Social Media, the Folk, and Bizarre Stories of Nova Scotia · 2018. 12. 14. · CJMS Winter 2018 / RCÉM hiver 2018 76 Critical Essay Social Media, the Folk, and Bizarre Stories of

CJMSWinter2018/RCÉMhiver2018

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CriticalEssaySocialMedia,theFolk,andBizarreStoriesofNovaScotiaMatthewHayes,TrentUniversityLachlanMacKinnon,CapeBretonUniversityAbstractThisessayrecountsanumberofso-called“bizarre”newsreportsfromNovaScotia,andthereactionstothemonsocialmedia,asameansofexploringthefruitfulnessofadigitalhistoryapproachtoregionalismandtheideaoftheprovincial “Folk.”Such stories might be considered a contemporarymanifestation of the Folk - albeit one that is presented through a digitalmediumthatcreatesopportunitiesforculturalproducersandconsumerstoenter into conversation about the style, context, and meaning of suchrepresentations. The essay is exploratory and offers some tentativeconclusions - particularly that thephenomenonof "bizarre"news reportsfromtheprovince isveryheavilyaffectedbyclassconflict,but thatsocialmediaallowsanewgenerationofculturalproducersthemeanstotalkbackto Folk representations of Nova Scotia. However, the essay is largelyconcernedwithmaking a connection betweenmedia studies ofwhat hasbeencalled“convergenceculture”andmore traditionalstudiesofAtlanticCanadiansocietyandculture.Keywords:bizarre,Folk,NovaScotia,socialmedia,digitalhistory,newsstories.IntroductionNovaScotiansareabizarrebunch.Atleast,thatistheimpressionthatone might come away with from a growing collection of stories inCanadian media about the quirks, oddities, and uncommonoccurrences that apparently characterize much of life in Canada’sOceanPlayground.FromtheHuffingtonPostcoverageofThis,That,andTheOtherstreetsinPorter’sLake(“FunnyStreetNames”2013)to


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anincidentattheParrsboroTimHortonswhereinamanbrokeintothe coffee franchise to brewhimself a beverage (Lipscombe 2015),such pieces can be read as humorous collections of the absurd.Sometimes, theyuncomfortably turn tragedies into comedy.A2014article in Metro News, for instance, describes a double stabbing inHalifaxthatsawoneinjuredmanreturnfromthehospitalandattackhisassailant–hisroommate.Insteadofexploringtheseriousissuesatplay in that sad circumstance, drug and alcohol dependency andeconomicdisparitychiefamongthem,theauthorwascontenttofallbackupontheeasynostrumsoftheprovincial“bizarre.”Thus,astoryaboutamanbeing“stabbedseveraltimestohisbody”inaprolongedattackthatresulted inchargesofattemptedmurderandaggravatedassault was leavened into easily digestible entertainment moresuitable for a breakfast-table chuckle or a raised eyebrow on themorningcommute(Croucher2014).1

ThesestoriesarenotuniquetoNovaScotia.OneNewfoundlandeventwentinternationalwhentheLondondailypaperTheGuardiancoveredastoryaboutaSt.John’sboywhowonabowlingcompetitiononly to have his gold medal stripped from him as the result of atechnical rule prohibiting the wearing of jeans (Hill 2017). Similarstories have been found across the country; this essay, however,focuses onmedia coverage of bizarre stories fromNova Scotia as amanifestation of a particular form of regional representation. Suchstories might be considered a contemporary manifestation of theprovincial “Folk” - albeit one that is presented through a digitalmedium that createsopportunities forproducersandconsumers toenterintoconversationaboutthestyle,context,andmeaningofsuchrepresentationsthroughsocialmediaplatforms.Thisessayrecountsanumberof“bizarre”newsreportsfromNovaScotia,andthereactionstothemonsocialmedia,asameansofexploringthefruitfulnessofadigitalhistory approach to regionalism and the “Folk.”The essay isexploratory, offering some tentative conclusions at the end, but islargelyconcernedwithmakingaconnectionbetweenmediastudiesofwhat has been called “convergence culture” and more traditionalstudiesofAtlanticCanadiansocietyandculture. 1The levityof thesestoriesalso tends todistract fromanumberofmuchdarkerstoriescomingfromNovaScotiainrecentyears,including,forinstance,themurderofRaymondTaavel,theattackonScottJones,RehteahParsons’suicide,andthecrossburning inWindsor.Thesestories reveal serious tensions in theprovincearoundgender and ethnicity that are not dealt with in this paper, but clearly point tocomplicationswiththeFolkimage.


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ThestoriesThemediastoriesrunthegamut frommildlyunusual to thoroughlybizarre–atermmarshaledhereintentionallytohighlighttheextenttowhich it is used to describe Nova Scotians and Nova Scotia-basedoccurrences. In March 2015,Metro Halifax reported on a “bizarre”bitingincidentthatresultedinalocalgroomspendingthenightintheHalifax jail.Theman andhisnewwife–both still in theirweddingattire–werecelebratingataNewMinasbarwhenthemanbecameinvolvedinanimbrogliowithanotherlocalwomanand–accordingtothe published story - proceeded to bite heron the face. The Crownattorney described the incident as a “bizarre assault,” with thepresiding judge likewise highlighting the “element of bizarreness”inherent to the story (Starratt 2015). The term was used again todescribeaJanuary2015altercationbetweenNovaScotiaLiberalMLAAndrewYoungerandamunicipalclerk,whoallegedlybitYoungerandtorehisjacketwhilemeetingatSirSandfordFlemingParkinHalifax(BruceandGorman2015).

