Film Studies Publications
Title
Imaging Canada: The Singing Mountie and Other Commodifications of Nation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1998
Volume
23
Issue
4
Journal
Canadian Journal of Communication
Abstract
The trajectory of the Mountie as an authoritarian and authenticating sign in narratives of Canada may be organized around at least three categories: the material history of the Mountie as an agent of a globally British and locally Canadian imperialism, the celebratory romanticization of that history, and parodic interventions into this myth making. The essay traces this trajectory to consider the political ramifications for translating the Canadian state police into cinematic and televisual commodities that stand in for nation.
Notes
Dr. Christopher Gittings is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.