SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY VANCOUVER

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the

20th century HISTORY 204

Gabor Bernat 301134451

4/16/2010

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 1

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20th

century

Forming a new nation takes time and effort. While the emancipation of a local

population may take a lot of effort and wanting, the challenges appear only

afterwards. As if every child aspires to hear stories from its elders in order to

form their belief systems and soul so do a new formed nation looks after

values and common aspirations to the community in order to form their own

identity. One could argue that a nation is as powerful as their population

believes that they follow the same goals.

Building a strong belief system goes back to basics: experience. Moreover,

this you can acquire only through events that demonstrate the common will of

the population. However, most of the time we are not visual and auditoria

witnesses to certain events. Under these circumstances, we can only relate to

what other tells us. In this domain, the 20th century has been certainly a

breakthrough in humanity. Never before could you spread news with this

speed.

The postal birds took up their deserved place in history and throughout the

century, they have been replaced first with the telephone, radio, television and

lately with the internet. The flow of the information has long overcome our

capability of information processing. Therefore, we really on the media to act

as a filter and provide to us the relevant information we may want to hear.

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 2

Nevertheless, because the control of the information is equal with the control

of the nation‟s identity who selects important and interesting events is

essentially at some level in control of forming how the identity of a nation

develops. Throughout this paper, I will try to show how the Canadian media

struggled through the Information Age to the overwhelming influence coming

from the United State of Americas Mass Media. This is a key moment in the

formation of the “global village” saw by McLuhan1.

Childhood is a special period of our life. This is the point when we create our

image of the world, something that will influence our decision for the rest of

our life. Although personal experience will guide us in different directions

later on, this is the time we form our core belief system. This will be there for

every decision later on in our life and it will tell us at some level what is good

and what is bad. Because this early on we have no experience about life what

the others tell us about life, we tend to believe it and try to identify ourselves

with it. Therefore, if you control the flow of information/experience to the

children essentially you can shape how the grown up nation identifies itself.

Throughout the XX century, the telling part I talked about previously changed

multiple times. One of the oldest and most traditional ways is the story telling

from the life experience of our parent, grandparents, and family friends. Ray

1 Cynthia R. Comacchio and Elizabeth Jane Errington. “Context for Topic 9:

Medium and Mesge:Popular Culture, Mass Media, and National Identity ” in People, Places, and Times Readings in Canadian Social History, Volume 2: Post-Confederation,

p. 372 (Toronto : Nelson, Division of Thomson Canada Limited, 2006)

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Guy grew up in the late 1930s and 1940s in Newfoundland fishing village of

Arnold‟s Cove. He recalled that: “Night after night the old men sat around

lamp-lit kitchens and repeated their repertoire of anecdotes, half of which

they‟d learned verbatim from their own fathers and grandfathers.”2 During our

early ages, we are fragile and we still do not know how to react in key

situations. During this, period parents have an important influence. We look

up on them and require their advices on a daily basis.

However, the fast phased life of the 20th century does not always allow that

they are around with the both mother and father-working model. Therefore,

by the late night story telling people around us have the opportunity to share

their life experience, present situations and examples of how to react in that.

An extent to this is the presentation of life careers. Stompin‟ Tom Connors for

example learned from his grandfather3 how to sing and his greatest musical

influence became his mother as he started to pursue a professional musical

career. “Names like Wilf Carter and Hank Snow were household words at our

place, and my mother used to know the words to most of the songs… I can

still picture her standing in front of a mirror, wearing one of Grampy‟s old

hats and singing „I‟m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande.‟4

2 Neil Sutherland. “Popular Media in the Culture of English-Canadian

Children in Twentieth Century” in PPT Vol2, p. 377 3 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 377 4 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 378

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 4

In order to make the flow of information easier new technologies ascended.

With the modernization of the school system, “Canadian children were

typically spending almost eight years in school by 1911”5. Due to this

newspaper became one of the major information sources for children as they

learned to read at an early age. In order to facilitate a greater inclusion of

young into the new channel of media newspaper started to create “teen” pages

on Sunday newspaper or even go as far as creating “teen” magazines. The

comic book market is certainly one of these.

Moreover, with the creation of multiple libraries children acquired access to a

completely new world. A world that they did not hesitate to wove inside their

daily life. One of these is “Fee” Hellman who relates, “If Huckleberry Finn

and Tom Sawyer could do it, so could we”.6 Along with a friend, they made a

raft and rode it some miles down the Kootenay River in an attempt to relieve

the experience of the hero of the novel of Mark Twain.