Manyarticlesalsodescendintopre-emptiveapologeticsfortheapparentstrangenessofthenewscomingoutofNovaScotia.“EvenbyNovaScotiastandards, thissittingof theNovaScotia legislaturehasbeenaweirdone,”beginsanarticledetailingrecentpoliticalscandalsinvolving secret recordings, nepotism, and the unethical leaking ofMLA medical information (Laroche 2015). BuzzFeed’s piece fromFebruary2016,“30StrangeThingsThatCouldOnlyHappenInNovaScotia,”similarlypresents theprovinceasunique in itsstrangeness.Thearticlecomprisesalistofevents,includingasquirrelblamedfordisrupting the electricity to thousands of Nova Scotia Powercustomers,theopeningofan“S&MB&B”inStellarton,andthemassivesuccess of a Jamie Oliver knife give-away arranged by the Sobey’sgrocerychain(Silverman2016).

While many articles deal with events from Halifax and thesurrounding area, the stories involving CapeBreton are sometimesimbuedwithaparticularlyglaringdimensionofclasscondescension.One viral video, posted as “Cape Breton Redneck loses it onsnowplow,”foundinternationalcoverage–withtheCBCdraftinganarticletitled,“OnlyinCapeBreton?‘Rednecksnowplow’cleansupthestreets.”Thisarticle reports thatwhile “a [convertible]2000GrandPrixmaynotbethevehicleofchoiceformostcommercialsnowplows,


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the driver doesn’t seem to havemuch troublemaneuvering snowystreetsinthetwo-wheeldrive”(“CapeBreton”2016).SimilarcoveragewasaffordedinrecentyearstoanotherviralvideoofamooseintheCape Breton Highlands, wherein the nearby residents are heard tospeakinthickregionaldialects(Mills2012),aswellasthenewsstoriessurroundingtheappearanceofaChrist-imageonthewalloftheBrasd’OrTimHortons(Bradley2016).

OnesuchtalebeginswiththeheistofanOldDutchpotatochip

delivery truck fromMiddleton inearly January2016.“It couldhavebeenrandomorsomeonewithachipontheirshoulder,”describesthenewspaperpiece(Fairclough2016).NearlyadozenarticlesdescribedaHalifaxmanwhowascaughtred-handedwhilegrillingastolenrackofribsonthebackyardbarbequeofanunsuspectinghomeowner.Thenews media, as well as the spokesperson for the Halifax RegionalPolice, made ample use of humour in describing the incident: theyoungmanwasa“carnivorousculprit”whoattempted“anill-advisedculinary plot.” The police were said to have “dished out” multiplechargesfor“beingabadthiefandanevenworsecook.”BrianPalmeter,thepolicespokesman,stated,“weshouldthrowthecookbookathimbecausehe ruinedaperfectlygood rackof ribs”, and thatwhile thehomeownerwasable toput the fireout, “themealwasa total loss”(Brennan2011).

The above examples are a selection of the type of stories

considered emblematic of the “Nova Scotia bizarre.” In any othercircumstance, they might seem unremarkable. Considering therepeatedlanguagefoundwithin–especiallythatwhichsignifieseitherdeprecatinghumourortheappeal-to-incomprehension–itbecomesclear that such representations are part of a larger narrative about“insider”and“outsider”framingofNovaScotiaanditsresidents.

ClassandtheFolkSuch representations are not simply stereotypes developed forconsumptionbytheextra-provincial“Other.”Indeed,thereisasensethat such ascriptions are often embraced – both ironically and un-ironically–asconstituentpiecesofNovaScotianprovincialidentity.JohnMcCullough,writingoftheresponsetotheostensiblyclassistandstereotypical representationof theprovince foundwithin televisionprograms such as Gullage’s and Trailer Park Boys, addresses thispossibilitydirectly.Hedescribes:


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Itwouldbeunfairand inaccurateto leavethe impressionthat[suchrepresentations] . . . serveonly tonormalizepovertyandsocial devolution in the context of globalization by trading inexcessivehumanistsentiment.Intheirownways,ithastobesaidthat [these stories] are also pregnant with the progressivepossibilities of cultural production that is recognizably locallymade and politically resistant (McCullough 2009: 166).ThesamemightbesaidofthewaysinwhichsomeNovaScotia

socialmediausershaverespondedtostoriesthatpositionthemwithintheregionalstereotype. When examined holistically, commonalities soon becomevisiblewithineachofthestoriesherein.Utilizingthelensputforwardbyrecentworksofregionalliterarycriticism,thesepiecesappeartouphold Peter Thompson’s contention that “Canada’s East Coast hasbeen, likeeveryotherplace in theworld,reshapedbyglobalization,the expansion of consumer culture, and an increasingly neo-liberalclimate – all of which seem to counteract received ideas about theregion” (Thompson2012:244).Hence,we seeanoutsized focusoncontemporary concerns about consumerism, modernity, and evenpopularculture.Food-relatedstoriesareespeciallypopularfodderfortheNova Scotia bizarre, such as theOldDutch potato chip deliverytruck theft inMiddletonand theHalifax rib thief. Food-loreand therelationship between culinary culture, humour, and representationare common – and here such practices are directly applied to theregion. For decades, urban legends have helped to illustrate ouremotionalattachmenttothegastronomic–fromAmericanfearsoverthe“KentuckyFriedRat”tothesemi-annualpanicthatemergesoversupposedrazorbladesinHalloweencandy(Brunvand2002).

