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I've actually been to Canada a lot and I have friends there so I'm basing this on my experiences. When it comes to dialect most Canadians who are over 25 or 30 have very noticeable accents while the ones that are younger sound a lot more like Americans. Dialect is a big part of identity so I think this is more than a superficial difference, though you are perhaps right in that imitating the valley girl thing may be something people "grow out of".
Still, being that under-25er Canadians grew up with Starbucks, Miley Cyrus, Walmart, NAFTA, globalization, 24 hour news, warmer winters due to global warming, a more Americanized political landscape in Canada, Youtube, and other things from south of the border it would make sense that their national identity is greatly diluted compared to old-timer Canadians born in the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 40s, etc. That old generation grew up in the 90s and earlier decades when Canada was more sealed-off from American media influence and thus are less likely to have Americanized value systems.
None of this is true. Canadians youngsters are not becoming more "American" if anything they are becoming more Canadian. I don't think you even have a clue what you're talking about.
True but Valsteele's comment refers to people born before the 1970's. I was born in the 1950's and we didn't have access to any of those stations you mentioned, until cable TV arrived on the scene.
Certainly CBC and CTV had some US shows, but nothing like today, or even when you grew up.
In those days it would of been US movies and music that most English Canadians would of been influenced by.
Not only US music though, the UK was a huge influence on the US and Canada as well.
Now how much deep is the influence is the big question. Is it mostly superficial like clothing and hair styles or does it go beyond that?
Personally I think it really depends on the person.
Well, having been born and raised in southwestern Ontario where a bulk of population was centered, I can only assume that along the top of Lake Ontario all would have had the same exposure to American TV we had from the very invention and initial sales of the device.
I can tell you that NBC, ABC, and CBS among a host of more local networks, were readily available on the old fixed wing antennas, and even more so on the later rotary heads.
I can assure everyone on here that if you were a returning veteran with some savvy, once you'd committed to the initial outlay of purchase of a set, very shortly thereafter you indeed went the additional mile and bought the tower with mast, amplifiers and all the rest of the bumph required to get as many channels as you could along with the added outlay of a "trap" to prevent the then powerful Barrie, Ontario station from over-riding all others.
It was either that or the dreaded "Dad, how come Johnny can watch Howdy Doody time and I can't?"
While I do agree that "Canadian" sentiment in much of the country is stronger than ever these days, it is also paradoxically true that like most people in western countries (and even much of the world), Canadians are more globalized and less culturally unique and less Canadian. Much of the globalized culture is American (or at least has the approval of Americans) and Canada being on the front line gets all of the US-infused global culture plus most of the US culture that doesn't make it off the North American continent.
I said 'jokes.' My comment about Toronto is a well known joke. It is not unique to me and frankly I'm quite surprised that you are making a big deal out of this.
And I will after all make a comment about the separatist threads that occur quite often in this forum and in which I don't usually post. Perhaps you haven't heard comments about western separation because you don't live in the west. Nowhere in my post did I state this is something I look forward to. I am simply pointing out a very Ontario-centric view that completely dismisses the west and assumes that there will be a nice goodbye to Quebec, should Quebec decide to leave, which of course we all don't want it to. This country is a fragile one. And I am stating what every westerner knows would happen. It should occur to easterners. The fact that it doesn't, is part of the problem. And that is in no way a threat on either my part or on the west's part.
Oh, yes, separatist sentiment can be very strong in the West. I learned that being a part of my ex-husband's family. My former BIL, who's lived in BC his entire life and who has little interest in travelling east of Calgary, is a staunch western separatist. He often proudly says, "if any province can separate, BC can!"
IMO, though, you guys are getting yourselves upset for no reason. Quebec will not separate, at least not in our lifetimes. I'll believe it when I see it, I'll put it that way (not that I want to see it happen).
True but Valsteele's comment refers to people born before the 1970's. I was born in the 1950's and we didn't have access to any of those stations you mentioned, until cable TV arrived on the scene.
It depended where you were. When I was a child in 1960s Toronto, we got six channels of TV: CBC and CTV of course, but also ABC, NBC, and CBS from Buffalo. (Also CHCH, an independent, from Hamilton.) Then, when UHF came along, there was also PBS, and another independent from Buffalo, channel 29.
Let's not forget that in 1971, the CRTC instituted Canadian content quotas for radio and TV, because we were awash in American media. We liked American shows and music so much that (with very few exceptions), our own artists could not be heard or seen on our own radio and TV.
There were also copies of Time, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Teen Beat, and other American publications on the newsstands. We kids read DC and Marvel and Archie comics, played with GI Joes while our sisters played with Barbies (American TV commercials told us which toys to want, after all), and followed every space flight from Mercury to Apollo.
