In 1955, the Quaker Oats Company distributed free Yukon land to millions of North American kids to promote its radio show Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Inside each box of Quaker breakfast cereal was a deed to a piece of land in Canada's mythic North. Children were thrilled. The fact that each deed represented but one square inch of land only fueled the feeding frenzy! The campaign was the brainchild of Chicago ad man, Bruce Baker, designed to boost sales for Quaker’s traditional cereals, in the face of stiff competition from new sugared cereals. Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Erik Nielsen, was the young Yukon lawyer responsible for the legal groundwork necessary to realize Baker’s dream of creating the largest subdivision in the world-21 million square inch lots.
Cereal Thriller celebrates one of the greatest advertising events in history and explores its impact on the millions of children swept up in the campaign. As adults, these baby boomers reflect on the relationship between the corporation and the consumer. Many, including Los Angeles Times writer Andrew Malcolm, Good Morning America film critic, Joel Siegel and National Geographic's first explorer-in-residence, Will Steger, find it hard to let go of a dream manufactured by a corporation over a half century ago. It's the giveaway that won't go away.
Subject(s): Advertising, Business, Media studies, Nostalgia, Yukon
Glen Richards
Indignant Eye Productions
23 min. 2006
Also available on DVD
Downsizing, restructuring, privatization, deregulation—these buzzwords have become increasingly familiar in Canada's political landscape since the signing of NAFTA in 1994. But they're part of a trend that began more than a decade earlier. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the darling of the international business community, had already clearly set the agenda in the early 1980s.
Originally produced on the eve of Tony Blair's first election, Consequences chronicles the effects of Thatcherism, a conservative ideology whose legacy can be seen everywhere in Britain. Thatcher cut taxes and social services, targeted trade unions, sold off public utilities and eroded local governments—then looked to corporations to move in and fill the gaps. As testament to her enduring influence, a Labour MP close to Blair once made the provocative declaration, "We're all Thatcherites now."
Narrator Maude Barlow points out the dire consequences for average Canadians if they ignore the hard lessons their British counterparts learned under Thatcher. Newly released on DVD, this updated 2006 version features Heather Jane Robertson and highlights recent developments in both Britain and Canada.
Subject(s): Canada, Globalization, Labour history, Politics, Unions, United Kingdom
Jill Sharpe/Lynn Booth
Make Believe Media
46:30 mins. 2007
Available on VHS and DVD
FOR SALE: One public school classroom. Unique opportunity for marketing experts to gain access to the minds of school children.
From the director of Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture, comes this examination of a 2-billion dollar industry–marketing to school age students. In a climate of funding shortfalls for education, corporate sponsors are stepping up to the plate, offering promotions, sponsorships and even free curriculum. There is no stopping the flow of advertising in covert forms–it's called Trojan horse marketing, and it's designed to create life-long brand name consumers, not life-long learners.
First come sponsorships, then naming rights and even learning materials in the classroom. Donations become classroom resources and product placement opportunities. The good news is some school districts are fighting back and succeeding in keeping the classrooms a safe haven from the marketing hype. Corporations in the Classroom provides a reality check on the role of education in today's society and whether it is being compromised.
Subject(s): Communications, Consumerism, Education, Ethics, Psychology
For more information on the film or producers, please visit the Make Believe Media website: www.makebelievemedia.com
Eve Katrina Gordon
34 min. 2002
Includes Circle of Support workbook
Courage of Women: Walking Beyond Domestic Violence is an empowering documentary that follows five urban women on the path to healing, a sojourn that takes them into prime grizzly habitat in the Selkirk mountains of southeastern British Columbia. These women come together not to share their stories of abuse, but to reflect on the inner strength they were able to find in order to leave their violent relationships. Trekking into grizzly bear country allows the women to reconnect with their instincts and face fears of the unknown, a powerful metaphor for their journey out of crisis.
During one-on-one interviews, the women talk about what finally triggered them to get out of their vulnerable situations, what tools and resources they relied upon to survive the most difficult moments, how their decisions have helped their children, and what steps they would suggest to other struggling women. They reveal diverse backgrounds—business owner, student, caterer, writer and even Alberta MLA—underlining that abuse can happen in any home.
Circle of Support, a 36-page workbook, accompanies Courage of Women and provides step-by-step assistance to women as they formulate a clear and safe plan of action to leave behind abuse. It includes information on Critical Incident Stress (CIS), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), safety considerations, insightful books, as well as a compendium of public resources for women and children in both Canada and the U.S.
Subject(s): Healing, Relationships, Violence against women, Women
Eva Wunderman
Wunderman Film Inc.
45 min. 2005
Also available on DVD
Crystal meth has become the drug of choice with teenagers in small towns across North America. It's cheap and easy to get, but also highly addictive and can cause permanent brain damage. Working in her home community of Hope, British Columbia, filmmaker Eva Wunderman documents a year in the lives of three families devastated by this drug. A high school girl moves in with her drug-dealing boyfriend, a young musician grapples with this powerful and seductive addiction, and a teenage girl becomes estranged from her mother.
Steve Fachler, principal of DASP Alternate School, comments on his experience in working with these teenagers to complete high school. Dr. Gabor Maté, physician and author of Hold On To Your Kids, reflects on this phenomenon as part of a larger picture. Maté sees it as part and parcel of a general social-cultural breakdown—old social attachment structures of village clan, tribal community, neighbourhood and extended family have fallen by the wayside and been replaced by peer attachments.
Crystal Fear, Crystal Clear sheds light on a rapidly growing problem for communities of all sizes across North America.
Subject(s): Addiction, Family, Youth
Jill Sharpe/Lynn Booth
Right to Jam Productions
57 min. 2001
Also available on DVD
"Hearing all opinions is what democracy is all about. Besides, if you close your ears to dissent, you could miss out on the sharp, often funny documentary Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture."
– Marke Andrews, The Vancouver Sun
This film delivers a fascinating rap on the 20th Century movement called Culture Jamming, introducing a new breed of revolutionary who wages war on logos and symbols. It follows three outlandish individuals: media tigress Carly Stasko, New York's Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, and Jack Napier with the notorious Billboard Liberation Front in San Francisco. Pranksters and subversive artists, their mission is to artfully reclaim our mental environment by causing a bit of brand damage to corporate mindshare. Armed with anti-ad stickers, custom neon and stuffed mice on crosses, these culture jammers hijack, subvert and reclaim media space.
Ultimately, theirs is a war of meaning that uses the tools of the media to rewire the message. Will Disney's Mickey Mouse represent a "world of laughter" or will he become the anti-Christ symbolizing "sweatshop labour practices." The verdict of public perception lies in the battle between their guerilla tactics and the billion-dollar PR campaigns they combat.
Hard hitting, controversial, wacky and engaging, this film captures the drama of jammers in action and asks some vital questions: Is Culture Jamming civil disobedience? Senseless vandalism? Or the only form of self-defense left?
Subject(s): Communications, Consumerism, Globalization, Media studies
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