In Canada, there is unlikely to be another chain as firmlyweddedtothesaccharineromanticismofanidealizednationalidentityas Tim Hortons. Steven Penfold has effectively interrogated theseintersectionsinhisTheDonut:ACanadianHistory.Hewrites,

Canadians did not invent the donut folklore so much as theyadded the donut to existingways of seeing their communities:Canada as a northern country, hockey as a national sport,Americaasanimaginedother...Muchofdonutfolkloreplayedon irony and absence, poking fun at the unsophisticatedhinterland and the pretentious metropolis, half-jokingly


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recognizing that few things united Canadians besides a coffeeand donut, and that places like Hamilton and St Catharineslacked culture but made up for it with lunch bucket charm(Penfold2008,188).If Andrew Wernick (1993, 297) is correct that “Canadian

consciousness...knowsitselftoberootedinthedulldailyexperienceoflivinginaperipheralizedregioninwhichnothingreallyhappens,”then what more can such media representations – replete withhumourandappealstoincomprehension–tellusaboutthewaysthatNova Scotians are perceived? While “bizarre” Tim Hortons storiesemergefromacrossthecountry,theseandtheotherstoryexamplesthataredescribedabovetapintoestablishedtropes,stereotypes,andbeliefsaboutlifeinNovaScotia.

Class plays an important, albeit under-examined, role in thepresentation of such stories. While not ubiquitous, many of thesestoriescontainworking-classprotagonistswhoconformtoparticularclass-basedstereotypesoftheobserverwhoregardsthemthroughamedia lens. In the Atlantic Canadian context, the choice of leg-coveringsbyajean-cladNewfoundlandboyisintegraltothe“bizarre”natureofthestory-andisalsodeeplyrootedintheclasshistoryofdenimjeans.Jeans,ofcourse,havelongbeenasymbolofworking-classmasculinity.Althoughgainingabroaderappeal after the1930s, thepants have remained a symbolic representation of the idealized,broad-shouldered, industrial working-class men that are foundthroughoutAmericanpopularculture(Comstock2011).Indeed,jeansasasymbolofsocialclasshaveexpandedbeyondthebordersofNorthAmerica to influence youth fashion culture throughout Europe andAsia(Ege2011).Inthissense,astoryofaboyinbluejeanshavinghismedal stripped away contains undertones of class-conflict withininstitutionalized,organizedsportingcompetitions.

Evenmoreobviousexamplesofthemediaconflationbetweentheregional,theprovincial,andlow-brow,working-classculturearethereferencestothe“CapeBretonredneck.”Redneckcultureanditsvariousiterationsandrepresentationshavebeenfodderforextensivescholarly examination. In the United States, representationalstereotypes ofwhite Southerners as “rednecks” or “hillbillies” havebeen–atdifferenttimesandindifferentways–bothcondemnedandacceptedbythoseonthereceivingend.AsMatthewFerrencewritesinAllAmericanRedneck,“Atitsdeepestcore,theideologicalRedneck...


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reliesonanartificialnotionofSouthernnessandruralwhitenessthatcreates a phantasmagoric Redneck icon. Within this constructedimage, the real identity conditions of people of the South andAppalachia[regardlessofactuallyexistingsocialclass]areconsumedbyanexaggeratedpopular culturevisionof the redneck” (2014,8).Othersweartheterm,andappropriatetheassociatedstereotypes,asa badge of honour – albeit one that is often rooted directly in thehierarchicalpositionaffordedtoitsbearersbytheracialdominanceof“whiteness”(Harkins2004,42).JonathanVance(2016),threadingtheneedle,extollsthevirtuesof“hillbilly”identitywhilesimultaneouslycondemningthoseheleftbehindinAppalachia(afterleavingforYaleLawSchool) for theirregressive cultureandself-pity.Or, as JacobinreviewerBobHutton(2016)putsit,“Vance’spersonalstorypermitshimtoclaimthetermhillbilly,thenscoldhisfellowhillbilliesfortheirculturalandmoralfailings.”FramingTheoryandConvergenceCultureInordertounderstandthereasonswhystoriesabouttheNovaScotiabizarrearepresented in thisway, it is important tounderstand theliterature surrounding media framing and journalisticrepresentationalforms.Aframeinanygivencommunicationisusedto promote a particular interpretation of a political issue or event(Chong and Druckman 2007, 106). It is a way of organizing one’sthoughtsorattitudestowardsanissue,andespeciallyofpushingthisattitudeontoanaudience,thattheymightalsocometosharethesameopinion.Mainstreammediahaveastheirprimaryobjectivethegoalofgetting audiences to see like the media, “as if this media gaze wasuntouched by bias or perspective” (Fleras 2011, ix). All news storiesemployaparticularframe,dependingonwhatthejournalistoreditorwishestheaudiencetobelieve.Thetheoryofmediaframingisrootedin sociologist Erving Goffman’s idea of “frame analysis”, whichcapturesthefeelingofapersonattemptingtoprovidea“definitionofthesituation”,of theattempttomakesenseof theirrolewithinanygiven social situation. Frame analysis further refers to the person’sidiosyncraticorganizationoftheirexperiencethroughaninterpretivelens theyunderstand tobeappropriate,whether consciouslyornot(Goffman1974,11).InthecaseofNovaScotia,classistrepresentationsoftheprovincialFolkoftenserveasthisparticularlens,withindividualnews reports of bizarre people and acts contributing to themaintenanceofthisimage.


