Yet another slight copycat from American sitcoms. It’s an interesting show, however. It’s in a rural setting most of the time and pretty much away from urban influence. I think this show has good standing as a season in progress because of its relationship to Canadians. Corner gas also makes good use of Canadian stereotypes that are the heart of the Canadian identity, sadly.

Also, Americans watching this show digest all sorts of assumptions about Canadians, especially that “eh?”. This comedy is somewhat a copycat of other American comedy such as Seinfeld through the use of dry humour. Much like Seinfeld, this show is about nothing. This show doesn’t has any logical coherence to it. It’s popular because of its random connections with alcohol and grocery shopping.

Canadians identify well with this show because of the connotations and Canadian references constantly played back and forth. Also, the title of the show is as random as the narration and dialogue. In this way, Corner Gas can mimic other successful comedy shows, I guess.

Corner Gas is a post from: The Glaring Facts

I work at a call center called NuCOMM International. It is bent on trying to rule the world by means of servicing huge clients such as “Comcast” and “Cogeco” and “Brighthouse” and The Devil. This workplace is marked by rows and rows of endless paths and zigzags of aisles leading to cubicles that make you want to commit suicide. This is how it serves The Devil. Beyond these aisles, clear distinctions are made between which obese person has a particular cubicle and someone who has another one. Obesity runs rampant and uncontrolled in this workplace, so if someone is ever to understand this culture, they are easily integrated if they are obese rather than if they are slim. Sadly, obesity is a workplace Canadianism here. Not that obesity isn’t enough of a problem already, snacking on Lays and other despicable brands such as CocaCola too is a problem since it supports Zionist extremism. These brand names are also a workplace Canadianism in that it supports the expansion of other empires.

Canadians are great at helping others and these brands allow them the ability to assist better. Before this starts to turn into a rant about a Jewish Trust Fund (a fund that seems to have an unlimited amount of money…), let’s get back to the ideas of workplace Canadianisms. This workplace is marked by a lot of signs of Canadian attributes. For example, there are a lot of pictures of money and beavers. I haven’t got a clue why beavers and money describe NuCOMM International the best, but I guess it works as a Canadianism here. Also, the Canadian flag is all over the place. It is supposed to mark a moment of remembrance, especially during Rememberance Day, of course. Also, there seems to be this precarious association between business and trophies. For NuCOMM, their trophies are in the form of frames because NuCOMM is cheap. These trophies have a lot of Canadian leafs.

Furthermore, there are pictures of the Toronto Maple Leafs. People constantly wear the Leafs hats and jerseys. Because I hate the Leafs, I always wear Ottawa hats and make them furious of me. The rivalry is really unnecessary between these two hockey teams. Ottawa is the capital city, Toronto isn’t! Why are Torontonians crying about it like children who just came out of a mental daycare institution? And, if you’re a Toronto fan, remember that Toronto’s last Stanley Cup victory was in 1967—it’s been like 40 years now and they still haven’t won. At the end of the day, the Ottawa Senator jersey looks much better.

Workplace Canadianisms is a post from: The Glaring Facts

One thing that I’ve always never understood is Canadian Idol. It ceases to make any logical sense.

Why is there such hype for this capitalist exploitation of talent?

From my understanding, Canada is desperate for recognition and this is the best way it can do it. Through the imitation of America’s cultural industry, Canada really loses its place in authenticity. Television is a medium that is shallow in its representation of character and identity. Once this televisual apparatus denigrates the identities of individuals through programs like Canadian Idol, there’s a strange two-dimensional look to their character.

Canadian Idol seeks to turn performers into fast quick-cut collages of humour and ridicule. For example, when the performer takes the ridicule of bad jokes from beyond the stage and expresses it like an idiot on national television, the comedy of his/her rejection is clearly evident. We all laugh at them when they cry. It’s what the program is designed to do.  There’s really nothing entertaining about this particular broadcast. Moreover, is talent really on the way to being consumed and commodified? Canadian Idol appears to be the heart of talent in all of Canada.

