Via TV-Eh?: The CBC sit-com Little Mosque on the Prairie is causing a bit of controversy. It is not because of it's subject matter, a group of muslims living in rural Saskatchewan, but because of it's location or lack thereof. The first line of the CBC's mandate states that it should "be predominantly and distinctively Canadian". However, according to the Leader Post:
"Last Jan. 17, Zarqa Nawaz, a producer of CBC's Little Mosque on the Prairie, gave an interview on National Public Radio in the U.S.Personally I feel that such practices should simply be legally banned - that no program that receives tax subsidies should be able to do alternate takes to disguise the fact that it is Canadian.
In it, she tells the American interviewer the producers of the show deliberately never mention Saskatchewan as the series location because they hope an American audience will reference it as taking place in North Dakota and because "sales are important".
Apparently, they are also willing to accommodate American ignorance of Canada by often doing alternative takes to clarify or remove what they consider to be obscure Canadiana. (The budget for this must be enormous, given American ignorance of Canada.)"
If a show like Little Mosque on the Prairie, which is about as mentally challenging as I Love Lucy is over the heads of Americans then I truly do feel sorry for them, however, this time they may just have to do some research and catch up. It should not be up to Canadian taxpayers to do an alternate version that they can grasp.
For American's reading this the show is set in Saskatchewan and if that word has left you scratching your heads, you can begin your research here. Although if you really find that concept confusing you should really just turn off the TV and read a book.
For anyone who hasn't seen the series:
Episode 1 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
7 comments:
Did you -- or the Regina Leader Post -- bother to ask Mr. Bond if you could see all of his correspondence with the CBC on this matter? I think if you had you'd find the story to be somewhat different. A non-story, in fact. Did you even listen to Zarqua Nawaz's interview on NPR? It's available online...
Yes, it's available here - No I haven't seen Mr. Bond's emails and I can't speak for the Regina Leader Post.
As for the rest I'm sorry you feel it's a non-story. But some anonymous person saying something is a 'non-story' doesn't convince me of anything. Personally, I thought it was enough of one for me to mention it and now it's out there and it's up to everyone else to decide if it's a story or not.
And to think that the taxpayer-funded Canadian Television Fund put $2,513,829 towards the eight episodes of the show's first season. The worst irony is the program received a "Canada award" at the 2007 Geminis!
What a great achievement Little Mosque is, as is my blog.
It can be found right here.
I think Zarqa must have been misquoted. I can't speak for the first season but in the second season:
1. A major plot point in one episode deals with watching "Hockey Night in Canada." Darcy Tucker and Ron Maclean guest star as themselves, appearing on CBC.
2. Samantha Bee guest stars as a character from CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) who's come from Toronto (and who reads Chatelaine).
3. In a flashback, Amaar attends a Bluejays game.
4. In upcoming episodes: a character getting her Canadian citizenship with mounties and the full deal. There's also a curling episode. I've never met an American who understood curling so I guess that makes it Canadian.
That's off the top of my head. If you don't like the show you don't like the show, but there's no attempt to disguise the fact that the show is set in Canada.
Full disclosure: I worked on the second season.
- Paul Mather
Thanks Paul,
First I think this is largely in reference to season 1 since all of season 2 hasen't aired yet. The report is based on a combination of quotes from Nawaz and correspondence from the CBC. The issue is not, for me at least, whether there are Canadian references or how many. The issues are 1) Is anything altered, reshot or reedited for foreign markets because of Canadian references. If it is it shouldn't be. British shows, as far as I am aware or can tell, make no effort to do this, nor certainly do American shows. 2) Is it made clear that the setting is Saskatchewan not just somewhere on the praries?
p.s. Allan is a career troll, do not feed him.
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