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AccordingtoErinTolley(2015,15)“Themediaarenotpassivefacilitatorsbutinsteadhelpshapehowweseetheworldaroundus.”Mediaoutletsworktovariouslyconnect,shape,andmirrorwithintherelationship between citizen and politics. They connect citizens toinformationaboutpoliticsandthecountrygenerally,servingasoneoftheprimarymeansbywhichwestayinformed.Theyshapethestoriesthatareseen,actingasgatekeepersthat“funnelthepoliticaluniverseintoalimitedselectionofstories.”Andtheyostensiblyworktomirrorsociety to itself, although scholarship onmedia framing has clearlyshownthatthismirrorisheavilydistorted,reflectingacraftedversionof reality. In short, newsmedia do not simply go out and passivelycollect stories; they actively gather and transform nuggets ofinformationintostoriesthattheybelievewillsellthemosteffectively.Attheendoftheday,mediaoutletsarebusinessesworkingtosatisfycustomers.

Agenda-settinghasbeenmosteffectivelyanalyzedincasesof

framingrace.AugieFlerasandJeanLockKunz(2001,vii)writethatmedia constructions have “proven pivotal in shaping publicconsciousnessoverhowsocialdifferencesshouldbeconceptualizedorassessed.”Media“miscasting”ofracehasresultedinconstructionsofimmigrants andminorities “as a threat to the status quo, a risk tonationalinterests,inconsistentwithcorevaluesandinstitutions,andinimicaltoaunitedandprosperousCanada”(FlerasandKunz2001,viii).ThemassmediainCanadahascontinuedtocastminoritiesasaproblem,framingstoriesaboutthemintermsofcontroversy:“Whennotignoredasirrelevantorinferior,thosedemographicsconsidereddiverse and different are routinely framed as ‘troublesomeconstituents’whoconstituteproblemsintheirownrightorwhocreateproblems involving cost or inconvenience” (Fleras 2011, viii). OnerecentexampleofthisisfoundwithinanOctober2017interviewwithfederal New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, when CBCjournalistTerryMilewskiconfrontedSinghwithaquestionabouthisperspectiveontheAirIndiabombing(Muzyka2017).Itseemsunlikelythat white Canadians would be similarly asked to weigh in on adecades-oldcrimetowhichtheironlyrelationshipwerethecolouroftheirskinortheirreligion.

Manyof themedia representationsofNovaScotians that are

examinedwithinthisarticleexhibitasimilarbiasagainstprovincialresidents, colouring them – in the meanwhile – with some fairlyrepugnant class-based stereotypes. In essence, Nova Scotians as a


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whole–andCapeBretonersinparticular-arepresentedaspurveyorsof “low”orworking-class culture,whereasextra-regionalonlookersaretheneutral,disinterestedobserver.Itis“Othering”inaction,inthemostvisiblesense.Massmediahasanespeciallyimportantimpactonhow people think about poverty, wealth, and class relationships.Newspaper articles and television entertainment programs inparticulararelargelyresponsiblefortheconstructionof“mythsandnegative stereotypes about theworking class and the poor [which]createareality thatseemingly justifies thesuperiorpositionsof theupper-middleandupper classesandestablishes themasentitled totheirprivilegedpositioninthestratificationsystem”(Kendall2005,2-3).

Diana Kendall argues that news media hold the ownershipclassesinawe,subtlyshapingtheiraudiencetodothesame,whereastheyportraypoor,precariouslyemployed,orhomelesspopulationsas“inneedofourpityor,atworst,asdoomedbytheirownshortcomings”(2005, 4). The bizarre stories presented in recent accounts arefrequentlyframedtodepictNovaScotiansinjustthisway.Thepeopleandeventsarecoveredasodd,oftenruralandfolksy,andverymuchdoomedbytheirshortcomings.Thecommondenominatorisanissueof class difference and the way in which news media frame theworking-classes.

Thetwomostcommonwaysusedtoframethesebizarrestories

about Nova Scotia are through appeals to humour andincomprehension. Nearly all the featured stories make fun of thepeople depicted, through puns or through what is taken to be theinherenthilarityofthesituation.Onestoryinsistedthatfunnystreetnames in Porters Lake brought “hilarity and head-scratching,”assuming they would provide “excellent material for a Canadiansitcom.”InthestoryabouttheParrsboromaninthecoffeeshop,policewere quoted as saying that “[n]o employees or doughnuts wereharmed during the incident”. Referring to the same story, a pressreleaseontheRCMPwebsiteitselfdescribedtheincidentas“double-doubletrouble”.Thevariousversionsoftheribthiefstoryallincludethepolicespokesmansaying“themealwasatotalloss”,aswellastheotherpunsmentionedabove.TheneighboursofStellarton’sinfamousS&MB&B,ontheotherhand,refusedto“submit”totheownerintheplanstore-openthebusiness.

