Masaryk University Faculty of Arts The Department of English and American Studies

Bc. Andrea Zajícová

Master´s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr.

2012

…………………………………………….

Bc. Andrea Zajícová

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my supervisor – doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. – who generously gave his advice and made comments and suggestions to improve my writing and the direction of my thesis, and who also lent me several of the secondary sources. Furthermore, I would like to thank Mgr. Radoslava Pekarová for her constant encouragement and advice; Bc. Vladimír Zán for lending me some secondary sources as well; and all my Canadian friends, especially Kevan Vogler, and their acquaintances for providing me with myriads of personal experiences, observations and views regarding the issues my thesis is concerned with.

1. 
   Introduction ………………………………………………………7
   
   1. 
      Primary Sources………………………………………………………………..10
      
2. 
   What is identity?............................................................................11
   
   1. 
      Distinction of identity – internal vs. external…………...................................12
      
   2. 
      Landscape identity…………………………....................................................14
      
   3. 
      Technologized identity……………………….................................................15
      
   4. 
      Conclusion……………………………………................................................16
      
3. 
   What is Canadian identity?...........................................................17
   
   1. 
      Canadianness vs. other identities……………………………………………..21
      

3.1.2 Canadianness vs. Britishness………………….............................................23

3.1.3 Francophones and First Nations in Canada …..……...................................26

3.2 Technologized Canadianness…………………………………………………27

3.3 Canadian landscape identity…………….........................................................29

3.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………29

4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………….31

4.1.2 Canadian film …...…………………………………………………………32

4.1.3 Themes in Canadian film…………………………………………………..33

4.1.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………37

4.2 The Analysis of a Selected Set of Films…………………………….38

4.2.1 The Ernie Game (1967) by Don Owen……………………………………38

4.2.1.1 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….47

4.2.2 The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) by Ted Kotcheff……………47

4.2.2.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..54

4.2.3 The Big Crimewave (1985) by John Paizs …………………………………56

4.2.3.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..65

4.2.4 Last Night (1998) by Don McKellar………………………………………..66

The aim of the thesis is to identify Canadian identity as depicted in Canadian feature films. One’s identity influences many spheres of human life: how they act in individual situations, what they do in a particular social location, and in accordance with this thesis what they produce – what films they make. The thesis aims to discern and demonstrate Canadianness in a selected set of films. It is divided into two parts – the first part being theoretical, which is to give the readership a general introduction to the topic, while the second part consists of the actual research and case studies of the particular films.

According to my hypothesis, a closer analysis of the Canadian film can valuably contribute to the problem of identifying the notion of Canadianness, and provide further characteristics of what is generally typically understood under this term. My hypothesis is also supported by John Gray’s claim: "Canada is not something we experience in the town hall…it is something we watch on television, read about in newspapers and magazines, and hear on the radio", implying that the film is an adequate area to examine when studying the issue (38).

Both selected topics - film and identity - might be considered recent inventions. "[I]dentity as such is a modern invention", thus they have been paid attention to extensively in recent years (Bauman qtd. in Jørgensen 623). Bauman certainly makes a point here which is worth contemplating. Never before has there been such a strong aspiration to define oneself, to distinguish oneself from the others, to determine an individual’s personal identity. People in the past used to stay in groups more than the present society, where, by contrast, individualism is encouraged. However, the contemporary attempts for distinction of identity might alienate people, rather than unite them. Especially with concepts such as social identity, which is supposed to hold people of one society together, there is an alongside by-product which at the same time inevitably positions them against the other society.

Another contemporary issue which is simultaneously connected both with film and identity, and thus deserves to be addressed as well, is technology. It is a relatively up-to-date invention which might cause people to drift apart even more than an individual’s identity determination efforts. On the other hand, it might also unite the people and blur any boundaries left between them, hence establishing one common general virtual identity shared by everybody. It is a relevant aspect for the thesis topic, since it frequently occurs in the Canadian film. Technology has had a profound impact on people’s thinking and acting. To what degree is, especially prominently, visible in the realm of film, as it tries to reflect the era’s contemporary ideas and thinking.

