Monday, April 2, 2012

Canadian Culture versus Quebec Culture...Gimme a Break!

Anglophones embracing Quebec culture...er....'Non Merci!'
I'm a bit annoyed over today's subject, so readers be prepared for a cranky rant.
If you are a French language militant, you just may want to skip it.

At least you've been warned......

Over the last months I have been reading numerous posts in the Comments section mocking Canadian culture and classifying it as a pale imitation of America.
 
These comments parrot the idea that since Canada has no distinct culture of its own, it has no culture at all.

Sadly, most of these posts are based on an inferiority complex and a profound jealousy explained perfectly in the age-old parable of the Fox and the Sour Grapes wherein one disparages what one cannot possess.

It reminds me of those jealous types (usually female) who watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show on television and comment that the girls 'aren't so hot'.....Yah, sure.

Now I wouldn't have undertaken this post based on a few misguided Anglophobes in the comments section, but last week Quebec's most important radio Anglo hater, Benoit Dutrizac  in a fit of pique, made a similar statement, this time on his Twitter account.

"Obviously you aren't interested in francophone culture. Second class American wannabees.
Évidemment, tu ne t'intéresses pas à la culture francophone du Québec. Un anglo simili américain de 2ème ordre." - Benoit Dutrizac

And so the narrative is spun that Canadian culture is second rate because it is not distinct, a pale imitation of its American big brother, an idea so patently foolish that it reflects on the utter ignorance of its propagators.

First let me say that Canadian culture is not based on American culture, it is based on international English culture of which America does take a prominent role, but all English speaking countries contribute to varying degrees.
In fact, so powerful and overbearing is this culture that even those not born to English adopt it as a prerequisite to international success and this, in just about every field of human endeavor.

Canada as well as other English speaking nations (representing hundreds of millions of people) all contribute their share of artists, entertainers, writers, scientist etc. etc. to create the most elite culture in the world, bar none.

To complain that Canada doesn't have its own distinct culture because it foolishly allowed itself to be drawn into and become an integral part of the greatest international culture ever created on this Earth, plumbs depths of stupidity........Welcome Mr. Dutrizac!
 
Let us consider the example of the National Hockey League where elite players from all around the globe gather to create a product unrivaled anywhere in the world.

Now let us compare it to the minor LHJMQ hockey league which operates in Quebec and the Maritimes and where the Quebec teams are composed primarily of Quebec Francophones, players of decidedly inferior talent as compared to the NHL.

I suppose that there are those who prefer attending a junior LHJMQ hockey game rather than the NHL, but to pretend that the product is somehow better or more entertaining is nothing short of laughable.

The above analogy actually fits to a tee the difference between 'Quebec culture' and 'Canadian culture' and those who mock English Canada for being a part of a greater world-wide English culture, actually defend their own mediocre choice.

I'm not knocking Francophone culture, it is what it is, and produces talent commensurate with its tiny population base, certainly when compared to the English cultural community which draws on a pool of at least 500 million people and perhaps another couple of hundred million foreign language speakers who adopt English, in order to get in the club. (Celine Dion, ABBA, Julio Iglesias, etc.)

So yes, English Canadian music culture includes powerhouses like Beyoncé from the USA, U2 from Ireland, Justin Bieber from Canada, Rihanna from the Barbados, Lady Gaga form the USA and Arcade Fire from Canada.

Quebec culture includes  Marie-Mai from Varennes, Éric Lapointe from Pointe-aux-Trembles and Bridgette Boisjoli from Drummondville.

Take your pick.......NHL or LHJMQ.

Sorry, Mr. Dutrizac, English Canadians have made a choice for quality over nepotism.

The sad reality is that a big part of Francophone Quebecer's choice towards local French talent is attributed to nothing more than the language handicap.

A couple of weeks ago the most popular television show on French Quebec TV,  'Star Academie'  ended its season.
If you were to ask the average Quebec Anglophone who won the contest, the answer would likely be "What the heck is Star Acadamie?"
This, while more than one-third of Quebec Francophones, about two and a half million people watched the finale.

But the reality is that there is no reason for an Anglophone watch a second rate production like Star Acadamie when he or she could watch an infinitely more talented group of singers compete on the  more glitzy American Idol?

And if you think Quebec Anglophones should have a better connection to a contestant from Maxville or Paquetville, Quebec, rather than a contestant from Murfreesboro, Tennessee or South Kingstown, Rhode Island, you've got another think coming. All these places may as well be on the Moon.

Why on Earth would an English Quebecer watch a local French version of the Price is Right instead of the original English version which has richer prizes and better production values?

The above example serves as an analogy for ALL QUEBEC  CULTURE and is the reason why Anglophone Quebecers will never embrace it.

That the likes of Jean-François Lisée wonders aloud why English speaking Quebecers don't embrace and support French culture instead of a superior English product, is the height of effrontery.

Now for those of you who are going to say that as an Anglophone, I am not qualified to judge French culture, all I can say is for the last forty years of my life I have worked almost exclusively in French and have traveled more extensively across this province than almost any of you reading this blog. My French isn't just good, it's pretty much impeccable and I have lived with Francophone culture all my life.

To those who brand me as a Francophobe or Angryphone, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Like many Anglos on this blog, we complain not because we hate Quebec or Francophones, but rather because we see our province going in the wrong direction.
I actually adore French, speaking it and living it. I could have moved away years ago but I haven't because this is my home.

Readers, I make it point to listen to French radio, watch French television and everyday I read six newspapers, three of which are French.

When I tell you that Francophone culture is inferior to Anglophone culture, it is just a function of the math.
When you are drawing talent from 7 million people versus 800 million persons, there's going to be a qualitative difference.

International English culture is richer, more diverse and is comprised of infinitely more talented artists, entertainers, authors, musicians etc. etc.

Asking a Quebec Anglophone to embrace Francophone culture is like asking Sydney Crosby to choose to play in the LHJMQ instead of the NHL....not going to happen.

Sorry to be cruel, but such is truth. 


Now someone in the comments section recently complained that my references to The Price is Right, poutine or sugar shacks is but a cheap representation of pop culture and not reflective of 'real' Quebec culture.

So what is this real Quebec culture that is so wonderful?.......I haven't seen it.

139 comments:

  1. C'est contre l'indépendance du Québec, ça veut que les anglophones du Québec soient reconnus comme Québécois et pourtant ça utilise des termes comme "Canadian" pour Canada anglais et "Quebec Culture" dans le sens que Québécois veut dire de langue française. Mais si un francophone fait la même chose, c'est un séparatiste raciste anglophobe ;)

    Ça fait juste prouver comment l'indépendance du Québec est quelquechose de naturel et que le Canada anglais devrait se joindre aux États-Unis s'il n'aime pas se faire insulter à propos de sa culture.
    Parce que c'est un phénomène mondial. Je l'ai vu souvent se reproduire sur d'autres sites venant d'Européens et d'Asiatiques entres autres qui ne pouvaient pas identifier une culture proprement canadienne-anglaise donc ils parlent d'America Jr. Joignez les États-Unis et vous pourrez vous vanter de faire parti d'une si grande puissance puisque vous aimez tant vanter la culture internationale de langue anglaise dominée par les États-Unis. Vous êtes voisins, il n'y a pas de raison logique d'être séparés.

    J'ai une question: pourquoi est-ce que quelqu'un qui chante à American Idol aurait infiniment plus de talent? On parle de voix ici? En quoi est-ce que le fait d'être né anglophone affecte les cordes vocales au point d'avoir une voix infiniment supérieure? Un plus grand bassin de population où on peut repêcher de bonnes voix c'est une chose mais au plan individuel l'anglophone n'a pas infiniment plus de chance d'avoir une plus belle voix. Parce qu'avant de parler de langue des paroles d'une chanson, ça aide d'avoir une bonne voix pour chanter.
    Après tout, une qui est reconnue comme ayant une des meilleures voix au monde est née à Charlemagne, Québec.
    Elle a fait ses débuts ici en faisant partie de la culture québécoise donc la culture québécoise a contribué à votre culture anglophone.

    Et pour ce qui est de composer de la musique, un anglophone n'a pas automatiquement plus de talent. Un francophone composa la musique du O Canada. Si aucun anglophone avait porté attention à cet artiste, vous n'auriez pas cet hymne lors de parties de hockey. Encore une fois, vous avez besoin de la culture québécoise parfois. Il ne l'a pas fait en pensant contribuer directement à votre culture anglophone, c'était pas prévu que cette pièce deviendrait autre chose qu'un hymne canadien-français.

    L'anglais, l'anglais, l'anglais, la bonne musique n'a pas de langue, seulement les paroles en ont une.
    Connaissez-vous Malajube? Ils ont des fans anglophones qui ne comprennent même pas leur paroles mais aiment leur musique.
    C'est quand même un bien meilleur exemple de culture qu'une adaptation de the Price is Right. Ça, c'est pas de l'art et c'est purement commercial: les prix sont moins gros mais c'est beaucoup plus facile pour quelqu'un d'ici de participer à the Price is Right ici qu'aux États-Unis. J'y ai même vu des non-francophones jugeant par leur accents, ils y vont pour cette raison là.

