Is Canadian Culture Doomed to Become American? As Alvin Toffler once said, “The wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets”1. Such holds true for the American culture, which is not only a dominating factor in its own internal market and known domestically but also a dictating force in countries around the world on the global scale, and the first on their list – Canada. This issue of cultural imperialism is touched upon by Gaëtan Tremblay in his article, “Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?” Although Tremblay talks about the American culture’s influence on Canada as a whole, his main concern in this article is Quebec, which is in a separate league than the rest of Canada due to its different linguistics. Tremblay focuses on Quebec culture and raises many significant issues that should be noticed. He mentions that due to their similarity in language, Canadian television is “much more exposed to American influences”2. Therefore, the Quebecois feel rather alienated in terms of their distinct culture and “like Canadians, want to keep their protective policies and regulations concerning the promotion of their cultural identity”3. His opinion about American culture is rather clear and his main point is that although there are many Canadian based organizations that are formed for the promotion and protection of Canadian culture such as the Broadcasting Act adopted by the Parliament in 1991 and the Canadian Radio-Television and telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canadians should further endorse themselves in increasing Canadian cultural production not only in Canada itself, but in the global market as well. As American culture becomes more and more powerful and influential, the Quebec culture and identity is at ... ... middle of paper ... ...tive impact of the American culture and only a great emphasis on the negative factors. He should consider the fact that while Americans can seem as a threat to Canadian culture, there are also their neighbours and establishing a good relationship could mean a greater market for Canada’s domestic goods. Sources 1) Amusing Quotes (2003). “Culture Quotes”. Online at: , consulted on February 10th, 2004. 2-8) Canadian Journal of Communications (1992). “Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?”. Online at: , consulted on February 4th, 2003. 9) Quotes on Culture. “Quotations on Culture”. Online at: , consulted on February 12th, 2004.
In 1933, as part of the Cuban army, Batista led a rebellion called the Revolt of Sergeants. The goal of this uprising was to overthrow the administration of Gerardo Machado. In alliance with students, ...
Today Canada and the United States are major trading partners, allies, and two neighboring countries with a long history of cooperation with each other. But is it possible for Canada to protect its independence and culture living next door to the country so powerful and rich as the United States. Since the Canadian confederation, Canada started developing relations with the U.S. As the years passed by, Canada began to relay on the United States in the national defense. Many Canadians think that the military, political and economical dependence would not make a difference to their daily life. 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.
Clarke, Philip. “Cuba’s Newest Revolution Bloodless but Plenty Bewildering as New President Breaks Army Grip, Aims at Democracy.” The Washington Post. 22 July. 1945: B3. ProQuest. James Madison University library. 16 September 2003
In order to understand the complexity of the Anti-Americanism, it is important to understand the history and relationship between Canada and the United States. The sentiment was first conceived by the Europeans and the issues it had with the upcoming “rebellious” American culture. Europeans at the time had the tendency to see Americans as, “overconfident and self-important… it was this egocentricity that most aggravated Europeans” (O’Connor, 2004). In its earliest form, the American ideology seemed to be an opponent to the popular European ideology. Which soon became a campaign between “high culture” (the European ideology) and “low culture” (the American culture) and through that rivalry many European citizens held the belief that,
Tremblay's article on the Americanization of Quebec culture is slightly more than a decade old, yet most of the information he provides is still relevant today. In his article, Tremblay takes a look at the invasion of Quebec 's airwaves by American content. His title refers to a belief in his mind that the Quebecois culture will one day be integrated into that of America , which in turn will lead to Quebec throwing itself into the melting pot of American culture.
TREMBLAY, Gaëtan (1992). "Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?", Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol.17 , nº 2 ["Sense and Nonsense: Perspectives on Cultural Issues"]. Online at , consulted on November 26, 2002.
Gaëtan Tremblay is a professor at the University in Quebec in Montreal. As a concerned Quebecois, He wrote an article which discusses the Americanization of Canada, in particular Quebec. Tremblay seems to have a strong stand point about the future of Quebec. Using statistical and literary evidence, primary and secondary sources, he attempts to support his argument that Quebec is a victim of American cultural colonization. Tremblay fears that Canadian culture is going to disappear as a result of the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement.