The structure of the thesis is the following. In the introductory chapter I present the motives that led me to the choice of the topic, and the reasons why these motives should be considered relevant. I further preview the outline of the structure of the whole thesis. The materials to be explored are listed as well and their importance is clarified. The introduction is taken up with a brief background to the work in general.

In the second chapter the concept of identity is explained – what it comprises and how to comprehend it when it is connected with a person and with a whole country, since the notion is applicable to both, however, does not express an identical meaning. The chapter provides the readership with a few existing definitions of the notion, and determines two different points of view on identity – one shaped from the inside of the identity holder and the other from his/her outside. Although, to adhere to the thesis’ content, the outside identity, becomes a focal point of further discussions, and is analysed more thoroughly. The contemporary notion of technologized identity is also touched upon.

Chapter Three focuses on the specific notion of Canadian identity. It analyses it and determines the influences that have helped to shape it throughout the years. There have been two main: one is the culturally dominant neighbour – the US and the other is the past colonizer - the UK. Those two have definitely had an enormous impact on the formation of Canadian identity, Canadians’ sense of belonging and the country’s self-confidence. The chapter is concerned with some of the other factors that have contributed to the shaping of the country in similar manner. To preview some of them, it has been, for instance, the multicultural policy of Canada, its harsh landscape and climate, and especially recently the technological progress. The general concepts introduced in chapter Two are applied specifically to Canadian surroundings and discussed here.

The chapters in the second part of the thesis consist chiefly of case studies, which are each devoted to one of the selected films, respectively. The introduction provides basic information about the film industry in Canada and general characteristics of the Canadian film. The subsequent analyses focus on the features related to Canadian identity mentioned in the preceding chapters and depictions of them in the films. The chapter demonstrates how Canadian identity is actually dealt with as such, how the directors interpret it, and how the audience might comprehend the interpretations.

I conclude the work with brief revising of the chief points of the thesis, and summarizing the findings that have been presented to support my hypothesis, stated in the introduction, regarding the importance and close connection between the Canadian film and 'Canadianness'.

As regards to the analytical part, for the purposes of the thesis a set of Canadian films has been carefully selected. Those films were all made by Canadians and set in Canada thus assuring the film provides us with a sufficient amount of material coming from essentially Canadian surroundings. The explored films are successively:

• 
  The Earnie Game (1967) by Don Owen,
  
• 
  The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) by Ted Kotcheff,
  
• 
  The Big Crime Wave (1985) by John Paizs,
  
• 
  Last Night (1998) by Don McKellar
  

The films are analysed one by one, identifying the 'reel' Canadianness in them. The analyses are concerned not only with a person’s identity, but the whole country’s identity and all the aspects regarding shaping the identity that have already been listed. The most significant are Canadian landscape, its weather – especially harsh winter, the influence of technology, etc.

The selected features were each made in a different decade and that is taken into consideration during the study, since it is definitely worth attention and comparison of how the ideas and opinions on Canadian identity differed in various eras in Canadian history. To limit the thesis’ scope, no film of Francophone origin has been included. It must be emphasised that it by no means implies that the French-Canadian production is not worth one’s regard. Including it would, however, require to take into consideration a substantial amount of additional factors which would go beyond the scope of the current thesis.
2. What is identity?

It is not possible to present the notion of identity in a clear-cut manner and provide one simple definition. There have been ample influences on the notion, hence making it difficult to clearly specify the term, and concurrently changing the scope of it as well. This chapter mentions a few specific definitions of identity that exist and are in use nowadays.

To adhere to the thesis’ content and its main occupation with national identity – specifically 'Canadianness', Benedict Anderson points out the concept has not always been perceived in contemporary manner. Rather,

the concept was born in an age in which Enlightenment and Revolution were destroying the legitimacy of the divinely-ordained, hierarchical dynastic realm. Coming to maturity at a stage of human history when even the most devout adherents of any universal religion were inescapably confronted with the living pluralism of such religions…" (6-7).

