What is national identity? One view may be that it is a stereotype of a collective group of personalities who join together to form a nation. Whilst it is dangerous to stereotype any group of people, it must be accepted that we, as Australians, share common characteristics which are unique to our people. While the stereotypical qualities of the Australian identity - such as the country lifestyle, family values, mateship and sport - that are evident in the film Gallipoli still exist today, they have inevitably evolved to form new variations of their old meanings. As a result of the numerous, continuing and significant changes to our nation and lifestyle - including immigration, urbanisation multiculturalism, and our seemingly endless adoption of American culture and values - it is unrealistic to assume that Australia still retains the same values and cultural undercurrents, which are displayed in the film "Gallipoli". Those values of yesteryear are now transformed. .
"Running isn't all there is to life." This quote shows the attitude displayed towards sport and competition in the film Gallipoli. Whilst sport was indeed important, and something that Archie and Frank greatly valued, both for its own and as a shared passion, it was not so important that they would postpone going to war because of the risk. If compared to modern times, someone might not sacrifice something so important to their being, for the "greater good of the nation." Archie risked his chances in a running competition by taking the risk of sprinting across the harsh Australian outback barefoot for the sake of a dare and in defiance against bigotry, holding true his mateship with and loyalty to his coloured friend. In today's society, sports people take the utmost caution in terms of preserving and looking after their bodies, because sport is their career and life. This fine example of mateship displayed by Archie is one that is not so commonly observed today.
