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EARLIER TODAY on the set of The Border, Nazneen Contractor (Sgt. Layla Hourani) did a double take when she saw me sitting in the boardroom set. "You were here this morning," she said, "and you're here now, but an hour ago I was in my trailer and you were on Citytv, live."
Um. Yeah.
Big arts rally. Big crowd. Good passion. Some speeches. Wind me up and I really do just go.
The great Cory Kinney provided this collage:
For my part, I was gratified to see the Writer Mafia representin -- not just the hardworking Maureen Parker, Kelly Lynne Ashton, Terry, Tannis, David Kinahan and all from the guild, but also Peter Mohan, and Shelley Eriksen in her smart cocktail dress. And James Hurst, Little Mosque's Robbie Sheridan, Playback "next 25'er" Vera Santamaria, my colleagues Janet MacLean, Greg Nelson and Sarah Dodd from The Border, and many many more.
Here's a scratchy video of Eric Peterson and me, courtesy Jennifer Smith.
There's coverage of the rally here, and here. And look, Jill Golick got my good side, courtesy of the fine pictures of Will Pascoe.Here's my quote in the Canadian Press article:
Personal turmoil brought on by a difficult economy will have Canadians turning to their culture more than ever before, added Denis McGrath, a screenwriter for the TV show, "The Border."
"I think we all understand that times are tough and ... that traditionally is exactly when society turns to the comfort that storytelling provides, that's when we do our most important work," he said.
"Sharing stories in words, in images, on stage, in dance, in music; this is how we think, this is how we learn to be Canadian."
I'm so tired I can't even boldface this post. Another fourteen hour day tomorrow. Til later, then. If you came out, thanks. Vote culture on the 14th.
Best.
9 comments:
Looks like a success...well done one and all. And nice speeching - McGrath in 2012?
Wow, you said "middle class" more than John McCain.
Awwwwwesome speech.
BTW, where's the transcript?
because i feel like being a c--t i have to say, c'mon man, there is a certain point in time when this boils down to nothing more than a bunch of people saying "i'm entitled to my entitlements".
we write because we have been given the great privilege to write. if we gotta write for five or ten grand an ep less we'll do it but don't imagine for a second that recession wracked Canadians are going to find comfort settled around the hearth watching "little mosque on the prairie" and that somehow, the border or the guard is providing salve for troubled times....
Listen, Frank. I'm the first guy to say if it's a choice between a cancer bed or an MRI machine, go with that over culture.
But that's a false choice. Canadians are uncharitable. We donate less, per captia, then most industrial nations. And that's because -- and I really believe this -- we've been schooled so much in regional us vs. thems that we share no common cause. Our political leaders have benefited mightily by playing one region off against the other. We can say this is the natural lay of things, or we, as communicators, can call bullshit.
What's going on in Canada right now is that, yup, the Arts workers need to be less navel gazing and solipsistic, and cotton onto the fact that what we're being subjected to is just one volley in a much, much larger war.
We are the ones who are supposed to have the gift. To speak, to move, to convince.
If we don't use it, we deserve the contempt of our fellow citizens.
I'm far less concerned about them hating us for reasons of disinformation than I am of that...of an attitude that actually says we are somehow up in the air, more precious than the concerns of those below us.
If we subscribe to the former, we deserve all the hate and the approbation people can muster.
But if we deserve to survive, and earn our right to exist, then I think we have another burden to shoulder.
I know many people -- many friends -- who think all of this is bullshit, why are we bothering?
And my answer to them is simple:
Because if I do this, I can sleep at night.
Hey Hemingway... among the many great points you made yesterday, changing the phase "funding the arts" to "investing in the arts" as we do with the auto industry or tourism , was one of the strongest. Keep swingimg...
"Scratchy"? Hmph. You know, if you hadn't gone on and on like that, I could have uploaded a higher res video :)
Seriously, awesome speech.
There is somewhat less 'scratchy' video of your CityTV interview here.
I think it's entirely possible that I'm the one who's scratchy.
Brilliant! I especially liked how you talked about the guys who are just getting their lives started.
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