Intertel; 8; Living with a Giant
- Series
- Intertel
- Episode Number
- 8
- Episode
- Living with a Giant
- Producing Organization
- Associated-Rediffusion
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-416sx6510c
- NOLA Code
- ITTL
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- Description
- Episode Description
- 1 hour piece, produced by Associated-Rediffusion and initially distributed by NET in 1962. It was originally shot on film.
- Episode Description
- It is unlikely that many Americans seriously consider the possibility of the United States and Canada merging into one nation. But to the Canadians it is a possibility one they regard with varying degrees of disapproval. Concerned about their countrys future, they believe that she must establish a national identity preserved by economic strength if she is to survive either as a member of the British Commonwealth or as an independent nation. Yet, economically, United States capital dominates Canadian industry and defense. And the Canadian national identity is blurred by the schism between British Canada and French Canada. This Associated-Rediffusion contribution to Intertel examines these problems and explores the Canadian state of mind as exemplified by the residents of two contrasting communities: Guelph, Ontario and St. Hyacinthe, Quebec. In Guelph, an argument between local businessmen in the bar of the Royal Hotel reveals some of the fears and prejudices regarding the United States. One resident points out that when a local oil-driller found natural gas, he was unable to obtain Canadian capital and was finally forced to turn to the United States in this case Texas for the money needed to develop his findings. Another says that Canada must never merge with the United States, that is she did all those crime syndicates would cross the border and flood Canada with criminals and hoodlums. In the House of Hats, a local millinery shop, the owner and a customer argue the relative merits of Canadian and American products and the desirability of buying Canadian. The customer feels that by stocking American hats, the owner is failing to support Canadian industry and is running down the quality of Canadian products. The owner denies this, stating that she buys both. She says that she will not refuse to carry American products when she finds the style and quality she wants that she believes in buying the best wherever it happens to be made. She points out that the customer doesnt resent it when she stocks Paris creations. Why, she asks, should she object to American creations? In St. Hyacinthe, Yves Michaud, editor of the local French newspaper speaks for his people: We are Canadians, speaking French, living the American way of life under British traditions. To the French Canadians, the giant they must live with is not the United States; it is British Canada. And they are just as concerned with establishing and maintaining their identity as a group as the Anglo Canadians are with establishing their identity as a nation. Other Canadians also have some thoughts on the French Canadian problem. During the argument in the Guelph bar, one man recalls the integration crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas. If Canada and the United States should merge, he asks, would the people in Arkansas treat our French Canadians the way they treat those poor negroes? There is no question that the United States does dominate Canadian life in many ways. More than one-half of the Canadian oil and petroleum belongs to US interests. Most Canadian labor unions are branches of American unions. The United States sells one billion dollars more of goods to Canada than Canada sells to America. Because the majority of Canadians live with 200 miles of the border, US radio, television, films, press, and business methods have had an Americanizing effect on almost every Canadian community. Yet, in many ways, Canada has retained her individuality and made strides toward her goal of national identity. She has better social service; she has replaced the United States as the great immigrant country, encouraging immigration from many countries. Her laws are her own; no British law can be enforced in Canada unless it is accepted by the Canadian parliament, and England cannot repeal any Canadian law. And the calmer intellects believe that Canada can benefit from her exposure to United States life and methods without sacrificing her identity. The film concludes on this note of optimism. All parts of the British Commonwealth, it points out, are having to learn to live with giants: Australia with Asia, England with Europe. If she (Canada) can continue to maintain as much independence in the future as she has in the past, she could provide other nations with a valuable example of how to live with a giant. "Living with a Giant" is the third program to be produced for Intertel by Associated-Rediffusion of England. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Intertel, a dramatic breakthrough in the dissemination of ideas and cultural exchange through television, was conceived in November 1960. Five television broadcasters in the four major English-speaking nations joined to form the International Television Federation, to be known as Intertel, the first such international organization. The participants were Associated Rediffusion, Ltd. of Great Britain, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and for the United States, the National Educational Television and Radio Center and the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. Intertel produced on a bi-monthly basis hour-long documentaries on important world topics, inaugurating a global television production agency dedicated to the creation of programs of substance and meaning. John F. White, President of NET, called Intertel more than a fusion of the creative talents of the organizations involved in producing television programs of outstanding merit. It is a step forward to world understanding, he added. I believe that the exchange of documentaries, while of great significance in the vastness of the mutual understanding in it can foster, is but the first step in a regular exchange of all forms of programming. Donald H. McGannon, President of WBC, hailed the new organization as a pool of the technical and creative ability and knowledge of all the groups which will extend the international horizons of television in all aspects. This is the first practical step, after years of talking and hoping, toward the creation and use of international television for cultural exchange and an effective weapon for peace. By having observers examine topics far removed from their everyday assignments, Intertel gives viewers a fresh viewpoint. The founder members indicated that by dubbing these programs in foreign languages and making them available to all nations, they hoped television companies in Europe, Asia and South America will eventually join this unique project. The supervisory committee for the United States programming segments consists of Mr. McGannon and Mr. White; Richard M. Pack, WBC Vice President Programming; and Robert Hudson, NET Vice President for Programming. Intertel came into formal being November 14, 1960, in a special meeting in Vancouver, B.C., and the culmination of plans for such an association which has been under way for a long time. John McMilliam of Associate Rediffusion, was named contemporary Coordinating Officer at that time. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1962-05-14
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Public Affairs
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Camera Operator: Cooper, Adrian
Continuity: Cameron, Winnie
Director: Gamble, Rollo
Editor: Crawley, Aidan
Film Editor: Gill, David
Narrator: Boothby, Robert
Producer: Gamble, Rollo
Producing Organization: Associated-Rediffusion
Researcher: MacDonald, Nona
Sound: Temple, Gordon
Sound: Rootes, Basil
Writer: Allan, Elkan
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2332609-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Intertel; 8; Living with a Giant,” 1962-05-14, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 20, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-416sx6510c.
- MLA: “Intertel; 8; Living with a Giant.” 1962-05-14. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 20, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-416sx6510c>.
- APA: Intertel; 8; Living with a Giant. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-416sx6510c