# Does Canada have a "national epic"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947 "2007-09-12T18:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/1 "2007-09-12T18:41:57Z")
So as not to hijack the Old West thread, I’ve wondered this before. Is there a Canadian film that’s similar to _Gone With the Wind_ or _Titanic_ or the like- something set specifically in Canada’s past with high quality acting and production values that’s akin to a national epic? If not, what novel or historical event would you base one on? ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/2 "2007-09-12T18:46:27Z")
And _Titanic_ would be the national epic of which country? ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/3 "2007-09-12T18:48:56Z")
You obviously aren’t very familiar with Canadian movies, to be throwing around expressions like “high quality acting” and “production values”. 😃 If there were such a movie, I think it would be an adapatation of a song – Gordon Lightfoot’s [Canadian Railroad Trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/4 "2007-09-12T18:54:33Z")
Canada’s national epic is actually “For Better or For Worse: The Bestest Present”. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/5 "2007-09-12T18:57:31Z")
Although it has improved lately, Canada’s “legacy,” if you want to call it that, within the movie industry is … well, not Hollywood. It’s barely even Bollywood. Unless you consider shows like _The King of Kensington_ or _Anne of Green Gables_ high quality epic fare, you’re probably not going to find a whole lot to inspire. The closest we come to any kind of film making legend is probably [Atom Egoyan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000382/maindetails), and he wasn’t even born here (though he was raised here from a young age). Even then, it is unlikely that very many people have heard of more than a few of his films. ---
**Author:** ![IGJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/igjoe/32/5420_2.png) [@IGJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IGJoe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/6 "2007-09-12T18:58:16Z")
[Canadian Bacon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109370/)? [Strange Brew](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086373/)? Sorry, nothing serious coming to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/7 "2007-09-12T18:59:40Z")
Take off, eh? _Strange Brew_, you hoser ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/8 "2007-09-12T19:01:06Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] Although it has improved lately, Canada’s “legacy,” if you want to call it that, within the movie industry is … well, not Hollywood. It’s barely even Bollywood. Unless you consider shows like _The King of Kensington_ or _Anne of Green Gables_ high quality epic fare, you’re probably not going to find a whole lot to inspire. The closest we come to any kind of film making legend is probably [Atom Egoyan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000382/maindetails), and he wasn’t even born here (though he was raised here from a young age). Even then, it is unlikely that very many people have heard of more than a few of his films. [/QUOTE] So, the Canadian national epic is _The Adjuster_? One of my favorite movies, but a little “out there” to be a national epic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/9 "2007-09-12T19:08:34Z")
[Goin’ down the road](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065788/) gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/10 "2007-09-12T19:08:54Z")
[QUOTE=Throatwarbler Mangrove] And _Titanic_ would be the national epic of which country? [/QUOTE] Atlantis. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/11 "2007-09-12T19:13:45Z")
[The Log Driver’s Waltz](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDi9DzihrE) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/12 "2007-09-12T19:16:35Z")
Fubar? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/13 "2007-09-12T19:18:19Z")
Asses of Fire? ---
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/14 "2007-09-12T19:19:27Z")
Unfortunately, great Canadian movies are few and far between. Our top grossing movie of all time is _Bon Cop, Bad Cop_ which is only good if you speak both French and English. This movie surpassed _Porky’s_ in its climb to the top. _Porky’s_ had been number 1 for about 20 years. Canadian movies aren’t bad if you are interested in slow drama. They don’t make a lot of money so they don’t have a big budget. We are more likely to watch American blockbusters and unlike Australia, we don’t tax theatre tickets to subsidize our movie industry. One of my favourite Canadian movies is _Who has Seen the Wind_, an adaptation of a book by W.O. Mitchell but it is hardly a sweeping epic. There are many, many great Canadian novels though, too many to list here. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/15 "2007-09-12T19:19:56Z")
The collected game films of the NHL. Or possibly a compilation of commercials for Tim Hortons. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/16 "2007-09-12T19:20:41Z")
[The Black Robe,](http://imdb.com/title/tt0101465/) but that only covers the Jesuits during the 17th C. in upper Canada, leaving flying lesbians entierly out of the picture, so for that you have to have [I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093239/). Its a big country, so any one-movie attempt would turn into a stupid schlockfest like “How the West Was Won.” ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/17 "2007-09-12T19:29:39Z")
[QUOTE=Rube E. Tewesday] If there were such a movie, I think it would be an adapatation of a song – Gordon Lightfoot’s [Canadian Railroad Trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy) [/QUOTE] Or possibly Sudbury Saturday Night, by the esteemed Dr. Tom Connors. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/18 "2007-09-12T19:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] Or possibly Sudbury Saturday Night, by the esteemed Dr. Tom Connors. [/QUOTE] Wow, **Frank** , you’re already fittin’ in to this country. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/19 "2007-09-12T19:40:44Z")
If no movies come to mind, please feel free to mention “Great Canadian Novel” entries (_Anne of Green Gables_ already being counted). ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947/20 "2007-09-12T19:48:38Z")
I submit that Canada is far too diverse culturally and in terms of its relationship with history to have a true “epic” historical film that would ring the same to many people. I mean, I’ve seen or heard of a few Canadian historical movies, but I’m quite sure that they wouldn’t mean anything to a majority of Canadians. In contrast, while the United States is also quite diverse culturally, I think there is more of a sense of shared memory. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-a-national-epic/418947.md?page=2)