National identity in the book "The Englishman's Boy" by Guy Vanderhaeghe

Many aspects of a country contribute to the formation of a national identity, but none more than the exported views and feelings to the world. Art is a major export and factors in the formation of national identity. In The Englishman's Boy, Guy Vanderhaeghe exposes the problems that are caused with the creation of a national identity. Art can come in many forms; music, theatre, paintings, and also motion pictures. It is important to control …

…being made by Europeans or whether they are being made by Americans, the point of view might change, but the outcome is the same; the national identity will be created by a few for the many. What is fact becomes fiction and then gets played in the mind of the movies goers as reality; this in turn creates an untrue, mythological national identity. Works Cited Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman's Boy. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1997.