    - un lecteur de Maxville, QC (surtout que ça n'existe pas selon mes recherches et pour ce qui est de Paquetville, c'est au Nouveau-Brunswick, détail peut-être mais comme exemples il y a mieux)

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    1. J'ai juste oublié de préciser que lorsque j'ai dit plus facile de participer à the Price is Right ici qu'aux États-Unis je ne veux pas juste dire à cause de la langue (bien des participants peuvent parler anglais aussi et c'est déjà arrivé que des gens d'ici participent aux États-Unis) c'est simplement parce que c'est moins loin et ils ont plus de chance d'y arriver. Vaut mieux un prix moins gros que pas de prix du tout.

      Sinon comment expliquer la toute nouvelle émission Canada's Got Talent?
      Pourquoi, puisque vous faites parti de cette culture anglaise internationale, ne pas simplement participer à America's Got Talent?
      Interdisent-ils aux non-Américains de participer? Il me semble que non, parfois des non-Américains y participe.
      Vous voyez bien que les Canadiens anglais veulent aussi leur version d'émissions américaines au lieu de simplement se contenter des versions américaines.
      Canadian Idol c'est pas nouveau, ça.

      Donc les versions francophones sont justifiables par la langue mais aussi le fait que c'est local alors que des versions anglophones locales il n'y a pas de « handicap » linguistique comme vous dites.

      - le lecteur de Maxville, QC qui espère que vous me lirez puisque vous dites aimer le français

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  2. The NHL is actually a good example of Canadian culture inflencing Anglo-American culture. (I hate using the term "North American" to describe English Canada and the United States since I believe Mexico, Central America (including English speaking Belize) and the Caribbean nations) are also "North American.") Yes, most NHL franchises are in the United States, but most NHL players still come from Canada, and in proportion to their population, the NHL has much higher ratings in Canada than the United States.

    If Quebecoi do not consider themselves part of "Anglo-America", I think it's perfectly valid to lump them in with "Latin America" since French, like Spanish is also a Romance (or Latin-derived) language.

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    1. "If Quebecoi do not consider themselves part of "Anglo-America"

      Are you implying doing that is wrong? Why should we? French is our primary language and Anglo-America means English-speaking America. Is it intolerance? No, it's just not our reality and I think the average Anglo-American would agree that French-speaking Quebec isn't a part Anglo-America. It's not even about separatism, Anglo-America is a lingustic term that does not perfectly follow borders like other terms for other languages.

      "I think it's perfectly valid to lump them in with "Latin America" since French, like Spanish is also a Romance (or Latin-derived) language."

      Anglo-America is in a different category than Latin America because the latter refers to a linguistic family and not just one specific language. Most people both within Quebec and outside of it don't consider Quebec Latin American whereas actual Latin American people use the term to refer to themselves. So not only is the language different but when it comes to things not related to language, it really is different from Latin America, it's even closer (and not just geographically) to Anglo-America than Latin America when not counting the language difference though it's not exactly the same.

      Why must all the Americas be simply classified as either Anglo-America or Latin America? Quebec is Quebec. If there was another province or state or country next to it with a French-speaking majority then you could have a group, Franco-America or something but as it is it doesn't have to belong to a group.

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    2. I too disagree that Francophones should be lumped in with Latin Americans (which primarily refers to Hispanophones and Lusophones) regardless of the fact that French, Spanish and Portuguese are all Romance languages. This is the definition adopted by the New Oxford Dictionary of English.

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    3. Isn't the French départment of Guyanne also part of "Latin America"? I see no reason why Quebec cannot be considered Latin American. Then again, if someone from Belize--an English-speaking country in Central America---also considers their country to be part of "Latin America" it's probably up to Quebecois and Quebeckers to decide what category Quebec falls into.

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  3. "The sad reality is that a big part of Francophone Quebecer's choice towards local French talent is attributed to nothing more than the language handicap."

    Voilà pourquoi les médias anglophones n'ont jamais compris le phénomène de la série télé la P'tite Vie dans les années 90. Records de cotes d'écoute que les émissions anglophones produites au Canada anglais (pourtant plus nombreux) ne pouvaient battre. Peut-être parce que c'est naturel de préférer entendre sa langue maternelle (c'est pas de l'intolérance, c'est que le cerveau est plus habitué qu'à une langue seconde) et que c'est pas juste une question de langue mais le fait que ça parle de nous avec des références culturelles propres à notre société alors qu'une émission américaine montre une réalité américaine. Ce n'est pas universel, c'est américain. Malgré la mondialisation, les Américains restent les Américains et les non-Américains bien qu'influencés par les Américains, ont quand même leur culture non-américaine. Beaucoup de non-Américains dans le monde les regardent (souvent traduites) mais elles ne représentent quand même pas leurs réalités et eux aussi produisent leur propre contenu. Il y a des tonnes de différences (souvent subtiles) entre le Québec et le reste de l'Amérique du Nord à part la langue. Et pour ce qui est de la France, même si nous pouvons les comprendre, leurs émissions de télévision ne sont pas populaires ici. Vraiment plus complexe qu'une simple question de langue.
    Même le Canada anglais a fait des séries télés qui montrent la réalité canadienne anglaise.

    Si c'était vrai votre théorie, dès que quelqu'un apprendrait l'anglais il ou elle ne consommerait que des trucs en anglais mais c'est généralement pas le cas même si de plus en plus connaissent l'anglais. Pensez-vous que toute la salle lors d'un gala Juste pour Rire est unilingue? Non et pourtant la salle est pleine parce que nous aimons bien nos humoristes, faut croire qu'ils ont du talent, les rires sont naturels. Pleins de gens bilingues vont voir Juste pour Rire sans aller voir Just for Laughs, certains les deux mais je n'ai pas l'impression que bien des francophones bilingues rejètent tous les humoristes francophones. Ils sont populaires pour les mêmes raisons expliquées plus haut. On se reconnaît dans leurs observations. C'est adapté à la réalité du Québec français même si plusieurs blagues sont universelles et seraient drôles dans d'autres langues.
    Il y a même des humoristes canadiens-anglais qui font des blagues qui ne seraient pas comprises par les Américains et pourtant ils parlent la même langue.

    "Now someone in the comments section recently complained that my references to The Price is Right, poutine or sugar shacks is but a cheap representation of pop culture and not reflective of 'real' Quebec culture."

    Vous prenez en effet des exemples « cheap » puisque comme dans les autres cultures, il y a de la qualité.

    Je vais devoir poster en deux parties.

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  4. (ça devrait fonctionner maintenant)


    "Why on Earth would an English Quebecer watch a local French version of the Price is Right instead of the original English version which has richer prizes and better production values?
    The above example serves as an analogy for ALL QUEBEC CULTURE and is the reason why Anglophone Quebecers will never embrace it."

    Ce n'est pas aussi simple, tout n'est pas une adaptation ou une traduction. Il y a du contenu original
    Et il y a certains anglophones au Québec qui aiment certains artistes francophones. Certains participent même à la création de musique (avec des paroles en français) ou à la création de certains films dont certains sont en partie en français, en partie en anglais alors ça montre qu'il y a une certaine ouverture, ils ne sont pas obligés. Évidemment je ne m'attends pas à ce qu'ils en consomment énormément mais c'est pas tout blanc, tout noir.

    Il y a des formes d'art qui n'ont pas de langue comme la peinture. Certains peintres d'ici (comme Jean-Paul Riopel) sont connus mondialement par les amateurs d'art (évidemment ce n'est pas aussi populaire que d'écouter du Lady Gaga) et leurs oeuvres se vendent assez cher aux enchères hors Québec alors faut croire qu'ils ont du talent sinon elles ne se vendraient qu'ici non? La peinture n'a pas de langue donc toute la planète peut apprécier.

    "So what is this real Quebec culture that is so wonderful?.......I haven't seen it."
    Demandez à ceux qui s'occupent des nominations aux Oscars et plusieurs festivals de cinéma dans différentes villes parce qu'eux ont aimé plusieurs films québécois. Certains ont besoin de sous-titres en anglais mais ça n'en fait pas des films anglophones et c'est pour le contenu que le film est bon, pas la langue quoique la qualité du choix des mots dans le dialogue peut contribuer à en faire un bon film alors dans le cas d'un film sous-titré en anglais, c'est d'avoir besoin de l'anglais l'handicap! Les traductions c'est pas aussi bon, en plus qu'il faut lire au lieu de juste regarder l'image. En tant qu'anglophone connaissant le français, vous avez la chance de comprendre les films francophones alors pourquoi ne pas donner une chance à certains, peut-être trouveriez-vous quelquechose à votre goût. Évidemment ils n'ont pas de gros budgets à la Hollywood mais pas besoin de ça pour faire un bon film et les films en anglais préférés des critiques sont souvent des films indépendants.

    Même des Américains apprécient certains artistes francophones:
    http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15389-la-caverne/

    - votre fidèle lecteur de Maxville

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    1. Rappelons que le premier film "Les boys", lancé en décembre 1997, avait récolté plus de 7 millions de dollars au box-office québécois, battant à l'époque Titanic (Céline Dion) sur le territoire québécois.

      Hollywood ne comprend plus rien...

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  5. Hier c'était les Juno Awards.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Juneau
    "He is credited with the creation, promotion, and championing of Canadian content requirements for radio and television. Juneau is the namesake of the Juno Awards, which were named for him."

