Quote:
Originally Posted by isaidso
So Canadians who can't relate to these shows are just misguided, haven't given these shows a chance, or actually do like these shows but haven't realized it yet? That says more about the arrogance of the domestic industry and their refusal to listen to consumers.
It reminds me of a dinner I attended at a friend's house 7-8 year ago. The host was a producer and complained that Canadians should watch more Canadian television and film. I politely pointed out that she had a Saab and Land Rover parked in her driveway. It would be nice if Canadians watched more Canadian television and film but it's not going to happen till they start producing product people want to watch. The stuff they make, with some exceptions, appeals to about 10-20% of the population. Quite predictably the bulk of Canadians can't relate to the bulk of what gets made, so don't watch.
If you like it that's great (and lucky you) but to then argue that the rest of us are full of shit? It speaks to your refusal to accept that not all Canadians like the same things you do. You seem almost angry about it. Should I get angry at my producer friend because she didn't want the Chevrolet? Maybe I should start insulting her.
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I'd argue that a significant part of that "disinterest" is due to long-term (intergenerational in most cases) conditioning as opposed to any truly thoughtful analysis of the quality of various cultural products.
If you want proof of that, just look at how much slack people will cut to American crap or schlock simply because it bears the imprimatur of Hollywood.
Obviously there is
some Canadian stuff that is better than
some Hollywood stuff. But the latter will almost always get more attention and buy-in from Canadians than the former. Simply because it's Hollywood and everyone assumes it's automatically the best. Don't get me wrong - in terms of sheer volume of good stuff the Americans produce the best TV and movies in the world. Without question. But this fact has led a lot of people to have closed minds when it comes to anything that doesn't come from that specific universe.
My (teenaged) kids are particularly good at mining Netflix for all sorts of good stuff from all over the world, and while a lot of the stuff they watch on there is "anglosphere" (most of it US) they also frequently come up with Swedish, Russian, Spanish or Italian stuff that they tell my wife and I are "must sees".
Some of this stuff we've really liked and mentioned in passing to friends, and while some of them have responded positively, others have not really been able to get into "foreign" series. No matter how awesome and we and critics think they are. These are people who are used to watching American and Québécois stuff primarily, with some French movies thrown into the mix.
But watching a Spanish Netflix series, no matter how awesome it is, is just too big a leap for them.
That's conditioning - and getting back to our topic, many Canadians are conditioned to view anything that's Canadian (or perhaps "not American") as a bit "off".
Hence their "disinterest".