In entertainment, there is no such thing as getting old. No art realization ever

gets out dated if it is truly good. The filter of time just adds to it more

interpretation opportunities and new admires. The emotional tension

experiencing an art by hearing it (in music) or reading it (in books), or seeing

it (movies) will always stay in ones hearth as vivid memories. The popularity

of certain classics persisted in the book market in the later part of the 20 th

5 Comacchio and Errington. “Context for Topic 8: Modernizing

Institutions: Church and School ” in PPT Vol2, p.315 6 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 379

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 5

century. At the publication of a new Harry Potter book, five great Canadian

writers revealed their favorite authors of youth. Names like John Ronald

Reuel Tolkie, Richard Adams, Nancy Drew, Lucy Maud Montgomery, C.S.

Forester and etcetera7 are still considered as classic by the children and remain

popular as now we entered the 21th century.

Later on radio replaced the reading hype with the entrance of sport

broadcasting, musical programs and periodical news. This allowed the

creation of stars. Stars that formed after the lunch of a new record like in case

of Elvis Presley in the eyes of the young Rita MacNail8: “I‟d sit inside the

dark apartment and listen to the radio... singing along to an Elvis Presley song,

like „Love Me Tender‟, or „Blue Suede Shoes‟”. Alternatively, in other case

opened a new market of hockey card collectors as Harvey Kick recalls: “Our

„local‟ station... carried… Saturday Night Hockey games… Is there a middle-

aged man anywhere who did not collect Bee Hive Golden Syrup hockey

photos in his youth?”9

Getting into this hype of the entertainment was not always as simple as

reading a book or listening to a radio show. Especially in the small rural cities

like St. Augustine, Ontario at first, they were some shallow attempts to

organize concerts. Broadcaster and CBC personality Harry Boyle remembers

one of these as Mrs. Henderson (the wife of a local banker) organized an

event under the name of “An Evening of Varied Cultural Entertainment”.

7 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 380 8 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 378 9 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 386

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Although the performers at the first concert were not top notch, it left a deep

mark, on the entire community: “The concert was the main topic of the talk

for a week”10. Soon enough they became periodical and “The Young Farmers‟

Club hired an outside orchestra to play for a dance.”

In the 1950s television and with it the cinema gradually replaced radio as the

center of family entertainment. 11 Now children could watch in action their

beloved comic book hero, see performing artists musical records right inside

the luxury of their home and gave an opportunity to gather in front of the

television with their friends every now and then. These experiences shaped the

core belief system of many children as Karen Chee writes about Ernie

Coombs “Mr. Dressup” “He taught me English when I only knew how to

speak the Cantonese of my parents. He taught me creativity and

imagination… Along with my parents and „Sesame Street‟, Mr. Dressup

nurtured me into becoming a healthy, happy child. He represented stability in

my world.”12

If we are talking about positive influence and forming a national identity in

Canada, we must talk about the comic book Captain Canuck. First appeared

in 1975 “Captain Canuck clad in a red and white suit and maple leaf

emblems, used his strength – derived from a healthy diet and fitness – to fight

10 Harry J. Boyle “Excerpt from With a Pinch of Sin” [1966] in PPT Vol2,

p. 404 11 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 387 12 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 388

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 7

for Canadian „peace, order, and good government‟ ” 13. Comic books were

already one of those sources from what the youngsters of the age were

following appearance by appearance to see how their role model saved the day

once again.

Comic books and movies had shown to the kids stereotypes of the good and

the villain in the same type. Moreover, as the first impression says it all in

how we interact with someone even for us the elders, they actually helped in

laying down the core belief system of the children. Children aspired to be and

behave like the heroes about what they read. Paul Jay was in grade five, “the

boys all wanted to be one here: Wolverine… a mutant super hero from

Canada with acute animal senses, a nasty temper, and retractable, razor-sharp

metal claws that he uses for gouging, slashing, and grappling with

evildoers”.14 Kids recite the stories of the heroes as if they have done it their

selves.

However, with the new technologies inside Canada American companies

managed to establish their domination over the Canadian media. For example,

the movie market has been taken over by Hollywood productions and unless

you wanted to make a short film, finding funding was almost impossible task.

Therefore, they existed very little Canadian Content on the market and if

13 Ryan Edwardson. “The Many Lives of Captain Canuck: Nationalism,

Culture, and the Creation of a Canadian Comic Book Superhero” in PPT

Vol2, p. 393 14 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 381

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 8

someone did make one, s/he would have struggled to make her/his movie

shown to the public, as all major cinemas were owned by American business

mans. Nevertheless, due to this if you wanted to make your name known for

the masses you had to come ahead with something of high quality and

creativity.

Captain Canuck managed to squeeze in on the comic book market dominated

by American content with local ones. It shown locations and believes that

resonated with the Canadian view of the World. The market was already

overwhelmed with content from the states and emerging and staying above on

a market required something special.

