If you don’t already listen to the CBC “Ideas” podcast, you may want to look that up. A deep dive into many different subjects, it’s well produced, intellectually challenging, and showcases many thoughtful and interesting guests.
This past week, one of the episodes was, “Remember the Last Time Canada Feared the U.S. Would Swallow It Up?” In the midst of conversations about free trade at that time, it replayed an episode it did in 1986 (how the hell is that almost 40 years ago?) “exploring a flurry of Canadian nationalism and patriotism brought on by fears that the U.S. was about to absorb Canada”.
In that episode, an interview with an executive from US media giant CBS particularly struck me. This paragon of arrogance waxed poetic about how Canadians should embrace American TV shows, since the two countries share the values that one would find espoused in such shows, such as bravery, the triumph of good over evil, concern for fellow man, etc. It shouldn’t matter, then (he said), that the show is American because the themes are universal.
Let’s assume that’s true for a moment. Then why is it that so many productions of every sort that are filmed in Canada, use Canadian actors, and are universal in theme think it necessary to use American place names and terminology when selling to the American market?
The CBC production “Wild Cards”, for instance, is filmed mostly in Vancouver but the show includes absolutely no mention of that city. It also uses police terminology that is either clearly American (“federal officer”) or completely generic, such as “Metro Police Department”.
All this, presumably, so that no potential American viewer will be put off by mentioning something as parochially Canadian as “the RCMP” or “Vancouver Police Department”. Because how could an American possibly relate to that? And bear in mind that this is the CBC producing this show, obviously with an eye on distributing it beyond Canadian borders.
Same with “Suits”, “Virgin River”, or any number of other such Canadian productions with American stories and settings. The list is a long one.
But if the themes are universal, what difference should it make? Wouldn’t those “shared values” of bravery, decency, etc. resonate with the audience regardless of setting?
The answer is “no”. Americans want to see themselves and their own stories reflected back at them in what they watch, and understandably so, at least to some extent.
Well, guess what? So do Canadians. I’m going to have a lot more interest in a story that includes mentions of Portage and Main, the RCMP, Mount Royal, the Fundy shore, or the Vancouver Police Department.
Why? Because they are part of MY story as a Canadian and my story is just as worthy a backdrop for portraying universal values and themes as is the American or any other story.
Canadians have always been drawn to American shows because they are most often slickly produced, many in number, and inexpensive for Canadian outlets to buy (tariffs, anyone?). But, if this were not the case and all else were equal, most Canadians would choose to watch the shows and films that tell THEIR stories, in THEIR places, in THEIR way.
So don’t tell me, Mr. CBS Executive, that we should be OK with hearing your stories your way and that seeing those stories through Canadian eyes isn’t important. With revived talk of American hegemony toward Canada, telling and seeing our stories our way is now more important than ever.