Seven Wonders: “Brainless, smiley-face content”
Globe and Mail television critic John Doyle has some harsh words for the CBC’s Seven Wonders of Canada contest. In it, Canadians nominate their favourite place:
Maybe it has a natural beauty. Perhaps it’s because of the wildlife. It could be the people who live there…. The list of potential Canadian wonders is wide open. You can pick an awesome natural wonder, a beautiful building, that quirky little park at the end of your street, a rock shaped like your favourite prime minister, or even a regular weather phenomenon. Any physical feature in Canada could be a possibility. All we ask is that other Canadians be able to see it somehow.
(Personally, my vote is going to the lake beside the Jasper Park Lodge and the view from Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain.)
Anyway, back to Doyle, who says:
The Seven Wonders of Canada competition is an insult and its existence stands as an indictment of CBC’s current mania for brainless, smiley-face content. It’s delusional and an avoidance of straightforward confrontation of the issues that face us.
Wow. What do you think? Should CBC stick only to hard news, or should we balance programming with lighter stuff like Seven Wonders?
(And let’s try to stay on topic, folks… I won’t be approving comments that don’t add to the discussion of this program or programs like it.)
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Hey Tod,
Oh my goodness! What a cynical old turd that Doyle is! Why shouldn’t Canadians be proud of where they live, of the natural wonders that surround them. And who better than the CBC to sponsor such an event. The CBC is about the only thing that reaches just about every home and person in the country. With so much gut wrenching news why not have something that is celebratory rather than cynical and locked solely in the sensationalism that makes it’s way from the south.
This Doyle guy is a punk and should be ignored.
The question isn’t posed well. It shouldn’t be an either/or. You can do lighter stuff and hard news. This particular form of lighter stuff, though, seems to have called forth an awful lot of hatred.
To me it’s the amount of resources that go into it and the totality of it. If it was just SLC, I could just turn it off. But it’s everywhere! And it’s so self-congratulatory (Look at how many emails we’ve received!) I find it hard to take.
I resonate with Doyle’s opinion completely. Seven Wonders (I’ve only been listening to the radio spots, not the TV) falls into the same inane category as Gomeshi’s various “Top songs of…” we’ve had to listen to the last couple years.
Canada Reads was one thing, but I wish this ‘making lists’ style of radio had begun and ended there. Surely there are more interesting ways of profiling wondrous places in Canada than a silly competition.
When I see commercials for these CBC shows, I sigh. Maybe some people like them, but I see them as lame attempts at national pride. I know I’m cynical, and I love this country as much as anyone, but I still don’t care.
I rather prefer the shows that don’t try so hard. I used to watch “On the Road Again”, for example. The comedy skit shows like “The Rick Mercer Report” and “This Hour” do a good job at finding the pulse of Canadian culture.
Maybe it’s the marketing and advertising of these ra-ra CBC shows that annoys me so much. Maybe I prefer Canadian TV to be a lot less obvious and full of pomp. I’m used to Canadians having a sort of quiet pride about themselves, so why be loud?
Shows like this in general aren’t my cup of tea, but the CBC needs to cast a wide net in offering programs that appeal to all sorts of Canadians. It might be fluffy, but I’m sure it’ll be popular as well as borderline informative. There’s nothing wrong with this. It would only be an issue if the CBC were ONLY offering this sort of stuff, which it clearly isn’t.
I respect Mr. Doyle’s opinion on many things, and often find myself agreeing with him, particularly where boosting the level of CanConTV drama and comedy on all the private networks is concerned.
Not this time, though. I’ve been confined to listening to the whole Seven Wonders machine rather than listening and watching, and I have to say that I’m glad to have learned a lot about my country as a result of this. Not to mention the memory refreshers on places I’ve already visited over the years.
This all seems to be missing the point (unsavoury as this may appear). It is much cheaper to run a competition where the audience has to do the work rather than the corp being left to create program content.
And it follows that winners will provide the CBC with free commentary about the winning choices.
It sounds like this was all dreamed up by the Real Estate Division.
Well – I like it! I might be annoyed if this was replacing The House or if this was the topic on Cross Country check up… but SOUNDS like CANADA, seems a good place to talk about CANADA… and if they are getting 1000 emails a day, then obviously people are tuning in.
Maybe we have all been brainwashed by the song they play at the beginning by Stompin’ Tom — CA-NA-DA. I might need to get it surgically removed. Catchy tune.
Lists are the epitome of laziness.
This is not the CBC, this is not serendipity!
This is pandering to the masses by the CBC.
Lord Reith would be rolling over in his grave at this low culture tidbit.
From what I hear listening to Radio One, “Brainless Smiley-face Content” has been a big hit with the regular CBC listener. There have been hundreds of e-mails and thousands of phone calls from folk promoting their favorite part of Canada, eh.
On top of the positive responses to “Sounds Like Canada” and “Q”, I think that The MotherCorp has found the groove for their target audience.
I’m just glad that Mike Enright has dug in his heels and still puts jazz pieces into his show on Sunday mornings and that “Ideas” is still on the schedule.
Oh yeah.
I nominate my view of the Tantalus mountains as I drive the “See! -The Sky!” Highway on my way to The City.
M.
Must agree with Mr. Doyle on this one myself…
I recoiled first I heard the 7 wonders mentioned on SLC, and had no idea just what a monster it would become.
What I find more worrisome — especially as someone who tries to produce and understand what will resonate with listeners — is just how damn popular it would appear to be! It’s an idea I wouldn’t have given a second thought to!
