Why does Canada suck at telling its own stories

[FSTO]

Nobody in Canada is interested in historical drama's?
Too many groups will be annoyed that their story is not told correctly?
History was written by white men?

Or are we just too culturally overwhelmed by the behemoth to the south that any effort by us will be seen an amateurish?


One group I'd love to see a movie or series made of is the Motor Torpedo Boat crews of the "Champagne Navy"

Champagne Navy: Canada's Small Boat Raiders of the Second World War · Canadian Book Review Annual Online

The Canadian Book Review Annual online database provides access to more than 30,000 reviews of Canadian-authored books. CBRAonline is a closed database, hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries to provide free and open access to this comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of...

cbra.library.utoronto.ca

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

 

[mariomike]

It's been done.

National Film Board of Canada: " Death by Moonlight- Bomber Command "

Wasn't particularly respectful to the memory of the 10,855 Canadians who were killed while serving with Bomber Command during World War II.

Some survivors even said it "sucked" , or, words to that effect.

Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command

This feature-length documentary focuses on the Canadian pilots who served in the air force bomber command in Britain during World War II. From the outset, it was clear …

www.nfb.ca

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Nobody in Canada is interested in historical drama's?
Too many groups will be annoyed that their story is not told correctly?
History was written by white men?

Or are we just too culturally overwhelmed by the behemoth to the south that any effort by us will be seen an amateurish?


One group I'd love to see a movie or series made of is the Motor Torpedo Boat crews of the "Champagne Navy"

Champagne Navy: Canada's Small Boat Raiders of the Second World War · Canadian Book Review Annual Online

The Canadian Book Review Annual online database provides access to more than 30,000 reviews of Canadian-authored books. CBRAonline is a closed database, hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries to provide free and open access to this comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of...

cbra.library.utoronto.ca

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

From AI but I remembered that we had our sailors on the X-boats

• Lieutenant George Philip: A Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) officer, he successfully commanded British submarines, including those operating with the elite 12th Submarine Flotilla.
• Lieutenant E.L. "Ted" Carlin: A Canadian who volunteered for these highly hazardous midget submarine missions, proving that sailors from the Great White North could operate effectively in incredibly cramped, tense underwater environments.

Why Canadians Served in Midget Subs
Canada's primary naval focus was on surface escorts—like corvettes and destroyers—which were crucial for protecting supply ships in the Battle of the Atlantic. However, dozens of highly trained Canadian officers and sailors transferred to the Royal Navy’s submarine service. They became vital specialists in the 12th Submarine Flotilla, which operated the X-Craft. These men faced cramped conditions, extreme cold, and high risks of suffocation or being trapped on the ocean floor, showcasing remarkable courage

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

I loved that book. Re-read it once every 10 years roughly and still amazed at their exploits.

many years ago, in Montreal, we had a mess diner where the guest of honour was the Greek Consul. His whole speech was about how the Canadians delivered them from the Nazis on the outlying islands. It was all done by the small boat "raiders' of the champagne Navy. We couldn't get enough of his stories.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Nobody in Canada is interested in historical drama's?
Too many groups will be annoyed that their story is not told correctly?
History was written by white men?

Or are we just too culturally overwhelmed by the behemoth to the south that any effort by us will be seen an amateurish?


One group I'd love to see a movie or series made of is the Motor Torpedo Boat crews of the "Champagne Navy"

Champagne Navy: Canada's Small Boat Raiders of the Second World War · Canadian Book Review Annual Online

The Canadian Book Review Annual online database provides access to more than 30,000 reviews of Canadian-authored books. CBRAonline is a closed database, hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries to provide free and open access to this comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of...

cbra.library.utoronto.ca

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

If you haven't you should read this book: Who Killed Canadian History? - Wikipedia

It comes across as a bit 'whiny' IMHO, but he lays out some great dominant themes.

I majored in Canadian History at Uni and was prepared to be bored but, of course, found it fascinating.

From my POV there is no one 'History' of Canada but many intertwined 'Histories', which makes it even more interesting IMHO.

 

[Kirkhill]

Nobody in Canada is interested in historical drama's?
Too many groups will be annoyed that their story is not told correctly?
History was written by white men?

Or are we just too culturally overwhelmed by the behemoth to the south that any effort by us will be seen an amateurish?


One group I'd love to see a movie or series made of is the Motor Torpedo Boat crews of the "Champagne Navy"

Champagne Navy: Canada's Small Boat Raiders of the Second World War · Canadian Book Review Annual Online

The Canadian Book Review Annual online database provides access to more than 30,000 reviews of Canadian-authored books. CBRAonline is a closed database, hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries to provide free and open access to this comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of...

cbra.library.utoronto.ca

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

No sense of humour.

The world watches Aussie movies and shows.

Canadian movies all seem to be be scripted by Presbyterian ministers and directed by Ingmar Bergman.

 

[YZT580]

Nobody in Canada is interested in historical drama's?
Too many groups will be annoyed that their story is not told correctly?
History was written by white men?

Or are we just too culturally overwhelmed by the behemoth to the south that any effort by us will be seen an amateurish?