    Évidemment c'est mieux pour les francophobes parmi le public de renommer ça Juno. Même les Américains n'ont pas renommé Juneau en Alaska, ville fondée par un Québécois et ça les historiens Américains peuvent le confirmer.

    Je n'écoute jamais le gala des Junos et je me demande: est-ce que c'est le genre de gala où ils coupent les bouts où des Québécois reçoivent des prix lorsqu'il le passe à la télé comme ils ont déjà fait à Claude Dubois? Ils se plaindraient de devoir le voir comme les francophobes qui se plaignent du couplet en français pendant le O Canada même si c'est grâce aux francophones que l'hymne existe, c'est grâce à un francophone que les Juno Awards existent et ça aura pris un francophone pour encourager le contenu canadien donc oui le Canada anglais peut avoir une culture mais il faut le prendre par la main et lui montrer qu'il peut créer.

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    1. Les anglo-canayens sont incapables d'être originaux.Toutes tentatives d'exprimer leur culture est bouffée ou ridiculisée par les amerlocs.Regardez les sitcoms américains et vous constaterez rapidement que les canayens sont les "clowns" des amerlocs.

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    2. Donald Sutherland est un bon exemple.Il a affirmé un jour que quand un canadien travaille à Hollywood,il a automatiquement une feuille d'érable collée au cul.Ne devient pas américain qui veut...

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  6. I would think that one meaure of culture would be the impact that a given nation has had internationally. And what better indicator would there be than their number of Nobel Prize winners, the prize awarded to honour a person's or organization's contribution to humanity. Approximately 20 Canadians have been so honoured. Not one of them French Canadian. Yes, 4 are Quebec born: Saul Bellow, Sidney Altman, Rudolph Marcus and Ralph Steinman. But they are Jews, in whom a majority of French Canadians have no trust, Think about that the next time you're in France watching a Quebecois show on TV5 subtitled in French.

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    1. 7 million French-Canadians. 7 million Hong Kongers.
      One Hong Konger won Hong Kong's first Nobel prize ever in 2009.

      And this is Hong Kong, which is very rich, technologically advanced and Hong Kongers are known to be very studious.

      All categories of Nobel prizes have nothing to do with culture except the literature prize. America with it's huge population only won 11 of those, Japan only 2, Belgium with 11 million people only won 1.

      There are millions of Canadians with non-French, non-Anglo-Saxon and non-Jewish backgrounds yet I don't see a single Nobel prize laureate.

      French-Canadians surely as intelligent on average as English-Canadians, perhaps even more when looking at these results:

      Is it more important to win a few Nobel prizes in mathematics in over a century or to be better at math on average? Because when looking at this site by the Canadian government:
      http://www.pisa.gc.ca/eng/highlights.shtml
      you can read:
      Countries and provinces performing significantly better than Canada:
      Mathematics Chinese Taipei, Finland,Hong Kong-China, Korea, Quebec

      So Quebec is the best in all of Canada when it comes to math. Among the very best in the world!
      Surely it must have something to do with its French-Canadian majority. I see others are East Asians except Finland yet it's provinces like British Columbia that have many Asians, not Quebec. As for Jews, I don't see how only 1% of the provincial population would be so smart to the point of boosting the average so much because if that were the case, Ontario which has a higher percentage of Jews, would be doing even better.

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    2. I also like how Quebec, despite no non-Jewish Nobel prizes, is among the best in the world (though not as good as in math) in science:
      http://www.pisa.gc.ca/eng/images/highlights/figure1.jpg

      Doing way better than Israel.

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    3. Quebec also has the highest high school dropout rate of all ten Canadian provinces.

      No doubt the dropout rate is even higher amongst Francophones than it is among Anglos or Allophones in Quebec, since most Francophones live in the regions, where dropout rates are even higher.

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    4. It is interesting that you mentioned PISA.

      One thing that I find remarkable is that while Quebec students achieve high scores, the English students in Quebec are able to hold their own compared to their French counterpart. That is not the case in other provinces. While the results for English students in RoC are quite good, French students are considerably behind.

      The tables for 2009 is here.

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    5. Merci Yann de venir témoigner sur ce blogue.

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  7. Editor,

    I do not think the comparison between QMJHL (that is how it is called in English) and NHL and between English and French Canada cultures is good. QMJHL as part of CHL is decidedly a junior, amateur league. All CHL players, I think, aspires to go to the NHL. And one can not stay in the CHL forever. Eventually they must either go professional or find another job.

    Quebec artists and entertainers, on the other hand, do not need to be that way. They can choose to be a big fish in a small pond or they can try the ocean and be big, be small, or be drowned since it is saltwater. In fact, many Quebec fish choose to leave the freshwater pond behind and be alright in the ocean. Celine Dion, Karine Vanasse, Roy Dupuis to name a few.

    To allege English Canadian that they are second class American is patently unfair. American entertainment industry is getting its talents from anywhere in the world. The harsh reality is that the United States is culturally the most dominant in the world. Nobody comes even close. I would say that the United Kingdom is rather far second, but they cater mostly for British artists. Why? It is an English world we are living. After WWII as the victor the Unites States spread its influence all over the world and set the standards in many aspects of global life. That is why the U.S. Dollar is the world main currency, airplanes fly in feet attitude and Coca-Cola is available anywhere drinks are sold.

    As the closest neighbor to the United States of course Canada is widely exposed to that influence. And the other sad truth is English Canada entertainment industry actually fares worse than its French counterpart. There is almost no 'pure' English Canadian entertainment product worth mentioning available in the market (pure means without American interest). It is not to say that English Canada lacks talent, far from it. All good talents go to the U.S. And why should they not. They go to where the money and the opportunities are. That is why Canadian Idol failed miserably. It is not because there was no talent, but because there was no infrastructure in Canada strong enough to launch the winner to a respectable career. Just ask Eva Avila.

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    1. Pas en accord à 100% mais c'est un très bon commentaire Troy.Bravo!

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  8. Dear Author,

    I really enjoyed your rant this morning however I wish that I did not have to read it. I strongly believe that we will never stop this language debate until the province does separate. I'm an Anglo living in Montreal and I completely support Quebec Separation ( i wouldn't vote for it but I welcome it). I think that people like Pierre "Crusty" and Pauline Marois should have their Canadian citizenship revoked along with their passport. I say let Quebec live in French and in poverty! I would have no issue moving to Ontario and watching the Quebecois cry because they cant afford groceries, Gas, Ipad's and iphones. I would love to see the Quebecois complain when they no longer have enough money to contaminate Cuba . They want to live in French and stay in their little bubble? I say let them have it. I'm fed up of these whiny , inferiority complexed individuals.

    Why would a country want to have such a dysfunctional relationship with a state? This is a marriage that should have ended up in divorce a long time ago.

    The funniest thing that could happen to Quebec is a complete economic disaster after separation and then a US take over of Quebec. If the US gets a hold of Qc then good bye Francais.

    If I was the prime minister of Canada, I wouldnt wait for a referendum, I would just let them go. Canada is better off without Quebec and I personally would rather live in a society with normal problems.

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    1. An immigrant who embraced both cultures, but lives in anglophone community ...Monday, April 2, 2012 at 9:20:00 AM EDT

      I have to admit that I love your post. Makes perfect sense.
      I think Mme. Marois and her entourage think that Canada will ask them not to separate in case of a new referendum, and they think that the rest of the canadians will march again on the streets of Montreal ... no way.

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    2. @AnonymousApr 2, 2012 05:45 AM

      Nous pouvons donc compter sur votre appui au prochain référendum.

      Merci et svp essayez de convaincre les membres de votre entourage.

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    3. Seppie, your value is null here, so don't bother. You and your inbreed friends are not welcomed here.

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    4. @ AnonymousApr 2, 2012 05:45 AM

      I think if the French, Polish, Dutch, Greek, and other Resistance along with England, India, Yugoslavia, Australia, Canada, America and The Allies during WW2, thought as you do, you would today, be risking your life when stating your opinion.

      When you speak this way, you denounce the French Canadians Wanting to remain Canadian along side, and with their English and Ethnic Brothers.

      You are being intellectually lazy when you say give our province to the hateful French Language Taliban. There is another way!

      Show the RoQ and the RoC that we are not all ethnocentric xenophobe separatists.

      Note that the legal mechanism for the 11th Canadian Province is in place and it is not treason to ask from Our Country, Canada and from The Governor General permission and affirmation of such.

      We don’t need to wait for a separate Québec for that.

      To the separatists who will try to use all sorts of legal rhetoric to diss the will of LesMontréalais, just remember that this would not be the WILL of the Montreal People if The Separatist French Language Taliban was not spewing their hate for our English Brothers!!

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

      Delete
    5. "and with their English and Ethnic Brothers"

      Sniff...Est-ce votre frère vous parle dans une langue étrangère?Mon frère et moi parlons la même langue.Étrange non?

      Delete
    6. We speak to communicate, not to imprison each other!

      You tried to put me and many Francophones in your French Language Taliban Cult and we found out you were stealing from us our amazing country Canada!

      Vive le Montréal Libre du Taliban de l’OQLF raciste!!

      Delete
    7. Vive le Montréal Libre du Taliban de l’OQLF raciste!!

