Why do the authors say that “In a sense, our own domestic cinema is foreign to Canadian audiences”?
More than ninety percent of screen time in commercial cinemas in Canada is dedicated to Hollywood films, and between 94 and 97 percent of Canadian box office grosses is derived from non-Canadian films (Lorimer, Gasher, & Skinner, 2008, p. 169).
Why do the authors say that “Ottawa has perceived cinema for most of its history as a medium of nation-building”?
Since the beginning of the Canadian film industry, the government of Canada has invested in cinema as a means of attracting public attention to and generating public support for state projects. Some of these purposes included spurring British immigration to develop Alberta, Saskatchewan,
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169).
What was the first serious effort by the Canadian government to encourage domestic feature-film production and what was the mandate of the body created for this purpose?
In 1967 the Canadian government founded the Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) with the purpose of investing in the domestic cinema, making financing accessible to producers and grant funding available to movie makers, recognize and reward the best producers in the industry, and provide distributional support to producers (Lorimer, Gasher, & Skinner, 2008, p. 170).
What led the Federal government to set up Telefilm?
Telefilm Canada is the current name of the former Canadian Film Development Corporation (Lorimer, Gasher, & Skinner, 2008, p. 172). Beginning in the 1980s, television replaced the cinema as the major profit maker of Canadian film production companies (p. 171). To adjust to this, the Canadian government changed the focus of the CFDC. The CFDC became known as Telefilm Canada and received large government funding to develop the Canadian television industry (p.
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For example, the province's geography and culture make it an attractive film setting for producers. Nova Scotia was the setting of Evangeline, "the first Canadian commercially-produced feature-length film" ( ). The cinema became a key educational and marketing tool for the government of Nova Scotia by the beginning of the 1920s. Finally, Nova Scotia was the first province in Canada to establish its own film board (Jäckel, 2007, p.
Darren Entwistle, originating in Montreal, Quebec; the executive chairman, former president and chief executive officer of TELUS-a telecommunications company, is a successful and eminent Canadian businessman. He’s the person who ran TELUS from a regional telephone service into a $25-billion national wireless player and also helped it grow into one of Canada’s
"We have an extremely antiquated Broadcasting Act," he said. "Things get old. People get old. Legislation gets old. We 're looking for a refresh of the Broadcasting Act. It 's a reasonable request." Entwistle suggested that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) should displace the Canadian Television Fund with a fund created and manage by company such as TELUS. (POST, 2006)Although his suggestions drew the CRTC’s attention, the Conservative government had already set the plan to the CRTC. However, Entwistle is brave and astute to strive for the maximum benefits, not only for TELUS, but also the Canada government and the whole
Their satellite TV division reaches almost a million homes across Canada. Shaw Communications, with its specialization in Cable and Satellite TV, has a very solid market base in Western Canada, especially now, with the purchase of the Winnipeg –based Canwest Global franchise. This characteristic is a major competitive advantage against the other three telecom giants. Shaw has been trying very hard to expand its services into the high speed internet and wireless communications market in order to compete with the other three major Canadian telecom companies, and this pathway has seen varying degrees of success. Although this company specializes in the cable and satellite T.V sectors, it is not a big competitor in the mobile industry, where there is more money to be made. Shaw is also not at the top of the list in terms of its dividend payouts. This affects interested investors as there are other higher dividend distributers which may be more attractive. Another negative point which affected Shaw’s profits in the first quarter of 2015, was the introduction of Shomi video streaming platform, in partnership with Rogers. Shaw recorded a $13 million equity loss in the start up of this programming. Shaw has also been losing customers due to comparable products from companies such as Netflix and web sites such as
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 development and implementation of John A. Macdonald’s National Policy was able to accomplish it’s three main goals: completion of the Canada Pacific Railway, the increase in tariffs and import duty to protect resources and industrial interest, as well as expanding immigration to the West of Canada. However, this period of success was also met with many disadvantages as well. The policy put forth for western immigration was discriminatory to francophone Canadians, causing massive emigration to the United States. In addition, the only areas to benefit from the National Policy were the heartland areas from Windsor to Montreal, causing regional innequality in Western Canada and the maritime provinces.
CanCon regulations not only help define Canada as a unity but help the creative Canadians that express themselves through musical expression. David Young states, “According to the CRTC, the higher requirements would expand the exposure given to Canadian artists and provide increased support to the Canadian music industry.” (Young, 2004) Therefore, in order for the Canadian music industry to expand and become successful there must be government intervention of content regulations. This is reinforced in the article The government steps in, “Without government support, the number of Canadian films, records and television shows would be much lower than it already is.”(1995) If CanCon regulations are not in place the amount of Canadian works will contract until one day there are none left. Hence, Canadian culture being lost within many other cultures. Shedd et al. state that having CanCon regulations in place “Could promote greater national unity. Similarly, it could promote a distinct Canadian culture, and as a result, a greater national identity or pride.”(Shedd et al. 1990) This helps to enforce that with CanCon regulations put in place the Canadian culture can be truly identified through television, films and music.
Semley, John. “From Big Snow to Big Sadness: The Repatriation of Canadian Cultural Identity in the Films of Guy Maddin.” Cineaction 73 (2008): 32-37.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
...an film pioneers include Jack Warner, born in London, Ontario and co-founder of the Warner Brothers, and Louis B Mayer, a major Hollywood personality from New Brunswick. Even though the industry was taken by Hollywood, there have been a lot of Canadians that have greatly contributed to the industry and has influenced the industry.
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.
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.
Thomas, David M.. Canada and the United States: differences that count. Third ed. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2008.
In 1972, Charles Dolan and Gerald Levin of Sterling Manhattan Cable launched the nation's first pay-TV network, Home Box Office (HBO). This venture led to the creation of a national satellite distribution system that used a newly approved domestic satellite transmission. Satellites changed the business dramatically, paving the way for the explosive growth of program networks.