife; prostitution with naivety; drug addiction with
an Aussie potion to unblock noses; class distinctions with non-
recognition; and in the film 2, dangerous killers and drug runners
with aboriginal tactics.

Dundee is not concerned about politics, and perhaps no one should
expect him to be. But the screenplay is written in such a way as
to dismiss politics as a trivial matter. When asked about his
opinion on the arms race Mick answers that is "none of [his]
business" and implies that the issue is not relevant to Australia.
There is no mention of US nuclear bases at Pine Gap and the rest of
Australia, which are very relevant to the Australian people should
the US engage in a world-wide nuclear confrontation. Such an
issue, the consented military occupation of Australia by the United
States, is quickly dismissed as irrelevant. And this attitude by
Mick Dundee certainly is what the ruling class would like to see in
the rest of the population. No questioning of what they do with
this country whatsoever. Once dealt with the arms race, and
dismissing Sue's ex-husband as a "ratbag radical" Mick Dundee deals
with the issue of land rights for the aborigines who are presented
as belonging to the land: "see those rocks over there, they have
been there for 600 million years. They will still be there when
you and I are gone", and then the main argument over land rights is
easily won, "it is like two fleas arguing over who owns the dog
they live on". This is very convenient to Mick (and to the
Australian ruling class), but he doesn't explain that he is
actually the white flea who owns a part of the dog the size of New
York State! If Mick represents white Australia, then the argument
is over. But we don't understand this in the first film, we must
watch the sequel to see the connection. There is no mention of the
oppression of the aborigines and black-white relations are
presented in harmony.

The same applies to scenes in New York City. Black fellows seem to
be at ease with the system, no mention of discrimination. The same
with other ethnic groups. In Crocodile Dundee 1 the blacks and the
Latins are presented either as servants or villains (7). Rosina
and Angelo at the hotel, the chauffeur, the Italian taxi driver and
the young Puerto Ricans in the funny scene of "that is not a knife,
this is a knife". In the second film, the villains are Hispanics.
This follows up the North American stereotype of Latin Americans.
At first the bandits in North American movies were Mexicans now
Colombians. And they are a threat to the status quo. Rigo, a
sophisticated killer and drug dealer, is not going to play the game
like any Hispanic migrant but he has established quite a chain of
drug businesses in New York taking advantage of the high demand for
cocaine from North American users. None of his associates will
serve a subordinate role in American society, they want to get
ahead and make a quick fortune. Here they become a threat to the
system, but no worries, the new Australian-American hero Mick
Dundee will fix them up. Here race is dealt very delicately and
despite that in the outback they are joined by a gang of Australian
assassins they remain the main threat. The stereotype that South
Americans are drug runners is strongly reinforced in the second
film. The black American and Australian become Dundee's allies and
their stereotype and possible connection are reinforced in the
first film when the black chauffeur saves Dundee from an attack and
uses a boomerang to knock an attacker down. "I knew you were
tribal", Dundee says.

According to Brady, Mick Dundee's new right approach can also be
discerned through his attitude to law and order. He is the
individual who can easily deal with a gang of professional
criminals, no one else can take care of business. Yet, this very
same conservatism makes Dundee doubt, but here a very progressive
element is introduced: LeRoy Brown convinces him that it is
pointless to call the police, that drug runners in New York "own
cops", unmasking police corruption. But again, because of this,
only Dundee can save his girlfriend and this allow him to show off
his skills and uplift his charismatic personality. In both films,
Mick doesn't need the police. He can easily outworn opponents and
get himself out of trouble. So for him law and order is not a
problem. He can easily deal with it.

The film became so popular and appealing to millions of people
around the world because it employs brilliant techniques such as
tight simplification of complex situations with easy and laughable
solutions, the drawing on popular themes, motifs, genres. In the
surface, it is naive, innocent, funny, and clever. For Australians
it presents a "national character", an Aussie hero people feel
identified with. For foreigners, Mick Dundee is something new from
an unknown continent, non-threatening, wanting to be accepted into
their lives. For Americans, Dundee is a new hero which fulfil
their needs at the time they have ran out of similar types in their
own country and mythology. (8)

But, as I have argued above, "Mick Dundee is the hero of free
enterprise" (9). This is the ideological significance of the film.
His innocence reflects the moral values of a conservative age, of
a type that does not tolerate any other alternative lifestyle or
political views but that, in order to keep with the times, cannot
do anything to prevent them and consoles with poking fun at them.
It can be nostalgic too, Dundee represents a kind of Australian
nationalism which is slowly disappearing.

FOOTNOTES

1. Collin Mercer, "A National Character: Crocodile Dundee",
Australian Left Review (Autumn 1987) 99, p.35
2. Veronica Brady, "Evading History", Australian Society vol.7 No.
3 (March 1987).
3. Ruth Abey and Jo Crawford, "Crocodile Dundee or David Crockett?
What Crocodile Dundee doesn't say about Australia", Meanjin 46,
No.2 (June 1987), p.146.
4. Tom O'Reagan, "Fair Dinkum Fillums: The Crocodile Dundee
Phenomenon", Media Information Australia No. 50 (Nov. 1988),
p.164
5. Brady, idem.

6. Brady, idem.
7. Abey and Crawford, idem, p.149
8. Mercer, idem, p.149
9. Brady, idem.

Additional References

Davidson, J. "Locating Crocodile Dundee", Meanjin vol.46 No. 1
(March 1987).

Faiman, Peter (Director) CROCODILE DUNDEE I
John Cornell (Director) CROCODILE DUNDEE II