      Espérons que vous êtes patient car j'ai comme l'impression que c'est pas demain la veille.

      Delete
    8. Don't matter when.
      In 40+ years with all your racist social engineering propaganda, you've managed to convert no French Canadian! The ones who voted for separation were, and perhaps still are stuck in a lobster trap that has them believing your Québécois Separatists Crap, not because they are stupid, but because they speak ONLY French. That is the only weapon you have! Keep children from learning other languages so that you’re near totally Separatist run media keeps them blind!!
      Québécois culture so proud and inviting that you create fascist laws to keep your owned from discovering their country. Thank God French Canadians are not like you!

      Delete
    9. Quand même hallucinant d'entendre un anglouille nous dire que le monde nous est fermé si nous ne sommes pas anglophone.L'absurdité n'a pas de limite pour ces trous du cul.

      Delete
    10. Trous du cul?
      Comme quand tu ouvre la gueule?

      Delete
  9. "Justin Bieber from Canada..."

    Merci!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think you had an opportunity in that rant to expand on Insular cultures and the dismal results it has on the intellect of the people playing in it. I watch french television I think they are trying hard to have a presence. What I think is really cool is in French Canada media bullshits with it's content. I have the idea from what I watch that in French Canada land ; ) it's pretty carefree and fun.
    I find that most media coming out of Quebec lacks hard edges I wish I could live in that soft ignorant place, but alas I'm English so I will toss and turn in my sleep not only for my families future but for a fluffy frenchie out fishing with his brothers off his cabin while his wife and the huge family sing Leyrac making pastries and ham. Ignorance is Bliss

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I think you had an opportunity in that rant to expand on Insular cultures and the dismal results it has on the intellect of the people playing in it."

      Parlez-vous de la culture des Inuits ou des amérindiens?

      Delete
    2. The Inuit and "Amerindian" cultures are far more interesting and distinct than the cheesy, so-called culture of the Quebecwah.

      Delete
    3. The Inuit and...

      Question de point de vue j'imagine...Cheezy comme dans cheez whiz,Beuuuurk!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:09,

      Here is something about our insularity :

      http://michelpatrice.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/a-whole-beautiful-world-out-there/

      Delete
  11. Yo, Acadian Boy: I get more culture out of a serving of yogurt than I do from just about anything Quebec musically. In all fairness, I think Ginette Reno has/had potential, but too bad she didn't pursue the English portion of her career with more dedication. She may have had success. Too, there are some good painters from Quebec that I've seen in varous galleries.

    Finally, I think the Editor meant to write QUANTITATIVE factors as opposed to QUALITATIVE factors. 800 million English internationals vs 6 million Franco Quebeckers. You're not going to have that many Quebec performers having the success of those who perform in English. Tough luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Transformers 3, Pirates of the Carribeans 4, et Twilight."

    Tous des films pour adolescents attardés.Les seuls films américains dignes de mention sont le plus souvent des films indépendants qui se retrouvent habituellement au Sundance festival.Les autres sont de la grosse merde commerciale.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @ OQLF

    "Les autres sont de la grosse merde commerciale"

    Wow, I almost agree with you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. The fact that the pool to choose "artists" from is much greater in America, as Editor noted, does not translate into quality. Examples of Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, or Rihanna prove that quantity does not mean quality. So Seppie is right when he rubs our noses in Justin Beiber.

    The problem with people like Seppie is that of alternative. Just because I find American pop culture kitschy, it does NOT automatically mean that I'll switch to the first culture available. I will rather evaluate the available culture and decide if it's worthy.

    Evaluating the Quebecois culture, I come to a conclusion that it is karaoke Americanism. It is a cheap imitation. It is American pop crap in a different language. Many cultures today unfortunately undergo the process of Americanization and Quebec is not immune from it. So Marie Mai and Eric Lapointe are to me cheap imitations of their American rock counterparts.

    The is an excellent book, available online, by a Dutch writer Jaap Kooijman, entitled: "Fabricating the absolute fake: American Contemporary Pop Culture". In it Kooijman describes the decline of the Dutch culture as a result of its Americanization. Note the title of chapter 4: "Americans we never were - Dutch Pop Culture and Karaoke Americanism".

    http://tinyurl.com/7vew3h2

    The same thing applies today to the Quebecois "culture". By no means it offers an alternative or an escape from the American culture. It is a cheap and as cheesy, and on top of it very local.

    ---
    On the topic of getting "L'Etat Quebecois" to get immigrants to do what the Quebecois want, like adopting the culture of their "hosts"...there is a good book called Immigrant Nations written by a Dutch professor Paul Scheffer who studies immigration and globalization. One of the main conclusions from Scheffer's work is that that native populations cannot ask of newcomers any more than they themselves are prepared to contribute.

    http://tinyurl.com/7ks5y67

    This is for those who would like to study the subject seriously. That of course excludes Seppie, who thinks that "les importes" should simply do as they're told by the "maitres chez nous" because that is a "normalite mondiale". But immigrant complacency is not a normality, in fact it is very unusual. The normality in host nations is the kind of conflict we have in Quebec, and it's not easily resolvable. Certainly, it requires concessions on both sides, not only on the "imported" side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Je suis d'avis qu'une règle presque universelle s'applique en matière culturelle : Nous sommes portés à apprécier les choses qui nous ressembles,qu'elles soient locales ou extérieures.Il en va de même pour tous les produits de consommation et l'art ainsi la culture,de façon générale, n'y échappent pas.Les Québécois vont souvent préférer un produit local médiocre auquel ils peuvent s'identifier plutôt qu'un produit extérieur de meilleure qualité.les agences de publicité ont compris le phénomène depuis longtemps(les années 60) en adaptant la plupart des productions publicitaires de leurs gros clients au marché Québécois.

      Delete
    2. Adski,

      How do you say mauvaise foi in English?

      Care to listen to Coeur de Pirate [tinyurl.com/7zkcc5x], Pierre Lapointe [tinyurl.com/7bbe4m5], Bernard Adamus (Polish-borned) [tinyurl.com/25k3fgn], Arianne Moffatt [tinyurl.com/7ve6u99] who are all by Québec standards mainstream artists? If you feel a bit more adventurous and feel like listening to more cheap duplicates of American crap (sigh), I highly recommend you Philémon Chante [tinyurl.com/6upb69j], Jimmy Hunt [tinyurl.com/6qqy7lj] or Peter Peter [tinyurl.com/7dxxfc9].

      Bonne écoute,

      Delete
    3. The RoC has this independent / folksy stuff too. So why is their culture to be judged on its mass/popular aspect, and yours isn't? In their culture, as in yours, this independent aspect is drowned out by the popular one, but it does exist. These days, the music sector of non-anglophone countries mostly apes the American style. The independent and folk artists linger in the background.

      You're quick to accuse me for mauvaise foi for not noticing the QC independent stuff, but you're ok with Dutrizac et al. not noticing it in the RoC? People like you are funny. You'll parade Philémon Chante as proof of your cultural superiority, but on the other side you'll notice Justin Beiber and not bands like Junk House for example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vo6zuIPWYI

      As for the independent QC stuff, I was familiar with B.Adamus as I'm also Polish born. I can't say I like it. To be honest, the folk stuff, though better than the mass produced one, is not so appealing to me. I'm still wasting for a new Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, etc...If not Brit 1960s rock, then at least something along Seattle grunge circa early 1990s. And of course classical music is unbeatable.

      Lastly, if we judge modern cultures on music only, we'd be very disappointed all around. Culture is more than music, it's a set of attitudes, mentalities, sensitivities, priories, values, practices, organizations, institutions, politics, ethics, etc...

      My strikes against Quebec culture include: materialism, hedonism, self indulgence, and nationalism. But take comfort in knowing that that pretty much covers the entire western culture, albeit with much less mindless nationalism outside the US and Quebec.

      Delete
    4. Adski,

      I have never talked of Quebec cultural superiority. I was only defending the fact that Quebec culture isn't (only) low-budget US replica in French even in the mainstream sphere if I can say. I haven't talk about Canada which has some awesome independant bands; I'm a huge fan of the Weakerthans; the band that best represents "Canadianness" to me [www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLlsjEP7L-k].


      "And of course classical music is unbeatable."

      I totally agree on this one. I'm grateful everyday Toronto gave us Glenn Gould to interpret so many masterpieces.

      "My strikes against Quebec culture include: materialism, hedonism, self indulgence, and nationalism. But take comfort in knowing that that pretty much covers the entire western culture, albeit with much less mindless nationalism outside the US and Quebec."

      When I see student strikes, social protests for the environment, I like to think there is a still a strong sens of the "social" in Québec; perhaps more than in the ROC or US. But hey maybe my focus on Quebec society is bad having so little perspective from it.
      Nationalism is a mal nécessaire. To me, the good side is that it allowed us up to this day to maintain a high diversity of cultures in the world which I believe is, just as in biology, good in the long term.

