Canadian Cinema

Paper Summary:

In this paper, the writer notes that identity is tied to the construction of ethnicity in the art of 20th century Canadian cinema and notions of modern Canadian ethnicity are created through the vehicle of art. Young Canadians must come to grips with their senses of themselves as both Canadian and a member of a particular ethnic group, or a hyphenated ethnic group. The writer maintains that art, although an imperfect medium, becomes a fertile but problematic place to engage in self-analysis and a search for national identity. The writer concludes that what is interesting in the films mentioned in the paper, however, is not their final thesis, or the characters' ultimate destination, but the willingness to struggle with complicated notions of ethnicity and identity in art, even while the postmodern and self-referential aesthetic of the films ultimately suggests that to find a final answer is impossible.

From the Paper:

"This theme is most potently evidenced in Egoyan's 1993 film entitled "Calendar." In this self-referential film, Egoyan casts himself in the role of an Armenian-Canadian filmmaker, who has been commissioned to produce a series of artfully staged pictures of churches for a touristy calendar. These photographs are, the film suggests, a manufactured art, and are meant to embody the way that an 'other' ethnicity is often rendered palatable to a mainstream audience in Canada, as a commodity rather than as a living, evolving product of humanity. Buildings, rather than human beings are the focus of the photographer's frame, and the cinematic techniques of the film force the viewer to see the churches through his orderly, artistic gaze as he renders Armenia beautiful, static, and unchanging."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Egoyan: Calendar" 1993. Art of Europe. 1994. 21 Mar 2007. http://www.artofeurope.com/egoyan/calendar.htm
• Holden, Stephen. "A Cultural Mix-Up, North of the Border." The New York Times. 26 Mar 1993. 21 Mar 2007.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4DA1E38F935A15750C0A965958260

More papers on Canadian Cinema:

• Analytical Essay # 83890 : "George Melnyk's "One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema" "
• Comparison Essay # 98432 : "Rebellion in Canadian Cinema"
• Research Paper # 89481 : "Canadian Film Industry"

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