Several other stories were framed in terms of

incomprehension.OneinvolvingtheLegislature’sfallsittingdescribes


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theperiodasespecially “weird”and “strange”, appealingdirectly to“an ever incredulous” audience. The story about the roommatesstabbingoneanotherwasalsodescribedas “bizarre”and“strange,”and BuzzFeed frequently headlines stories about Nova Scotia byspecifically indicating that the “strange” things that followed couldonlyhappeninthatprovince.AnincidentofaBridgewatermanridingdrunk on his lawnmower was described as “unusual,” as was theParrsboroTimHorton’sbreak-in.ThestoryoftheStellartonB&Bwasdescribedas“unique,”andfinallythestoryofthe100-carlineupattheTruroTimHorton’sonChristmasDaywasframedas“unreal”.AllofthisincredulityunderpinsabroaderpresentationofNovaScotiaasaplacewherestrangepeopledostrangethings,incomprehensibletotheoutsideobserver.

Some of the stories also go one step further and include

conspicuousquotes fromwitnesseswhouse languagethatevokesafolksyaccent.AwitnesstotheTruroTimHorton’slineupisquotedasdescribing how the employees get paid “right well”. The groomarrestedforassaultinNewMinaswasquotedassayingthatthecourthad“lessened”theincident,leavingthiswordingambiguous.AnothervideoreportofthestoryoftheHalifaxribthiefshowedthevictim–holding an alcoholic beverage – describing howhe ran outside andfound that “the meat, she was a’burnin’”. For the most part thislanguageissubtle,butitisneverthelesseffectiveinframingthestoryfromtheoutset:thelanguageofunusualorbizarre,aswellasthepunsand humorous quotes from police andwitnesses, are always founddirectlyinthestory’sheadline,orattheverybeginningorendofthebody of the text, serving to immediately frame what follows or toremindthereaderofthewidercontext.

Whileframingtheoryprovidesinsightintohowthesetypesof

storiesareconstructed,thereisonefactorthathascometocomplicatethismodel.Sincetheadventof“Web2.0”andsocialmedia,thetheoryof“convergenceculture”hastakenshape.Thisideatacklesthenovelsituationinwhichconsumersofmediahavealsobecometheprimaryproducersoftheverysamemedia–whatmanynowcall“produsers”(Bruns2006).FacebookandTwitterareprimeexamplesofthismodel,being onlineplatforms onwhichusers consume information that isprimarilyproducedbyotherusersjustlikethemselves.AsBird(2011,502)writes,Web2.0hasenabledtheemergenceofamoreinteractiveenvironment for consumers, “representing an entirely new way ofseeing the media ‘audience’.” The change that the term “produser”


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reallyimpliesisanewdefinitionof“audience”andwhatitmeanstogeneratedigitalcontent–byandforwhom?Thischangealsoimpliesa potential breakdown of existing hierarchies. As Gross has noted,prior to the advent of the internet, communication studies focusedheavily on the role of television in “cultivating” attitudes and beliefsystems. Television viewershipwas a top-down, one-waymodel ofcommunication,asaudiencesusuallyhadnocontroloverwhatkindof“cultural fare” was created. The proliferation of the internet hasradically changed thismodel. The passive audience now comprisesactiveusers,whodohave(limited)controloverwhatkindofcontentthey consume. Whereas television networks once searched for thelargest mass audiences, digital media now targets their appeals tonichegroups.Gross(2009,67)concludes:“Evenwiththepowerlawdictating that a miniscule fraction of “prosumers” ever reach anaudiencelargerthantheirimmediatecircle,thetop-downtyrannyofthemediahasbeeneffectivelychallenged.”MethodologyThesocialmediaexamplesdrawnuponinthispaperareanexamplesof bottom-up challenges – or contributions to - media attempts tocultivateaFolkimageofNovaScotia.Usersarefrequentlyanonymousorpseudo-anonymoussocialmediacommentersonwebsitessuchasCBC.ca,FacebookandTwitter-whoseaccountsexplicitlyidentifyasNovaScotian.Ofthese,onlythosewhoactedexplicitlytocommentorre-post information relating to the aforementioned bizarre newsstorieswereincludedinouranalysis.Mostnewssitesmaintainaweb-basedcommentssectionwhichremainpubliclyavailable,whilesocialmedia users produce their own content on the site in the form oftweetsorcomments(seeMaragh2016).

Wefirstidentifiedthe“bizarre”storiesfeaturedinthisarticle

throughtraditionalmedia.Whensuchstoriesalsoincludedanonlineversion,wecollectedadatabaseofusercomments.Additionally,wesearched associated keywords on Facebook and Twitter using thesites’analyticstoolstogetanideaofwhereeacharticlehasbeenre-posted or “re-Tweeted” and by whom. We narrowed the Twittersearchfurtherbyincludinglocalizedhashtags,whichexistasaformofsortingthatisimposedbytheindividualcommenter.Apersonwhore-poststheCapeBretonRedneckvideotoTwitterandusesthehashtag#CapeBreton, for instance, ensures that theTweetwillbevisible tothose searching for other #CapeBreton content. Posters and


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commenterswithpublicly-availableaccountswerethenexaminedtoseewhetherornottheindividualhasself-identifiedaseitherlivingorworking inNovaScotia. In thisway,we identifiedexamplesof self-selectedcommenterswhopublicizedthemselvesasNovaScotiansandindicatedawillingnesstoparticipate,publicly,inonlineconversationsrelatedtotheseparticularformsofrepresentation.

