The Battle of Vimy Ridge holds a significant place in Canadian history and has long been framed as a part of Canadian national identity. It occupies a specific memory in the lives of Canadians as it is described as a monumental moment of freedom from British rule. The CBC documentary and the Canadian government website dedicated to the Vimy Ridge monument in France, help to relive these memories again and again for the public and shed a perspective to this battle that can be influential and change ideologies. Harold Innis, in his ‘Bias Of Communication’ helps establish concepts about space and time bias that can guide us to understand these media artifacts that shaped national identity.
Innis considers a medium of communication as an integral tool for transferring of knowledge across space and over time. It is the characteristics of a medium that make it influential in a particular culture. The medium can be more suitable to disseminate knowledge over time if it is heavy and resistant and unsuitable to transport and this makes it a time-biased medium. On the contrary, a medium that is light and can be transported easily helps to disseminate knowledge across space rather than over time and that provides a space-bias. The bias of time or space becomes significant in how the medium is embedded into the culture.
The CBC Documentary: A Space-Biased Form of Memory
The CBC documentary, ‘Why the Battle of Vimy Ridge Matters’ can be understood through Innis’ space-biased medium. It is a televised, digital medium which has the potential to be light and easily transported through space and can reach a large audience. It is able to be easily accessible and communicates information about the battle of Vimy quickly and in an engaging way. Because of its vast reach and easy access, it keeps the Vimy ridge debate and concept always in people’s minds and keeps the memory of that event alive and in perspective. The historical significance of Vimy ridge can be understood through Innis’ concept of how the past can re-shape the present and the future in the context of the cultural norms of that time. This documentary highlights a side of Vimy ridge that has become politicized and dramatized that was not the way it was interpreted in the past. In 1917, it was considered a high achieving mark in Canadian building as a nation, but the documentary showcases a side of the battle that was propagated more than necessary as Canada had not even achieved autonomy at that time, according to the documentary. This clearly indicates how a medium can influence and shape national identity events according to the present and future needs of that culture.
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial: A Time-Biased Medium
The Canadian website for the Vimy memorial in France indicates a time-biased medium as the monument itself is transportable and is heavy and sustainable. It is a permanent side of remembrance for a Canadian for the fallen soldiers of the battle of Vimy Ridge and it anchors the battle in physical and historical contexts. The Vimy monument is meant to preserve history for the sake of reflection and living its memory when visited by the public. The website itself is a bridge between the accessibility to this monument through a space-biased medium, while the memorial is a time-based medium. Thus, the website is a combination of both, which strengthens collective memory.
Past events can be re-visited in the context of a culture and its present and future according to Innis. Both these mediums demonstrate the need of the culture in using space-based mediums to reach an audience in Canada that would not ever visit the Vimy ridge monument in France. This not only keeps such events alive, but it creates a renewed interaction and usage of an event such as this in politics and the new world culture. Canadians are given an opportunity to connect with the space-biased medium of the documentary and the time-based medium of the monument to create and shape Canadian identity by the dissemination of knowledge.
I found your discussion on how the CBC documentary highlights a "politicized and dramatized" side of Vimy Ridge very insightful. It relates well to Innis's warning about monopolies of knowledge, where those who control the medium can shape how a culture revisits its past to serve "present and future needs".
ReplyDeleteI’d like to connect this to Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's concept of "sintering". Simpson describes sintering as a "communal transformation" where individuals (like snowflakes) bond to create a denser, stronger fabric. If we view these media artifacts as a ritual process, we can see how the "space-biased" documentary and the "time-biased" monument work together to sinter Canadians into a shared identity. However, Simpson also notes that sintering is "joining and deformation".
This makes me wonder: If the documentary propagates a version of history that Canada "had not even achieved autonomy" at the time, are we being sintered into a narrative that is more about modern political branding than the actual "oral tradition" or lived experience of the veterans?
Your point about the medium being "embedded into the culture" is a strong reminder of Carey’s idea that we "first produce the world by symbolic work and then take up residence in the world we have produced". Great job highlighting that tension!