Is Canada going down the slopes?

Of all the pos­sible imagery the Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment could have chosen for the cover of the speech from the throne, they chose the worst pic­ture possible.

Sliding, down a hill. Why pick this image?!

bad choice

Why would any­one in their right mind choose a pic­ture of tobog­gan­ing for the cover of a speech about eco­nomic recov­ery?  By choos­ing a pho­to­graph of a sport where people will­ingly throw them­selves down a hill at high-speed, some­times with bumps along the way, the design­ers of this cover inex­tric­ably linked the report with the idea of decline.

There are count­less other images that could have worked. Winter is almost over, they could have used a spring­time image. Spring is all about rebirth and renewal. A bud­ding plant is a great visual meta­phor. Someone tend­ing a garden or plant­ing a field would have worked just fine.

Even a cover without a pho­to­graph would prob­ably have been better.

View CommentsIs Canada going down the slopes?

  • saty

    hahahaha hil­ari­ous!

  • pratha

    You already know how funny I think this is. I sent your post to my Cre­at­ive Dir­ector Tony, his com­ments back to me: “I agree, but he misses the point. The Con­ser­vat­ives use imagery that rein­forces THEIR vis­ion of Canada: A hearty nation in which cherub-faced white male Chris­tian chil­dren enjoy winter sports. Sure we’re a mul­ti­cul­tural, mul­tiracial, largely agnostic nation of city dwell­ers … but that doesn’t fit with THEIR vis­ion. Moreover, using “green” imagery that doesn’t involve a John Deer tractor and a field of ADM-engineered wheat won’t cut it either.”

  • Tony is right, and he makes a really good point.

    The Con­ser­vat­ives are pro­ject­ing the image of what they stand to pro­tect and con­serve. In that sense this is a pretty power­ful image. This image is a flag. It calls for a regroup­ment, a ral­ly­ing of the troups. The use of this type of divid­ing image (although not as extreme as some) is meant, as Tony says, to speak to people who share their vision.

    A divis­ive tenor is a part of the fac­tion­al­ism of Cana­dian polit­ics, where diver­gent regional interests take pre­ced­ence over coordin­ated responses to the greatest need. It is also the most fas­cin­at­ing thing about this image. We are increas­ingly liv­ing in a coun­try where a white boy on a sled doesn’t rep­res­ent every­one. In the abs­cence of a national racial and cul­tural ideal, where do we find images that do speak to everyone?

    Did I men­tion that I just came back from Que­bec city? I find it funny how closely Con­ser­vat­ive imagery resembles seperatist.

    p.s. When I’m tak­ing pot-shots at the Con­ser­vat­ives I’m preach­ing to the crowd too.

  • pratha

    Con­ser­vat­ives *are* separatists.

    I bet all this dis­cus­sion stems from someone in the com­mu­nic­a­tions office want­ing to use a photo of their kid. To think, it all could’ve been avoided by using a photo of a crocus.

  • Miss Melanie

    Ha ha, I love that post Jackson.

  • pratha

    Con­ser­vat­ives *are* separatists.

    I bet all this dis­cus­sion stems from someone in the com­mu­nic­a­tions office want­ing to use a photo of their kid. To think, it all could’ve been avoided by using a photo of a crocus.

  • mb

    always my favour­ite, and per­haps a bet­ter choice?

    http://broadcastthis.files.wordpress.com/2008/1...

    “claw­ing our way out of fiscal uncertainty.”

  • how could I for­get that instant classic!

  • pratha

    Another example of a…um…questionable photo choice:
    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tHyVWN_FhI0/S5Zpya6Pa...

  • pratha

    Another example of a…um…questionable photo choice:
    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tHyVWN_FhI0/S5Zpya6Pa...

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