Canada and Pop Culture

When I first started this blog I was very proud of my Canadian roots. My first few posts were right in the middle of the Vancouver Olympics, so the collective Canadian patriotism was at an all time high. It was a good time to be Canadian.

Since then, my blog has descended into reviews about tv shows, rants about romance, and ramblings about random things. But tonight I bring you back to Canada (with references to tv shows, romance, and random things).

This last week Canada has been popping up everywhere in pop culture. It's been quite amusing for us up here in the Great White North. But I've always wondered what Americans think of Canadian humour? Us Canucks find it funny because we like to laugh at ourselves--but why do Americans care? Is all this Canadian humour just waste of time to them? What exactly is the American appeal to making fun of Canadians?

The examples are neverending. There's the whole Robin is Canadian thing on How I Met Your Mother, which, for me, is a joke that keeps on giving. I loved the whole Canadian pop star thing, and the episode where Marshall and Robin go to the Canadian bar ("Everyone knows Canadians are afraid of the dark"). And I adored the episode when Barney and Robin came to Toronto. I love Barney's comment about Canadian money! And how the lady at Tim Horton's said that Robin wasn't Canadian because she didn't watch the hockey game and she didn't say thank you for her coffee. Personally, I loved all that stuff. The thank you thing is totally true--I always say thank you to the servers at Tim Horton's (or Timmies as many Canadians call it) or Starbucks or whatever. And I agree with Barney--our money is dumb. It has pictures of people playing hockey with random french poetry. It's so much fun for me to hear all these Canadian jokes because I can connect with them, relate them to my own life. But what do Americans care about our money or our obsession with hockey or whatever?

HIMYM is one example of a show that has a major Canadian element. This week there was lots of little Canadian moments. In no particular order:

1) The BNL Bashing on Community

I love the Barenaked Ladies. They're from Toronto! If I had a Million Dollars is like our city's theme song! I grew up listening to Steven Page and Ed Robertson with my Dad. I'll always have a soft spot for BNL. So, I was greatly amused by the whole thing on Community. First, on the most surface level: yay, a Canadian band is getting a shout out! And, of course, on a deeper level: hah, Community, that's right, Big Bang will always kick your butt!

But...why would Americans care about this reference? I'm sure BNL is barely heard of south of the border.

2) The 30 Rock Canadian hate fest

This episode was hilarious. Some of my favourite lines:

"I know. I'm a living stereotype. Everyone assumes a guy from Quebec can do karate."

"I don't know. I tried to ask how far it was to the border and they answered in kilometres!"

"Come on, Avery. We're going to find a Canadian who will take our money!"

I think part of the reason this storyline worked so well (for me at least) was that Jack and Avery weren't just average Americans, who are actually quite similar to Canadians in a lot of ways. Jack and Avery are Republicans, very extreme Republicans. That gave it a different edge. It made more sense why Jack and Avery were being so ridiculous--why they wouldn't support Canadian healthcare, for instance.

3) The Toronto Mix Up on Jeopardy

This one was funny too. Yeah, the main airport in Toronto is Lester B. Pearson International Airport, named after a Prime Minister from the 60's; not at all correct. And we have another airport called Billy Bishop Airport, named after a Canadian hero from WWI; again, nowhere near correct. Besides the fact that Toronto is not an American city. But hey, shout out to Toronto! TO! The TDOT! Go Toronto!

4) Justin Bieber Jokes About Canada

I love this picture! And I laughed at Justin Bieber's interview (for the record I am NOT a Bieber fan. NO WAY IN EVER). I loved his whole thing about the Canadian healthcare system and Canada just being awesome. I agree Justin, I agree.

There are countless other references, but they all lead to the same points:

1) Why is making fun of Canada such a big thing (especially this week?)

2) Why do Americans find Canadian humour funny, when it doesn't connect in the same way?

3) How do Canadians feel about being made fun of all the time?

(To be fair, the Jeopardy question doesn't really relate to any of these things. But still, a shout is a shout out)

To question c), I say that these type of jokes are walking a thin lines. Sometimes I love Canadian humour. Sometimes it just offends me. There was a line in Friends where Joey is telling Rachel why he shouldn't go out with this list of guys, and one of the reasons is that a guy is Canadian. That was a weak, sloppy joke that kind of annoyed me. Thin line, thin ice. Step over too far or too often and you might just fall through.

