Social historians have been understandably wary of the contents of motion pictures.
Their reticence to use film as a socio-historical document stems from a valid assumption that,
since almost every film is to some degree a fictional construction, no film or group of films
may be said to accurately reflect a society. In this study, however, a society is presented that
a historian may credibly claim to be accurately represented by film since it exists wholly in
film. It is the cinematic society created by the film archives of the National Film Board of
Canada (NFB).
'NFB society' is set in the 8,000 films produced since 1939 under the NFB mandate:
"to interpret Canada to Canadians." Anchored physically, socially, and intellectually to the
course of Canadian society and the state, this cinematic micro-society possesses a coherent
Social history, which can be re-created by juxtaposing, synchronically and diachronically,
films with like social scenarios. In so doing, patterns of social life, especially social relations
in the micro-society may be observed in transience. NFB children play a significant role in
this transience of NFB society, particularly in regard to dramatic changes in family, school,
and community life which take place after the 1960s.
Key to an explanation of the historical movement that develops within NFB families,
schools, and communities are the 'progressive' socializing structures that replace traditional
ones in the society in celluloid. Of particular interest are the social outcomes of the mental
hygiene movement following its introduction into Film Board families in 1946 and schools in
1953. Over the decades of this study, the authority of NFB parents, teachers, and community
leaders over the socialization of children is diminished by their adoption of the principles of
mental hygiene, their influence over their children gradually supplanted by the influence of
the cinematic state.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10160 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Low, Brian John |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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