At one stage of the film Welcome to Woop Woop, the character Teddy stops a boy from shooting a stray dog. The boy say's "It's Dog Day, I can shoot who I like." This is a parallel to the opening sequence in which a flock of Australian Cockatoos (Gala's) are let loose in New York, and all of the people stop, pull out guns and start shooting at them. What does this say about Australia's relationship with America? Is this paralleling the old Australia, or contemporary Australia with American society?
The above example of American culture in Welcome to Woop Woop is complemented by several further references to Americana. Of course the most obvious aspect is that of Teddy the American con man, travelling through the outback, trying to lay low while hiding from the mob back in America. The clash of the two cultures becomes apparent when Teddy meets Angie, and she identifies him as an American or as she calls it a "Sepo" (which stands for "Septic Tank" or "Septic Yank"). Immediately Teddy is in a strange culture.
The use of Rogers and Hammerstein as the only music played over the Woop Woop radio station is also another aspect of Americana. "The Sound of Music" and "South Pacific" are the only two films that are shown, and these are projected from a chinese theatre like the Mann Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, made out of beer cans.
There are also the references to Barbie dolls, with Barbie doll heads scattered around Woop Woop, and clothing with "stars and stripes" designs.
These references to American Culture and American Iconography set up a relationship between the two cultures. However it is not clear how this is to be read. Is Elliott, who cites the old Australia as his inspiration, wanting to draw comparisons between the new or the old Australia and America?
From the articles and reviews it is apparent that the addition of Rogers and Hammerstein was for comedic reasons. The character of Teddy was supposedly fashioned on John Travolta's character in "Saturday Night Fever". Most American Reviews were negative and did not mention the Americana in the film. It could be therefore that the Americana in Welcome to Woop Woop may be for a comedic juxtaposition of Americana with Australiana, in particular the ocker of the 1970s.