bleeding heart Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 in its hay day Saturday night live was full of Canadians ... just saying Yes, Canadians have done very well in the American entertainment sector. That's yet another point in favour of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Yes, Canadians have done very well in the American entertainment sector. That's yet another point in favour of it. Canadians have been involved heavily in the entertainment sector..I don't see how then you could just call it "American entertainment sector" when a good portion of it is Canadian whether its behind the scenes or in front Edited March 24, 2012 by stopstaaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 ...In a way it's a chicken and egg argument, maybe, since what we problematically term "American culture" is a hodge-podge of influences, as befits the very nature of the Republic. Culturally, it ingests influences from everywhere, then makes it their own. (And its got its own, unique-from-the-genesis cultural aspects as well, which are also tossed into the mix.) Bravo....you have distilled the multifaceted nature of American culture that belies the neurotic paranoia on display by some Canadians and domestic policies. America is a nation built by natives, immigrants, and slaves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Canadians have been involved heavily in the entertainment sector..I don't see how then you could just call it "American entertainment sector" when a good portion of it is Canadian whether its behind the scenes or in front The same way that Canada chooses to define Canadian culture in terms of content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) of course not, but that doesn't take anything away, the funniest Americans are/were Canadians That's not true....for instance, Richard Pryor sure as hell wasn't Canadian. Neither were Lenny Bruce or George Carlin. Edited March 24, 2012 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 That's not true....for instance, Richard Pryor sure as hell wasn't Canadian. Don't know him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Don't know him Then you have no idea who the greatest American comics were/are. That's OK....you are not an American! This just exemplifies the assumed knowledge of "American culture" that some Canadians have. Edited March 24, 2012 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Then you have no idea who the greatest American comics were/are. That's OK....you are not an American! Reading his wikipedia, he's a black man who made a lot of racial observations .. oh great, one of them, I don't care much for the comedians who are always talking about race.. they are being racist themselves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Reading his wikipedia, he's a black man who made a lot of racial observations .. oh great, one of them, I don't care much for the comedians who are always talking about race.. they are being racist themselves Again, you are only displaying your complete disconnect with the totality of American media and performers, or why "race comics" like Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, or Red Foxx are socially and politically important figures. Americans don't just watch white Canadians from failed comedy troups in Vancouver or Toronto. Edited March 24, 2012 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Again, you are only displaying your complete disconnect with the totality of American media and performers. Americans don't just watch white Canadians from failed comedy troups in Vancouver or Toronto. yes, apparently race is a big deal in america.. while here it's not as noticeable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 yes, apparently race is a big deal in america.. while here it's not as noticeable It is if you are a First Nation's native. Or Asian. Or black. Or...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) It is if you are a First Nation's native. Or Asian. Or black. Or...... Nobody has any issues with Asians or Black people here, i dont know, ive never seen or heard anything, anyways, im done with racial conservations im not at all interested in this Edited March 24, 2012 by stopstaaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Nobody has any issues with Asians or Black people here, i dont know, ive never seen or heard anything, anyways, im done with racial conservations im not at all interested in this Obviously...thank you for proving my point. I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Canadians have been involved heavily in the entertainment sector..I don't see how then you could just call it "American entertainment sector" when a good portion of it is Canadian whether its behind the scenes or in front I get what you mean. But you talked about the Can/con of SNL, which is an American production. Sure, it's nominally Canadian Lorne Michaels' baby...but from what I understand, the primary creative impulse was of American writer Michael O'Donoghue. (A radical lefty, just incidentally.) Hell, I'm not disparaging the Canadian creative elements of SNL (though I do disparage SNL generally, as inhabiting a world of diminishing comedic returns); I'm only not disparaging the American elements of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 ...Hell, I'm not disparaging the Canadian creative elements of SNL (though I do disparage SNL generally, as inhabiting a world of diminishing comedic returns); I'm only not disparaging the American elements of it. Agreed....the absence of "Canadian content" in that very American production has led to the dreck we see (or choose not to see) today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Agreed....the absence of "Canadian content" in that very American production has led to the dreck we see (or choose not to see) today. At any rate, I've watched it occasionally over the past few years; and I get the feeling that the problem