The cohesiveness of the people did not always use to depend on the secular principles such as a common language, shared territory, etc. It used to be religious cohesiveness, prior to nowadays reasons, which made people to associate then. P. Sean Hier further argues the need to associate came along with "capitalism, technology and linguistic diversity" (80). All of these aroused people’s imagination and initiated formation of the nation and the sense of belonging, i.e. identity, connected with it.

In a more general sense, the concept of identity, as any other notion, might be described both in positive and negative terms, i.e. what it is and what it incorporates in positive terms; and what it is not thus what it excludes in negative terms. To be more specific, identity might refer to a person’s belonging somewhere, which corresponds to the positive conception. At the same time, it conceptualizes the person as an individual separating him/her from each other or the other, which corresponds to the negative conception.

Defining the term in a more detailed manner, it is necessary to say that identity is socially constructed. There have been many attempts to explain the term, and concurrently more factors influencing the definition process have emerged. Therefore, for the purposes of the definition, a simple distinction of the term identity into internal and external is provided, drawing on Deaux’s assertion that "on the one hand, identity is a feature of the individual, reflecting an internal process of self-definition" which refers to the concept of internal identity, while "[o]n the other hand, identity emerges in a social context and is shaped by the immediate circumstances as well as the broader culture" which is linked to the external identity (qtd. in Jørgensen 618). The terms are further discussed in the following chapter.
2.1 Distinction of identity – internal vs. external

As briefly stated above, the thesis takes account of the chief distinction of identity into two main types –internal and external identity: "Identity has two significant faces, an inner and an outer one" (Greenacre qtd. in Jørgensen 618). Due to the thesis’ scope limitation and its principal focus, however, I am not occupied with the internal identity separately in detail. The chief aim is to discern a common Canadian national identity. It is a concept shared by people in Canada, explained further in the chapter and also employed later when analysing 'Canadianness' in the films.

As it was previewed, external identity is subdivided into three categories - cultural, national and social. Out of these, national identity is paid closer attention to in the thesis. National identity is shared by the members of the nation, hence considered typical of the nation and its inhabitants. It can be observed by the others and be used to generalize the whole. It is more connected with comparison to the others as well.

One of the existing interpretations of national identity is David Rousseau’s speculation that "a shared sense of identity can reduce, or even eliminate, perceptions of threat posed by power asymmetries" (686). People need to belong somewhere for the fear of danger or harm that can afflict them while standing alone. Regarding Rousseau’s assertion, it is a justifiable reason for the strong aspiration of people to define their external identity nowadays, at times of new previously unknown inventions and new threats appearing.

Both internal and external identities intertwine, and one cannot exist independently from the other. On the one hand, internal identity influences one’s thinking and acting, on the other, external identity shapes one’s internal identity in return. It is difficult to say which concept came into existence first as well as which is the cornerstone of the other. After such an assertion, identity might seem to be a perfect example of a schizophrenic: it is "a running battle and an interminable struggle between the desire for freedom…and the need for security [the need to belong somewhere, to be part of a community and to be attached to others], haunted by fear of loneliness and a dread of incapacitation" (Bauman qtd. in Jørgensen 622). One strives to differentiate from others and establish his/her own separate identity, while concurrently wants to belong to those others and conform to a certain external identity.

So far, only human identity has been mentioned – internal vs. external of an individual person, and national – shared by more people. However, there exist identities not so predominantly connected to a human.

Apart from the previously discussed identity predominantly tied to a person, there also exists a landscape identity. It is connected to land; the soil people are related to, thus here the concept of identity acquires a whole new dimension, a palpable aspect. Sometimes, landscape identity makes itself very overt as a part of a human identity. It influences the person: [L]andscapes hold different layers of meaning and evoke diverse senses of belonging. They can provoke reflection on experience, hold memories and motions…[C]hanges in landscapes can entail the drawing of new boundaries (Bienkowski 3). The changes of a landscape can cause a change of one’s identity. It might change the landscape’s identity per se. For instance, once hostile and cold tundra might alter its identity profusely having been exposed to the effects of global warming for a considerable amount of time. These changes of landscape identity are palpable, in comparison to the changes of human identity.

