Blog Post #3

Harold Innis’s concept of “the bias of communication” emphasizes how the medium of communication greatly shapes the distribution of knowledge over space and time (pg. 33). He suggests communicative mediums are influential in their cultural setting based on their affordances and ability to administer information. In particular, Innis defines mediums with time bias as heavy, durable, and not well-suited to be transported (pg. 33). This can include media such as clay and stone as they allow for information to be relatively long-lasting. Opposingly, space-biased mediums are described as light, easily transportable, and short-lived (pg. 33). These mediums are more capable of broadcasting across spatial barriers but lack permanence in time. Thus, space-biased mediums can include papyrus, newspaper, radio, and television. Therefore, I will apply Innis's concepts of space and time biases to the Government of Canada’s online virtual tour of the Vimy Ridge monument and CBC’s video on “Why the Battle of Vimy Ridge Matters”. 

The 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge has become an essential component of  Canada's birthing story and Canadian identity. Specifically, contemporary culture often views Canada’s victory in this battle as a symbol of national unity. As such, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial displays a historic monument that serves as a place of commemoration for the Canadian soldiers that sacrificed their lives in this battle. The monument itself is made of stone, thus, heavy and not easily transportable. This is demonstrative of time bias as its communicative properties are durable throughout time. More so, the Government of Canada's virtual tour of this site demonstrates space bias as it lifts the constraints of long-distance communication by allowing people to experience the real-life monument over digital space. Ultimately, I argue that this monument prevents people from being knowledgeable about the actual historic event and averts their attention to the monument’s constructed contemporary meaning. Particularly, contemporary culture’s imagined ideology of this battle as a moment of national unity causes the memorial to communicate feelings of mourning, yet, Canadian pride. Overall, the monument itself and the corresponding virtual tour have elements of both time and space bias that reinforce the contemporary ideologies of the Vimy Ridge Battle as a commemorative moment in Canada’s history.

Contrastingly, CBC’s video “Why the Battle of Vimy Ridge Matters” outlines how the Battle of Vimy Ridge as a Canadian myth has shifted greatly throughout time. Specifically, the video explains the tragic reality of the historical event which was at fault for thousands of deaths. The video is space-biased as it distributes information over spatial barriers and can reach a global audience. Although, the video’s orality and digital format can also be viewed as a form of time bias as the YouTube platform can communicate this information for a long time. Therefore, I argue this video allows our culture the capacity to re-think the historic accuracy of the event and question Canada's constructed ideologies. By the video having characteristics of both space and time bias, I feel this artifact can serve to remind Canadians of the true nature of this event and allow critical thinking of Canadian ideologies.