isn't with the performers, who seem to me pretty good. (While I could take or leave the movie Bridesmaids, I thought Kristen Wiig was literally brilliant, for example. A true comedic talent.) I suspect it's the writing that's the problem. Edited March 24, 2012 by bleeding heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) At any rate, I've watched it occasionally over the past few years; and I get the feeling that the problem isn't with the performers, who seem to me pretty good. (While I could take or leave the movie Bridesmaids, I thought Kristen Wiig was literally brilliant, for example. A true comedic talent.) I suspect it's the writing that's the problem. Right...SNL has rotted from the neck down. Wiig is a comedic genius and has the versatility of a legend like Carol Burnett. Part of the problem is the very nature of comedy today appealing to the lowest common denominator. Real comedy is much harder work than just cheap laughs. Kids today don't believe me when I tell them we would buy vinyl LP's and listen to comedy acts or that such things ever existed. And of course, Tommy Chong was one of them. Edited March 24, 2012 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopstaaron Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Kids today don't believe me when I tell them we would buy vinyl LP's and listen to comedy acts or that such things ever existed. Kids don't want you to tell them that Gramps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Right...SNL has rotted from the neck down. Wiig is a comedic genius and has the versatility of a legend like Carol Burnett. Part of the problem is the very nature of comedy today appealing to the lowest common denominator. Real comedy is much harder work than just cheap laughs. Funny, I was thinking directly along these lines, with remarks about SNL from a writer named Dennis Perrin. He reminded me that SNL, while sometimes falling flat, of course, had an interesting approach: some of the bits and sketches were intentionally unfunny, or funny in unique and subversive ways. According to the writer, it was Lorne Michaels himself (a no-nonsense, draconian figure in some assessments) who changed the formula to "constant laughs." Maybe a destructive direction, comedicaly speaking, at odds with the original premise of thoughtful and incisive comedy. Kids today don't believe me when I tell them we would buy vinyl LP's and listen to comedy acts or that such things ever existed. And of course, Tommy Chong was one of them. I'm younger than you, but I'm old enough to remember that everybody owned a comedy album or two. I had Bill Cosby (he used profanity, which he now oddly claims that comedians shouldn't do)?????; and my friend had a George Carlin record listened and worn right down to the scrape. This was mid-seventies, when I was a sprite. Edited March 24, 2012 by bleeding heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 According to the writer, it was Lorne Michaels himself (a no-nonsense, draconian figure in some assessments) who changed the formula to "constant laughs." Maybe a destructive direction, comedicaly speaking, at odds with the original premise of thoughtful and incisive comedy. Good comedy has a certain discipline and rhythm that respects the genre and format. Good writing may have suffered a fatal blow during the series of labor actions and fights over rights to ever growing revenue streams. Comedy as political protest and entertainment was a powerful combination, at least in US markets. I'm younger than you, but I'm old enough to remember that everybody owned a comedy album or two. I had Bill Cosby (he used profanity, which he now oddly claims that comedians shouldn't do)?????; and my friend had a George Carlin record listened and worn right down to the scrape. This was mid-seventies, when I was a sprite. Then we are old enough to recognize and differentiate the good from the bad. I have studied comedy just out of personal interest going back to Vaudeville, pre and post war acts, radio shows, and then television. Access to all this content is possible online today so it can be understood historically, including the social and political impact. Sometimes being old is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Then we are old enough to recognize and differentiate the good from the bad. I have studied comedy just out of personal interest going back to Vaudeville, pre and post war acts, radio shows, and then television. Access to all this content is possible online today so it can be understood historically, including the social and political impact. Yeah, that's true, isn't it? Maybe I'll look back further and check it out. Sometimes being old is good. Thankfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 MSJ, I never said our head of state was the PM, I'm not an idiot, I'm just saying U.S will not have an atheist president in the next 30 years if that was directed to AW forgive me, I was a bit confused No problem. I'm just giving you a heads up about these two trolls as it may help alleviate some bandwidth on these forums.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 No problem. I'm just giving you a heads up about these two trolls as it may help alleviate some bandwidth on these forums.... No problem? Your condescending remark to him about the PM is "no problem"? How nice of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 No problem? Your condescending remark to him about the PM is "no problem"? How nice of you. Ah, BC, taking the trolling to a new personal level. Ok, I'm game. No, I did not intend any condescension towards him at all. That is a misunderstanding. If any gets directed towards you or AW - well, that's okay with me because you guys will always be there to tell us how our PM is not "elected" and our head of state can never be a Catholic among other trivialities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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