(no subject)
I am so disappointed. Normally, every Canada Day, Showcase airs 24 hours of Canadian film. It's a wonderful chance for those of us who don't get to go to TIFF every year to catch up on all the films we've missed. Cause, chances are, we've missed nearly every Canadian release ever.
I loved my Canada Day Canadian film fest. Showcase would play films like Road Kill, Le confessionnel, Last Night, Nô, Kissed, Exotica, Jésus de Montréal, Highway 61, Léolo, waydowntown, Le sexe des étoiles, When Night is Falling, Cosmos, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and so on. And it would be a blast. Bleak, dark, angsty, royally fucked up, unsettling, depraved, fascinating and ultimately well done films. And I loved every minute of whatever I caught. And now, tomorrow, Showcase is offering its standard, regular fare. Which is decidedly not 24 hours of Canadian film.
If there's anything I'm passionate about, it's national product, particularly as it pertains to the arts. Music, literature and cinema are definitely high on my list of interests. And I've cultivated a great appreciation for the stories that we tell, stories that share and shape our identity in all its myriad and disparate incarnations.
And I loved that there were some institutions that sought to support these storytellers, writers, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, directors, producers, musicians, singers, artists. I can't say how disappointed I am in Showcase for turning its back on this tradition so they can play CSI (which is a fine show in and of itself, but it's also on thirty-eight other channels six times every day) and Doc (what the fuck is that about?).
Why is it that CityTV seems to be hardpressed to turn its media empire into a US-lite network? MuchMusic used to be good, interesting and would play videos of - yes - popular bands, but also a lot of Canadian content, some of it indie, instead of repeats of Newlyweds and other stupid-assed American junk. And Showcase would air films - French, Ukrainian, Italian, Mexican, Australian, American, Canadian - and tv shows that were interesting and weren't always part of the mainstream. Why the changes? And where does Canadian product fit into this seemingly increasingly artistically hostile place?
I loved my Canada Day Canadian film fest. Showcase would play films like Road Kill, Le confessionnel, Last Night, Nô, Kissed, Exotica, Jésus de Montréal, Highway 61, Léolo, waydowntown, Le sexe des étoiles, When Night is Falling, Cosmos, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and so on. And it would be a blast. Bleak, dark, angsty, royally fucked up, unsettling, depraved, fascinating and ultimately well done films. And I loved every minute of whatever I caught. And now, tomorrow, Showcase is offering its standard, regular fare. Which is decidedly not 24 hours of Canadian film.
If there's anything I'm passionate about, it's national product, particularly as it pertains to the arts. Music, literature and cinema are definitely high on my list of interests. And I've cultivated a great appreciation for the stories that we tell, stories that share and shape our identity in all its myriad and disparate incarnations.
And I loved that there were some institutions that sought to support these storytellers, writers, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, directors, producers, musicians, singers, artists. I can't say how disappointed I am in Showcase for turning its back on this tradition so they can play CSI (which is a fine show in and of itself, but it's also on thirty-eight other channels six times every day) and Doc (what the fuck is that about?).
Why is it that CityTV seems to be hardpressed to turn its media empire into a US-lite network? MuchMusic used to be good, interesting and would play videos of - yes - popular bands, but also a lot of Canadian content, some of it indie, instead of repeats of Newlyweds and other stupid-assed American junk. And Showcase would air films - French, Ukrainian, Italian, Mexican, Australian, American, Canadian - and tv shows that were interesting and weren't always part of the mainstream. Why the changes? And where does Canadian product fit into this seemingly increasingly artistically hostile place?