Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Canadian content - eh?

Most Canadian filmmakers owe at least part of their career, either directly or indirectly to some level of government, government program or government initiative. However, in the last number of years, it seems that many of our film and television bodies are no longer helping maintain a strong Canadian identity.

There is no doubt that much of this is due to the growing complexities of contemporary Canada, the ever-shrinking financial resources available and the vast growth of new means of communication.

However my feeling is that in times of difficulty, leadership needs to emerge with ideas to deal with the situation. If that leadership is not forthcoming from within the organizations themselves, then it is incumbent upon the government to provide some.

Here are a couple of things that drive me crazy.

I really can’t get my head around that my tax dollars are being used to get the American Game show, “Wheel of Fortune” on CBC. (Jeopardy is another but it has this tiny tiny link to Canada through Ontario-born Alex Trebek.) Can’t we come up with something of our own? If we want to have game shows, let's make our own. Game shows are fairly cheap to make and given enough time, we could build an audience there too.

The Canada that I see everyday is a wonderfully diverse community of people with heritages from around the world. Cultural diversity is part of our essence. Let's not be ashamed of showing what it really is.

Why is this so important? Because film, television and the internet is how most of us get information and allow ourselves to be entertained. If taxpayer supported messages are, "It's only entertaining if it's American" or "There are mainly Caucasians living in Canada," you know what I say?

I don't want to pay for this. Reduce my taxes.

Isn’t it about time that we start having Canadian content that is truly Canadian?

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