I'd be interested to go to the states and actually ask Americans what they think of Canadians. I can tell you what Canadians think of Canadians. Generally, I think we're pretty lame. Humble at least. Expect when we win at hockey. We're very proud then (Sidney Crosby is practically our national hero for his Olympics goal). But, generally, we're proud of our country, but we don't show off about it. Living in Canada and being Canadian is great. But, you, sometimes it's not so great, for not so obvious reasons (not because we live in igloos or anything like that). Here are a few examples:

-Ordering anything online is a freaking pain in the butt. We have Amazon.ca, sure, but the selection and pricing is way worse than Amazon.com. So it's a choice--higher price or higher shipping. Or, don't order anything at all?

-Our books, from physical bookstores, cost way more. It says it right on the back of the book. US price: $15. Canadian price? $18.50! Are you kidding me? A $3.50 difference when our dollars are almost on par?

-We refuse to do anything even remotely controversial, even when no one would really care. For example, we won't even say that we won the freaking War of 1812. The Americans claim they won. We say we tied. What kind of lame thing is that? Who ties at a war?!? We need to stand up for ourselves, gosh darnit!

-We have different channels/networks in Canada, which means we get different commercials. Usually, this doesn't matter. But sometimes, especially during the Superbowl, people like to talk about the commercials. Canadians have no idea what anybody is talking about. Totally lost.

But, of course, I love Canada. I celebrate with the best of them on July 1. And I cheer for my country during every sports game or Olympic event or whatever. I love being Canadian everyday. And I love being referenced in pop culture! Us Canadians make fun of ourselves enough, it's okay you Americans do it for a night. One night that is. Don't cross the line. We will get you back in the form of something totally lame and non-controversial. You'd better be scared!

It's Madness I Tell You, Sheer Madness

Oh my god, what has happened to my city? I mean, first we have the earthquake (first one in like a zillion years. I didn't even know we could have earthquakes in Toronto). And now, we have these insane violent protests:

It's the G20 Summit this weekend in Toronto, and the whole city has been going crazy for weeks to prepare for it. Apparently, it cost us like a billion dollars to put on, which has made a bunch of people mad, such as these insane protesters. I thought they were just being paranoid when they canceled all the schools yesterday and everything. But apparently, their paranoia was justified. This city has gone insane. They're burning cop cars and smashing Starbucks (ooh, lots of alliteration!). Half the city has gone into lockdown to try to avoid these nutcases. The protesters are throwing bricks at cops and tear gas is being used and people are being arrested left and right. It's madness I tell you, complete madness.

I must say, these protesters make me angry. I'm fine with a peaceful protest. I've actually participated in protests in a the past. But protesters have no need--and no right--to destroy the city. How is smashing the windows of a family owned business making a point? They are protesting the overspending on the G20, which is a fine issue. But they shouldn't cost the city of Toronto more in the process! That defeats the entire purpose of the protest! Idiots! Complete and udder idiots!

So, now, half the city is destroyed and it going to cost millions of dollars to fix! Yay! Great protest! I was in the library, working on my summer homework when it started, and my dad bolted down to the library to pick me up because the protesters were getting near and the library might have to go under lockdown. Yah. That's make sense. To protest G20, let's attack the library. I mean, what are these people thinking?



I can't wait until this G20 nonsense is over with. There are planes flying over my house all the time (and man, do those military helicopters make a lot of noise!) and these protesters are freaking maniacs. I want my city back.

I love you Toronto. I hope you'll be okay.

J'aime l'Anglais

I have blogged a lot about Canada and Canadians and just how awesome we are. Today, I will admit to you, you stupid Americans, one little drawback about being Canadian. Actually, one pretty big drawback. Nous devons apprendre la francaise. For all you non-Canadians (do they speak french in other countries? God, let's hope not--it's a dreadful language) that means "we have to learn french". Yes, we have to learn six zillion verb conjugations (I swear, there are more exceptions than rules in french) and six zillion vocab words. I have french tests and french presentations and french exams (which, I suppose is another kind of test. But I think it deserves its own category because it always leaves me shaking and crying.).

