Program Length: 1/2 hour
Produced: 1997

Introduction

This video, the third of three parts, presents snapshots of Canadian culture, building its impression from trivia, stories, historical facts, cultural theories, personalities and music. It suggests that Canada has a unique culture to celebrate and to be proud of. In this episode, hockey is presented as a Canadian phenomenon. Items such as Moose-ellaneous and Great Canadian Beaver Tales combine to build an interesting and significant presentation of Canadian culture.

This study guide suggests ways that students can process the information to better understand Canadian culture and the ideas presented. The guide's sections occur in the same chronological order as the items in the video. Some of the suggestions involve class discussion, some involve research, some involve creative activities.

Classes need not view the whole tape at one sitting, nor is it necessary to use all of the guide; in fact, it is recommended that only those of the guide's suggestions be followed that best suit the students and the curriculum. Select a section of the video that you particularly want to focus upon, cueing up that moment and omitting the rest. Use the tape with a remote control, pausing the VCR and discussing particular statements and images as necessary. Replay sections that need repeated screenings. Many of the host's statements are included in the guide for teachers to become familiar with them and be prepared for them when they appear in the program.

The tape and guide might be used for an entire unit of study of Canadian culture, or it may be a one-class break from other studies. There are two other Heritage Day programs which precede this one, each with other useful aspects of Canadian culture to present and discuss. 

1. Bad Attire
The program begins with a film (circa 1960) which presents acceptable and unacceptable student clothing of the day. Who do you think decided what was acceptable and unacceptable? Could such a video be made today? Would it apply equally to all schools?
Do you have acceptable and unacceptable clothes at your school? What clothes are unacceptable? Why do the school authorities say some clothes are unacceptable? Do you think they are unacceptable? Why? What do your friends think are unacceptable clothes? What do your parents think? What do your teachers think? Why do schools have unacceptable clothes? Do business offices have unacceptable clothes? Are they the same as unacceptable school clothes?
Some of your classmates might have part-time jobs. What are the unacceptable clothes at their places of work? What does it say about a culture when it has acceptable and unacceptable clothes? What makes clothes unacceptable? Does the definition of unacceptable change with time? Why? If you were to produce a video like the one here, what would the video look like? Describe it.

2. Hockey as Myth
What impression of hockey is Morley Callahan building through his description of hockey? Which words and comparisons convey his vision? Do you think hockey is this significant for Canadians? Is he reading too much into the game? Is hockey the defining activity of Canada?

3. Nicknames
Early hockey players had nicknames. What are the nicknames presented by Dave Bidini? Do current players have nicknames? Which ones? What are the themes of the names? ruggedness? danger? perseverance? brutality? cruelty? fierceness? Create some nicknames for the current stars of hockey. Why did you choose those names? What impression of hockey do your nicknames give? How does the impression your nicknames give compare to the impression given by Morley Callahan?

4. The Ballad of Wendell Clark - Rheostatics
A short section of The Ballad of Wendell Clark is presented. What is a ballad? Is Wendell Clark a fitting character for a ballad? Why? Find and listen to the whole of The Ballad of Wendell Clark. Is it a good ballad? Why? Does it make Canadians look good? Why? Would you be proud to have this ballad dedicated to you? Why?
Who else is a fitting figure to have a ballad written for them? Wayne Gretzky? Punch Imlach? Mario Lemieux? Rocket Richard? Why are they fitting or unfitting?
Write a ballad for these or another hockey personality.

5. Takin' Care of Business - DOA
What is the symbolism of the hockey players in the gray suits and those in plaid shirts? How do the costumes connect to the ideas in the song? What message do you take from the video about hockey and the working world?
What impression of Canada might someone get from this video?

6. Shakey's
We visit Shakey's, a sports bar in Toronto. Shakey's is like a museum, with autographed sticks, photos, posters and other hockey memorabilia. What is the effect of seeing pictures of hockey greats and their autographs on the walls? Why would people want to go there and look at them? How does the museum change the image of the game? The players? The spectators?
Would you like to visit Shakey's? Why? If you went, what hockey sticks or photos would you want to see? Would you want to have your picture taken with them? Would you like to take the memorabilia home? What would you do with them if you took them home? What do the answers to these questions tell people about your attitude toward hockey?

7. Hockey is a Canadian Game.
"Hockey is a Canadian game. It is most important in smaller towns and cities where the people make hockey their life." - Shakey Walton
Do you agree that hockey is more important in smaller towns and cities than in large cities? How does the role of hockey change when a city has an NHL team? Do you think it was a bad day for Winnipeg when it lost its NHL team? What did losing a team say about Winnipeg? What would happen in your town if it established or lost an NHL team?

8. Hockey is an Art
"The good thing about playing hockey is that you can imagine that you're anyone; that you're Dave Keon or Wendell Clark or anybody that you see in your mind's eye, any player or any character. The thing about playing hockey is that it taps into the imagination and the simplicity of that makes it intoxicating, something you want to keep doing over and over again. Because as we get older our imagination slips away and for some people who aren't artists or painters or writers or poets, hockey is their art. Hockey is their way of tapping into the imagination, keeping them pure. It's a wonderful thing." - Dave Bidini - host and a member of the Rheostatics
Do you pretend you are a hockey star when you play? Do you know anyone who does? Why would someone pretend they were someone else? Is hockey a highly imaginative activity? Why? Do you think hockey is an art to some people? Explain.

9. Women Hockey Players
The host of the show, the players we see on the ice and in the pictures, the historians and writers are all men. Is hockey the defining Canadian activity for all Canadians, or only for males? Do females relate to hockey? Play hockey? Watch hockey? Why are there no female professional hockey players? Why is there no female professional hockey league? If hockey is not the defining activity for Canadian women, what is?

10. kd lang
What about kd lang is Canadian? Which Canadians does she represent? Why?
Does she represent your Canadian culture? Why?
Miss Chatelaine is making fun of, mocking, something. What is it mocking?
What is the effect of the disco light, the gown, the chaise lounge, the bubbles, lang's smiling and parading for the camera? Is Miss Chatelaine making fun of some part of Canadian culture? What part?

11. Haydain Neale of jacksoul
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
What role did Canada play in the lives of blacks seeking freedom from slavery?
Is Harriet Tubman a Canadian hero?
Are there Harriet Tubman movies? books? museums? commemorative coins? schools? songs? poems?
Do these things exist for other Canadian heroes? Which ones? Which of these could you design for Harriet Tubman?

12. Bad Time to be Poor - Rheostatics
Bad Time to be Poor is a lament about being poor and about being young. It discusses the difficulties for the poor and for youth. The video is presented in blurred sepia-toned images. How does this choice of image influence your impression of the song? Does it make the song feel more positive or negative? Why?
Do you ever see any poor people in the video?
Why do you think there are so many scenes of city bridges and traffic?
What feeling do you get from these images?
Is this a video of social protest? What is it protesting? How?
What statement is this video making about Canadian culture?
Do you agree? Why?

Written by: Neil Andersen
Neil Andersen is an award-winning Curriculum Consultant with the Toronto District School Board. He is also a speaker and consultant in media and communications technology. His most recent work includes the Between the Lines CDs, the teachers' study guide for the award-winning Scanning Television, and study guides for Space, Bravo! and MuchMusic's Cable in the Classroom broadcasts of original media literacy programming.