When Valsteele claims that "Canada was sealed off from American media influence," in the 1960s, he is flat-out wrong.
It depended where you were. When I was a child in 1960s Toronto, we got six channels of TV: CBC and CTV of course, but also ABC, NBC, and CBS from Buffalo. (Also CHCH, an independent, from Hamilton.) Then, when UHF came along, there was also PBS, and another independent from Buffalo, channel 29.
Let's not forget that in 1971, the CRTC instituted Canadian content quotas for radio and TV, because we were awash in American media. We liked American shows and music so much that (with very few exceptions), our own artists could not be heard or seen on our own radio and TV.
There were also copies of Time, Life, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Teen Beat, and other American publications on the newsstands. We kids read DC and Marvel and Archie comics, played with GI Joes while our sisters played with Barbies (American TV commercials told us which toys to want, after all), and followed every space flight from Mercury to Apollo.
When Valsteele claims that "Canada was sealed off from American media influence," in the 1960s, he is flat-out wrong.
Yeah, it may have been less than the lock-stock-and-barrel importation of most things American today, but there was always an inflow (actually a flood) of stuff from the U.S.
More than 80% of Canadians live within 200 km or less from the border, so radio and TV waves were accessible to most of them before cable.
One of my parents grew up in Atlantic Canada listening to Boston radio and later Boston TV stations.
Most of the cities and towns in southern Canada had access to border stations from the US. Southern Ontario has been mentioned. Montreal got Burlington, VT and Plattsburgh, NY. Ottawa got Watertown, NY. In the Maritimes it was often Boston or Bangor, ME.
While I do agree that "Canadian" sentiment in much of the country is stronger than ever these days, it is also paradoxically true that like most people in western countries (and even much of the world), Canadians are more globalized and less culturally unique and less Canadian. Much of the globalized culture is American (or at least has the approval of Americans) and Canada being on the front line gets all of the US-infused global culture plus most of the US culture that doesn't make it off the North American continent.
You know, there's a very simple remedy for that infusion of US culture: stop consuming it. Honestly, I don't see the point of kvetching about the predominance of US culture (in Canada or anywhere else), all while voluntarily (and voraciously) consuming it.
Heck, I live in the US, and I easily limit how much "culture" I partake in. Though it wasn't a conscious choice, I now watch so little TV (weeks can go by, and I'll realize that I haven't watched anything), that I can honestly say I haven't seen a single episode of the majority of popular and "critically acclaimed" shows. Don't feel I'm missing out on anything, either.
And I rarely watch Hollywood movies (those that are actually worth watching are rare, and I don't consider my taste in entertainment highbrow or anything. That's just how bad Hollywood movies have become, imo). Oh, and I'm not "old." I'm a youthful 40-something, so these aren't the complaints of an old curmudgeon.
So, turn off the TV. Stop going to see US movies. Cancel the Netflix. You're welcome.
While I do agree that "Canadian" sentiment in much of the country is stronger than ever these days, it is also paradoxically true that like most people in western countries (and even much of the world), Canadians are more globalized and less culturally unique and less Canadian. Much of the globalized culture is American (or at least has the approval of Americans) and Canada being on the front line gets all of the US-infused global culture plus most of the US culture that doesn't make it off the North American continent.
Exactly. It's due more to insecurity than anything else. I actually still think Canada is quite different from the US but these differences are fading pretty quickly too, and it's most evident in people younger than 25 or 30. A good example is hockey losing ground among young Canadian sports fans.
You know, there's a very simple remedy for that infusion of US culture: stop consuming it. Honestly, I don't see the point of kvetching about the predominance of US culture (in Canada or anywhere else), all while voluntarily (and voraciously) consuming it.
Heck, I live in the US, and I easily limit how much "culture" I partake in. Though it wasn't a conscious choice, I now watch so little TV (weeks can go by, and I'll realize that I haven't watched anything), that I can honestly say I haven't seen a single episode of the majority of popular and "critically acclaimed" shows. Don't feel I'm missing out on anything, either.
And I rarely watch Hollywood movies (those that are actually worth watching are rare, and I don't consider my taste in entertainment highbrow or anything. That's just how bad Hollywood movies have become, imo).
So, turn off the TV. Stop going to see US movies. Cancel the Netflix. You're welcome.
To be fair, it's sort of unavoidable since Canada has only about 1/8 of America's population. Though I guess they could balance it by watching more Asian and British shows or listening to more Korean and Japanese music.
To be fair, it's sort of unavoidable since Canada has only about 1/8 of America's population. Though I guess they could balance it by watching more Asian and British shows or listening to more Korean and Japanese music.
Is it so unthinkable to just turn off the damn TV?
If you're gonna consume, don't complain.
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