Many people argue whether not Canada has any culture at all, and why American culture seems to have such a big influence on Canadian music, art and television. Over the years the Canadian government has tried to protect and develop talent in Canada. Once British traditions started to fade away, the influence on Canada from America became stronger. If Canada was to become a strong independent country they needed their own identity. The government support has played an important role in the arts development, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country .Canada has produced a variety of well-known films, actors, and authors. Even though American culture has strongly penetrated and influenced Canadian culture, the government has created many different openings for Canadian culture to be protected and expanded throughout Canada using things like; the national film board, creation of the CBC and the Canadian content rule.
In 1928, the federal government under Liberal Prime Minister Mackenzie King, formed the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting.The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was to provide programs and extend coverage to all parts of the country. The CBC took over the radio and began broadcasting in English and French. The broadcasting was necessary to protect Canada against American cultural penetration. The CBC provides; regional and local radio and television programming to people living across Canada. From the 1920s, when the need arose for Canadian presence on the radio to counter the American influence and protect Canadian culture, to the present day, CBC/radio is recognised as one of this country’s greatest cultural institutions. Canada in the 20s and 30s – creation of Canada br...
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... to get a chance to be broadcasted while still having the “popular music” from American pop culture being played on our radios/Televisions.
With the efforts of the government Canadian music, art and television have been successful in many ways; first the CBC brining news to each region online and t-v and streaming free music with 15 different genres. Then the nation film board offering free streaming of documentary’s and animated films also interactive stories that all explore the world we live in as a Canadian point of view. In conclusion, although American and British culture have been over powering Canadian culture and having a strong influence, over the years the Canadian government has tried to protect and develop talent in Canada. For a couple of reasons first, the Canadian broadcasting corporation, the national film board and the Canadian content rule.
The Canadian government is using all its power to protect the Canadian culture and domestic business. “in 1920s, the Canadian government imposed protective tariffs on foreign magazines.” This is one good example that the Canadian government has a huge concern towards citizens losing their culture and the nation is losing business.
Much has been written about the ways in which Canada's state as a nation is, as Peter Harcourt writes, "described" and hence, "imagined" (Harcourt, "The Canadian Nation -- An Unfinished Text", 6) through the cultural products that it produces. Harcourt's terms are justifiably elusive. The familiar concept of "Canadian culture", and hence Canadian cinema, within critical terminology is essentially based on the principle that the ideology of a national identity, supposedly limited by such tangible parameters as lines on a map, emerges from a common geographical and mythological experience among its people. The concept that cultural products produced in Canada will be somehow innately "Canadian" in form and content first presupposes the existence of such things as inherently Canadian qualities that can be observed. Second, it presupposes a certain commonality to all Canadian artists and posits them as vessels through which these said "inherently Canadian qualities" can naturally flow. Third, it also assumes the loosely Lacanian principle that Canadian consumers of culture are predisposed to identify and enjoy the semiotic and mythological systems of their nation, and further connotes that Canadians have fair access to their own cultural products. Since these assumptions are indeed flawed but not altogether false, this paper will deal with the general relationship between the concept of Canada, its cultural texts, and its mythological and critical discourse as an unresolved problematic that should be left "open" in order to maximize the "meaning potential" of films as cultural texts within the context of "national identity," an ideological construct that remains constantly in flux.
The. Canadian Culture Influences at the Turn of the Century. 18 May 2003. Scribd Inc. 29 May 2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/2942102/Canadian-culture>. Hope, that is a good idea, Samantha.
Musicians and showcase there talent and sometimes shell shock people who never knew how good they are. Canada does this time over again in modern times and in early years. Canadians continue to reach top charts in other nations like America. Canadians even did this in the 1970's. Canadians musicians and entertainers of , the 1970's had major impact of their industries. As well they helped to showcase their impressive talent, passing the way for future generations of entertainers. Anna Murray, The Guess Who and Neil young are prime examples of Canadian pioneers who showed the world Canada's amazing talent even in the 1970.
The economic progress Canada made after the war lead to the growth of the country. New industries emerged from innovations of products like automobiles, radios, television, digital computers and electric typewriters (Aitken et al., 315). Canadians quickly adapted back to the “buy now, pay later” strategy rather than careful budgeting during the Great Depression (Liverant). Almost everything that Canadians did was influenced from new inventions; television was the most influential. Canadians conversations, humour, and lifestyle were influenced from television (Aitken et al., 315). Trade relations between the United States and Canada had become more efficient due to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The mass development of the St. Lawrence Seaway, in 1954, was to provide a large wate...