The point of all this whining and complaining is to say that I have found, after eight long years of learning french, a new appreciation for the beautifully simple language that is english (what? is that you french people saying that english is complicated? Really? Then can you explain why you add an e after the g in mangeant?). I have come to appreciate my native tongue in a way I never did. I love english. I love speaking english. I love it love it love it (side story: I had a french exchange student at my house this summer who couldn't pronounce squirrel or word. It was endlessly entertaining). English rocks, what can I say?

Let's have some fun with english. Where do all these words come from? Well, blog, a term which you may or may not be familiar with (my wit is so quick, don't ya think?) comes from the words web and blog shoved together (kind of like Renesmee in Breaking Dawn--don't get me started on that one though) The word shopaholic (a la the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella) comes from the word shop (which, I assume, we are all familiar with. Except maybe you french people) and the word alcoholic. Kind of like workaholic or chocoholic. Interesting, very interesting.

My favourite part about english is that all our swear words revolve around sex. I can't say any of them, obviously (I am too much of lady). But one of them might rhyme with puck (maybe, just maybe). The french swear words on the other hand, all revolve around religion, comme tabernac (which I feel fine saying. Who said lady's can't swear in foreign languages?). How boring is that?

I learned all these fun facts about english while researching my philosophy essay (and no, I didn't get distracted and forget about the essay. I would never do that!) on the Merriam Webster website. I was looking up the definition for a word and then I saw this pretty button that said "Top ten word lists". You can't blame me for getting distracted. It had the words "top ten" and "list". I couldn't resist. As you well know, I'm a listaholic (which, incidentally isn't a word according to Merriam Webster. Maybe I should suggest it like people did on this list).

My favourite word in all these came from this list: phobophobia. Can you guess what it means? Yes, fear of phobias. That's english at it's best, I tell you.

I have come to the end of my diatribe, my friends (I should really get back to that essay). This will be au revoir for a few days while I make a quick trip to Montreal to visit McGill (a potential university). I will save up all my quips for saturday/sunday when I get back. 'Til then I know you love me.

xoxo

Gossip Girl

(Just kidding, just kidding. I'm not Kristen Bell. But there was an opening and I couldn't resist)

P.S. I think I will leave this post without pictures. It is a tribute to the english language, is it not? Pictures just don't seem fitting (plus, what pictures would I add? A picture of a word? Or an englishmen? Or the entire province of Quebec with a cross through it? Now, that last one sounds interesting....)

Last Night's Religious Experience...

So, I was at the hospital last night (long, long story...), during the Greatest Game of Hockey That Has Ever Been Played (or, for you Americans, that unfortunate-game-where-you-thought-you-had-a-chance-because-you-scored-in-the-last-24-seconds-but-really-you-were-never-going-to-win). Yes, very disappointing that I did not get to watch our incredible win because I was in the emergency room. But I still got to enjoy it. You should have seen all the people huddled around the TV in the waiting room, all tense. There were even nurses and doctors and hospital staff. This country really loves hockey, I gotta tell ya. They even announced every goal over the hospital PA. When they announced the gold, you could hear cheering all over the building. CANADA ROCKS--that's all I have to say (there is the flip side of that--AMERICA SUCKS--but I'm much too polite to say such things. In type. Of course, me and the rest of my countrymen may been thinking that from time, to, um, time).

In the weeks leading up to the Olympics people wrote a lot of articles saying that "hockey is Canada's religion". I find that hilarious. In so many countries saying something like that would be offensive. But here it Canada it rings so true. Hockey is our sport, our religion, our everything, as we saw last night as people flooded Yonge Street in Toronto:

I read an article (in a magazine in the hospital waiting area, incidentally) where they interviewed Torontonians (I hate that word!) and asked them if they would rather have the Summer Olympics (sans hockey, obviously) in Toronto or the Stanley Cup finals. Guess which they chose. By a 20% margin. Yeah, hockey really is our religion.

Now, I am not a hockey fan. But I couldn't help but get caught up in it when my morning paper looks like this:

My entire class wore red today. Without planning. Yes, WE ARE CANADIAN!! WOOT! WOOT!

