Many scholars have a notion that children and teens are highly susceptible to being influenced by the media due to their lack of real world experiences (Scharrer, 1957). With such a high population of young people in Canada we must be aware of the content broadcasted through mass media to encourage a more “Canadian” youth. Canadian television, films, and radio alike are often compared to that of American media, which contains highly identifiably American substance. Thus, Canadian identity and culture is greatly influenced by content derived from the USA. Otherwise, Canada has rich and diverse culture with its own economic systems, political ideologies and processes, ways of life and social mores (StatsCan, 2013). Therefore, it is up to Canadian regulations to motivate its citizens towards embracing a more Canadian identity and deter from Americanization. This paper will explore ways in which the Canadian music industry will help define and influence national identity as well as the political and societal benefits that will accompany implemented regulations. . Regulations of Canadian content defined using the MAPL system should be implemented by the CRTC to support Canadian ingenuity, values, and politics in order to form a more homogenous Canadian identity through music.
When radio was first introduced in Canada it was privately owned, this gave leeway for American companies to absorb the rights to broadcasted content. The Prime Minister at the time, R.B. Bennett became convinced that the “existing system of private radio would almost inevitably lead to the Americanization of a crucial cultural industry.” (Vipond, 2000, p. 41). Therefore regulations were implemented to “contribute to the development of national unity and provide a...
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Siegel, A. (1983). Politics and the Media in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Street, J. (2013). Music and Politics. Hoboken , NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Vipond, M. (2000). The Mass Media in Canada. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers.
Young, D. (2004). The Promotional State and Canada's Juno Awards. Popular Music , 23, 271.
Canada, G. o. (2013, 05 13). Defining Culture. Retrieved 03 12, 2014, from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/87-542-x/2011001/section/s3-eng.htm
Canada, G. o. (2009, 08 10). The MAPL System- Defining a Canadian Song. Retrieved 03 12, 2014, from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/info_sht/r1.htm
Miller, P. J. (2014, January 13). What is Canadian About Canadian Media? Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
The government of Canada is aware and concerned of the power of print media, such as magazine and how it is influencing Canadian to drift away from their culture and over taken by foreign culture.
James-white, Don. Opinions of Legacies of Sir John A Macdonald. 03 Mar. 2005. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 May 2011
Over the years, ICT, information communication technologies, has lead to a smaller world. A world where information can be transmitted instantaneously, a world where the quality of the information received has vastly improved. This information highway era has become so efficient that it has created a "global village". Canada is placed in a rather unique societal position today in this global village. It stands out from the rest of the world with its culturally diverse population, community networking and experts in the field. From representing its multicultural citizens through broadcasting programming, to creating successful community networks, and having leading experts in the field of communications, Canada must be considered one of the leading model communication innovators to the rest of the world.
Canada holds the same beliefs about pubic broadcasting as Lowe & Jauert (2005). As a nation that is not only democratic but multicultural and diverse, media influence plays a major role in bringing together and shaping the Canadian society. Howev...
Back to the early 1970s, people from CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) felt anxious and threatened when they became aware of American Cultural imperialism had a big influence on Canadian Cultural Identity which made the latter to diminish. To solve this crisis, CRTC adopted Canadian content rules (CanCon) to govern the percentage of the music with Canadian content should be played from radio stations until now. Theoretically, this regulation could cause Canadian talents to rise and support the Canadian music industry. Also for Canadian artists, they would get more opportunities to let the masses to hear their music. However, from my point of view, CanCon works the opposite way. Reasons are as follows.
... Popular Music Studies 23, no. 1 (2011): 19-39. Accessed April 28, 2014. Academic Search Complete.
22 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard Edwards, Michael. A. Review "MARY AND MAX " What is a Culture? N.p., n.d. Web.
In conclusion, Canada was influenced throughout the 1920's by America, that by 1929 Canada became very similar to America in social trends, economics and produce. But has this stopped in modern day era? Canada continues to be heavily influenced by the amount of American products and media outpouring into Canada. Canada has made attempts throughout time to impede the onslaught of American invasion but American invasion is seen on a huge global scale. Hit movies, tv shows, products among others are generally based on American culture, views, or based within American domain. It is a reign yet to be stopped.
Many people might have a diverse opinion on the extend of the American cultural influence on Canada, but the truth is, these two countries share a long common border, they use frequently the same language, they watch the same movies, listen to the same music and collaborate on other numerous levels, including economic and political activity. In this paper, I would like to show the extent of the influence on Canadian popular culture that comes from the United States. For my analysis I have chosen four segments of popular culture: television, printed media, music and films. In these are the main sectors where we can see the biggest evidence of this phenomenon. In the first part I would like to shortly introduce the history of this issue. The second part is the analysis of the four sectors.
40 Fleras, Augie and John Lock Kunz. Media and Minorities: Representing Diversity in a Multicultural Canada. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 2001: 30.
For many years Canada has feared the increasing influence of its North American neighbours on its culture. It has become a major growing anxiety for the people in power to keep Canada’s separate identity and to promote Canadian culture in an effective way without depending on the United States. Since the invasion of the United States’ culture, the Canadian government has initiated policies and programs to protect Canadian Culture and thus Canada has become more culturally independent. The Canadian Government made three different ways to help protect the Canadian culture. The first was the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMP) which was created in September 1918, during the end of WWI. The second was the thought of prosperity
Canada as a nation has been striving to characterize itself as more ?Canadian? for decades. This has included numerous struggles and events such as protests, bans, and the creation of the Massey Commission, to encourage national development in the arts, and support major companies like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and National Film Board (NFB). However, this has not been an easy task for the Canadian government, as major influences from below the border (the United States) have been captivating the Canadian audiences by large. American media has had a momentous revolutionizing effect on Canada, even through efforts made to define Canada with its own cultural identity.
Finally, if the comparison were ever made a survey, it would really show the full scale of Americanization in Canada. But until now we can only see from the daily life, how American culture is inviting Canada. Today more then ever, Canadians are in real danger of loosing their national identity. It is unfortunate that if the study of this cultural influence will be done few years later, it might be too late to save Canadian culture and identity.
Made in 1970, the year of Wieland’s return to Canada, “O Canada (Animation)” is a large embroidery piece on fabric depicting a series of luscious, bright red lips mouthing the words to the Canadian anthem, ultimately a visual rendition of its lip-synching. (It also exists as lithographic prints, where the mouths are similar to lipstick). The mouths are analogous to those of pin up girls and advertisements; the piece hangs loosely like a banner or flag. Wieland has just spent several years living in New York City and is now delving into works dealing with Canadian nationalism and traditionally feminine handcrafts. “O Canada” would not become the official Canadian anthem until 1980, but already in 1966, Lester B. Pearson is placing motions so that the song may become the country’s anthem. Similarly, the maple leaf flag is first flown in 1965 – nationali...
Mass Media. Ed. William Dudley. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 121-130.