Canada's Hockey Culture

Term Paper # 102808

Canadian Studies > History, Culture
Canadian Studies > Sports
Communication > Mass Media

This paper examines the role of the media in Canada's hockey culture.

1,482 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper illustrates how the media has constructed hockey along class and along ethno-linguistic lines. The paper looks at how hockey has been aggressively associated with violence and primitiveness and how these features have therefore been associated with working-class Canadians. The paper shows how hockey culture in Canada is an illustration of the tensions and preoccupations of Canadian society as a whole.

From the Paper:

"The most obvious thing that springs to mind is that the media in Canada has enjoyed - if "enjoyed" is the right word - a curious relationship with the game of hockey. For one thing, ancient accounts of the game when it was first pushing its way into the commercial mainstream of Canadian society at the turn of the twentieth century seem to reveal a "chattering classes" that was acutely conscious of class divides. Specifically, newspaper accounts of the old International Hockey League that briefly survived from 1904 to 1907 suggest that the violence of the sport was rooted in its close association with working-class Canadians who played the professional game and who supported the professional game in large numbers (Mason & Duquette, 2004)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Cox, Damien. (2003, January 5). Skill comes to forefront in Canadian hockey. Toronto Star: E01.
Mason, Daniel S. and Duquette, Gregory H. (2004). Newspaper coverage of early professional ice hockey: the discourses of class and control. Media History, 10(3): 157-173.
Ramos, Howard, and Gosine, Kevin. (2001). "The Rocket": Newspaper coverage of the death of a Quebec cultural icon, a Canadian hockey player. Journal of Canadian Studies, 36(4): 9-31.
Zelkovich, Chris. (2006, December 26). TSN's top draw? Juniors. Toronto Star: B02.