Canadian Film

1. Canadian films have long been compared to American films and described in the sense of being “not American”. There have been many ways we historically separate Canadian films from American films, and it has mostly been through showing the differences between the two. Canadian films, historically, must have Canadian elements to be considered uniquely Canadian. This could mean Canadian actors, a Canadian director, Canadian funding, or, most prominently, a Canadian setting. Specifically, as Jim Leach puts it, “Canadian stories set in Canadian locations” (48). An example of this is Goin’ Down the Road and its use of Canadian place. In the beginning, we are told where Joey and Peter currently are and where they are going to – they are from Nova …show more content…
In the former, the films either feature or in some cases are based around the idea of not being American and will often make fun of stereotypical American ways. An example of this is the Quebec film Ding et Dong (Chartrand, 1990). In the scene we discussed in class, Ding and Dong pretend to be American directors and really play up that they “are American”, essentially making fun of Americans. Then there are also the films that feature the heavy use of Canadian stereotypes. They do not necessarily make fun of these Canadian stereotypes, but many of it would be especially recognizable to Canadians – other nations may not really understand it. While Ding et Dong does feature these stereotypes as they simultaneously play up the American stereotypes, it is also featured in Les Boys, where the stereotypes of various hockey players in the locker room are displayed and may only be understood by those who are familiar with Canadian hockey culture, especially in …show more content…
For the documentary realist tradition, this is quite easily seen in many of the films we discussed over the course of this semester. For example, the film Les Ordres (Brault, 1974) is directed by a Canadian, features Canadian actors, deals with the events surrounding the FLQ and October Crisis in Quebec in 1970, and the setting is, obviously, Canadian as well. The many interview scenes that the film includes feature the documentary realist tradition and the film is definitely classified as a Canadian film. In the avant-garde tradition, these similar elements can be shown. For example, the film Tales from the Gimli Hospital, like Les Ordres, has a uniquely Canadian setting – this time it is Gimli, Manitoba – and also features a Canadian historical event – a smallpox outbreak from the nineteenth century (Leach 75). Just because one film features one tradition over the other, does that mean one film should be more “Canadian than the other”? I do not think so because of Canadian elements they include and because the traditions should be equally