Yeah, Mate? Australian Masculinity and Fatherhood in Bluey
摘要
This chapter analyzes the depiction of fatherhood in the Australian animated children’s program Bluey. The titular character is a six-year-old Blue Heeler cattle dog, who lives with her parents, Bandit and Chilli, and her four-year-old sister, Bingo. The father of the program, Bandit Heeler, is variously coded as an Australian ‘larrikin,’ a staple of masculinist national identity in Australia. Bandit, however, interrogates the masculinism of the larrikin stereotype through his relationship with his daughters, and his dedication to his family and his role as a father above all else. While Bandit certainly retains some of the larrikin ethos, these features are transformed into a model of fatherhood that prioritizes community, the possibility of learning from children, and emotional vulnerability, as well as incorporating a female perspective through Bandit’s wife and daughters. Hence, via its central paternal character, the series both reflects and challenges culture-specific conventions and stereotypes of fatherhood and masculinity.