One of the common criticisms of national pride is the development of xenophobic, “Us vs. Them” thinking. Living in Canada, a nation which has a relatively small population of approximately 33,390,000, compared to America, a country of an estimated 303,824,000 people (Central Intelligence Agency, 2008), gave me a glimpse of how this kind of thinking can work. Canadian culture is, at its core, incredibly nationalist. Canadians have an irrational fear of cultural dilution at the hands of America's exported entertainment, news, and world politics. Given the fear and righteous self-view of the dominant culture, it is an inevitability that co-cultures separated from the dominant culture by national identity are treated as sub-cultures.
This book is the second half of a larger work, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. The purpose of the larger work is to give a detailed history of Cuba’s struggle for freedom, beginning in 1762. This volume starts in 1952, with Batista’s rise to power, and concludes in 1970, with the Ten Million Ton Harvest.
A political opposition by students continued to grow, Fidel formed a group that would join the opposition against the Baptista government. Fidel had revolutionary plans that led him and group to form an attack. Fidel went to prison, but a couple years later was released and reassembled his plan to overthrow Baptista. He gathered new support and formed a gorilla force that would fight against Batista soldiers. The rebellion grew with Fidel’s guerilla force. By the end of that revolution, Fidel was victorious in taking down Batista.
Fidel Castro, one of Cuba’s most influential leaders of liberation, finished his education in Havana and became a professional lawyer. “He was born in Oriente Province on August 13, 1926, 50 miles from Santiago de Cuba. His father, Angel Castro, had immigrated to Cuba from Galicia, in northwestern Spain, and had prospered in sugar and lumber,” (Huberman, 25). A young lawyer and former student activist, Fidel Castro entered the political system; however, his plan was disrupted when Fulgencio Batista set to continue he reign of power. “A Cuban presidential election was scheduled for June 1, 1952 and Batista walked into Camp Columbia, the largest military fortress in Cuba, and took over the armed forces. If he couldn’t win at the election polls, he could do what he had done in 1934 - take over the government by force,” (Huberman, 25). Fidel Castro petitioned for the imprisonment of Batista, but was rejected by the courts of Cuba. So, Fidel decided that there was only one way in which Batista could be overthrown…revolution. Having decided that a revolution was necessary, Fidel with a purpose now devoted himself to the task of preparing for
In the situation Castro was in, his resources of other comrades like Guevara and his knowledge of Cuba and the Cuban people were evident in his successful entry and acceptance in Cuba as a revolutionary. Furthermore, Batista’s frantic, brutal retaliation against the people of his own country paved the way toward his downfall by losing civilian and international support, that all eventually ended up in Castro’s hands. In taking the country in 2 years time, Castro has been one of the most successful revolutionaries in history and is a prime example of the effects of guerrilla warfare when integrated properly with the desires of the society that is being undertaken. Castro stated in History Will Absolve Me “They [Batista's military dictatorship] have tried to establish the myth that modern arms render the people helpless to overthrow tyrants” (Castro), he claims of the power a group of people with a common goal have, even in an unlikely situation, and he went on 5 years later to confirm this with the success of the 26th of July Movement.
During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.
In order to rise to power, Fidel Castro had used the assistance of media to put members of Batista’s regime on trial. By doing this, he led a movement to overthrow the previous government. In 1952, Castro had launched a bid for Cuba’s House of Representatives, but the election never followed through. The Cuban dictator at the time, Fulgencio Batista had been the one who had rejected his idea. This had outraged Castro so he launched his own offensive. On July 26, 1953, the young revolutionary led a group of 165 rebels against dictator Batista ("Fidel Castro"). The movement, of more than 100 men had attacked army barracks in Moncada. The attack failed and
“Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail” is an article written by John P. Kotter in the Harvard Business Review, which outlines eight critical factors to help leaders successfully transform a business. Since leading requires the ability to influence other people to reach a goal, the leadership needs to take steps to cope with a new, more challenging global market environment. Kotter emphasizes the mistakes corporations make when implementing change and why those efforts create failure; therefore, it is essential that leaders learn to apply change effectively in order for it to be beneficial in the long-term (Kotter).