Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
While we're on this topic, has anyone seen the fun documentary, "Being Canadian", by Canadian comedic writer Rob Cohen? I recently saw it on Amazon Prime (I think), and it's both humorous and educational, and I'd recommend this as essential viewing for the average (ignorant) American. Among other things, it takes a light-hearted look at how Canadians view America and Americans, and visa versa. I had no idea Canadians felt this way! I also learned a lot about Canadian culture and its provinces. I especially enjoyed the part about the Mounties. Those guys are so HOT! Check it out if you haven't seen it:
So, the writer actually believes that the average American is "ignorant"? Really? Maybe they just see Canada as basically being irrelevant?
No, that's not the point of the film.
I just watched it via the link I provided, and the film's point isn't about ignorant Americans--they, and the uninformed impressions of people in places such as Bangladesh, India, and England; take up about one minute of the film's 90 minutes--it's about what being Canadian means. Can "being Canadian" be defined? Through a series of interviews with ordinary Canadians, Canadian celebrities (Michael J. Fox, Dan Aykroyd, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers, the band Rush, and others), and the filmmaker's own experiences in his past and on a cross-Canada journey, the film attempts to answer that question.
It doesn't really succeed in answering that question, but that may be by design. Along the way, it shows a lot of Canada's history, and how that made today's Canada and Canadians. It does dispel the impression that Canada is a land of permanent ice and snow (much of the film is shot in summer, with green grass, trees in full leaf, and many Canadians in shorts and T-shirts), though there are winter scenes too. My own feeling is that the filmmaker set out knowing that the question couldn't be answered, but in intentionally failing to do so, does reveal a lot about Canada and Canadians that foreigners may not have realized. And what Canadians take for granted, but need a wakeup call on. If that was its goal, then I'd suggest that it succeeds.
Last edited by ChevySpoons; 11-18-2020 at 11:33 PM..
Again; we're going to have to disagree as MOST Americans would NOT know the first Prime Minister of Canada, much less know them all in the order they served to present day.
Again: I would opine you are the rare exception by knowing AND for even having shown any interest in knowing.
As A/J has chimed in with his opinion again; I'll go him one better and agree with his opinion in that it would not be normal for MOST Canadians to know those Prime Ministers in order. Most might know a couple of them such as Laurier and McDonald that are pictured on Canadian currency but quite probably not the two pictured on the $50.00 (King) and $100.00 (Borden) bills.
A couple of them formed such a brief footnote in our history such as Clark and Campbell, that I would opine they'd be mentioned only briefly in any political science classes.
Yes, and I'd add that unlike Americans, who all seem to have had a history exam where they needed to name every POTUS in order, learning all of the Canadian PMs is not a thing here. Not even in school.
Though Canadian schoolkids all seem to have to learn every province (and maybe territory) and their capitals. Seems fairly consistent between my wife, myself, and my kids, and we all went to school in different provinces. Well, not my kids. But my wife and I did and my kids are in school in Quebec where neither of their parents studied.
I already knew a lot about Canada before seeing this film. But honestly, I was surprised to learn about this Canadian attitude of "we're the tag-along, insecure little brother of big-brother America" portrayed in this film. I guess I assumed that Canadians were probably as ambivalent about Americans as we were about them, but each feeling equal to the other. Two nations peacefully living side-by-side, each being acknowledged by the other when it was relevant, and each being a very nice place to visit or live.
I have never expected ANY nation to know the particulars of American history, it's people, or its culture. If someone wants to learn, then fine, be our guest! Until recently, most visitors or those wishing to emigrate, have been welcomed with open arms inside American borders. Admittedly, it's grown dark the last four years with the current (and almost past-YEA!) administration cultivating suspicion, distrust, and near-hatred for some groups, attempting to prevent their entrance. Its very sad, but this has not been the norm throughout America's history. Indeed, it's been just the opposite. Both Canadian and American nations came into existence due of the courage, hard work, and fierce determination of emigrants coming from all over the world, seeking to improve and enrich their lots in life. Pretty amazing phenomenon when you think about it, and I'm proud to have been born from such stock.
For Americans, our neighbors to the north have always been regarded with nothing but good will, equality, and a genuine feeling of affinity & camaraderie. At least that's what I've perceived my entire life. I've never known or heard of any American harboring ill-will against Canadians. Just because Americans (not all) may be blissfully ignorant about Canada as a whole, does nothing to degrade that positive emotion and trust.
I, for one, never thought Canada was a land of permanent ice, or that people lived in igloos, or that bears roamed the streets of its towns, or that everyone lived in either Toronto or Vancouver on nothing but maple syrup and poutine. That whole premise is just silly. I considered Canadians, by and large, as living very similar lives to Americans.
I haven't watched the film yet, but just from this clip of Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall fame, raised my eyebrows.
He obviously isn't talking from personal experience since he's younger than me and seems to parroting someone or is misunderstanding that at the time Pierre Trudeau became PM, it was Canada's Centennial. This event naturally focused the country on itself. History included, but to say Canadian history wasn't taught before this, is incorrect.
For example
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Complete with commercials. Sorry, I said above it was one hour, but it's actually an hour and half long.