      Cheers,

      Delete
  15. Québécois "culture" is sooo great that they have to inact laws that force immigrants to adopt it against their will. Isn't it telling that after 400 years in North America, Québécois culture has failed miserably in growing outside her border's. Drive an hour West or South of Montreal and you'll be hard pressed to find any signs of this magnificent "culture" or language. Zero diffusion or penetration in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and a smattering in Eastern Ontario. That's after 400 years! To those chauvinists that claim Québécois cultural superiority, let's turn the clock back to the 70's and 80's. What was coming out of here was down right shameful and an embarrassment. Only recently in the last decade has Québécois cinema finally matured. To those that claim English speaking Quebecers have no culture, let me remind you that the only notable Art museum in Quebec, (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) and the only big league orchestra in Quebec (Montreal Symphony Orchestra) were started by and paid for by Anglo Montrealers. Respect is a two way street.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les unilingues francais sont francocentrique; si c'a n'est pas francais c'est de la merde.

      Delete
    2. Since we talk about culture in Qc, has anyone seen the amounts Qc receives from the Canada Council for the Arts? More than its fair share, n'est pas? With this kind of funding, doesn't make sense to have a better (in numbers) artistic turnout?

      Grants received by each Province/Territory (please keep in in mind these are only the grants):
      Newfoundland & Labrador: $1,666,595
      Prince Edward Island: $379,245
      Nova Scotia: $4,304,427
      New Brunswick: $2,015,550
      Quebec: $46,256,455
      Ontario: $47,778,321
      Manitoba: $6,568,630
      Saskatchewan: $3,536,871
      Alberta: $10,469,130
      British Columbia: $20,704,507
      Yukon Territory: $524,510
      Northwest Territories: $197,365
      Nunavut Territory: $457,500
      Other: $1,277,058

      Do you want more numbers...?

      Government expenditures on culture, to Quebec, 2008-09
      Federal: $1,393,113,000
      Provincial: $941,720,000

      Government expenditures on culture, to all provinces and territories, 2008-09
      Federal: $4,006,297,000

      It sure looks to me that Qc receives far more than the rest. Now, I see here an issue: the federal funding for all cultural and artistic matters. Are the QC artists ready to lose that kind of money? WIth Qc's separation and the whole economic and social turmoil that will follow I wonder how Jean-Guy will be able to get a substantial grant for his buttons and twigs collage art? After all, isn't culture and art the pride and glory of Qc?

      Delete
    3. "...buttons and twigs collage art?"

      Vous confondez avec l'art féminin typiquement anglo.

      Delete
    4. Ouch!Tanya SS semble très érudite en la matière.Ne pas être en mesure de différencier l'artisanat des arts de la scène ou des arts visuels nous laisse croire que soit : C'est une inculte de premier ordre soit elle est de mauvaise foi comme la majorité des anglos sur ce blogue.

      Peut-être les deux à la fois?Bonne candidate pour Sun news?

      Delete
    5. OQLF, touchy subject?

      I wish I remember the name of the temp that took place to one of our teachers at the University when she couldn't teach for a few months.

      I have to admit, he was not into buttons and twigs. You sure caught me. He was into tires, wood and scrap metal. What does it matter? Do tires, wood and scrap metal have more artistic value? Are buttons and twigs considered second-rate artistic means? Oh, and Jean-Guy was not his name, of course, but he sure was happy with the two 'art' grants received. It was not me deeming his work art.

      Glad you got the essence of my post.

      Delete
    6. Je serais bien curieux de savoir ce que vous faites de si exceptionnel dans votre petite vie.Comptable?Ou encore pire,une de ces affreuses secrétaires "exécutives" anglos qui entre au bureau le matin avec ces grotesques espadrilles blancs aux pieds rêvant que 5h arrive au plus vite.Vos propos laissent place à l'imagination,façon de parler bien entendu.

      Delete
    7. Ha j'oubliais,les secrétaires vont parfois à l'université le soir question d'espérer s'extirper de leur minable vie à une dimension.

      Delete
    8. Really pissed you off, huh?

      ...and... not even close. G'night.

      Delete
    9. Tanya S, much as I appreciate your earnest argument, please be advised that OQLF/Seppie and his/her other alts has apparently dedicated his/her life merely to trolling this blog with insipid commentary and has no interest whatsoever in constructive dialogue. Personally, I wouldn't spend much (if any) effort trying to educate him/her with any facts.

      Delete
    10. Really pissed you off, huh?

      ...and... not even close. G'night.

      (Trop d'emphase sur la stylistique globishante (Nord américaine))

      Nice try,where are you from?Europe?

      Delete
    11. Brian, thank you for the tap on the shoulder, you are right.

      I suppose I was captivated by his praiseworthy assessment: the attention to detail, depth of perception and last but not least, the unrivalled accuracy of his description... right down to the color of my shoes. With such a valuable collection of qualities he must be such a successful person, both professionally and socially.

      I hope though he will take on tea leaves or coffee grounds reading - he probably would have ore chances of getting things right.

      I will do my best to stop feeding the trolls.

      Delete
    12. Je n'ai jamais eu une grande admiration pour les gens qui évaluent le monde (incluant les humains) à l'aide d'une calculatrice.Inutile de me fournir votre grille d'évaluation vous permettant de juger ce qu'est la réussite sociale et/ou professionnelle,le bien et le mal.Pas besoin de feuilles de thé non plus pour comprendre que vous êtes une calculatrice de droite à forte tendances libertariennes.Je me trompe?Pas besoin de répondre...

      Ze Troll (prononciation à la française)

      Delete
  16. On ne peut pas n'avoir que des points de vue divergents :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EYza-uXCl4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Très original d'associer les Québécois aux nazis,fallait y penser,du jamais vu.De vrais petits génies créatifs aux influences canadiennes bien senties,autant dans l'originalité que dans le sujet.Bravo les douchebags,du beau travail.

      Misère...Tellement drôle que j'en ai mal aux côtes.

      Delete
    2. Seppie,

      Did you watch the credits at the end of the video? It was produced entirely by Francophones. It's very amusing to see you refer to your compatriots as douchebags.

      Delete
    3. "It was produced entirely by Francophones"...Avec des influences canadiennes.C'est effectivement des douchebags.

      Delete
    4. I love it! Finally some Francos who agree that Rock et Belles Oreilles (RBO) were such crapola...

      Delete
  18. why are the French Language Taliban Cult so obsessed with the culture that english and ethnic Canadians consume? why should I listen to Loco Locass (who sound like shitty early 90s rap in french) when I can listen to Public Enemy? Why should I watch Loft Story when Mad Men is playing? I'd much rather be a part of a larger north American english culture as opposed to the ghetto state sponsored Quebec culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Petite question :Que faites-vous dans le seul endroit officiellement francophone en amérique du Nord?Votre container s'est perdu en mer? MDR!

      Delete
    2. @Roger

      Allo = ghetto,c'est partout pareil à travers le monde :)

      Delete
    3. I didn't write the comment on Apr 2, 2012 02:45 PM

      Delete
  19. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  20. @101 or 401

    YOur still in a majority english speaking country. I guess partitioning your province would be the only way for you to understand that separation is a 2 way street. No more hydro electricity or all the tax revenue from the majority of Montreal Island

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hahahahahaha!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIp7U9NT4rY

    ReplyDelete
  22. "Obviously you aren't interested in francophone culture. Second class American wannabees.
    Évidemment, tu ne t'intéresses pas à la culture francophone du Québec. Un anglo simili américain de 2ème ordre." - Benoit Dutrizac

    Its always disappointing to see people like Benoit Dutrizac putting down English Canadian culture, and equally its no better to claim that francophone culture is second rate. Both cultures have their achievements and talented stars, neither should assume they are superior over the other, and both are part of Canadian culture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Benoit n'a fait que souligner le fait que les canadiens ne font pas beaucoup d'efforts afin de se démarquer des américains.Je ne crois pas que ces derniers admirent un pays supposément indépendant aussi assoiffé de leurs produits culturels.Lorsque pratiquement toutes tes références (pas seulement culturelles) proviennent du pays voisin,il y a forcément un grave problème identitaire.

      Delete
  23. There were a lot of comments from Francophones here during the day...they're probably all unemployed and/or on welfare...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yannick is just another unemployed Acadian who is being financially supported by massive transfer payments from English Canada...

      Delete
    2. no he's in fact your typical mullet-haired hick living in either matane ou chibougameau,who spends his entire days drinking his money away at a local bar...

      Delete
    3. "mullet-haired"

      Pas besoin d'aller à chibougameau,cette coupe est très répandue à Longueuil et elle est d'origine américaine.De plus les trous du cul qui boivent leur paye au bar du coin n'est pas plus une invention Québécoise,on les retrouvent partout,même à Montréal.Meilleure chance la prochaine fois.

      Delete
  24. Attention Yann,les anglouilles commencent à s'agiter,tellement qu'ils oublient que le Nouveau-Brunswick c'est aussi le canada-anglais...Comme saskatoon.MDR

    Merci Apu likes globish!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am not a real big fan of their movies or tv shows, but I have to admit that I actually enjoyed few of them such as l'amour avec un grand A, a TV-show that covered a lot of tabooed subject matters,les bleu poudre, and Piment fort...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Pas sorti du bois avec cette bande de dinosaures mon Yannick.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTuYYacVPqg&feature=share&mid=5444&noredirect=1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're not that different than those bigottted seppies in quebec. You are just as Dinsoaurish as those in new Brunswick, if not more.

