A group of people horseback riding in Waterton Alberta. (Darian MacDonald, CMRU.ca)
If you live in Alberta you no doubt have heard of Heartland, a show I like to call Alberta’s sweetheart. With Bill-C18 on the horizon the rules around Canadian Content (CanCon) could be changing, and with the recent premiere of Heartlands 17th season, now is a perfect time to examine how I think explicitly Canadian content like Heartland positively affects Canadian identity and culture.
So Why Heartland
I think any Albertan who has seen any amount of Heartland can agree it is a little stereotypical. A ranch full of cowboys full of family drama and horses. Many would argue that the show only encompasses a fraction of Albertan culture so it is a bad representation. However, I’d like to point out the importance of ‘typecasting’ Alberta. In this case, by using stereotypes, Heartland is immediately recognizable. If you try to encompass all parts of Alberta it is going to become too broad; It could take place anywhere. Ideally, we would have several shows focusing on different, but specific parts of Albertan culture. That way we would have a diverse but unique showcase of Alberta and its different identities.
Something that is unique to Heartland compared to other CanCon is that it is fully Canadian. Its actors are Canadian, it’s filmed in Canada, its production company is Canadian, and it is funded by Canada. Usually, Canadian Content has one or two of these things, but rarely is a show this big fully Canadian to the extent that Heartland is.
One of the biggest identity struggles Canada faces is separating itself from the U.S. Both countries are remarkably similar so a lot of Canadian content is assumed to be American. Just the other day I was watching a very popular show on Amazon Prime, and when I paused, it gave me some trivia that the location they were filming at was in B.C and that they used this location several times throughout the show. Canada is a big participant in the media industry but it is often overlooked because its content often doesn’t appear any different from American content. Canada needs to draw attention to the differences between us and the U.S, and shows like Heartland do just that. They show the world that Canada is more than just a second U.S.
So In Conclusion
Producing successful Canadian Content is integral to Canada building and expressing a national identity. Shows like Heartland may be a bit stereotypical, but stereotypes don’t have to be a negative thing. Heartland is also fully Canadian, with little use of outside sources. Heartland offers a Canadian perspective to the rest of the world and puts us on the map for them. We need to see more well produced and popular Canadian shows like Heartland in the media to help Canadians feel connected with an identity and connected to our culture.
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