In addition to online searches for news coverage regarding

Nova Scotia oddities inMetro Halifax and other digital media, theauthors explored material copies of the Chronicle Herald and CapeBreton Post. After finding several examples from recent years, theauthors searched through the socialmedia platforms Facebook andTwitterusingthesites’analyticstoolstofindcommentsandanalysisrelatingtothesestories.OnTwitter,hashtagsearchesof#novascotia,#halifax,#nspoli,#capebreton,and#dartmouthwereusedtonarrowthe focus. Through this methodology, we have identified dozens ofsocialmediauserswhoventureonlinetoprovideparallelandreactivecommentarytothestoriesproducedbytraditionalnewsmedia.Theseusers are, in a sense, becoming cultural producers themselves andpushing back against essentializing Folk narratives that ascribeparticularroles,values,andmotifsto“bizarre”NovaScotia.

Thereisnodoubtthattraditionalnewsmedia–suchastheCBC,

Chronicle Herald, and Metro News – is paying attention to socialmedia, and Twitter in particular. It has become commonplace foronlinenewsstoriesfromtraditionaloutletstoliterallyembedimagesof tweets within the story itself, including the user’s “handle” andprofilepicture.Fornewsmedia,capturingTwitterusercommentsisawayofaffectingagreatersenseofimmediacyandparticipation.Itisalsoawayofcuttingcostsandthetimespentdoinginvestigativework,asthereareinevitablypeopleonthegroundatanygivennews-worthyeventtweetingcommentsandpicturesaboutitthatcanthenbepickeduplater,forfree(HeraviandHarrower2016).“Journalismandsocialmedia,”asMarcelBroersmaandToddGrahamwrite,“haveenteredaconvenientmarriage”(2013,446).ANewKindofCulturalProducerThe social media users examined in our study complicate thestraightforwarddefinitionof“culturalproducer”thathastraditionallyunderpinnedtheargumentsofculturalcritics.Theideaofconvergenceculture describes how the power divide between traditional news


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media and consumers is beginning to break down, with the lattertaking on a very active production role (McGuinness 2016). Socialmedia users in Nova Scotia are speaking back to news media byprovidingresponsesandcommentaryontheirstories.Whilegenerallytheir role in the media landscape – and the ability to sway publicopinion – is quite small, there are examples that demonstrate thepowerofsocialmediatoaffectchange.

OnesuchexamplewastheonlinebacklashtheMicMacMallin

Dartmouthexperiencedafterunveilingitsnewadcampaign.Theadsfeatureddrawingsofstick-figurethinwomenholdingshoppingbags,with taglines like “My favourite class? Shop!” “Social studies? Doespostingmynewboots on Facebook count?” and “Mixing patterns –now that’s a science!”. The adswere criticized online as sexist andnaive, and the mall actually pulled them from circulation andapologizedforoffendingcustomers.ACBCarticleexplicitlyattributedthisdecisiontothe“[m]anypeopleonsocialmedia[who]expressedoutrageovertheads”,andembeddedwithinthearticleno less thanthirteenrelatedtweets(“MicMacMall”2013).

Inothercases,theimpactofTwittercommentarymaybeless

clear. Many were outraged when the Halifax Regional Municipalityunveiled itsnewbranding,which consistedof theword “Halifax” intwo shades of blue, and the tagline “Be Bold” (“Halifax RegionalMunicipality”2014).GlobalNewsembeddedseveraltweetsabouttheissue(Lau2014),andotherswere foundonline:@joanne_omstudiotweeted“that’sgoddamnpitifulifyouaskme.Mycatcouldhavedoneabetterjob”(Chilton2014),whereas@robertsnelllateroffered:“[t]he“Halifaxbrandingissue”doesn’texistandpoliticiansat@hfxgovneedtostoppissingawaytaxdollarsonstupidshit”(Snell2016).Beforethecommenting feature was disabled, a total of 164 comments werepostedontheCBCarticleabouttheunveiling.Forinstance,theuser“AncestryHanson”commented, “Whatapieceofcrap.Theemperorisn’twearinganyclothes.Whatpersonthinksthisisalogo?Someonebettertakeofftherosecolouredglassesandfacereality.Haligoniansshouldhaveasayinthis.”Thepointwasunderscoredby“Tsymkrad,”whoadded,“Halifaxcitycouncildescribedthelogoitselfas“bold”,buttheonlythingboldaboutthatlogoisthelevelofboldaudacityittakesto spend thatmuchmoney on such a simple, cosmetic graphic.” Inanotherinteraction,“MikeMcK”writes,“I’mOKwiththe$200Kpricetag as long as they throw in a bag of magic beans,” to which


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“shoredude” replies, “I think the Councilmembers may have eatenthosealready–beforethevoteitseems”(“Here’sHalifax’s”2014).

