From the classic symbols such as the Beaver and a Tim Horton Cup, even more Canadian niche references such as the milk in bags and the hypopotamus of the American house, the artist based in Calgary, Lynne Rennie, is reconstructing a “cultural mosaic” of Canadian-NESS, a drawing at the same time.
“I am very interested in how symbols create a shared identity sense, not only for hockey products or equipment, but also for countries,” he said.
His series of works of art called Attracted by Canada Explore how a Canadian national brand is seen, with drawings completed within an hour and shared on social networks every day for 100 days.
And the moment of his project is not a coincidence.
“With the current geopolitical climate, I was frankly excited that we could see our entire country rely on Canadianisms, be proud to be Canadians because we were threatened,” said Rennie, referring to the 51 comments of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Anne Maclennan, an associated professor at the University of York in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, describes this increase in Canadian pride as “defensive nationalism”, a desire to affirm that Canadians really are “Canadians” and definitely non -American.
“When we get a serious setback like this, it is when there is an increase in Canadian identity. This is when [Canadians] Push back when they are told they are the same as Americans. That’s when people say: ‘No, no, no, Canadians are like this“Maclennan said.
Rennie also accredits Canadian actor Mike Myers’s’s “Cubits up” gesture Saturday Night Live In March, as a “catalyst” for this wave of Nostalgia and feeling pro-Canadians, demonstrating how powerful it can be a symbol.
“Suddenly, people knew exactly what they were talking about,” he said about Myers’s hockey reference. “When you are backed in the corner, you leave balance. You don’t start the fight, but you defend yourself when you are threatened.”
Look | The symbolic gesture that aroused Canadian pride:
In response to the tariffs of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, Canadian actor Mike Myers may have begun a movement when pointing his elbow and giving birth to the words “elbows” during the appearances in Saturday Night Live. The phrase has noticed and has become a shout of meeting in the commercial war.
Degrassi leaves his mark
Another symbol in the Canadiana Rennie collection: Degrassi, the very dear television franchise that followed children and, later, adolescents who sail through their lives in Toronto.
Linda Schuyler, cooker and executive producer of the original program, said she was delighted to see Degrassi make the list, as people have often told her: “Degrassi is like Tim Horton’s. It is one of those things par excellence Canadian.”
Schuyler said that Canadian values such as embracing diversity were “hard” in the Degrassi franchise, and is one of the things that she is most proud than.
“There is so much concern about what is happening in the United States at this time. And the way in which all this diversity, inclusion and equity is treated. It is the antithesis of what we as Canadians believe.
“Our great mantra in the program was to help assure young people who are not alone. It didn’t matter what their cultural formation, what is their skin color … It was an inclusive world that we were building,” he said.
The Canadian franchise won internationally fans, with Schuyler receiving an email from fans around the world. In a story of Degrassi junior high, When the character Spike became pregnant, Schuyler remembers the people who sent the stuffed toy program and babies, a moment that helped her see how the program really resonated with people.
Look: Look back in CBC images since when Degrassi began:
CBC Visit the garages and alleys from the east end of Toronto in 1985 to see how the show works.
Muchomusic, a lot of impact
For George Stroumboulopoulos, the inclusion of Muchomusic in the Rennie project is obvious.
The station and former VJ in the music channel said: “Muchomusic is a crucial part of the Canadian narrative and the Canadian identity, and it has been for decades.”
First transmitted in 1984, the channel was called “Canada’s response to MTV”. With charming vj hosts with an obvious passion for music, he arrived a lot throughout the country from his study space in 299 Queen St. W. in Toronto.
“It was about doing the best things for music fans and it was to keep children throughout the country who were not connected otherwise,” he said.
“He was in Nunavut, and knew children who had never left Baffin Island and had a connection with the rest of the country in a way that felt genuine.”
Manymusic was also a launch platform for many artists. Musicians such as Alanis Morissette and Barenaken Ladies arrived through their halls before becoming known names.
Stroumboulopoulos described him as “ray in a bottle.” Without teleprompteros or studies, the team filmed its shows from its work space and prioritized its relationship with the audience.
“It was just a strange type of punk rock experience and you can’t help being authentic when you do that,” he said.
“I would enter in the morning, I would start working on that program for the day. Suddenly, I would hear that a drum was refined and would be the boys in the Foo Fighters would be there rehearsing … You have to walk next to them to get to the bathroom, as if it were crazy all the time.
“There had never been something like that and there has been nothing since then,” he said.
“Many of the things that are touch stones for Canada, people present quite consistent ideas about what makes Canada” Canadian. “And, one of the things is our means,” Maclennan said.
Mr. Dressup, Casey and Finnegan, Gord Downie and the tragically Hip, and Soleil Cirque are some of the other references of the media included in the Rennie project.
The complexity of exploring a national identity
While Maclennan said that there are some symbols that speak with the national identity of the country, it made it clear that it cannot necessarily be crowding, since Canada is very diverse, which contains numerous visions of Canadian identities.
“There are always different points in Canada: regional policy, regional identities, different concerns between … It is a large country. There are all kinds of things that must be integrated. So there is an impulse and attraction in Canadian identity,” he said.
For Rennie, the Canadian symbols he has drawn are a way of expressing Canadian in relation to the American. Mainly, he said he wanted to differentiate the identity of the country from the “crucible” of the United States
“We are a cultural mosaic. We are allowed to express where we are,” he said.
While rennie originally planned to do only 100 days of drawings, he said Attracted by Canada It has been so satisfying, both for its creative side and for its identity and “Canadian Feroz”, which will keep the series beyond those hundred days.
