American Stories

During his Nov. 24 appearance on the Canadian talk show “Tout le Monde en Parle,” American novelist Bret Easton Ellis was surprised to be asked about Donald Trump. “Why are you so interested in this man?” the controversial writer seemed to be implying. A critic of the hysteria that followed Trump’s election, Bret Easton Ellis is not a card-carrying partisan, but he laments the wave of panic maintained by Trump’s adversaries. He was even more surprised to find this same panic outside of the United States. According to him, there are better things to do than to be concerned about this guy.

From a Quebecois perspective, I concede that he is partly right. Indeed, our fascination with Trump can be explained by an attitude of the colonized. We follow American politics because we find it more spectacular and more interesting than our own, just as we watch more American films than Quebecois films for the same reasons.

With his personality, Trump obviously exacerbates this phenomenon. Many Quebecois know more about him and his escapades than they do about Trudeau and Legault. This phenomenon reaches peak insignificance when the citizens of one country choose to follow the political spectacle of a foreign country over which they have no control.

At the same time, there is a counterargument. We cannot really live next to an elephant without being worried about its movements. Whether we want it to be or not, American influence on the world, on Canada, and on Quebec, is strong. Also, it may be the citizen’s duty to know the nature of the beast. The Quebec economy, for example, is not immune to the American president’s tempestuous decisions, and we also know that popular trends in all areas south of the border never hesitate to move up here. Under these circumstances, it is never bad to know what to expect.

Business and Cinema

The radio show Aujourd’hui L’histoire, broadcast on ICI Premiere and hosted by the wonderful Jacques Beauchamp, is often useful in this regard. A model of lively historical popularization, this enjoyable and instructive broadcast discusses subjects both Quebecois and foreign. Les Editions du Septentrion had the good sense to develop a new collection, the first two titles of which are focused on the U.S.

In ”Les Grandes Affaires Politiques Américaines,” political scientist Karine Prémont clearly and vigorously discusses eight events that have defined the country’s recent history. Her style combines factual accuracy with narrative fluidity. Reading her prose is as enjoyable and captivating as watching a historical television series, with the bonus of rigorous research.

In about 20 pages each, Prémont transforms complex issues into clarifying narratives, including the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal and the Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky affairs. In her work on the assassinations of brothers John F. and Robert F. Kennedy, she brings out the legendary character of American politics. She notes that many people said they had seen the Kennedy assassination live on television in 1963. However, the images were not broadcast until 12 years later! She adds that, in 1964, 64% of Americans said they had voted for Kennedy, “although he was elected by a very small margin in 1960.” Memory, we are once again reminded, is not history.

In Le Cinéma Américain, critic Helen Faradji examines cult films—Citizen Kane, the Godfather, Star Wars, Indiana Jones—and some great figures—Fred Astaire, Marilyn Monroe, the Coen brothers, and Tarantino. Although I like almost none of the films she discusses, with the possible exception of Fargo, I nevertheless devoured this little book.

Faradji has a doctorate in cinema and demonstrates a mastery of her subject: her technical discussions of the films are fascinating; she has a sense of image—“Fred Astaire’s style is a little like Roger Federer’s tennis: giving an impression of elegance and ease,” she writes—and an explanatory narrative. Even when defending Tarantino’s films, which I find vulgar and insignificant, Faradji kept me interested, which is no small feat. I continue to believe, like former critic Paul Toutan, that this filmmaker “doesn’t have much to say, except for pow pow boom boom,” but what Faradji says made me think.

Like me, you might think that there are too many American films in Quebec—around 80% of the market, year in, year out—and that there is too much Trump. But that is not a reason to not take an intelligent interest in America.