      Delete
  27. First time I'm reading this blog. I must say that I'm astounded by the tone and rhetoric in those comments. If you're any representative sample, this country is fucked. It doesn't look like most people here are looking for a reasonable discussion (the inflammatory article surely doesn't hint at that), but I'll bite anyway.

    Your league analogy (anglophone culture = NHL, francophone = LHJMQ) is not only wrong, it is insulting. Here's a better hockey analogy: Team Quebec and Team ROC. Of course Team ROC, because of its larger population, will probably have more good players and will surely beat Team Quebec most of the time. But you can't deny there are a few good players in Team Quebec, that would be as good as any player in Team Canada.

    If you had to make a superteam, Team Canada, would you rather pick from only one team or, given the opportunity, pick from both?

    Here's my point: the more cultures you embrace, the merrier. No matter how big or small, a given culture will have something unique that you just cannot find elsewhere.

    Only having one culture to pick from bacause of a language barrier is a shame. Making the active choice of sticking to only one culture and actively rejecting others is stupid. Making the choice to completely reject the culture that is prevalent where you live is really stupid. Doing all this because deep down you're convinced that your culture is superior to others is really fucking stupid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HatersGonnaHate,

      Just FYI, in Vancouver Olympics there were four players from Quebec in Team Canada. Three goaltenders (Luongo, Brodeur and Fleury) and one skater (Bergeron) out of 23 players.

      Delete
    2. HatersGonnaHate

      You are correct! Thanks for that, but I must point out that what you see here is not a sampling of our country. Is just a sampling of French, English and Ethnic Canadians on the Canadian (including QC) side and Separatists who try to justify the most xenophobic ethnocentric “culture” of North America on the other..

      Delete
  28. You know, Brigitte Boisjoli isn’t half bad, especially her bilingual duet “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Danser toute la nuit)” with B.C.’s These Kids Wear Crowns. And shock and surprise! The biggest hit for Marie-Mai (who lost out to Acadia’s Wilfred Le Bouthillier in the 2003 edition of Star Académie) was her bilingual duet with Montreal’s Simple Plan, a French-Canadian group that sings in English. I could easily go through life without having to suffer Éric Lapointe’s music, though.

    Have you guys had a listen to Acadian singer Lisa Leblanc? See if it doesn’t make your ears bleed. I think I’ll stick with the NHL... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF7DW_mZatA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a matter of fact, I don't think English culture is worse than French culture. In this post, you are doing exactly what you are blaming québecois of doing. I personally enjoy both cultures and don't see why you would need to bash on a culture to try and make yours better. I don't see any French bashing on Belgium's culture, or even a british bashing french culture! You point doesn't stand. I associate RoC culture with American culture mostly because they speak the same language. Also, if Canadian culture was "soooooo better" and "soooo different" than american culture, why do artists like Justin Bieber go to the US to try and be famous? Also, for the english songs from french artits, you are right. The english songs are more popular, they have a bigger pool of people possibly listening (and understanding) it. If an British singer made a french song, don't you think it would be more popular in France? Your xenophobism is laughable and I embrace the English canadians, like me, who enjoy both cultures and dislike the "haters" full or racism (and shit) like you.

      FYI, yes I do speak french and yes, I am mad

      Sur ce

      Have a nice day

      Delete
  29. I agree with this post. Much of my family is still in Quebec. Those of us on the US side of the border still refer to ourselves as having French Canadian roots, since the whole quebecois name is not yet embraced and we see no reason to embrace it. When I was growing up as the first generation in my family that learned to speak english as well as french, we actually looked down on the French Canadian side because it seemed devoid of content. This wasn't just us being rebellious kids dazzled by America, this was taught to us by our own relatives. If you wanted to learn real french culture, you would go to France. But there wasn't a need to do so, since in America we have access to a global english speaking civilization.

    It's only recently that I have looked into the French Canadian side of things and have come to terms with my roots without the childhood sense I once had of looking down at it. There is a lot of wonderful things culturally in Quebec, but I am interested in mainly the folk music, much of which is now branded "Celtic" because it is a mix of french, scottish, irish and english folk traditions. My family taught me that we once had a Canadian rebellion in 1837 and it was never spoken of as a french versus english fight, it was Canadians together against the British. And yes ALL Canadians.

    How did it get to be the way it is now with an over-reactive bunch of nutters running around whining about seeing an english word being used? This is an embarrassment to me. As a bilingual who can wear either a francophone or anglophone hat, it outrages me. (Wonders if I will be jumped by a militant on here now for choosing to write my post in english.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "This is an embarrassment to me."

      Poor little you.

      Vous ne représentez qu'un assimilé parmi tant d'autres,un parfait exemple à éviter.Merci tout de même pour votre "précieux" témoignage.

      Delete
    2. Dear Friend,

      You interpretation is right on. As a Francophone originally, I must say that I’ve seen many changes in the lexicon. What was once French Canadian has been hijacked by one of the most xenophobic group of operators of North America to become Québécois. Québécois, which use to identify someone from Québec City now means Québécois Nation (no offence intended to the Great Canadian City of Québec). Québécois, a Nation that rejects being French and that rejects being Canadian. A new Race, a Québécois Race. A Race that the great majority will never identify with.

      There is no reason for you to feel embarrassed of your French heritage because of the All English Hate Machine the Québécois Taliban has become. They are a special interest minority that will fade as French Canadians call them out and expose them as the bigots they are.

      Your reference to the Canadian rebellion in 1837 is one event among many that my Separatists Factory Québécois Taliban Schools omitted to teach me about. There are many others, such as the fact that after more than 130,000 French and English soldiers fought and died as brothers in the trenches, Vimy Ridge was taken by Canadians, the inventers of the shock and awe battlefield technique. I can continue probably for hours since our Québécois “schools" Ssystematically omitted and revised most of our history, but I’ll leave you with this:
      200 years ago and 25 years prior to the Canadian rebellion of 1837 came the War of 1812 where Brittan and Canadians successfully defended Canada from the USA. In this war Canadians and Brits mostly wore red uniforms and thus were easily picked off by American riflemen. To protect against that, in the tradition of the great French Armies of the past, Canadians pierced their uniforms with bayonets and placed MapleLeaf branches in the holes for camouflage.

      The world knows what the American Flag represents, but few Canadians, let alone the world, know how Our Flag came to be. The red Banners on each side represent the blood spilled by Canadians of All origins for freedom in each of the world wars, and that Glorious MapleLeaf, is not there for le sirop d'érable. It represents the blood of those who saved Canada in the War of 1812.
      Cool Flag eh?

      Now you’d think that such a cool thing as that would have been taught in school, right? No way!

      Concerned citizens on this blog conduct these daily battles because we want to show our English Brothers that we are not all part of the English Hating Taliban. As time goes on, the haters will give up trying to make haters of one of the most welcoming people on earth, The French Canadians of Québec!

      Salut à toi…

      And to the racist above, I remind that your hateful actions that you’ve been brainwashed to believe in, will only serve to help French Canadians to form the 11th Canadian Province of Montréal!!

      Delete
    3. Cool Flag eh?

      Hmmmm...Plus certain maintenant,merci quand même pour l'info.J'espère seulement que dans votre nouvelle province,vous nous donnerez la permission de conserver quelques fleurdelisés.Je compte sur votre amabilité.Merci à l'avance.

      Delete
    4. Quelques fleurdelisés? The symbol of the pre-revolutionary cross-dressing monarch, Louis XIV that you blindly worship? Why not? Our, as you put it, amabilité will win the day over your hate, and OurCanadianMtlProvince is not a Xenophobic cesspool!

      VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

      Delete
    5. That's a fairly fanciful interpretation of the flag that Pearson shoved down our throats.
      I would have preferred this...

      http://worldcupwhatsup.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/hate-to-french.jpg

      Delete
    6. I totaly agree with the idea of partitioning Quebec. This is a great idea. I will spread it all over my social network.

      The residents' committee of the psychiatric hospital where I live will take up position to partition Quebec.

      LONG LIVE TO THE CANADIAN PROVINCE OF MONTREAL!

      Delete
    7. @ Anonymous Apr 3, 2012 07:34 AM

      If Montreal becomes a province, they already have a decent flag. It's one of three city flags I like. The others being the flag of Chicago and the the flag of New Orleans.

      I've always spoken of the war of 1812 as "when Canadians defeated an American invasion." It's not taught that way in the US, but understandable since Americans have their own take on things.

      I do wince when I bring up I have family in Quebec and someone mentions the silly laws and language policing activities. This is what the outside world thinks about whenever someone mentions Quebec. It's a shame, so much Canadian history and culture there, yet people only see the nutters and their actions as being representative of the region.

      Delete
    8. @ Anomynous 7:34

      I owe you an apology.

      In an earlier post, I referred to French-speaking people of Quebec as "Québécois" since for better or worse, Quebecker only applies to English-speakers. I didn't think any native French speaker would object to that. After reading your post, I'm thinking that maybe "French Canadian" or "francophone" would be better, since you've proved that not all French-Canadians in Quebec consider themselves to be "Québécois."

      One more thing---you don't have to give your real name, but since there are so many "Anomynouses" posting here, would you mind adopting a nom de plume so that it will be easier to identify you. Thanks!

      Delete
    9. Merci Edward J..

