Courtney Harvey

Dawes poem “ Americanized” explains the transition between consumerism in America (the mother) and how it has influenced Australia (the son) into taking on America`s culture. Dawe uses tone, mood, alliteration and connotation to really highlight the effects of consumerism. A line from the poem “The toys that mark his short life- Christening, Birthday, Christmas, into a corner hurled” is stating that all the products of modern Australia are being over taken and over shadowed by modern America, as we are continually being consumed by American culture and the products that follow. In contrast to “Americanized”, the song `Royals’ by Lorde sings about driving Cadillacs, crystals, diamonds and tigers on a gold leash. A technique used in this song is alliteration, the start of each chorus “And we`ll never be royals” is an example of this. This technique is used to draw attention to a particular part in the song and to build the meaning. The background music also plays a part. The tone of the song makes it feel very serious with deep low sounds, along with the repetition of the lyrics which makes the song connect together. Everyone is trying to out do each other with the amount of money they have and what they purchase. Years ago before World War II, people only bought what they needed and didn`t have consumerism to persuade them to buy all these products that are advertised today. As the world is changing more and more people want these sorts of products.

Another poem Dawe produced about consumerism was “Abandonment of Autos”. ‘The City Council is reported to be concerned about the number of old cars being abandoned in city streets’. This was a news item stated at the top of the poem outlining that people are parking their beloved cars on the sides of roads and walking away from them for the last time. One technique Dawe uses for this poem is free verse, the effects of free verse is to not make it sound so much like a poem and that Dawe is trying to speak more directly. Dawe smartly put the term `Autos’ into the title to show how he see`s American society as the centre of the modern consumer culture and uses emotive language to show how we become emotionally attached to products. This poem is a great example that reflects how our society is continually changing because they `step out and close the car door for the last time with grave tenderness’ to get rid of the car they had because it is worth next to nothing and no one would want to buy it because new and improved cars are out and everyone wants to buy one of them. All of this is due to the consumerist country we live in. We are surrounded by billboards and advertisements, whether they are on the internet or in the newspaper, we are always reading about consumerism. A consumerism comic strip `Peace on Earth- USA’ is a comparative source to the wants and changes of today`s society, like having “ two cars, a boat, the largest army in the world, three TV’s and peace on earth. Technology has advanced hugely over the years and is the main product everyone wants to keep up with. Technology has become a huge part of change in the world, as technology is the way we connect with family and friends around the world and is highly relied on by businesses and economies.

Dawe’s poem “ Televistas” interprets how the consumption of TV dominates people`s lives including the couples love life. The couple`s vision of life is defined and upheld by the values of TV. This means that through their relationship the stages get more serious as the TV programs get more serious and grown up for example, their immature relationship is reflected by watching cartoons like ` Bugs and Daffy’ and `Sylvester and Tweety-bird’ to a more serious relationship with movies like `World at War’. The reference to American TV shows tells us that Australia has accepted these TV shows and are becoming consumed by them which is unhealthy for their hearts and minds, in other words it is unhealthy for the couples relationship. Techniques Dawe uses to make the poem so meaningful are allusion, which creates the effect of something that people can relate to or know, and tone which control your emotions towards the poem. The couple went through some rough patches in their relationship and `their first falling out took place over Candid Camera’ which was a popular TV show back then. All the events in the couple`s life revolved around the TV even when they first met which was at a repair store because his TV was broken.