I like the idea of Americans and Canadians being different, as it is fun to watch from a savage point of view. The interesting part is how are cultures seem to be the same right up to a certain point, then Zang! Canada goes off in another direction.
A television show or two should suffice to illustrate the obvious differences. In the 1970’s a television station in Hull, Quebec started running soft-core porn on Friday nights after midnight. A few people were mildly outraged as there weren’t quite enough warnings to satisfy their sense of indecency. Most of the viewing audience was from the English side of the border. It was no big deal.
If a television station in Baltimore tried running soft-core porn today, the fines from the FCC would be more than the Israeli Arms budget. There’s one difference: Canadians have, generally, a more European attitude regarding that which I call material of an erotic nature. It exists if you want it, just be discreet about it.
Another television show up here is "Little Mosque on the Prairie", that debuted last night on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The plot is easy enough to get: A young Muslim man leaves the big city (Toronto) and his career as a lawyer to become an Imam in a mosque in the fictional small town of Mercy, Saskatchewan. The congregation is small, the mosque is broke and the cast of characters is as strange as you might guess.
"Little Mosque on the Prairie" is a fish-out-of-water type of sitcom. The debut was funny and in another three or four weeks, it will find its’ legs as a series that should have a good run. One promo that is running is a curling team from the Mosque competing against the other locals and it still makes me chuckle.
Now, can you imagine what would happen if ABC proposed a remake of Mayberry RFD and had a Muslim Imam as part of the slightly odd citizens of Mayberry along with Aunt Bea and Floyd the Barber? There would be a Congressional Investigation before the first roll of film was shot. Again, another difference between Canada and the US is the simple fact that we accept that our country is full of all kinds of folks of different hues, cultures and styles. We muddle along with it, doing at least a half-assed job of being inclusive.
Some of the reaction south of the border has been puzzling. One blog, that shall remain nameless is absolutely positive that "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is the thin edge of the wedge by Hollywood (huh?) to lull Americans into relaxing their vigilance. CNN’s Paula Zahn was simply perplexed that the series would even happen.
Other posts, notably on a Muslim blog, lamented that only one of the cast members was actually a practicing Muslim. At least nobody complained that Derek McGrath, who plays a vicar in the series, is not a real vicar.
So, if you live near the border, or get a satellite signal from Canada, watch "Little Mosque on the Prairie" if only to see that you can be inclusive and still be funny.
Vive Le Difference
RoadDave 