Identity can be found in every place and in every landscape. "Building styles, field patterns, and settlement arrangements imply larger meanings and representations about the place, culture and identity" (Gade 430). People project their identities into architecture, into what they make. However, it is not only humans who solely shape the landscape identity. Other constituents contained within the landscape might shape the place’s identity – mountain ranges might make it seem inaccessible, for instance, etc. Of course, landscape identity is closely connected with human’s identity – both internal and external, since the perception of others’ identities is always influenced by our own.

The perception of our own identity might also be influenced by various other means, which can even cause a new identity to come into existence in the end. The means I am talking about are of technological nature.

Technology is an important part of Canadian identity. "Information and communication technologies are becoming an increasingly direct part of many Canadians’ experience at home and at work (Adria 169). The country virtually defines its identity by means of technology, as this thesis proves to show by the choice of the topic. Canadian film and identity considerably intertwine. The director’s identity is always reflected in his/her work. The films influence the audience’s identity.

Canadian government also uses technology to strengthen national identity and to unite the citizens: "[t]he access and new connections of a wired Canada are explicitly intended to lead to new forms of social integration" (Adria 182). Nonetheless, it is arguable to what extent the mentioned strategies are actually efficient. In fact, it rather seems to fulfil a reverse role to its original intensions. The employment of technology might induce the distortion of the uniqueness of the individual, leaving him/her standing alone among many other generalized others, to borrow the term from Cerulo. The individual then feels alienated from the rest. His/her identity is often so heavily mediated via various available technology means that he/she sometimes feels alienated from his/her personal identity as well.

Technology was intended to help to unite the people and hence support the formation of national identity, or one common identity. However, its involvement is gradually increasing and pushing an individual’s identity slowly into the background, replacing it with technologized identity.

So far four types of identity have been discussed – internal, external, landscape and technologized. These will be further referred to in the analytical part of the thesis while examining the selected Canadian films. The focus on a specific type of identity also shifted concurrently with the period in which the film was produced, since the surrounding events influenced the directors´ focus of attention to a great deal. Apart from the period and contemporary events, it was also the place where the film was made, class, race, gender of the film crew and other features that had an impact on the process of making the film and its final shape.

As the title suggests, this chapter’s aspiration is to examine the concept of Canadian identity. It is achieved by means of differentiating it from American and British identities, which have exercised a considerable influence over the formation of 'Canadianness'. Moreover, I consider other aspects influencing Canadian identity, such as the role of multinational minorities in the process of shaping it – the Francophone part of the society and the first nations substantially. Alongside with it, I explore the role of immigration in general. The chapter is as well concerned with a recent trend of technologized Canadian identity. The Canadian identity classification in this chapter is based on the definitions of the general concept of identity presented in the preceding chapter.

It might seem a most daunting task to define 'Canadianness' at all, since "[b]oundaries blur, cultures overlap and it becomes increasingly difficult to point confidently to distinctive national features" (Kyloušek 6). Nonetheless, the thesis’s aim is to do that and thus to follow in the steps of those such as Douglas Coupland’s Souvenir of Canada and Canada House, projects likewise gradually collecting typical artifacts of Canadianness. In this case, however, the thesis attempts to find those distinctive features of Canadian identity in the Canadian film.

I begin the exploration of Canadianness with the analysis of the name of the country per se. In native language, Canada means 'village' or 'settlement', however, if we consider the term in Spanish language, it would be translated as nothing¹. This insinuation might seem discouraging. Is it really true? Does Canada really entail nothing specific? This is a standpoint the second chapter tries to disprove to its utmost.

It might be advisable to reconsider the whole notion of Canadianness, and replace it with a different term Tracey Raney uses in her article where she mentions ""pan-Canadian" civic identity [which in her views] provided a platform for a pan-Canadian identity that could appeal to every Canadian regardless of birthplace, race, or religion" (10). Based on this assumption, Canadian in her general understanding applies to the sense of belonging one feels, how he/she conceives of himself/herself. While, pan-Canadian includes everybody and everything within Canada; located on the Canadian soil. The scope of pan-Canadian is then less unambiguous and wider. On the other hand, it might be considered a too general term.

