Many of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games commercials became redundant and memorized during the two weeks. Others stood out for their originality and ability to catch aspects of Canadian tradition, culture and sentiment. If we understand commercials as functioning beyond their financial means, we can then read them as cultural texts. These texts (whether you consider it a form of low or high culture) set up myths in relation to nation-building and cultural understanding. How can we understand other cultures and nations if not through the texts that are meant to represent them?
Canadian Destiny?
Nike’s Olympic campaign, “Fight Fate”, consisted of commercials running before and during the games. During the two weeks, the Sears’ building downtown screened a projection with a different image every night with player Jerome Iginla’s face next to an aggressively-rich phrase in regards to Canadians’ ability to forge their own fate. Based on this commercial and their choice of athletic representative (Jerome Iginla), Nike decided to focus, like many companies, on the Canadian hockey nation. The power of this ad in particular is its ability to inadvertently discuss various Canadian issues at the same time. First, it sets up “destiny” as a pejorative term through allowing the individuals in the ad to demonstrate and discuss how the word fails to encompass them:
“Destiny doesn’t run 5km before practice”/ “Destiny makes excuses” / “With five seconds left, Destiny panics”
By doing this, the commercial sets up a binary between Destiny and the commonality shared between all the individuals – hockey and Canadian identity. Nike is making the two terms interchangeable yet interestingly, neither ‘hockey’ or ‘Canada’ are mentioned. What we rely on to fill in the blanks are the images moving before us: the Canadian jerseys, the children playing street hockey, the athletes’ work ethic, and even the veteran athlete’s Canadian pin in remembrance of days long gone. In a sense, Chester Brown’s “Louis Riel: A comic-strip biography” relates to this commercial because it relies on images to make up the full meaning of the text. Without John A. Macdonald’s caricature-like appearance in the comic book or Brown’s homage to vaudeville characters, much of the lightness and his underlying meanings would ultimately be lost. Therefore, looking to texts that seemingly appear of low ‘intellectual’ importance are often remarkable cultural artifacts.
OED defines destiny as “[t]he power or agency by which, according to various systems of philosophy and popular belief, all events, or certain particular events, are unalterably predetermined; supernatural or divine pre-ordination; overruling or invincible necessity”. Nike attempts to define Canadian identity as a negation of this term. A country resolved in claiming its own fate through (as the commercial presents) hard work, determination, skill, commitment, and a powerful confidence; as opposed to luck or chance. In this way, Nike is claiming that Canada will claim gold not because they are meant to but rather that it is the result of hard work and commitment or in other words, living the Canadian lifestyle.
Hockey... “It’s in our hearts”
While the Olympic commercials attempt to display the cohesiveness of the Canadian nation founded on an array of differences there is also a thematic presence of ‘standing out’. In this way, this commercial attempts to assert a sense of ‘togetherness’ of the Canadian people while paradoxically focusing on ‘the individual’ renowned for his athletic ability and popularity. Tim Hortons is renowned for its commercials based on various Canadian experiences but mostly, hockey. The company has a history of supporting children’s hockey with their organization, “Tim Bits”. Sidney Crosby has become a Canadian gem of late. He is an ideal representation of the Canadian child who, through hard work and a love for hockey, grew up to become a superstar athlete. As a child, Crosby played for Tim Horton’s “Tim Bits” team and has thus become their primary spokesman. The commercial aims at earning our trust through sentimental value, by relating our experiences as Canadians with those highlighted by Crosby’s narration. Crosby says, “hockey’s our game but really it’s much more than just a game”. The commercial relates hockey as a cultural phenomenon that is a part of the Canadian heritage, childhood, daily life, but also a passionate part of our identity.
Please post comments regarding any negative or positive connotations you believe are tied to this commercial (or the Nike commercial) and if you are a part of English 357, what is the significance of passion and determination in the course novels?
Also, post any Vancouver 2010 Olympic commercials that personally stood out to you and a brief explanation why.
Brown, Chester. Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography. Art by Chester Brown. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2007. Print
I feel incredibly conflicted with my response to this article. I want to agree that Canadians do embody the qualities of skill, determination, and confidence without the reliance on another power. Nevertheless, after reading through the course texts I am convinced that Canadians are represented as reliant on destiny, but not in the philosophical sense. The section of the OED definition of Destiny that I am engaging with is the “overruling or invincible necessity” (“Destiny” def.4). This statement implies that there is a guiding force that is required for a person to succeed or live. What I believe is that Destiny, by this definition, becomes personified in certain characters within the course texts, which the protagonists rely on to grow.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Emily from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon is a strong personality, but her livelihood and development are because of Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Laura. Her growth as a young girl is fostered by the loving sentiments of Laura and the disciplinarian side of Elizabeth. It is the reliance on her Aunts that shapes Emily to become a developed character. Topaz Edgeworth in Ethel Wilson’s The Innocent Traveller also portrays the need to rely on others to proceed in life. She is described after her father dies as “a girl grown old” (Wilson 84). The comfortable life with her father was “promised to be permanent, but the promise was broken” (Wilson 84). Once Topaz is released from her father’s care, she immediately is transferred to her older sister Annie, who asks her to come along to Canada (Wilson 86). Topaz switches from one keeper to another, both of which influence her character.
These “overruling” people in the lives of the protagonist are a “necessity” (“Destiny” def.4), therefore they are the guiding Destiny. As a nation, Canada has had guiding forces to making our identity, one of which is Britain. Taking Emily and Topaz as examples again, they are both influenced by a British environment that shapes them. Topaz’s family originated in Britain, and the Starr family in New Moon is portrayed as incredibly English, drawing upon motifs such as fairies and magic (Montgomery 65). What these texts show is the force of Destiny in the characters of Laura, Elizabeth, Annie, and Father Edgeworth. These characters guide and shape the protagonists toward their goals; much like England has done to Canadian identity.
Discussing "destiny" has me immediately resorting to Duddy Kravitz for reference. Ever since his grandfather had told Duddy that a man is nobody without land, he worked his whole life to fulfill this destiny that his grandfather inadvertently set out for him. Being a minority within the community, he beat the odds and overcame hardships in order to fulfill this destiny he set out for himself.
ReplyDeleteEven though Vancouver hosted the Olympics, Canada was still seen, not so much as a minority, but an underdog when it came to the competition. But for Canadians none of the other competitions mattered as much as that gold medal hockey game. Nike and Tim Hortons understand that the Canadian identity relied so much on that game and had we lost, we would have been devastated. It's interesting to note however that when American news stations discussed the hockey game and asked Americans in bars about it, there was hardly as much anticipation and excitement for that puck to drop.
I believe Canadians had set their own destiny through that gold medal game. We are immediately associated with the sport of hockey and the Nike and Tim Hortons commercials recognize this. It is expected for us to be the champions of that game and had we lost, I can't even imagine the hysteria and loss of identity that we as Canadians would have felt.
-Jenn