At a time when we are witnessing the garage sale sell-off of Canada’s Productive Economic Engines and the rest of our Resources, we need some hurrahs for our Country… perhaps they will be our last hurrah? It’s easy for Doyle to climb into bed with NeoConCanada and shoot at the CBC simply because it can command the attention of most of the population here and in Quebec. Not so his rag. His pen for hire is a sign of the desperate straits newspapers have made for themselves by engaging in focus-grouped corporate whitewashed news and views. Sounds Like Canada sounds like Canada. CBC RADIO PROGRAMMING IS THE FOCUS OF HIS ATTACK. AND CBC RADIO IS HORRIBLY UNDERFUNDED. No other public broadcaster in any country could achieve and sustain what CBC Radio has for its people. American Public Radio was under critical media attack by the backswing of Republican Zealots who wanted to shut down the creative capacity of Public Broadcasting in America. Et Tu Doyle? A small mind is a dangerous weapon.
Making lists is the epitome of journalistic laziness.
This is not good, it caters to the lumpen crowd and is not serendipity.
Are we all finshed with our environmental focus for future generations? “What did you do in the Great Warming, Daddy?” I made lists up for the CBC to distract the lesser classes.
Paying attention to the global warming and its sequelae is part of what we have The Current, Ideas, and Dispatches, among other shows, for. No?
Seems that CBC is starting to like these “Canada’s Greatest…” things.
First there was “The Greatest Canadian”, then “The Greatest Canadian Invention”, then “Test the Nation” (which was to see which occupation in Canada has the highest IQ or something like that). I suppose they’re simply producing content on the same thread of other programs for which they have received the best ratings.
Frothy “content” like 7 Wonders is all too typical of CBC radio these days. I’m already tired of Gomeshi’s hyperventilation on Q, and I really miss Northern Lights–at 11 pm, I’m not interested in “encore” performances of daytime shows.
But CBC radio seems determined to peddle sentiment rather than thought, from Gomeshi rhapsodizing about how Canadian Kiran Aluwaliya’s music is, to CBC news giving us yet another bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace as yet another dead Canadian is sent home from Afghanistan.
Yes, they still do great programs as well. But they used to do more of them.
This project is ready-made for the CBC gift shop, and easily sells to government funding.
Producers already have locations in mind but want to see if you can top them.
And will be able to refer to audience input.
Who cares.
Doyle The Unoriginal simply wants less NFB and more Geraldo Rivera.
Slight problem.
For that to happen would require someone inside the CBC to want to make it happen.
I think the snottiness in many of these comments makes their own point brilliantly. What is so wrong with letting your fellow Canadians have a few moments to sing the praises of something they care about? Goodness, just because a lot of people like something, doesn’t mean it’s lame. But most of all, don’t confuse the real issues facing the CBC (read horrid funding crunch) with inviting popular input… sheesh. ps. bill lee, not everything the CBC does is journalism.
John Doyle sums it up: “We are not a nation of school kids.” I agree.
Maybe “7 Wonders” was a good idea at some point, but it has degenerated into something kind of twee and annoying. It’s going to give me cavities.
It’s great to celebrate nature, reach out to Canadians and do soft features, but the “7 wonders” trope is tired and witless, as Doyle says. All the fawning and sycophantic drooling wears on the nerves and after awhile the superlatives lose their meaning and end up sounding condescending.
And don’t attack critiques as snotty or anti-CBC. Maybe they have something valuable to offer. There are plenty of public radioheads like me who support a strong national broadcaster but are turning to the likes of NPR and BBC because of lame programming initiatives like 7 wonders.
Celebrate nature and Canada, but do it with style. Make us want to hear it.
I completely agree with Doyle.
Taken in the broader context, the CBC has left itself open to criticism and conern, turning increasingly to “cheap” programming content. This type of mass participation has not remained solely in the “entertainment” areas of CBC, but has infiltrated “news and Current Affairs”, as well. Perhaps one source of cycnicism is that the distinction between the two is becoming blurred.
Ignoring some of the previous events/stunts/ratings grabs, and focusing on this one, I can tolerate descriptions of genuinely beautiful parts of Canada, particularly when they are well described, and not redundant. I appreciate comparing my aesthetic sense to that of others, and I will undoubtedly learn of beautiful spots previously unknown to me.
But I don’t necessarily trust the sensibilities of the producers / judges, and I don’t like hearing submissions selected for their zany-ness. This is an exercise in mass participation, not in shared discovery, learning or shared values.
Balance is good. Passion is good. And I hope if CBC is serious, we get the REAL 7 wonders of Canada….which should include Mt. Assiniboine after Niagara Falls;…followed by the Bugaboos.
And after the Bugaboos, then Long Beach on Vancouver Island should be fourth.
What’s wrong with civic and national pride?
If anything, this little contest, as trivial as it may be, is going to open up Canada to the rest of Canada. Who would’ve thought that one of the least known landmarks in Canada (The Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay, ON) would end up doing so well in the polls. I have learned many things about this country, and have more reason to travel throughout the country, than I ever did.
And yes, I think there are some questionable nominees on the short list, things that aren’t constantly there (eg. sunsets), things that are also in/spend time in the USA (stanley cup/niagara), and items that are… um.. ridiculous (mom’s house, bagels, etc.)
However, this is an appropriate endeavour for the “new and improving CBC”. Just like they’re doing national pride things like “get behind the ottawa senators”, hockey day in canada, and all the other stuff.. this fits that “be proud of what we have” programming.
If Doyle wants to be cynical, that’s quite alright. His opinion is just as much an opinion as anyone else’s.. and also just as unimportant.