英语论文网

he American stuff does not reflect their lives in the same way that American stuff reflects our life. In [English-speaking] Canada, we do not perceive American products as foreign . . . because our cultures are so intertwined' (Schneider, 1997).

If American influence will not erode the Quebecois culture and French language, then is a 'communication policy really necessary?' (Tremblay, 1992).

In Tremblay's article he provides a balance of evidence that shifts the reader's opinion either to the 'there is too much American influence in Quebec' side or the 'Quebecois and Canadian culture is safe' thought. Provided that the majority of television programs, 'about two thirds broadcasted by the Quebecois networks consist of Canadian-produced content' and that the Quebecois prefer locally produced content - '19 out of 20 of the most-watched programs on television are Quebecois based productions' - the Quebecois culture hardly seems to be in danger of an American threat (Tremblay, 2002). Why all the anxiety over the loss of Quebecois cultural identity then? The change in opinion may come after Tremblay illustrates the predominance of American influence within the Canadian film industry were 'only a mere 8 per cent of films broadcasted on TV are Canadian productions' (Tremblay, 2002). The fact that the majority of films are American productions is not surprising. The Quebecois market depends on American content because it is cheaper to buy all-ready made productions then to create it from scratch and a big budget film costs millions of dollars to create and the feeble Quebecois market would fail to return favourable profits to the film industry. In addition, Quebec's distinct heritage and language prevents it from receiving large profits from their French film exports as many English-speaking nations such as the United States pay little attention to dubbed, foreign films. According to Tremblay, in 1990, about 55 per cent of films on Quebecois television was American made and locally produced drama programming in Quebec has reduced from 1982 - 1989, while American content has risen in popularity. Are these figures a result of American domination in the media, a simple preference of American content by the Quebecois, or a basic economic strategy to spend less amount of money on productions? A comparison between the Canadian and American film industry is useless, considering the latter contains greater resources, draws forth greater profits and is dominant worldwide. More specifically, Quebec's situation contains more obstacles to a growing media market in comparison to the United States and the rest of English-speaking Canada in view of the two important factors - their linguistic barrier - French language - and their modest population composed of approximately six million as opposed to the nearly 300 million US residents. For this reason, the Quebecois feel the strong need to protect their cultural identity and resist American content.

In Tremblay's article, further elaboration on the impact an entrance of cultural industries with the Free Trade Agreement would have on the culture of Quebec is needed. Would the Quebecois culture really be wiped out by an invasion of American content within the media? He also lacks an explanation on the difference between American and Canadian content. Is it not relatively the same? What makes Canadian content so culturally distinct? Indeed, Quebec is an