Originally, I intended to determine what Canadian identity is comprised of. Though, now it seems less of an obstacle to define what Canadian identity is not comprised of, since Canadianness is indeed multi-faceted and multi-layered, and recognizably multi in many aspects. Drawing on that, Canada definitely does not promote a specified or strictly limited pattern of its identity. "…Canadian identity [is] often described as 'not American', 'not British', 'not French'" (Kaye 75). The positive definition of Canadianness, on the contrary, would indeed be a long proposition incorporating many smaller identities within.

Nevertheless, the proposition might be limited by surrounding it and demarcating it employing the other, or more specifically in this case the others that Canada refuses to continue 'assimilating' with. "Canada owes its very existence to a conscious rejection of the American Dream – without the United States to rebel against there would be no Canada" (Axworthy x). This is indeed a radical assertion, but it is only included here to support the fact that, so far, it seems Canadianness has been constantly and predominantly defined by means of comparison to the other, albeit it is not so other² as Hegel originally assumed it to be. In fact, the Other in this case is contained within Canadianness per se, does not stand against it: in Canada "everyone’s 'true' identity is presumed to be rooted somewhere else" (Howard-Hassmann 523). If this assumption is to be rendered true, then Canadian identity would inherently embody the same broad principles as the concept of identity in general. It would incorporate as many aspects as the general notion of identity. Assuming the previously proposed, a question logically follows: ´Is there after all such a concept as 'Canadianness'?´ Fortunately, Canada itself aspires to deal with this issue and delimit its identity, which subsequently makes projects such as Coupland’s Canada House, filled with Canadian artifacts, come into existence.

What might also raise questions and cause chaos, in the immigrants especially, is the fact that "[f]requently, biological ancestry is confused with social ethnicity" (Howard-Hassmann 523). The people with different places of origin, who find themselves in Canada, might still be confused about their identity after several years living in the country. "Making "Canadian" an…option… allow individuals to proclaim their Canadian identity" (Kalbach 1). After the need for recognition was officially acknowledged and pronounced by the state, people began to reconsider their sense of belonging. Simultaneously, from then onwards, they have been slightly manoeuvred to do it by several official means, such as census, for instance. There, they are obliged and supposed to claim a certain identity, one of the options being Canadian.

Nevertheless, Canada as a country itself does not have an unambiguous attitude towards defining what its identity incorporate. On the one hand, there have been ample

attempts to clarify the one common and generally shared identity in Canada, while on

the other, "multiculturalism" [a policy employed by Canada] "encourages private,

individual choices of identity" allowing people to pursue their own origins, and only in the times when it is necessary to overtly proclaim themselves Canadians (Howard-Hassmann 523). Summing this up, it is possible to observe two simultaneous and discrepant tendencies there: one is the effort to find and define Canadian identity, and the other is the possibility of multiculturalism caused by the Canadian policy, which obstructs the idea of Canadian identity to be fully established.

To conclude the chapter, there is one last part of Canadian identity to be touched upon. Of those many cultures that co-exist along each other in Canada, there are two prevailing groups – Francophone and Anglophone constituent. Of these two, Québec and the Francophone part of Canada tend to be more certain about their sense of belonging and identity than the Anglophone part. "Canadians (other than Québécois) [are] just a mishmash of individuals from all over the place" (Seguin qtd. in Howard-Hassmann 524). Québécois do not attach themselves to French origins nor to any other origins. They consider themselves a separate group of Francophone basis, even though they do not distinctively dwell upon the question of their origins. After all, this particularly, paradoxically, might be the aspect that binds them together, apart from the shared culture, language etc.

In the following chapters, Canadianness is compared to other identities that have had an impact on its formation. These are predominantly American and British. By the comparison I aspire to demarcate the Canadian identity from the outside. Later in the thesis, I attempt to demarcate it from the inside and consider several issues which are dealt with in the selected films and connected with Canadian identity. The general concepts of various types of identity mentioned in the second chapter are specified and applied to Canadian surroundings there. The chapter deals with Canadian identity vs. American and British identities, Canadian landscape identity and Canadian technologized identity, respectively.