One group I'd love to see a movie or series made of is the Motor Torpedo Boat crews of the "Champagne Navy"

Champagne Navy: Canada's Small Boat Raiders of the Second World War · Canadian Book Review Annual Online

The Canadian Book Review Annual online database provides access to more than 30,000 reviews of Canadian-authored books. CBRAonline is a closed database, hosted by the University of Toronto Libraries to provide free and open access to this comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of...

cbra.library.utoronto.ca

Their exploits in the Adriatic, Med and the English Channel is great fodder for swashbuckling yarns.

I would like to hear anyone else's ideas.

you mean like McHale's Navy? Canadian history has been destroyed by left leaning high school teachers who deliberately set about to run down Canadian achievements. Our current problems with racism, colonialism stems from their united efforts IMHO. Who wants to watch a movie about two white guys plying the noble savages with cheap booze and then stealing their furs.
I have an ancient book titled In the Wake of the 1812ers that documents just a few of the exploits on the Great Lakes. In consists of about a dozen short accounts that will make you think again about our boring history.

 

[FSTO]

^^^
There are a million stories involving all sorts of Canadians, but it’s like we’re too terrified to tell them.

 

[YZT580]

^^^
There are a million stories involving all sorts of Canadians, but it’s like we’re too terrified to tell them.

they are not in the curriculum. We rely upon the schools to teach especially since many of the parents aren't even from Canada so they have no way of knowing. And for us second or third generation types or at least my recollection is the Plains of Abraham and a brief touch on the War of 1812 simply because our school trip was Brock's monument. Canadian content is supposed to be one of the reasons that we subsidize the CBC: Canadian content, but they can't be bothered, they are too occupied with doing American lite game shows. NTV in NFLD is one of the few stations that produces stories of Canada. Canadian history should be and could be taught almost like a novel. Describe the wagon trains heading west around 1880 or the true history of the Metis (a bunch of trappers who took up residence with a family group, learnt to survive and married the daughter). As you say there are a million stories but someone has to kick the teachers in the ass and get them to present them. It wasn't always that way, I have old text books from around 1910 that highlight our efforts in the Boer War; one that gets forgotten a lot. And another that is Canadian history before 1900 so it used to be done

 

[FJAG]

^^^
There are a million stories involving all sorts of Canadians, but it’s like we’re too terrified to tell them.

IMHO, that's not it. The vast majority of people these days are just not interested in reading those stories. They just want to be entertained in as simple and unchallenging a way as possible. Add in interpersonal relationships through social media and short attention spans and you have a general population with no interest in reading. They are more interested and involved in their private lives . . . and phones.

Mark and I have now published two volumes of gunner stories from Afghanistan and notwithstanding that there are over 4,000 serving gunners and a few thousand more retired ones, I doubt if we'll ever break 1,000 in sales (even if you include a couple of hundred to the general public and libraries). OTOH, we had several hundreds of gunners who were prepared to tell their stories.

 

[Furniture]

IMHO, that's not it. The vast majority of people these days are just not interested in reading those stories. They just want to be entertained in as simple and unchallenging a way as possible. Add in interpersonal relationships through social media and short attention spans and you have a general population with no interest in reading. They are more interested and involved in their private lives . . . and phones.

Mark and I have now published two volumes of gunner stories from Afghanistan and notwithstanding that there are over 4,000 serving gunners and a few thousand more retired ones, I doubt if we'll ever break 1,000 in sales (even if you include a couple of hundred to the general public and libraries). OTOH, we had several hundreds of gunners who were prepared to tell their stories.

I missed that the second volume was out, so now you've just sold another one.

 

[lenaitch]

Culturally, we've always suffered from a 'tall poppy' syndrome.

Politically, across the spectrum has cultivated the myth that we are a peaceable kingdom, and that has seemed into all aspects of society, from educational content, to funding (think the US would even consider cancelling the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds?) to policy decisions that strive to be pablum served on white bread.

In terms of media, given the cost of production, I'm not sure we could afford to mount a production on the level of Band of Brothers or Masters of the Air. Even if we could, it would be a money loser because the US market isn't interested in non-American stories without big name American actors. Dunkirk grossed $530Mn worldwide but $189Mn in NA (unfortunately, the Canadian and US markets are reported together. If we gave the CBC enough money to mount a project of similar quality, people would howl.

 

[FJAG]

If we gave the CBC enough money to mount a project of similar quality, people would howl.

We give the CBC enough money. Unfortunatley they spend it on other things.

OTOH:
private equity, tax credits, Telefilm financing, funding from the Wounded Warriors charity and a healthy advance on international sales, funded this

Hyena Road - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Alberta helped to fund this one:

Passchendaele (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

CBC gets 1.38 Billion - you'd think they could throw a few million towards this. In fairness there have been a few documentaries. but . . .

 

[FSTO]

We also suffer from being beside the USA and our productions compared to the multi billions available to Hollywood. And our own folks in LA seem to be uninterested in helping to tell Canadian stories.

 

[FSTO]

We give the CBC enough money. Unfortunatley they spend it on other things.

OTOH:
private equity, tax credits, Telefilm financing, funding from the Wounded Warriors charity and a healthy advance on international sales, funded this

Alberta helped to fund this one:

CBC gets 1.38 Billion - you'd think they could throw a few million towards this. In fairness there have been a few documentaries. but . . .

Passchendale started with such promise and then devolved into a muddled love story. Tried too hard I guess.

 

[FJAG]

Passchendale started with such promise and then devolved into a muddled love story. Tried too hard I guess.

Know your target audience -