Canadians are relentless in their pursuit of acceptance from Canadian idol judges. I know there are some really horrible singers and they ought to be ridiculed for even showing up on Canadian Idol, but couldn’t they just get rid of them before the audition? But I guess there’s got to be some entertainment involved. It certainly isn’t worth it if the people singing and dancing are ridiculed, is that what Canada is left to do with its time? Couldn’t Canadian popular culture make changes to its systems of influence and target other more poignant popular culture icons and traits to further their influence around the world?

Canadian Idol is a post from: The Glaring Facts

This is a very difficult thing to describe. When you speak to a deranged American, it is very nasally and they most often speak with broken English. This is not an assumption, it’s first hand experience. It’s very appalling that our language is denigrated to theirs in order for them to understand and complete their transactions over the phone. For example, if they say “huh?” you have to reply with “YES, THE TRANSACTION WAS COMPLETE” in a very slow way.  The most important part of the call is explaining that my name is Sufi and not Susie. For example:

Me: “Hi, thank for calling Comcast, my name is Sufi, how may I assist you?”

She: “Huh? What’s your name again?”

Me: “Sue – Fee”

She: “Susie?”

Me: “Su-FEE”

She: “Suuuusieee?”

Me: “S as in Sun, U as in ultra, F as in Fire, and I as in Irritated”

She: “Susie?”

Me: “Yes, how may I help you”

Interestingly this happens on a frequent basis. Names are very difficult for Americans to pronounce, especially my name. Even more interesting is when you explain to them directions to a local Comcast office. Logically speaking, when you tell someone that the route is north, it is north, right? Wrong, when you speak with a such an American, the route to the north end is a route from the South end. My experience then is trying to explain that the south end doesn’t equal the north side. But, sadly, this is what I have to deal with.

Talking about billing to such an American is very difficult. First you explain that their bill is this X amount of dollars high from their last bill because they ordered lots of Pay-Per-View events, oftentimes porno. Also, from the pay per view screen display, I see ridiculous titles of extravagant porno events, oftentimes costing over 20 dollars! Americans love their porno, especially when it’s good and high-priced! When I am explaining that they ordered adult content, they attempt to lie. It’s pretty sad. So you have to lie in turn for them to understand that it’s a lie. When you finish lying, tell the real explanation and they finally understand. It’s an intricate backward logic that such an American follow.

Speaking to a Deranged American is a post from: The Glaring Facts

Call Center Madness

This workplace has a distinct dual nature. We are Canadians that handle American calls. It is pretty disturbing to know that Americans hope that we assimilate to their level of language and mindset. Because NuCOMM is a call center, it takes call flow from just about anywhere that it can increase its profits. There are several campaigns in the workplace such as “Comcast,” “Brighthouse,” “Quest,” “Sirius Satellite Radio,” “Vonage,” and the pathetic “Cogeco.” These are clients of NuCOMM and we are hired by NuCOMM and trained by them.

Essentially, NuCOMM trains us in the client material, like Comcast’s training product knowledge, for example.  When training is complete and I hit the floor, I am expected to act like an American. This way, Americans know they are talking to their fellow Americans. Workplace Canadianisms are the only icons that bring us back to our true identities. During a call, I become an American for 5 minutes until I revert back to my normal “eh”-saying self.

My Experiences at the Workplace

Every time I encounter a discussion with an American, the more difficult it is to believe in a separation of identities or culture. Since they are directly below us, it is difficult for me to say that he’s American and I’m Canadian. At this moment, there is an identity crisis between my position of citizenry. Canadianisms function as a comeback to our natural historical heritage. It’s important to bring this back because team leaders rely on communicating through set historical codes and language, particularly the sensitive spelling differences between Americans and Canadians. My workplace is full of these Canadianisms that help to isolate and eliminate these dual identity structures. I believe that this is an internal confusion of place and identity.

Duality of the Workplace is a post from: The Glaring Facts