Barry, Mick and Kenny: Bloke-heroes in Australian Cinema

Abstract

The New Australian Cinema in the early 1970s commenced with what was to become the defining portrayal of the Aussie bloke—The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. McKenzie, instead of being embarrassing, was valorised as the folk image of the bloke. This article examines how in the four decades since, the bloke has been a constant in Australian cinema and the bloke-image has been confirmed and celebrated through such films as Crocodile’ Dundee and Kenny.