North America

Thankless, Think More (Thanksgiving)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Don’t get me wrong folks, I enjoy spending time with my family as much as the next Canadian, but I feel obligated to inform and remind you that just like many other holidays we enjoy and take for granted, this creative ritual is not one so simple as simply moving into a land of plenty and prospering.

Thanksgiving just might be akin to celebrating the Holocaust. Well, if you’re an American especially.

Yeah, I went a little dark with this one dear readers.

But for so many reasons that I cannot even begin to name, Thanksgiving is effectively an American holiday and we Canadians decided to ride the gravy train (read: intentional bad pun) right along with them in 1879, a mere 12 years after Canadians became self-governing.

Americans have been celebrating this event for over 200 years now, and yet the more time passes the less people realize how incredibly fucked up it is to partake in this event.

Now I know that we have the holiday because we are hoping to share in the harvest, count our blessings, and thank others for what they bring to the table (read: another intentional bad pun), it’s dangerous for us to forget what preceded this state. Because humanity is about caring for and supporting the collective, not just picking and choosing what makes sense in a particular moment.

Of course I’m not so naive as to admit that I understand the complete scope and scale of what happened in North America in previous centuries, however, I do know this – when we celebrate the holiday, we should focus on participating in Thanksgiving as a way to honour community and the lives of Native peoples who welcomed immigrants into their lands. However individuals and governments chose to exploit individuals, we cannot know that all European immigrants were evil, nor can we proclaim that all Native peoples were innocent in how things shook out, because of our lack of context. But, we can be thankful in Canada that many people continue to immigrate into this country and our government is always working towards a future that is rather multi-cultural, a celebration of humanity.

That is what we should give thanks for. That opportunity for those who come into this country exists, and my hope is that the next generation is even less tolerant of disparity amongst new citizens.

And God do I ever hope that’s not just a theory.

Tim!

The Second Coming… Of The Blockbuster (Cross Talk Ep. 10)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

The term globalization has been around forever, but for one reason or another we didn’t really pay attention to it, at least in my humble opinion, until telecommunications began flattening the world with the popularity of the Internet. And this flattening of course was physically helped by companies all over the world investing in laying fiber optic cables seemingly everywhere.

World historians have been writing and lecturing about globalization for much longer than that time period, if we’re going to be really honest. When countries began sending explorers around the world, like Christopher Columbus in the 15th century, that was probably the first major event that helped flatten the world.

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So as countries are able to share content and ideas more cheaply, the trajectory of creative endeavours continues to be shaped, but in a somewhat unknown and rather sublime way. Let me use a metaphor to explain what I’m eluding to more clearly. If in the past local markets were like rain falling upon a field, then we no longer rely on local markets only, and instead global markets move like tornadoes through a county.

It’s a global phenomenon which dictates how our world changes going forward.

But what the heck does that have to do with films timotheories?

Good point dear readers, I would have to admit that I don’t know exactly what it has to do with the future of films, but Chris and I, as well as a few critics we trust on these matters, are starting to see trends emerge with films, and we believe that the global film market is having a major impact on the types of films which are released based on box office earnings. Effectively, the global film market has a greater hold on the film calendar then ever before.

Episode 10 of Cross Talk is all about considering that maybe the reason why we continue to see bad movies being made is that in fact North American markets are not the only piece of the pie any more… And quality may be taking a backseat to blockbuster entertainment.

I’m out of theories for now, but please check back tomorrow for an album review that makes me sad, Every Time I Die. It’s a fun album, well, actually it might not be a fun album, depending on your perspective. Please comment, subscribe, and share this with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!