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Happy Canada Day

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xESPNlH5rrA[/youtube]

Happy Canada Day! Recognize anybody in this Trudeau-era anthem film? Where are these Canadians today? I’m particularly nostalgic for this little film as it informed a lot of what I thought this country was — it was used as a TV sign off and also played before movies (in theatres!) when I was young — but watching it today it’s striking how little urbanity there is in it, despite that even then Canada was a fairly urban country. We’ve progressed in our view of ourselves since then somewhat, but our national mythology still skews to the rural, the wild and the unpaved (the Great Plains – Tom Thomson – Farley Mowat – Rocky Mountain machismo – The Idea of North – open highways – Canadian Shield lakes – the Tar Sands – Southern Ontario farmers – East Coast fisheries) though we are an entirely urban nation. This may be why we have such trouble getting urban issues on the federal agenda: the national conciousness is conditioned to think cities aren’t central to our way of life.

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14 comments

  1. I remember that film – the CBC, I believe, also used it as a sign-on film (at least) on CBLT in the mornings, as I awaited such morning shows as the Friendly Giant.

    Only one shot of (what appears) to be rue St-Catharine in Montreal – the grimy grey looks horrible compared to the pleasant black poles and traffic lights there now.

    In St. John’s, 20 years later, I noticed that a station there signed off with “God Guard Thee, Newfoundland.”

  2. If this video was representative of the federal agenda, I think we’d all be much more athletic.

  5. I rather think that the video is an NFB offering because many other stations used it as their sign-off also.

  6. Is it like from the 70s? I wonder what happened to the people in it, like the miner guy who is on the phone or the little girl and the baby brother. Or were they all actors? It would be cool to know.

  7. What’s with the child trying to eat the baby at the end? If childhood cannibalism was part of our culture in the 1970s, I’m glad we’ve moved on.

  8. Confused> I think David Frum dedicated a whole chapter to that in his anti-1970s book.

  9. John L> It seems that the high jump in the film was Greg Joy’s final silver medal winning jump at the MTL olympics in 76.

  10. An entirely urban nation? I will have to mention that to my family when I visit them on the farm…

  12. Does anybody know what year they ceased playing the anthem in movie theatres? My memory tells me it was sometime in the 1980’s. Did the practice end on a particular year because of a law change or was the practice gradually phased out?

  13. They probably ceased playing anthems when they realized they could suck movie goers into accepting the annoying commercials that upped theatre revenues.

    I do still like that 70’s era promo. It shows why a vibrant CBC is essential to helping us realize and affirm nationhood.

    Cities are NOT essential to our way of life. Farms are much more so. I’d like to see a ‘BUY LOCAL’ produce push by both the province and the feds.

    We could be ‘breadbasket to the world’ – unless we screw ourselves over oil, mining and heavy industry.

    Happy Canada Day anyways, eh? (you hosers)

  14. I remember that well, not so much on TV but in movie theatres, back when such things mattered even if they didn’t bring in extra revenue.

    For some reason back then I fixated on the last shot with the little girl grabbing (presumably) her little brother and kissing him while he was obviously uncomfortable and had snot running down his face. I always thought that was really gross and wondered who would think such an image belonged in that context.

    In my later years, of course, I came to the realization that breeders always consider their brats to be endearing, no matter what they may be up to.

    Derek