No, not much is usually said about Canada in the wars. Hell, we don't even hear all that much in Canada itself. In fact, I knew hardly anything about Passchendaele and the terrible cost involved. Usually, we hear about Vimy Ridge and Ypres. Apparently, the horrors of Passchendaele were played down because they were afraid it would have an adverse effect on recruitment.
I hope the movie will be available outside of Canada, even if it's only on DVD. As I was saying to windrose, it's not as grim and depressing as I thought it might be, though I do recommend a box of tissues. ;-)
There's still a lot of disagreement over Passchendaele to this day, which is why you don't tend to hear much about it. The Brits especially don't like talking about it, and resisted admitting any culpability in the matter for years.
Case in point would be the mystery novel THE WOOD BEYOND by Reginald Hill. A good portion of the book deals with the lead character discovering what happened to his grandfather during the Battle of Passchendaele. However, when the BBC adapted it to screen, they cut all mention of Passchendaele out entirely and changed the WW1 subplot to something less controversial.
I can see why Passchendaele would be a controversal subject -- and not just for the British. Canada has played a role in trying to hush it up too. I think it began as an effort not to frighten off potential recruits. I'm sure the reasons after that were even more varied and complex.
It's interesting that the BBC chose to cut all mention of Passchendaele from their adaptation of The Wood Beyond. I guess even now it's something people feel touchy about.
Oh, and it's kinda hard to ignore the Canadians in that particular battle, as they're the ones who finally managed to take the town after everyone else failed miserably. It was a bloody, Pyrrhic victory, mind. But they still kicked major ass. :)
The Brits tend to bury their heads in the sand when you meantion any war really. They stuffed up so bad so many times, it's kind of embarrassing for them. They sent men in places and ordered them to do things that you wouldn't order a dog to do. Those in charge never gave a shit about the soldiers. Over here the poppies are well known, and for the right reasons. We have what we call ANZAC day. It 'celebrates' New Zealand and Australian soldiers that fought in all the wars, even Vietnam. But mainly it's about WW1. I've never liked calling it the Great War, never made sense to me. We make sure our children know what happened, they need to know and be proud that the men of this little country fought for our freedom. We have incredible respect for our soldiers!
It was funny in the theatre last night because there were two boys sitting in the row in front of me who got in the habit of punching the air and saying, "Yay, Canada!" during certain points in the film. However, the one kid obviously has to work on his reading and comprehension skills because he said, "Yay, Canada!" after a line came up on the screen saying that the enemy front took Passchendaele back the following year. I was tempted to point out that this was not a "Yay, Canada!" moment as all those men essentially sacrificed their lives for nothing. I mean, it was definitely heroic, and a big victory at the time, but what did it accomplish in the end?
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I hope the movie will be available outside of Canada, even if it's only on DVD. As I was saying to
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Case in point would be the mystery novel THE WOOD BEYOND by Reginald Hill. A good portion of the book deals with the lead character discovering what happened to his grandfather during the Battle of Passchendaele. However, when the BBC adapted it to screen, they cut all mention of Passchendaele out entirely and changed the WW1 subplot to something less controversial.
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It's interesting that the BBC chose to cut all mention of Passchendaele from their adaptation of The Wood Beyond. I guess even now it's something people feel touchy about.
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Over here the poppies are well known, and for the right reasons. We have what we call ANZAC day. It 'celebrates' New Zealand and Australian soldiers that fought in all the wars, even Vietnam. But mainly it's about WW1. I've never liked calling it the Great War, never made sense to me. We make sure our children know what happened, they need to know and be proud that the men of this little country fought for our freedom. We have incredible respect for our soldiers!
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Absolutely nothing. That's the real tragedy of Passchendaele: all that suffering, all those lives lost for nothing at all.