The Comic Book Bin
Canuck (78) Articles


TopShelf Month

Darkhorse Month

Women's Month


 
Comics : Canuck
Last Updated: Oct 20, 2009 - 7:25:21 AM




What's a Phoque?
By Hervé St-Louis
Sep 22, 2008 - 19:45:06 PM

Email this Article
 Printer Friendly Page
 Mobile Friendly Page

Add to Del.icio.us     Add To Reddit
Add To Digg     Add To Stumbleupon
Add To Technorati Favorites     Add To Ask


I love the Quebec song, Un Phoque en Alaska ( A Seal In Alaska). So I was surprised when I heard of this viral video created by Quebec artists about the budget cuts the Conservative Government has promised for Canadian artists throughout the land using this classic folk song from the 1970s. Un Phoque en Alaska was created by the singer in the video and is one of those songs guys usually sing real loud when they just got dumped. The seal complains that his girlfriend left him for a circus in the United States to bounce balls on her nose. So the seal complains that he's alone on his ice bank, dreaming about his girl and wishing he could see her show.

The chorus says "Bouncing balloons on your nose ain't worth it. It makes kids laugh, but doesn't last long. Once all the kids are old, no one laughs" - a good song.

The guys in Quebec woke up and decided to protest during the current federal election, against the Conservative's social conservatism and politically influenced cuts to major art funding programs that allow Canadian comic book publishers, such as Arcana, Drawn & Quarterly and Udon Comics to apply for grants to travel to places like the San Diego Comic-Con.

The ad also attacks the social conservatist agenda of the Harper Government and their censuring tendencies. The ad also plays up traditional English/French language confusion and miscomprehension. It's a good video, and I'm hoping English Canada will come out with its own version before the end of the election. Although the producers of this ad are unknown, the actors are well known Quebec humorist, one of them who played in one France's Astérix movies, and of course, Michel Rivard who gave this magnificent song to the world.

Enjoy




Related Articles:
Harper Government‘s Social Conservatism Agenda Creeps into a Theatre Near You



Comment Script Join the discussion:

Add a Comment

Comments


© Copyright 2002-2009, Coolstreak Cartoons Inc. - All rights Reserved. All other texts, images, characters and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Use of material in this document(including reproduction, modification, distribution, electronic transmission or republication) without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

Top of Page

WestJet's Bad Customer Service
Why does Westjet take credit when employees make them look good and rejects the blame when it makes them look bad?
Jan's Atomic Heart
One of the best 6$ I have spent at a small publisher this year.
True Loves vol.1
A very good romance comic book that should please everyone.
Captain Canuck vol.1
Terrorists and criminals of all kind beware! Captain Canuck and his acolytes are back in this first volume reprinting issues #4-10 of the original adventures of this Canadian comic book icon
The Palm Pre’s Poor French – Le Palm Pré coule son français
Palm, like many other companies, such Apple, Adobe and Microsoft often uses poor French in its products
Fan Expo Gallery
A gallery of last weekend's Fan Expo in Toronto showing the diversity of the city and its comic book convention.
State of Canadian Comic Books Debate
Surveying the landscape of Canadian comics at the Word on the Street Toronto festival
Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth #1
A boy with antlers; he's the "sweet" of this title.
Montreal Comic-Con
The Montreal Comic-Con will be held on the weekend of September 19th-20th, 2009
Jungle Tales #1
An homage to the jungle girls of the Golden Age.
I'm crazy
An autobiographical tale about love, humanity and mental illness.
Jaywalking in Montreal - A Special Feature
The art of jaywalking in Montreal with style explained by an expatriate from Montreal
Does Canada Need a Master Cartoonist Like Doug Wright?
The notion of a Canadian master cartoonist, like Doug Wright imposes a rigid cast system that shuts off any debate about Canadian comic book arts
The Collected Doug Wright Vol. 1
Doug Wright doesn't deserve to be called Canada's master cartoonist and he is not the equivalent of Charles Schulz
Toronto Comic Arts Festival Endorsed by Liberal's Bob Rae
Bob Rae requests no apologies from Doug Wright Awards for discriminatory practices