Quote:
Originally Posted by Capsicum
Setting aside "the two solitudes" within Canada, I find that Anglo-America and Anglo-Canada are really homogenous in terms of what is "mainstream" culture.
True, there are subcultures or areas that are very distinctive but they seem either small or localized (eg. religious subcultures like the Amish, the cultures practiced by first generation immigrant enclaves, or in the case of territory with somewhat of their own sovereignty, Native American reservations), and not large blocs that form "nations" like those argued in the "nations" of North America book or map.
Also, cultural differences based on socio-economic status (eg. poor neighborhoods or working class, economically struggling towns vs. the suburbs and wealthy downtowns of big cities) seem to me to override regional cultural differences among English-speaking North Americans.
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I like to put this question to what I call an "alien-ness" test.
As in, how much stuff is "alien" to someone? As in never having heard of it. And if they haven't, how accessible is it to them? Obviously in the latter case language is a big factor, but not the sole factor: some foods can be more alien to us than others based on what is generally considered gross in our culture. Soup with fish eyes in it (as in parts of Asia) is more alien and less accessible to me than frog's legs (as in France).
Also, you don't have to partake in something in order for it to not be "alien". Manhattanites may not be into Nascar and don't eat grits. But they've heard of them and know they exist. They have a reasonably high degree of familiarity with them. That's how you define your cultural space, not only (as people often do) by the stuff you personally partake in.
Which brings me to the recent death of Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie. This is perfect yet rare example of Canadian culture that is largely alien to Americans. Downie and his band were household names pretty much *only* in Canada. (Well, Anglo-Canada in fact, as they aren't that well know in Quebec, but let's not quibble.)
But as I said this is a rare example of where the Canadian and American mainstreams *don't* overlap. Well, generally the situation is that the American mainstream
overlaps into Canada, and as for mainstream *only* Canadian stuff that enjoys ubiquity coast-to-coast, well... there isn't that much.
Now, there are also cases where uniquely Canadian stuff does enjoy a kind of cult following in the US. Trailer Park Boys is one example.
Knowing my reputation on this forum some would expect me to dismiss this as not being Canadian culture because it has some US traction, but that's not my view.
The reason being that Trailer Park Boys doesn't pretend to be anything other than a show about a trailer park in Nova Scotia, Canada. If the same crew had done the same show but set it in Paducah, Kentucky, then it would be a different story. (As they did with Wayne's World and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.)
Just because I as a Canadian know Mad Max doesn't make it any less Australian. Now, if they had taken the same story and set it in Arizona... that would make it a lot less Australian.