The Banff World Television Festival seems as good a place as any for Alberta’s uncultured culture minister to give his assessment of Canada’s film and television industry.
“Why do we make such shit here?”
He defends his comments as trying to help Canadians be the best they can be.
Seems like he’s off to a great start. That’s certainly an excellent way to attract quality productions to Alberta and the rest of Canada.
Perhaps he should be handling tourism too? I’m sure he could come up with some great lines like: “Come and see our shit!”
So what would Lindsay Blackett say if he were in charge of other Alberta government ministries? Check this shit out:
- Aboriginal Relations – “Powwows? That’s some cool shit!”
- Advanced education & Technology – “Hopefully kids won’t say ‘shit’ after they get a degree.”
- Agriculture – “Alberta grows shit. Did you know that?”
- Children & Youth Services – “My kids are going to give me shit.”
- Culture – “Been there, done that shit.”
- Education – “What’s with all the shit about Bill 44?”
- Employment & Immigration – “I don’t give a shit if you don’t want foreign workers here.”
- Energy – “Drill baby drill!” (Nobody said this shit had to be original.)
- Environment – “I don’t mind if we dump shit in the water.”
- Executive Council – “Shit, I have no idea what to do here.”
- Finance & Enterprise – “Don’t worry, I’m handling shit.”
- Health & Wellness – “Shitting regularly is good for you.”
- Housing & Urban Affairs – “Let’s fix all the shitty houses.”
- Infrastructure – “This is some dull shit.”
- International & Intergovernmental Relations – “I get to travel and shit!”
- Justice & Attorney General – “We need to put more shitheads in prison.”
- Municipal Affairs – “Don’t come to me asking for more shit.”
- Seniors & Community Supports – “Drop that shit & call your grandma.”
- Service Alberta – “Give me more exciting shit to do.”
- Solicitor General & Public Security – “Protecting you from terrorists & shit.”
- Sustainable Resource Development – “We’ll keep this shit rolling.”
- Tourism, Parks & Recreation – “Come and see our shit!”
- Transportation – “Why do we have so many shitty cars on the road?”
- Treasury Board – “Shit, isn’t this the same as Finance?”
No related posts.
10 comments
Nicole Jackson says:
Jun 17, 2010
Wow, is there anyway I can get the last 2 minutes of my life back after reading this waste of webspace. Further proof that any fool can buy a soapbox and open their mouth. Try to stay within the context of the actual story in the future.
Alain Saffel says:
Jun 17, 2010
Oh, Nicole. Methinks you need to grow a sense of humour! You’ll get an ulcer if you’re so serious all the time. :)
I had contemplated a more serious blog post with a stern tone, but I decided there’s already too much of that out there.
Satire: the use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm, etc, to expose folly or vice or to lampoon an individual.
Hope you didn’t vote for Mr. Blackett. :) Thanks for visiting!
Jeff says:
Jun 17, 2010
Tourism is my favourite shit slogan.
But…on the topic this spins from…I think a lot of Canadian TV is crappy.
If we talk about prime time television, not documentaries and the like, what’s in my PVR on a regular basis? NBC’s Thursday night comedies, ABC’s Wednesday night comedies, SNL, How I Met Your Mother, a smattering of U.S. dramas and other stuff I can’t remember.
Let’s leave CBC out of this conversation, since they’re mandated to produce Canadian programming. (And This is Wonderland is still one of my all-time favourite shows.)
Yes, you could argue CTV, Rogers, Canwest (and any other companies I’m forgetting) are mandated by the CRTC to fund Canadian programming, and put Canadian shit on the air. And since most shows don’t last long I think you can fairly point out they are shitty.
Corner Gas was fine. Flashpoint is on CBS. Little Mosque is around the world. But shouldn’t we have multiple shows, every single season, that are good? Why do we settle for one each year?
And I hope Blackett’s comments were also a shot at the television companies. They spend billions of dollars picking up those American shows, just so they can cash in on advertising money. Then they complain we’re trying to watch everything online, or time-shifted, or on the American channels.
Produce quality shows, here, and give people a reason to watch your network. They can’t see great original, and homegrown shows on NBC.
Alain Saffel says:
Jun 17, 2010
I don’t watch a whole lot of TV to begin with, so I couldn’t be called an expert on Canadian film & TV to begin with.
I think Canada does have some quality TV & films produced here like:
- Trailer Park Boys
- Corner Gas
- Little Mosque on the Prairie
- King of Kensington
- The Beachcombers
- W5
- anything by CBC (kidding)
I would be willing to bet there’s about the same crap ratio as there is in Hollywood. The main difference is that the American market is 10 times the size so you’re bound to find at least some suckers down there who are going to like whatever you produce.
I think it leads into a larger cultural issue in Canada, and I believe we should be supporting Canadian film & television. Perhaps the Alberta government can do more to support it. It seems B.C. understands just how much the industry generates for a comparatively small subsidy.
This touches a nerve in Canada, I think, because we’re always so eager to demonstrate how we’re not American. American film & TV really doesn’t represent Canada in many ways, so we ought to have some film & TV produced here that reflects our values (even those rare ones like those of Stephen Harper).
To Nicole (if that is really your name) the satire is directed as much at Blackett as it is towards prudish people in society whose reaction in hearing that was probably: “Did you hear that shit? I can’t believe he’s saying shit like that!”
Jeff says:
Jun 17, 2010
Actually, I would argue the crap ratio is worse in Canada. If we’re producing far fewer shows (even on a per capita basis) we’re producing more crap. Your list or 5 non-news shows that ranges decades proves it.
There should be shows EVERY year that we’re watching and talking about. And I think the onus shouldn’t be on Alberta Culture, or governments, to ramp up their spending or tax concessions (BC’s programming is a lot of American stuff filmed there) but limit the spending on American programming.
At first Canadian TV will still stink. But if companies like CTV and Rogers are forced to put on Canadian programs, not because of CanCon but because of limits on U.S. shows, they’re going to stop filling just enough airtime to meet CRTC requirements and start soliciting a lot more, so they can choose good programming they can sell to advertisers. Canada could set itself up to be a great hybrid of the American and British television systems.
Alain Saffel says:
Jun 17, 2010
Perhaps someone who’s far more addicted to TV could give a longer list of shows. :)
You know CTV and Rogers are going to seriously resist putting on more Canadian content and the Harper government will probably go right along with that. Harper wouldn’t mind eliminating all sources of Canadian content, I’m sure.
I’m sure if he ever were to get a majority, his first act would be to destroy CBC too.
I would like to see a stronger, better Canadian film & TV industry. We’ve got lots of good stories to tell. Look at all the Canadian film & TV stars who’ve gone south. Invite some of them back. If they see good scripts and support, why wouldn’t they?
Tweets that mention Lindsay Blackett - Alberta culture minister on shit | alainsaffel.com -- Topsy.com says:
Jun 17, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alain Saffel, Ken Markkula. Ken Markkula said: RT @alainsaffel: I decided to poke some fun @ Lindsay Blackett http://su.pr/5LgJ2C #ableg #abgov #ab #shit (Hilarious luv the culture topic [...]
Alain Saffel says:
Jun 18, 2010
Let’s have a debate about the quality of Canadian politicians and not just about Canadian film and television. I think Canadian film & TV is far less shitty than the state of Canadian politics.
Alain Saffel says:
Jun 18, 2010
Oh! I know another great Canadian program: Dragons’ Den.
Alberta & BC politics, HST, predictions | alainsaffel.com says:
Feb 2, 2011
[...] Lindsay Blackett puts his foot in his mouth (as Environment minister) [...]