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Canadian culture is very difficult to define. There are very few unifying traits that identify a person as a true Canadian. Sure, for the most part there's hockey and the fact that we're all polite, but even so, is that all it takes to make us a part of the "true north strong and free"? Well, according to a new documentary entitled Let's All Hate Toronto, one thing that brings all Canadians together is their hatred for Toronto.
For the past year, directors Albert Nerenberg and Robert Spence have been hosting "Toronto Appreciation Days" in cities across Canada. Spence, who calls himself Mr. Toronto, would stand in front of a banner and sing songs and give speeches to passers-by while Nerenberg filmed. Crowds would gather around the spectacle, and people would often step out of the crowd to regale others with their personal feelings towards the city. According to Nerenberg, they would time how long it took for someone to tell them off, and in every case it was less than a minute. In Montreal, they hadn't even unrolled the banner before someone walked by and shouted a string of expletives.
Aside from hosting the Toronto Appreciation Days, they interviewed scholars and celebrities alike about their hatred for Hogtown, and the responses were very colourful. Punk Rocker Joey "Shithead" Keithley from the band DOA said that Torontonians were all "soulless, one-eyed corporate zombies." Owch. Even worse, on Nerenberg's list of cities that hate Toronto the most, Toronto itself ranks at number 3, behind Vancouver and Montreal.
The world premiere of Let's All Hate Toronto is on Friday April 20, 2007 at the Bloor Cinema as part of the Hot Docs film festival. There is a second screening on Saturday, April 28, also at the Bloor.
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Looks funny as hell.
Meh, I'm used to it.
They're just jealous!
(Honestly I hate the "jealous" excuse when stupid quasi-tribalism comes up, but what *real* reason do people across the country have to hate Toronto?)
Everybody hates the big kid on the block. In much of the states, a lot of people hate LA and New York, just because of the influence they have on culture and the country as a whole. In Canada, including in Toronto, a lot of people dislike America for the same reason.
I think it's stupid and petty. Judge people on an individual basis, not on the region they're from. Why do we let people get away with this low-level prejudice so easily?
because we're from toronto and don't care what others think?
Here in the States, those of us with two or more brain cells to rub together hate LA in part because it is a vapid, fake, dessicated wasteland (both literally and figuratively) which nonetheless dictates our collective tastes and serves as our cultural arbiter.
Its reputation in the national consciousness, along with the praise continually heaped upon it, make one incredulous to say the least, in light of the reality. If you've ever been to LA, you know that it's a pretty damned ugly, unappealing, almost feral place, where for example you can see the "air" you breathe.
It is an entertainment and glitz hub. That's it.
Such useless, hollow, one-dimensional non-places wielding disproportionate influence over/within a nation for whatever reason should always be resented and loathed (others on our side of the border include Atlanta and DC).
New York, on the other hand, is so much more, faults notwithstanding. At least it's a real city. Likewise I would hardly speak of Toronto so disparagingly, although I appreciate some of the parallels arising from its singular alpha position in Canadian society and culture. I think of Toronto in some ways like Seattle, a wonderful, multifaceted place that happens to get a lot of good press, and resentment as a result.
"Don't Hate Me 'Cuz I'm Beautiful" syndrome.
I've always had a rather favorable impression of Toronto, although I've never been. It seems like a sensible alternative to our own major cities. Lots of upside without all the crap (except the cold). For what it's worth, I have visited both Montreal and Vancouver numerous times, and I love both...