      Please spread the spirit and theme of our message. Remember that the goal of our project is to separate the separatists from the French Canadians. “P” is for Province, not for partition. We love our Québec Province, but if the racists continue to war on our citizens, we will Create the 11th Canadian Province of Montréal.
      I can hear the seppies crying out “you can’t do that, Mtl belongs to Québec”. To that we repeat that while everyone was working on how to partition Quebec after it separated, we have studied and discovered that the legal mechanism of creating our 11th or 12th (Toronto is doing this too) province before separation, is as doable as gerrymandering.

      My nom de plume shall be Gens Denis. It is derived from several meanings. The name means “twice born” deux fois né or DeuxNé for Denis, a patron saint of France. Since we Canadians love Freedom and Democracy, I believe the translation of the Greek Dionysius to be fitting. At the same time, Les Gens du Pays have been hijacked by the treasonous separatists so it is fitting that we be born again in La Province Canadienne de Montréal.
      Gens Denis nous somme, et je sui!

      As for your apology, I feel I can say without fear of contradiction, on behalf of the MILLIONS of Francopnones and French Canadians who voted NON in both referendums, thank you.

      Gens Denis

      Delete
    10. VIVE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DE MONTREAL!!

      Delete
    11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  30. I understand (and agree to some extend) with your NHL/LHJMQ analogy to explain the dymanic of USA and English Canada cultural industry. But there is a flaw to it, attendance to NHL and LHJMQ are not mutually exclusive. We have basicaly the same access to english north american culture than you have. If we look at cinema, I would guess that american movies are watched here as much as in the rest of Canada. We are paradoxically north american too.

    There something more about our «local» culture. Something not better or superior, simply something that is not in the broad north american culture.

    Let’s take a song for instance, Le Phoque en Alaska. (I am taking a old and worn out song on purpose.) Is this song superior or inferior to another american song? To many of us, this song brings back memories of nights by the fire, of an era of cultural effervescence, of togertheness, of childhood memories, it is a song that we sang when we were young and that many of us now sing to our children. This song touches something in so many of us that it became part of our history and of our human experience.

    Only for us is this song different from any other song. To any other people, it is a song just like any other. The difference is cultural.

    Is this song superior or inferior to american music? I think that your answer would tell more about you than about the song itself.

    There is something in art that touches us (and by us I mean human kind) : having something to relate to our own experience, seeing an image of ourself. Self centered you will say? Of course.

    As self centered as the Lumière brothers who filmed humans right after having invented movie shooting. As self centered as Michel-Ange who sculpted humans. As self centered as the natives who were fascinated to see their own image in the first mirors. It is simply the self consciousness that differentiates us from animals.

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  31. my god, holy crisse. First time on this blog and It's all tl;dr heavy whining.

    You guys need to get out a little, meet some new people, open up your world, "make it better". I don't know, take a breather, try to enjoy yourself a little?

    I'm pretty sure all this anglos vs francos like it's '76 thing is bad for your digestion.

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  32. Quebec and Culture...ummm? It's like saying that Nazism was democratic or the Chinese government are friendly or in the Spanish Inquisition people were fairly treated...I mean, it's all an abomination like associating Quebec (the beast) and Culture (the beauty).

    WA

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    1. "associating Quebec and Culture"

      C'est comme si l'on tentait d'associer les anglos Nord américains avec une saine alimentation si nous suivons votre logique.

      Delete
  33. I get the idea of an "international English culture of which America does take a prominent role".

    But there is nevertheless something about canadians trying to differianciate themselves from americans. Here is a true anecdote that I find funny : in the world of international diplomacy, we sometimes see two canadian native english speakers who, wanting to differianciate themselves from americans, talk to each other in ... french. This was reported to me by one of those canadian native english speakers, one who is close to me and who has an eye for irony.

    It is of course just an anecdote and it no proof of anything, but I find it funny.

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  34. Due to the french only hiring practises in the federal public service I doubt that two Canadian native English speaking diplomats would have much of a chance of bumping into one another.
    Also, seeing as how fewer than 10% of English speakers outside of quebec speak french it would indicate that the language is of no interest to us in differentiating ourselves from Americans.

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  35. I don't read this blog expecting high-quality content, but No Dogs has again surpassed himself with this piece. ROTFL!

    No Dogs seems to confuse quantity and quality. As noted by a previous commentator, Transformers 3, Twilight and Pirates of the Carribeans 4 are the "best" "english-culture movies, American Idol and the Voice are the most popular shows. How nice for "english global culture".

    But by far the most laughable part of this essay is that the author positively GLOATS at the total abosulte absence of anything local in his so-called "global culture". Is he or his family or neighbors the enxt American Idol winner? Nope, it's AMERICAN idol. Montreal and anglo-Quebec are absolute non-entities in the author's culture and that's the way No Dogs seems to like it. Good for him.

    Québec has a genuinely different and original culture. I can see a little but of my self, my family, my friends and my neighbors in it. We can all be proud of that. Excluding Mr No Dogs and most of his fellow anglophones unfortunately but they can always take confort in watching Twilight again, and again, and again.... Team Edward FTW!

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    1. When it comes to the best product of American culture, I think a better example is "Inception." That made a ton of money and had great special effects, but it also made you think. It also had an international cast including a French actress in a prominent role, and was filmed in France to boot. Yes, it was an English-language film, but I think it was also popular in France. Can't speak for Quebec, though.

      Delete
  36. "No Dogs seems to confuse quantity and quality."

    He's saying that a larger pool exists in the anglo sphere and sometimes that translates into quality, sometimes it doesn't. I agree with you that in this case it doesn't. But what about people other than you and me? Why is it that Paul McCartney or Black Eyed Peas are the preffered choice of QC event organizers? Because they can draw more Quebeckers than a Quebecois artist could only imagine?

    It means 2 things essentially, none of which you're going to like:
    1. Quebeckers are not as sophisticated as you'd like them to be, they are drawn to pop culture as much as any other people - this is why many QC artists ape their American counterparts
    2. If we use pop culture popularity as standard, the anglo culture does beat the Quebecois culture. That's why it was Paul McCartney and not Eric Lapointe who sang at Quebec City's centennial celebrations.


    "Québec has a genuinely different and original culture."

    It's more complicated than this. Because:
    1. Quebec culture is affected by other cultures, the American one included. It doesn't exist in a vacuum.
    2. Quebec culture has an independent aspect, but so do other cultures. The fact that you are refusing to see that aspect in the RoC, because not seeing it fits your preconceptions and politics, does not mean that it doesn't exist.

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    1. American culture is also influenced by other cultures as well, and the perfect example of this is Sir Paul McCartney.

      Delete
    2. Very good points, adski.

      Delete
  37. M.Patrice: "In the world of international diplomacy, we sometimes see two canadian native english speakers who, wanting to differianciate themselves from americans, talk to each other in ... french"

    Nonsense.

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    1. As stupid as it might look, this story seems to be true. It was reported to me by my brother in law, native english speaker, born and raised in Montreal, federalist, and who works overseas for the canadian government.

      As I said, it doesn't mean anything, I just find it funny.

      P.S. To Anonymous11:37,

      In this case, it is not a french only hiring policy, it is bilingual only hiring policy. So my native english speaker brother in law was hired. He learned french (or perfected his french) in his late twenties.

      Delete
  38. Some more thoughts on culture.

    Tricot Machine sings in the Les Peaux de Lièvres love song : « Tu as les joues rouges boréales ». I find to this line beauty and creativity for boréale is not a color, but it refers to both one's cheek color after playing outside in winter and to the boreal forest that spreads across our territory.

    I don't like this line because of a language handicap, I like it because it is has a simple beauty, a nice creativity and an emotional link to the land that feels like home.

    If you don't get what I mean, don't worry, it's cultural.

    When Richard Desjardins sings « Tu m'aimes-tu? », I hear the sweet and confortable language of my people. « Est-ce que tu m'aimes » is not something my girlfriend would spontaneously wisper in my ear, she would wisper « tu m'aimes-tu? ». « Tu m'aimes-tu? », to me, sounds more genuine, more authentic than anything else, and more authentic than «Do you love me, baby? »

    You can see in this « faulty » -tu, the sign of a degenerated and bastardized language. Moi, j'y vois un souvenir de la France du XXVIIem, j'y vois le -ti que disent encore aujourd'hui les picards et les normands et qui s'est transformé en -tu en traversant l'Atlantique et les siècles. Again, what you think about it tells more about you than anything else.

    Again, it's cultural.

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    1. Wow,c'est très beau Michel.La dimension informelle du langage.

      Delete
  39. Some more thoughts.

    From the previous post comments : « Merci Seppie for proving the point that NOBODY from QC has ever gone international without speaking English. « 

    One could tell that our language is internationaly irrelevant, that our culture is mediocre and that our only way out of mediocrity is english.

    Or one could see talent and creativity in a Québec which, despite a obvious language barrier, achives success on the international english scene.

    Again, what you think about it tells more about ... Well, forget it, you get the picture.

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  40. "Why on Earth would an English Quebecer watch a local French version of the Price is Right instead of the original English version which has richer prizes and better production values?"