Despite the online outrage, themunicipality did not pull the

new branding like the Mic Mac Mall, likely due to the cost (over$300,000).Thisdoesnotnecessarilyimply,however,thatprodusersonlinehadnoimpact.Onerecentstudysuggeststhat“onlyoneineveryhundred people will be active online content producers, with 10‘interacting’ by commenting, and the remaining 89 simply viewing”(Bird2011,504).Thesenumbersgivean indicationof justhowfewpeople might be termed actual “produsers” based on their level ofparticipation, and serve to contextualize the numbers of peoplecommentingonbizarrestoriesandespeciallythatwhilemanymaynotbe actively commenting, they are clearly reading the differingviewpoints.

In thecaseof thebiting in theNewMinasbar,weconducted

searches of public Facebook posts using the terms“bizarre+biting+New Minas+groom.” The article was posted twicepublicly,withoneofthepostingsincludingachainofcommentsfromsixteen distinct Nova Scotia-based users. OnTwitter, it was sharedmorefrequently–10timesbetween13and17March2015,butdidnotpromptthesamelevelofengagement.Whilethisarticlewasnot“viral”inthesamesenseasmanyoftheotherstories,itisparticularlyinterestinginthatoneofthepeoplewhowasdirectlyinvolvedturnedtosocialmediaasawaytorespondtotheircharacterization.Thebridein the story,named in thearticlebutunnamedhere for the sakeofprivacy,offeredanalternativereadingofthenight’seventsonapublicFacebookpagethathadsharedthearticle:

[Thegroom]wassmashedinthefacewiththesideofherheadandhispiercinghitherneckandleftamark.Hedidnotbiteher!Myhusbandmayhavehadaroughpastbut thatwasduetoarough upbringing. Since we met in 2008 he has not been introublewiththelawandhascompletelyturnedhislifearound... I am extremely annoyed that people are so quick to makeopinionsjustbasedonwhatsomereporterwrote(“J.H.”2015).

Clearly,forthiswoman,socialmediaofferedanopportunityto

democratize the narrative account of the ‘biting’ event that wasproducedbytraditionalmedia.Whatevertheactualfactsofthecase,thisisevidencethatsomeNovaScotiansareturningtotheseformsin


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anattempttoproblematizetheirrepresentationas“bizarre”andaddtheirownaccountsoftheeventsdepicted.

A variety of comments and Tweets also exist for the otherstories. In the case of Cape Breton’s “redneck” snowplow, the CBCstorywasshareddozensoftimesacrossplatformsandreceivedmorethan 1 million unique views from around the world. Web-basedcommentsontheCBCwebsitewerelargelyanonymous,withoneuserexplicitlyquestioningtheuseofthetermredneck.Othersinvokedtheimage of the Trailer Park Boys, with “BishopvilleRed” remarking:“AlwaysgoodtoknowthestreetsofSunnyvaletrailerparkareclear.”This was also a motif that was common throughout Facebookcommentary,withmorethanadozenusersdrawingthecomparisontothepopular televisionprogramacrossavarietyofposts.Twitter,again,includesnearlyadozenpublicsharesofthestory–butfosteredfar fewer comments and discussion than either theweb-based CBCcomment section or the variety of Facebook pages that shared thestory.

The story about the sale of JamieOliver kniveswas roundlylampoonedacrossplatforms.AccordingtoaCBCreaderidentifiedonlyasSebastianLeblanc,“Atleastthecriminalswillhavequalityknivesfortheirattacks.”FreeSpeechDisallowedresponded,“Freeknives.ThisisagreatwaytoensurethatHalifaxmaintainsit’s[sic]reputationasthestabbingcapitalofCanada,”towhichKeithPreplied,“Dartmouth,actually.Theyhavebeenoutofstockthereforweeks.”Thesameuseralsocommentedonthestoryofthe“weird”fallLegislaturesittingbysaying,“EverythingaboutNSpoliticsisweird.It’sliketryingtodriveacarwithanemptygastankand3steeringwheels.”

ThetreatmentofallofthesestoriesacrosssocialmediarevealsthewaysinwhichWeb2.0hasgivenNovaScotiaresidentsaplatformfrom which they may voice their opinions about matters local orglobal, and specifically to speak about the ways that they arerepresentedinmedia.Ifthelevelofactivityorinfluenceofthoseonsocial media has not yet reached the point where they can effectsubstantialchangeinthewaynewsreportingisframed,thentheyhavecertainly taken the first step in infiltrating the way in which newsinformation is gathered.Tweetsembeddedwithinnewsstoriesandtheabilityforanyonetoleavecommentsonanarticleforalltoreadareevidenceofthebreakdownoftheolddividebetweenproducerandconsumer. News media actively encourages its readers to provide


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commentaryonitsstories,andtoreadothers’comments,makingitapartof theoverallexperience. It is thisbreakdownofroles thathascome to complicate the picture of cultural producers and themaintenanceoftheestablishedtropeoftheNovaScotiaFolk.

WhilethequalitativestudyoftheseexamplesoftheNovaScotiabizarre is not as comprehensive as will perhaps soon be possiblethrough the development of digital humanities tools and otheraggregators, theauthors’believe that such toolsandmethodologiescanhelptounderpinabroaderargumentabouthowwemightreadonline and social media activity as particular forms of culturalproduction.Thecommentsectionsofnewsarticlesandsocialmediasites are frequently decried as the staging-ground for baselesscomplaintsorreactionaryposturing.However,innarrowingourfocusto specific types of comments about particular topics about theprovinceanditspeople,itispossibletogetanideaofhowthesestoriesare being received, digested, and re-articulated by those who aredirectlyimplicatedordepicted.Webelievethattheseformsofculturalproductionshouldnotbesimplydiscounted,buttakenseriouslyasaformofagencyonbehalfofthosewhoarerepresented.

