Les Murray's Inside Ayers Rock (1995) on my first read left me feeling dazed; a flurry of perplexing yet vivid images bombarded me. As quickly as they filled my mind with the unimaginable, they dissipated, leaving me entirely empty. Odd emotions tied to images I never would've imagined on my own: strong nostalgia for a time I never lived in, images of an old shopping mall captured on a shaky camcorder but also an inexplicable weariness & disconcertment grew as I delved deeper into Murray’s bizarre world; one where Uluru (or Ayer's Rock) has been hollowed out & transformed into a quiet tourist attraction.
Speedrunning 'Liminal Spaces': building liminality, familiarity & fear?
Liminal spaces, described as 'waiting' or 'transitional' spaces, capture a unique sense of being 'in-between'. Originally bustling with activity & heavy foot traffic, they now often sit eerily empty and lifeless. This dissociation of visual reality from mental concepts of such places produces a forlorn atmosphere, sometimes leaning into a more romanticised neglected aesthetic, both easily lending themselves to an almost disconnection from reality.
The aesthetic of liminal spaces only cemented itself within recent years so it's unlikely Murray used it specifically during his writing process. However, understandings of how these seemingly unremarkable, neglected spaces possess an innate association with atmospheres of surrealness, eeriness & nostalgia, which elicit antithetical emotions of comfort and discomfort in viewers, do align with pre-existing literature i.e. the concept of uncanny valley & 'liminality' from the magic realism genre.
The original idea of liminality (i.e. the quality of ambiguity in transitioning between two states) is the backbone of the magic realism genre which, manipulates familiar real spaces and infuses them with unreal, magical elements to prompt questioning often towards a critical reassessment of society.
Time to enter...
Readers are guided through a lifeless space injected with subversive, phantasmagorical elements of magic realism to emphasise the concept of 'liminality' derived from the genre. Such assists Murray to instil an unnerving atmosphere that emboldens his strong criticism regarding the harmful commodification of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander (AATSI) culture. He also asserts his thought-provoking critiques with a purposeful lexical choice in his descriptions of the features within this hypothetical tourist site. The poem lends itself to unpacking the irony & bitterness within Indigenous communities to be found in recent attitude changes towards their culture; all due to now being seen as 'useful' as an economic tool, despite historically being the subject of systematic state-sanctioned eradication for over a century and in addition to prejudiced stereotypes about AATSI communities & false narratives regarding harmony and egalitarianism in modern Australia, all pushed by profiteers to maintain marginality.
Setting - liminality & superficial appreciation of culture
Murray achieves the layered atmospheric effects of liminal spaces with bold, experimental visual imagery used to describe the manufactured innards of Uluru. It features a 'cafeteria' of 'vast inner space', indicating a profound absence of people, characteristic for liminal spaces, which is filled only by a 'Milky way of plastic chairs in foursomes' all of which alluding to a hollowed and superficial appreciation of the land (and associated culture).
He merges the familiarity of man-made furniture or commonplace architectural elements - a simple cafeteria, office-like 'fluorescent lights' (another staple of liminal space imagery), plastic chairs, etc. with the unbelievable transformation to the inside of the natural rock. This leads readers to initially dismiss the hyperbolic hypothetical for how unrealistically dystopian it seems but a harrowing desolation arises from realisation; whilst sheer practicality likely prevents this from ever happening, the callous act of commodifying Aboriginal Australian culture is not so far-fetched. Subsequently, the commercial purpose of the space is made explicit from mentions of "shoplifting... gifts" and a plosive, alliteration-filled list of 'Outback shop(s)' found inside: a 'Beehive Bookshop.. Casual Clobber... bottle Country Kitchen' and a 'sheet-iron Dreamtime Experience'.
The use of inexpensive 'plastic chairs', temporary 'marquee cloth', and generally thoughtless design of the attraction, exemplified by the uncovered 'steel pillars' and harsh 'fluorescent lights', indicate how the operations under these profiteering entities is driven by transient consumerism and planned obsolescence. This suggest that Indigenous culture's sole value to them lies in quick profits, destined to become another piece of discarded merchandise when a new exotic culture gains prominence.
Additionally, the implementation of steel pillars for structural support and 'haze-blue marquee cloth' to poorly replicate the natural sky, further demonstrates the short-sightedness of these profiteers. They've radically transformed the natural rock of Uluru into an inferior & superficial imitation with the reasoning for them likely being that now it's easier to divert funds into their own greedy pockets and away from rightful Indigenous communities. A bitter emptiness is intensified when considering how First Nations people have deep spiritual connections to nature and specifically, Uluru as a resting place for spirits and landmass created during the Dreaming; hence the act itself of changing Uluru is a sacrilegious desecration of the ancestral lands by their creator.
