Insignificant and occasionally interesting contributions to the cognition of reality…

Illustration by Andreas Hykade. Courtesy of Chris Robinson.

It’s hockey season. I just got a copy of an NFB DVD that included one of my fave toons, The Sweater. And this month, Disney is releasing a collection of Goofy cartoons on DVD that includes the wacky Hockey Homicide. In 1996 I programmed a series of animation films about hockey that included both of these films. They are well animated and designed --- blah, blah, blah --- but what struck me was their very different views of hockey. First off Canadians are apparently obsessed with hockey. It’s their religion. That’s true to a degree, but mostly it’s just media driven nonsense. It’s like saying that all Americans are gun toting, war loving, flag waving, SUV driving, right wing assholes with mall-coiffed trophy bitches. Besides, hockey has a long history in the U.S. dating back to 1898 when Harvard began playing varsity games. The first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup was the 1917 Seattle Millionaires. A year before that, the Portland Rosebuds lost in the finals to the Montreal Canadiens. Point being: the U.S. has as much hockey history as Canada, albeit not as sweepingly intense. Still I was struck by how each film seemed to echo its nation’s ideologies.

Two Takes
Hockey Homicide features only Goofy characters but isn't part of those usual "how to" films with Goofy trying to learn some new sport. There ain't ANY attempt to understand hockey here (and that’s part of the joke). The film opens with a wide shot of a non-descript hockey arena. Hockey as island, a moment out of nowhere, existing outside of society. The narration comes on at a blistering horserace meets auctioneer pace. Before you can even grasp where the hell you are…the game turns into an endless stream of violent madness. There is no logic, no context or history, just chaos. The players beat the shit out of each other. No moment to stop. No trust. Always moving forward. Space is brutalized, dominated, controlled. As the multiple Goofy faces suggest, there are no individuals, no identities. Everyone is the same. Depersonalized. There is no respect for the opponent. They are to be beaten. Plain/simple. Everything reduced to extremes. As the pace of the madness increases, the images (and announcer) lose control. We see whales, baseball games, airplanes, an assortment of unrelated images that rival Bunuel. The final shot shows the players sitting in the stands watching a massive brawl on the ice between the fans. The narrator huffs and puffs as he barely manages to emit his final punch line: "That’s why they call hockey a spectator sport." Ba ha. Ha.

The Sweater (1980) is based on a short story by Quebec writer, Roch Carrier. Set in 1946 in a small village in Quebec, the story is told from the perspective of a young boy. His days are dominated by hockey. When he is not listening to the Montreal Canadiens games on the radio, he is playing hockey on the local rink with his friends. The boy and his friends all wear Montreal sweaters and aspire to be Maurice "Rocket" Richard, the most famous Montreal player. One day the kid’s Canadiens sweater becomes too small. His mother orders a new one, but when the package arrives he discovers a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey inside. The Leafs are the most hated hockey team in the world! Despite the kid’s bitching, his mother insists that he wears it. Now the boy must go to the rink with his blue and white sweater and join the boys who all wear the red, white and blue sweaters of the Montreal Canadiens. When the boy finds himself riding the pine for most of the game, he snaps, screams, "This is persecution!" and breaks his stick. Suddenly, a very menacing, larger than life pastor appears, tells the kid off and sends him to church to ask for God’s forgiveness. However…the boy asks God to send moths to eat his Maple Leafs jersey.

If there is a film that captures the essence of a Canada that was, it’s The Sweater. Hockey is part of daily life in this world. It is deeply connected with childhood, family, language, culture, and even religion. The radio games bring together family and community. The rink becomes a stage, a dreamland as the boys impersonate the Rocket in the hopes that they can escape their small town. More specifically (at least in The Sweater), hockey brings the people of Quebec together. Rocket Richard is more than a hockey player…he is a leader, a god, a rebel, whose every goal against those anglo fucks from Toronto represents a small victory for the Quebecois. Richard carries their hopes of one day overcoming poverty and anglo oppression. He inspires confidence, passion and defiance. In 1954, Montrealers rioted the streets after (English) NHL President, Clarence Campbell, suspended the Rocket for the entire playoffs after he punched a referee. That’s what Richard meant to Quebec.