ThisanalysissupportsGregMarquis’sargumentthattherewas

always a countervailing discourse of modernity in the province,expressedthroughcertainformsofthemedia,business,andpolitics(2005, 145). In this version, Nova Scotia was not portrayed as anantimodernbackwater,butaplaceasmodernandglobalizedasanyother.Thecommentsonnewsstoriesandsocialmediahighlightedinthis article are an example of this expression of modernity – thiscountervailingdiscourse– in the faceof anti-modernorFolk-basedrepresentations. However, Herb Wyile also writes, in Anne of TimHortons,thattheironyoftheantimodernimageisthattheregionhasembraced it “as part of a thoroughlymodern campaign to diversifyeconomically and generate revenue” (2011, 22).He says thatwhilemany resist the image of the Folk,many have also reinforced it byemphasizing certain aspects of it, such as independence, culturalvitality, and communal cohesion. This ironic situation is stronglyevident in the case of the television showTrailer Park Boys,whichdepicts, in Peter Thompson’s words, “outlandishly stereotypicalimages of trailer park life” and Nova Scotian culture generally.Thompsonnotesthatreviewsoftheshowhavebeenmixedforexactlythis reason. Some have spoken out against the portrayal of suchantimoderntropes,whereasothershavepraiseditas“anironictake


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on the most extreme versions of the region’s culture” (Thompson2015,182-183).Whilesuchdebateshaveraged,theshowhasbecomeinternationally successful, using the Folk image to its verymodernfinancialbenefit.ConclusionThesocialmediacommentersthatweexaminedinthestoriesrelatingto the Nova Scotia bizarre are cultural producers of a kind. Theirinteractions with media representations are frequently discordant;thereexistsbothrevulsionandattractionintheirresponses.TheCapeBretonRedneck,formany,istobelaudedforhisingenuity–butthereis also danger that he will be used to caricature residents of theeconomicallydepletedIsland.Socialmediausersarecontenttolaughatthemselves,butbristlewhentheybelievesuchhumourisattheirexpensefortheconsumptionofoutsiders.Inanothercontext,StevenShapin(2010,34)hasreferredtothispracticeas the intellectualormoralrightorcredibilitytomakestatementsaboutortolaughatone’sown community. When outside groups, or “Come From Aways” inNovaScotiaparlance,attempttoaccesstheseformsofhumour,theyare often stymied by the internal closing-of-ranks or culturalprotectionism that frequently rests upon claims of authenticity.Indeed, thisprotectionismwas sowidelyknown that itbecame thesubjectofdebateat the2008LiberalPartyAnnualGeneralMeeting.Recognizing that immigration to the provincewas necessary for itscontinued economic and cultural development, the Party passed aresolution that recognized the “hurtful” andunwelcomingnatureoftheterm“comefromaway,”andpromisedto“refrainfromusingthetermCFAtolabelnewcomersandinsteadadoptthenewCFAthatwewelcomecitizenswho“comefromanywhere”(“PolicyDevelopment”2008).

There is a great irony in this. Responses to the Nova Scotia

bizarre reveal the same tension between embracing aspects ofrepresentational forms while rejecting others that Ian McKay firstpostulatedinQuestoftheFolk.Intheirsocialmediacomments,theseNovaScotiansrevealbothanacceptanceofandadistancefromasetofnarrativesthatfrequentlypresentsthemasOther.Inasense,socialmediaoffersanopportunityforresidentsinplacessuchasNovaScotiato take control of their own representation by interrogating theirconstructions. The New Minas bride, discontent with herrepresentation as the clueless wife of a rowdy husband, used the


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platformtopresentfactsofthecasethatshefeltweremissingfromthe official account. This and other clarifying comments on socialmedia are frequently used to assert control of representation andattackaspectsofnarrativecontrolthatdonotfitwithlocalperceptionsorperspectives.

The aim of this essay was to point out the fruitfulness for

studies of the Folk in paying attention to how Nova Scotians nowinteract online with news reports about their province. The use ofsocialmediaplatformslikeFacebookandTwitterhaveenablednewkinds of engagement with provincial stereotypes, and these digitaltoolsalsoprovideanopportunityforscholarstomakesenseofhowtheseideasarerapidlychanging.Nevertheless,wealsosuggestthat,despitetheneedtoadaptthedefinitionofculturalproducertomeetthesechanges,thereremainsinstudiesoftheFolkaneedtoaddressclass structure as a key animating factor. Whatever new forms ofengagementsocialmediaandconvergenceculturehasallowed,classdifferencesclearlystillunderpinrepresentationsofNovaScotia,fromwithin and without.2 News stories about “bizarre” people andincidents in Nova Scotia, shared widely online, are still very muchabout creating distance and solidifying old ideas – digital tools, itappears, are giving residents an opportunity to challenge theseconstructionsinreal-time.

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Social Media, the Folk, and Bizarre Stories of Nova Scotia · 2018. 12. 14. · CJMS Winter 2018 / RCÉM hiver 2018 76 Critical Essay Social Media, the Folk, and Bizarre Stories of