As I've said before, there are a lot of false Canadian stereotypes. The hockey one, though, is true. So, all you Americans don't ask us if we live in igloos or if we know how to make maple syrup or if we know a Mountie (which, incidentally, I do--my cousin is married to one. But that's the exception, not the rule, like in He's Just Not That Into You). But do ask us about hockey. Clearly, that is that is a rule.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning (It's a very good place to start!)

I'm taking a class right now called Theory of Knowledge--basically a philosophy class for high school students. It got me thinking--why am I the way I am? Why am I so obsessed with school? Why do I love airheaded things like pop culture and chick lit and romantic comedies? And then I stumbled across the greatest question of all: why do I love lists?

Hint: The answer involves the land of sun and sand

and Arnold Schwarzenegger

I thought about it, and I traced it back to a trip I took one summer with my father to California. We rented a car and went to Disneyland and Giants games, and Monterey Bay Aquarium. At some point during the trip I wanted to annoy my father so I created a list of favourite states and screamed at the top of my lungs, on loop (I was such a charming child!). I can still recite that list from memory...

Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana

For some reason I called those last two "twin states" (I cannot for the life of me remember why I did this...). In the years since I have added South Carolina, Alaska, Hawaii, and New York to the list (along with the phrase "and don't forget" to make the song flow better). I thinks this proves that I was a truly insane child...

Why is the list like this? Why these states? Why this order? Why make a list at all? These are all great questions, most of which I can't answer. I can tell you though, that it pays to have memorized fifteen random states in a bizarre order. Like when playing the name the states game, like in Friends:

Or when someone randomly asks you to name a state (and yes, this has happened. Once.)

So, anyway, I think that explains a little bit of my crazy. I'm sure if you keep reading, there will be much more to add (like why I must reorder all the out of place books I see at the bookstore). I'm sorry, in advance. But as they say, Blame Canada. Or, in this case, blame California (I just googled it, and this is actually a thing people do! See, I'm not SOOO crazy!).

Oh Canada, my home and native land...

This is the last weekend of the Vancouver Olympics, which is extremely exciting because it means we finally get to crush the Americans in hockey and get ourselves yet another gold medal (yes, you saw that correctly. Canada has more gold than the little old USA!). But it also a very sad weekend because it means the Olympics are over. And there won't be another Olympics for two more years, another winter Olympics for four years, and another Canadian Olympics for who-knows-how-long. We've been building up to Vancouver for so long, and now it's almost over...

But this also means it is time for the closing ceremonies. They better be good, that's all I have to say, after the disaster which was the opening ceremonies (and I'm not even talking about the stupid internal torch thing breaking). Because seriously, if I have have to see more native stuff and hear more french, I am going to go crazy.

Now, let me start by saying that I recognize that First Nations people are an important part of Canada, past and present, just like the French. But I also recognize that they are only ONE PART of our vast nation. One TINY part, who got one GIANT piece of the opening ceremonies.

And, on top of that, we have to play to EVERY SINGLE STEREOTYPE IN THE BOOK (can you tell that I'm mad about this?). Mounties. Igloos. Prairies. I mean what's going to happen at the closing ceremonies? We have no stereotypes left! (except possibly the whole maple syrup thing).

So, as the famous beer commercial goes--I AM CANADIAN!

(and I really want this t-shirt. Or this one, just to prove it!).

P.S. Want to feel some Canadian pride? Go to this link or this one.

OH CANADA!!!

Welcome to my little corner of the world

I'm nervous, writing this first blog post. I want it to be positively perfect (forgive my alliteration)--witty, cute, and absolutely hilarious. If only I was any of those things...

SO, who am I? (This would be more fun as a game of 20 questions, but there's no one to play!).

Well, there are a few things to know about me: I am a teenager, I am a Canadian, I am a pop culture junkie and I am a chick lit lover. I love to read things and write things in lists. I love to read blogs--authors blogs, relatives blogs, industry blogs. I'm a little addicted to the internet (but really, who isn't by this point?).

I don't know how long this blog will last. I hope I can keep it up, but knowing me, it will end up being another one of the million dead blogs buried in the sad graveyard of the blogosphere. But, you never know...

Anyways, thanks for listening. See you soon.