More Orphan Black, less Canadiana: An American on Canadian culture

The federal government is reviewing the way Canada supports and regulates arts, culture, and media. The government has launched a public consultation, hoping to hear from Canadians on how best to support Canadian arts and entertainment, from books to movies to music and more.

To Madeline Ashby, an American writer who moved to Canada ten years ago, the problem with the system is it puts too much emphasis on creating art that tells a 'Canadian' story, rather than just good art created by Canadians.

Ashby is a writer, a columnist with the Ottawa Citizen, and has just had her third book published, called 'Company Town'. She says the system of grants that buttress the Canadian arts and culture scene encourages Canadian artists to make their art somehow more 'Canadian.'

When I talk to people who apply for grants regularly, there is always a sense that they should try to make themselves fit the Canadian national brand identity. And to me that's doing a disservice to what they're trying to say. I think we should fund good art by Canadians, not art by good Canadians.- Madeline Ashby, Author and Columnist

As an example of the difference between 'art by good Canadians' and 'good art by Canadians,' Ashby points to the television show Orphan Black. To her, part of the success of Orphan Black is that, unlike many other television shows, it doesn't attempt to tell a story about Canada. 

Orphan Black is shot in Toronto, with Toronto actors with a Toronto production company. It's set in Toronto, the CN Tower is there. They use Canadian money. At the same time, there is nothing aggressively Canadian about it. It just happens to take place here. Consumers the world over watch it. But they aren't watching it because they're discovering something about Canada. They're watching it because it's good.- Madeline Ashby

Ashby hopes that the federal government will consider the difference between Canadian art and art made by Canadians during the consultations. She also has a hope that the government will send more funding toward 'genre' fiction, rather than what's traditionally considered Canadian literature, genres like horror, fantasy, and science fiction. 

Click the play button above to hear the complete interview