In an effort to achieve this, the creator Richard Comely tried to deliver a

unique story with Canadian content inside it and provide significantly higher

quality glossy paper and more complex coloring than their American

counterpart.15 However, the cost of producing a comic book in Canada in the

end made its result and due to the lack of funding in 1975 after Issue 3, the

comic book took a pause. Nevertheless, the comic book was a real success as

you could tell from the enthusiasm of the initial response of the readers. For

instance: “as Canadian I am proud to see our nation‟s greatness recognized”,

“here‟s to success in making Captain Canuck 100% Canadian” and “Captain

Canuck has brought out the nationalistic spirit in all its readers, a pride this

country now needs.”

15 Edwardson. “The Many Lives of Captain Canuck” in PPT Vol2, p. 398

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 9

Through effort Comely managed to resurrect the comic book once again in

1979, and once again in once again in 1993 after it stopped again for the same

old lack of funding reason in 1983. However, the problems when you want to

publish a comic book remained unsolved and in 1996, Captain Canuck

capitulated again in front of these issues.

In the early 1950s, the Canadian government started to sense that local artists

have huge difficulties to overcome in getting their products to the masses.

Vincent Massey was appointed in 1949 to take stock of cultural activities

across the nation. In the final report entitled “The National Gallery” Massey

shown that the problems are as real as they can be and proposed the

involvement of the federal government. He write that the loans of items from

the national gallery are difficult as “there are only about six local art galleries”

that match the requirements of how the items should be stored. 16Moreover, he

recommended the founding of a national agency, the Canada Council, to

support the voluntary efforts in promoting the Canadian arts. In 1952, Massey

became the first Canadian-born governor general.

In the 1950s after the publication in the United States of America of Dr.

Frederic Wertham‟s Seduction of Innocent, the fuss became so large that it

propagated into the Canada and thanks to Progressive Conservative Member

of Parliament E. Davie Fulton lead to the pass of a bill controlling crime

16 Massey Comission “The National Gallery” [1949] in PPT Vol2, p. 407

Canadian Identity and Mass Media in the 20 th Century Page 10

comics still in place today. 17 This marked the start of what we known now

today as parental control. Mainly it involves protecting inappropriate content

from our children. Just as a good story might inspire a child to push ahead and

try to realize great things, it might suggest to become a criminal.

Although some steps were made in promoting the Canadian Content and

protecting our children from inappropriate content after the publication the

question remains in our days. A good proof to this is the response of the

Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers‟ Federation on the more Canadian

content on television requested by the Canadian Labour Congress. After

hearing, the Canadian television system the Canadian Radio-television and

Telecommunication Commission concluded, “The CBC delivers a lot of

Canadian content but the private board- and cable-casters primarily air

American programming”.18 They expose the correct question: “Television is a

powerful purveyor of values. The question is whose values”. Canada does

have its own personality and history that deserves to be known by its

population and by the world as CLC vice president Nancy Riche said: “To

those who scream that there are no audiences for shows about Canadians, we

answer that there are plenty of engaging and compelling Canadian stories…

Those who claim otherwise are simply lazy and uncreative.” 19

17 Sutherland. “Popular Media” in PPT Vol2, p. 382 18 Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation “Our Culture:

Canadian or American?” [1998] in PPT Vol2, p. 410 19 Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation “Our Culture”

[1998] in PPT Vol2, p. 410

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Through the globalization of the world, the economic border now goes beyond

of the edge of a country. However, what I find even more troubling is that the

flow of the information goes with it. All that we know about our nations is

what we hear about it. In order to see an accurate picture we need to see

ourselves through our own eyes. However, if our media is dominated by

foreign market eventually we will find ourselves that we are seeing an image

of us painted by others as their own personal interests dictate. Although it is

true that the presence of competition on the market leads to better quality

products, we should not forget that this is a double-edged sword.

I find it crucial that through the government and its executive power we

should stop the fall of the media in foreign hands and the overflow of foreign

content on our TV channels (and lately internet sites). Otherwise, we endanger

finding ourselves that we lost our identity and traditions. Globalization should

be done with care and in respect to the identity of each nation. The diversity of

the humankind is one of the reasons that we managed to survive so long,

creating one uniform believes, and identity leads to this road.

For now, I think it is safe that we can conclude one thing. The huge American

content overflow from states had a major influence in the creation of the

Canadian identity in the 20th century. Yes, the Canadian people managed to

reinterpret in their own view the incoming values and adapt them however on

the long run we need to make sure that we control what our children see and

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we should always remember from where the Canadian people came and how

the Canadian nation formed. However, Canada will be unable to develop our

own story until the main media is following the American model and it is

owned by the American media companies.