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Representations of Diversity in Canadian Television Entertainment Programming: Case Studies

Title

Representations of Diversity in Canadian Television Entertainment Programming: Case Studies

Subject

Canada
Culture
Diversity
Multiculturalism

Description

This report empirically studies the degree to which Canadians embrace diversity and the degree of inclusion and tolerance experienced by various groups, especially minority groups in Canada. The report engages in this study by examining Canadian representations of diversity in Canadian entertainment television programming.

Hannah Cho summarizes the key finding in the Executive Summary of the report as follows:
Theoverwhelming"majority"of"shows"analysed"for"this"report"were"found"to"reaffirm"the"myth"of Canada"as"a"robust"democracy"in"which"there"is"a"comfortable"plurality"of"cultures,"religions,"and" ethnicities."This"situation"frequently"generates"conflict"in"dramatic"or"comedic"narratives."However, the"conflict"is"always"successfully"resolved"on"the"program."Where"a"diversity"of"characters,"religious" groups,"sexual"identities,"and"gender"dynamics"are"represented,"the"overwhelming"conclusion— episode"after"episode—is"that"Canadian"(predominantly"White,"liberal,"and"middleSclass)"society" blends"myriad"differences"into"a"moderate"and"assimilated"nation."That"is,"shows"studied"in"this" report"were"found"to"reproduce"what"Himani"Bannerji"(2000)"critiques"as"the"Canadian"model"of" multiculturalism:"racially"and"ethnically"other"members"are"welcomed"insofar"as"they"organize" themselves"around"a"White"center"of"power

Creator

Media Action Media, 2011

Source

Media Action Média, online: http://www.media-action-media.com

Date

2011

Rights

(c) Media Action Média

Format

text file/PDF

Language

English

Type

TEXt

Text

PDF

Files

Citation

Media Action Media, 2011, “Representations of Diversity in Canadian Television Entertainment Programming: Case Studies,” Exhibits, accessed June 8, 2023, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2662.