Waves of Fosters, Crocodiles and Ockers: Representations of Australia and Australians in American popular culture

This article presents a broad overview of the Australian presence in American popular culture since 1995, focusing on a variety of cultural productions, including television, film, restaurants, beer advertisements, clothing and music. I argue that Australia and Australians are depicted in American popular culture in an exaggerated, exoticized manner. The representations of Australia and Australians in American popular culture usually consist of exaggerated stereotypes that are constructed in order to serve commercial interests, and thus the representations serve to perpetuate stereotypes, such as the Ocker image that is so dominant in American popular culture, rather than to increase knowledge of Australia and Australians within the United States.