    I can't answer for English Quebecers, but why French Québécois watch that show instead of the American version of "The Price is Right" is probably for the same reason Americans watched the ABC reality game show "The Mole" rather than the original Belgian production which was filmed in Dutch. Probably also for the same reason it has been produced locally around the world in many different languages.

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    1. When I was a child, I would watch English productions dubbed in French because I only spoke French. As time passed I came to hate dubbed movies of all kinds because I knew that the diction of the actor could not be reproduce by another actor. For example who could replace, in any language Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Adjani in “Camille Claudel” or get the same production value from replacements to Tom Hanks and Tim Allen of ‘Toy Story”? It thus became apparent to me that speaking more than one language could only be a benefit to me. In this way, I’d rather see a movie in a language I don’t understand with sub tittles than if it’d dubbed.

      Then again crappy shows like The Price Is Right probably stink in any language

      Delete
  41. It's all really a fundamental issue, if you want to compare success of the French Culture to the English Culture.

    Question:

    Has any Quebecois artist made if big in the world, without performing in English. No, I didn't think so.

    Cirque due Soleil...very interesting group and the last time I witnessed a performance in Las Vegas, they did all performances in anglais.

    Why are you people even having a debate on the success of the individual cultures which is obviously one sided. Go ask Celine why she sings movie themes in English??

    Simply put, there is no widespread market or chance of success. Unfortuante, as there are I am sure some really good Quebecois artists, which are relegated to late night programming on Radio Canada.

    Even Arcade Fire is predominately anglo, except for a couple of lines of "thank you Montreal" at the end of the performance.

    I have to agree with the editor of the blog on this point. You can talk all day long about culture but at the end of the day, success is measured in numbers and worldwide acceptance. Similar to French and English as a language.

    Vous tous, avez une bonne soiree.

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    1. "alors oui l'anglais est nécessaire au "succès"."

      How else would you measure success?


      Yes, that is the market so to speak. What does this say for the French dominance in the arts worldwide? Not a lot!!!

      The same could be said about a language which its very survival is based upon protective legislation such as Quebec's bill 101 which is biased against other languages.

      Delete
  42. Unfortunately, this is one of the few times that I can say that the author of this blog is a bit short on the facts. As a descendant of Loyalists who settled in the Chateauguay River Valley in 1783, I proudly proclaim my "American" roots. It is a historical fact that "Americans" essentially founded English Canada (apart from Newfoundland which came to us in the mid 20th century with a very distinct historical path). It was the 50,000 or so Loyalists who laid the cornerstone for the language and culture that would eventually come to be known as "English Canadian". To be sure, it was supplemented along the way by waves of immigration, initially first from the British Isles, followed by Eastern and Southern Europe. However, the founding cultural patterns were put in place by those 50,000 refugees fleeing the American Revolution. That's why most of the various accents of Canadian English (again, other than Newfoundland) are, like those found in most parts of the United States, derived largely from the accents that would have been found in the West Country of Elizabethan England. It's also the reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving (though a little earlier due to the early harvest). We are an "American" people through and through, and this permeates our political culture and psyche. We are not an "Old World" nation, and it wasn't the British imperial tradition that made us so.

    I laugh when I hear these French Canadian imbeciles thinking that they're insulting us when they call us second rate versions of our American cousins, with whom we share profound and recent common cultural and linguistic roots. What I find more disturbing is the reaction of my fellow English Canadians (especially English Quebecers), who are now so lacking in self knowledge that they have come to view themselves are rootless, directionless, "global citizens" speaking humanity's lingua franca strictly because of its international hegemony, and being sucked into the American cultural sphere only because it's economic dominance has led to it becoming the world's de facto "international culture".

    My English-speaking (and even German-speaking) ancestors have been on this continent as long as those of any pur laine French Canadian, and have occupied certain parts of Quebec longer than those of any French Canadian. So all the Quebec national socialist types posting their bigoted, ignorant and infantile comments on this board can kiss my second rate American ass. Now, let me get back to watching American Idol.

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    1. AnonymousApr 3, 2012 06:48 PM

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIp7U9NT4rY

      'Nough Said

      Delete
  43. Well said Anonymous 06:48. I also have UEL heritage. Ancestors settled in Connecticut in 1682 and moved to St. Catharines in 1780.

    I grew up with many American friends and, in those days (1960's) didn't know a single french Canadian.

    Today, having lived across the country, I can say that there is definitely a Canadian culture. While similar to the Americans it is distinct and everyone gets it. Even the Newfies, though also unique, can see themselves as part of it.

    As for the french? They wander around out here in Canada with their sense of entitlement and stick out like annoying soar thumbs.

    The time has come for "the Habitants" to screw up their nerve and take that strip of St. Lawrence valley out of Canada.

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  44. Just thinking aloud.

    I wrote about having something to relate to your own experience and to your own world, about having an image of yourself or of your society. And I wonder, isn't a significant part of Mordecaï Richler's appeal due to the fact that he tells about Montréal, Montréal society, Montréal recent history, english Montréal society, the fact that he tells about your own "local" world? Isn't there something to Richler that makes him unique to english montrealers and to english montrealers only?

    I remember that my brother in law once told me about his discovery of Leonard Cohen. He was proud, touched and impressed to realize that Cohen's music was music from his homeland and music from one of his own. I remember thinking that, on my part, I had always heard music from my homeland and from my people.

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  45. Michel,

    I saw this comment about you and found it fits well:

    I love how Michel Patrice speaks English and pretends to be so open minded and benign when he speaks about his beautiful culture and his girlfriend whispering sweet nothings in his ear and calling himself an independiste like its something romantic. Then in French he teams up with racists like Seppie and OQLF. Same old bullshit, he probably thinks he's a straightforward guy like JF Lisee.

    To that, I would add the following:

    M. Patrice

    At the end of Inglorious Bastards, educated and slick Landa gets a swastika so that he not hide from the trader to humanity that he was. In a “Nazi Raté” sort of way, you remind me of him.

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  46. This blog make me so happy, i always thought that one of the biggest cultural trait of the Quebec anglos was hypocrisy, in that they always act very open minded toward Quebec, french and nationalist, but as soon as they among themself they unleash the hate, pretty much like they with any other ethny actualy. I hate it that Canadians always act like they have the moral highground, while they just playing a PR game. Thanks No Dong for this blog!

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    1. Separatist,

      No matter what you say, treason is treason! One day Canada will realize that it's a mistake to tolerate it and you'll have to answer to that!

      Delete
  47. I don't get why this is even debated. Quebec is a backwater in every cultural aspect. Music, movies, television, they all suck, and not just a little. As all backwaters in the world, it fondles in its briefs wondering if its petit parts measure up to its neighbours. Its militant Chihuahua political culture barks incessantly at the indifferent big dogs and threatens to be noticed. It comes down on its minority population like the stereotypical wife beater who seeks self worth and strength by preying on those that are in no position to defend themselves. And all this is paid for by Joe Canadian on a bullshit platform of multiculturalism that pays guys like Duceppe 140k a year until they bite the dirt sandwich, and supports a system that would not be tolerated anywhere else in this country.
    In reality, Quebec is a welfare province with welfare citizenry parked on the corner of Canada and the US with its beggar hand stretched out for donations of money, ideas, culture, and any manufactured self esteem the real world can throw its way with a pat on its head and a meaningless concession in Parliament.
    Franco posters may beat their poitrines, with their orange tans, hillbilly pick up trucks, with copies of VLB garbage print guiding them along, but when the sun comes up and the masturbation session is over, they pile up on run down roads to go work for an English or American company. That, or they rant until the end of the month until the welfare cheque slides in so they can stock up on grass and beer, watch crap French tv, listen to crap French radio, and hate the world because of their own sense of complete and utter irrelevancy.
    Quebec is Canadas social landfill.

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    1. Brilliant! That sums Quebec perfectly.This commentary should be required reading for the world.

      Delete
  48. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  49. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  50. "I'm not knocking Francophone culture"... Yes you are. It seems your article is an outlet to all your frustration coming from some little "anglophobe" commentaries. Get over it please...

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  51. Rihanna is not from the Barbados she is canadian from Toronto

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  52. Dumbest article I've ever read in my life. You are comparing International English Culture to Quebec Culture instead of comparing International English Culture to International French Culture which includes Quebec, France, Switzerland, Beligium etc. If you want to talk shit about Quebec Culture, then compare it to Anglopĥone CANADIAN culture. Instead you are putting all Anglophones of the world together against Quebec Culture and then saying "see how limited and boring Quebec is?? " Are you really that stupid?

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  53. Does anyone else find the Merci commercial annoying. The French In Canada want to be their own people and can do things on your own than just fkn do it! Dont get me wrong o have friends that are French . but what annoys people is that you make all these claims that you can do things on your own but yet make commercials and advertisements aaaaaalll in English just with French actors and one or two French words .

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    1. What is the problem I wonder??? Do things on your own like you want and people will stop caring about your bullshit. And the money that is not well spent changing all of Canada's signs to have French words as well can be used in a better way. We don't need you. As you say you dont need us :),good luck .

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  54. If you can do things on your own than do it:) than we can remove every sign in Canada that has French as well that no one ever reads and we can use that money on better things :)

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  55. The province of Quebec is acting like a spoiled 5 year old that is not getting their way. Grow up you french frogs. Go to France if you want to speak french.

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