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Originally Posted by choc e-Claire
I think it's more of a 'what is it with the world's obsession with Australia?' question.
I'm genuinely curious now. Why is there such an interest?
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Just throwing in a guess here, but I suppose people view its (stereotypical) fauna and topographical features to be very unique. Which, in a way they are if you look at it from a perspective that didn't originate in Oceania. People are genuinely interested in things that seem "different" to what they are used to and they tend to romanticize such things or even completely distort them - be they cultural symbols, languages, spiritual faiths, particular animals or even entire countries.
On the one hand it's somewhat understandable, this fascination with what is different, but on the other hand I completely understand the frustration that comes with being on the receiving side of this fascination. Being presented as the "other", or "exotic" does indeed delve into a few of the less admireable human traits. It's quite patronizing. To a certain degree, every country has experienced that. People tend to romanticize what is new or different to them - take the first district of Vienna for instance - it's all Mozart, classical music and 17th to 19th Century decadence there - of course watered down, perfectly calculated and presented in a flashy way so it may attract tourists. It's how a lot of people see that town - quaint, oldtimey, decadent and full of classical music. It's just so nice, so "different".
Australia for some reason however seems to take the brunt of that way of thinking. I guess enough people see its most famous (globally perceived) cultural symbols, features and landmarks as somewhat insular and completely unique to that specific country and so "far away" from what they are used to. As simple as that may be and as dumb as that may sound.