Murray also poses a conceptual 'Dreamtime Experience', suggesting how in this realm the entire religio-cultural worldview that has guided generations of Indigenous people, could be reduced to a paid 'Experience' akin to that of a fleeting amusement ride. It illustrates the disrespectful trivialisation embedded in the commodification of Indigenous culture. It is mentioned how the experience can be 'turned off', which highlights the pattern of opportunistic embrace of Indigenous culture only once profit is involved.
He cements how the act of commodifying Indigenous culture into a mere commodity for the commercial market is undeniably dystopian. And when accounting for the disturbing nature of recent shift attitudes, underscored by the superficiality of their 'appreciation' for this culture reveal how this lack of credence given and disempowerment of Indigenous culture contributes to broader systemic marginalisation of Indigenous Australian communities.
Shallow roles & mere figureheads
Another significant motif within liminal spaces is the absence of people which starkly confronts readers with emptiness. Inside Ayers Rock adheres to this with descriptions of a "truck diver's enclave" devoid of drivers and instead of humans, TVs "talk in gassy colours"; even the expected tourists are absent, leaving only a "vast inner space".
Hence when there is the introduction of a "policeman" and "tribal man" figures, it is a pleasant relief from the isolation, however this is merely fleeting. The policeman is a "two-dimensional" figure solely focused on menial tasks like tackling "shoplifters", the vapid depiction of the character re-emphasises the shallow nature of the business.
The poem also delves into the pervasive stereotypes harming AATSI communities, bluntly mentioning a 'tribal man in rib-paint and pubic tassel' who stands 'near the entrance' of the fuel payment zone. The man is objectified into becoming a theme park attraction, reduced to a fictitious outdated caricature for the sake of cheap entertainment; such a caricatures plays into generalising negative stereotypes of aggressive & wild behaviour, being uncivilised or uneducated and dangerous individuals.
If Murray's liminal world manifested in our reality, where culture can be dissected and pimped off for profit, it's conceivable how an Indigenous man seeking employment, might unwittingly or out of necessity take on the degrading role of exotic 'tribal man', placed to aid immersion within the paid 'Experience.' This portrayal inadvertently perpetuates harmful myths and further disempowers the AATSI community by influencing perceptions of the community. Such harmful depictions contribute to a cycle of prejudice and ignorance, fuelled by a lack of understanding about the systemic barriers resting on the foundations of the wider hegemonial culture that hinder Indigenous people's access to socio-economic opportunities, education, and resources, resulting in a harmful feedback loop of poverty and marginalization.
child's play
Leading up to the last four lines of the poem, Murray has isolated the reader to the confines of the liminal space, the pseudo-hypothetical, semi-real tourist site. It's uncaring & void of authenticity, and filled with callous indifference towards Indigenous Australians and their culture yet also managed by profiteers who exhibit an astoundingly immature short-sightedness and impulsivity. Hence once Murray gives a glimpse into an outside world that is "all gentle and kind", a lightness is breathed back into the tone of the poem. We leave the eerie liminality of that dystopia behind and return to the real realm with 'fossils' that are 'like crumpled old drawing of creature in rock', alluding to the short-lived & futile nature of such capitalistic attitudes in comparison to the unwavering strength of nature. He admonishes the foolishness of commodification of culture and its profiteers' capitalistic mindset by relating their attributes to that of 'children'.
Similarly, his criticism of 'child'-like ignorance filling Inside Ayers Rock, can be applied to consumers who buy into the perpetrators' 'playworld' by addressing the false narrative surrounding multiculturalism and egalitarianism within Australia. These myths allow profiteers to work under their guise via their cheap imitations or superficial displays of embrace to allow them to continue degrading and commodifying Indigenous culture. Murray tells readers to see 'beyond' the folly, reject the hedonistic thrills of the "Dreamtime Experience" which he has exposed to be part of a nightmarish cycle designed to maintain a marginality on Indigenous communities. We are urged to help forge a more 'gentle and kind' reality where genuine respect and acknowledgment towards Indigenous culture prevails.
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WC: 1.5k
Hence when there is the introduction of a "policeman" and "tribal man" figures, it is a pleasant relief from the isolation, however this is merely fleeting. The policeman is a "two-dimensional" figure solely focused on menial tasks like tackling "shoplifters", the vapid depiction of the character re-emphasises the shallow nature of the business.
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