Back to the early 1970s, people from CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) felt anxious and threatened when they became aware of American Cultural imperialism had a big influence on Canadian Cultural Identity which made the latter to diminish. To solve this crisis, CRTC adopted Canadian content rules (CanCon) to govern the percentage of the music with Canadian content should be played from radio stations until now. Theoretically, this regulation could cause Canadian talents to rise and support the Canadian music industry. Also for Canadian artists, they would get more opportunities to let the masses to hear their music. However, from my point of view, CanCon works the opposite way. Reasons are as follows.
Taras, D. (n.d.). Constructing canada: Do we need a public broadcaster to enhance democracy?. Communication and Canadian Society, 4-10.
In conclusion, Canada was influenced throughout the 1920's by America, that by 1929 Canada became very similar to America in social trends, economics and produce. But has this stopped in modern day era? Canada continues to be heavily influenced by the amount of American products and media outpouring into Canada. Canada has made attempts throughout time to impede the onslaught of American invasion but American invasion is seen on a huge global scale. Hit movies, tv shows, products among others are generally based on American culture, views, or based within American domain. It is a reign yet to be stopped.
“ Canada 's national obsession seems to be its own identity.” For many years Canada has feared the increasing influence of its North American neighbors on its culture - the United States . It has become a matter of growing concern for the people of power and influence in Canada to maintain their separate cultural identity and to promote their own cultural norms. Gaetan Tremblay presents his views on this topic and does this from the perspective of a person living and working in Quebec.
Many people might have a diverse opinion on the extend of the American cultural influence on Canada, but the truth is, these two countries share a long common border, they use frequently the same language, they watch the same movies, listen to the same music and collaborate on other numerous levels, including economic and political activity. In this paper, I would like to show the extent of the influence on Canadian popular culture that comes from the United States. For my analysis I have chosen four segments of popular culture: television, printed media, music and films. In these are the main sectors where we can see the biggest evidence of this phenomenon. In the first part I would like to shortly introduce the history of this issue. The second part is the analysis of the four sectors.
But still there are situations where non-western countries listen and buy western music without understanding the English language only because the music is popular mainstream. The idea behind becoming a leader is having a wide market for both local and international music. The US – which has the largest market globally – listens to both local and global music. In fact some of the highest selling music records since the 20th century are not from American but international bands and artists such as the Beatles, Adele, and the Rolling Stones (Olsen, 2004). But the argument remains that it is difficult for musicians who sing in English to break through in multilingual countries. Taylor (2015) the “international music industry’s conservatism and xenophobia make success even more difficult” (p. 97). This lessens the chances the chances of growth in the market.
Canadians were frustrating, wonderful, and hard. Soldiers returning from the war expected jobs, but were faced with unemployment, inflation and strikes. Inflation had doubled the cost of living where wages had not and those fortunate to be employed still faced immense financial difficulty. Many people joined unions for better pay and working conditions, 1919 saw the most strikes at a staggering three hundred and six, people were angry and discontented. The 1920s were a time of crime corruption and extreme poverty, yet by mid era difficult conditions began to improve. Foreign investors gained confidence in Canada and as a result new industries were developed, The twenties really did 'roar' and with this boom of change Canada underwent the transformation that was the gateway to the future.
Canada as a nation has been striving to characterize itself as more ?Canadian? for decades. This has included numerous struggles and events such as protests, bans, and the creation of the Massey Commission, to encourage national development in the arts, and support major companies like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and National Film Board (NFB). However, this has not been an easy task for the Canadian government, as major influences from below the border (the United States) have been captivating the Canadian audiences by large. American media has had a momentous revolutionizing effect on Canada, even through efforts made to define Canada with its own cultural identity.
But today more then even Canadian culture is affected by the American influence. Media, American artists, economic dependence, American propaganda and political pressure from the United States is making Canada too Americanized. All of these factors reflect on the social life of ordinary Canadians threatening the heritage and the traditions that define Canada as independent country. Canada and the United States are the largest trade partners in the world. It is the result of the geographical position of two countries and the free trade between two countries.
The culture of Canada refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that are a representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity, television and migration between the two countries. Over time, Canadian-American relations have helped develop Canada’s identity during the years 1945-1982; thus introducing changing social norms, media and entertainment. In support of this, due to the United States being approximately 9.25 times larger in population and having the dominant cultural and economic influence, it played a vital role in establishing Canada’s identity. With Canada being its neighbour, naturally, the United States would influence their way of life upon Canada.