As an Ignorant American™, I don't know shit about shit, especially the other countries I share a continent with. This includes my enigmatic neighbor to the north: Canada (or Canadia, as I like to call it, because I'm fancy (PLUS, "Canadians" - "ns" = Canadia; that's just simple math!).
However, there's something going on with Canadia. Between politics and culture, Canadia has continued to penetrate my geopolitical ignorance and pique my interest for the past few years. These seemingly separate incidents of intrigue have added up to a tipping point, and my shameless pursuit of STEEM as brought my inquiry here. And now, I present you with the evidence:
Perhaps the first bit of Canadian politics to pique my interest was their national health system. I actually had no idea they've had universal healthcare since the fucking SIXTIES until I started writing this article-- it feels as though my fuzzy memory places it back in the late 90s or early 00s that I first became aware of the differences between our American healthcare system and Canadia's. This makes sense-- America's system has continued to get more expensive and less effective since then, at the same time that public outcry and demand for a solution has been on the rise. What is it about Canadia that makes their healthcare system more accessible than ours, and more importantly made it so half a century ago?!
The next biggest political paradox coming out of Canadia for me was Idle No More. Coming at the end of the tumultuous 00s and the beginning of the mobilizations of the 10s, Idle No More stood out to me from the Arab Spring or Occupy movements(which was fomented in part by Canadian magazine Adbusters!) because of its focus on indigenous issues. Because, really, who DOESN'T have fucked up relationships with their indigenous populations? And it was the indigenous folks in Canadia who were standing up and doing something about it! Hell yeah, Canadians!
Finally, their prime minister is hot??? What the fuck! I mean, we did have Obama here in the States, who wasn't just brilliant and hilarious, but also a damn FOX compared to some of the other granddads who have helmed the nation; but our current Catastrophe-in-Chief makes just about ANYONE look hot by comparison. One can only hope we'll follow their lead in the next election.
Again, remember that I'm an Ignorant American™, and that my conception of Canadian culture is therefore a caricature . Nevertheless, I can't say I'm not fascinated!
My first Canadian love was Purity Ring. I found them right as Frat/Bro Culture appropriated dubstep, which had previously been a novel and entertaining evolution of electronic music, but was instantly tarnished by an invasion of asshole fans. Purity Ring, however, was like an antidote: not only did they have a sound I STILL haven't heard anyone replicate, replete with trappy percussion and dark, brooding synths; but they also had a cute femme singer with wickedly visceral lyrics! I mean, check these out:
Get a little closer, let fold
Cut open my sternum, and pull
My little ribs around you
The rungs of me be under, under you
I'll cut the soft pockets, let bleed
Over the rocky cliffs that you leave
To peer over and not forget what feet are
Splitting threads of thunder over me
That I might see with my chest and sink
Into the edges round you
Into the lakes of quarry's that brink
On all the edges round you
I feel like I just summoned a fucking demon or something! I also love the way they explore embodiment, power & magic, and femininity in their music and performance. Here's a taste:
It wasn't long after I fell in love with Purity Ring that I found CBC Radio's Q, which was on-brand for me to a degree I never thought could be possible in mainstream media, AND which turned me onto even more delicious Canadian culture.
Finally, another Canadian musician deserves mention. I've been into Austra since I first heard Lose It off their first album, and goddamn has that vocal melody in the chorus been stuck in my head ever since! I recently took their stuff off the shelf and put it back in regular rotation, and can't stop listening to it! Another extremely unique sound and project-- FROM CANADIA! What's the deal with that?!
Have you noticed anything strange and/or enticing about Canadia this century? Is it just me, or are they stepping up their culture industry to such a level that it can compete with and even penetrate notoriously insular American markets? And what can we make of the place they've found at the center of so many contemporary leftist developments-- at a time that much of the rest of the world (United Snakes included) seems to be cowering towards the right? So many femmes seem to be creating amazing, world-changing aesthetics and political movements, and so many of them seem to be in Canadia!
Coincidence-- completely unrelated datapoints, or perhaps a sign of something larger? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
