The is the last of a five-part series of posts on what Montréwood is and what makes it tick.  If television and Movies are the fabric of Montréwood culture, then the following would be the stitches which reinforce that fabric.

The music industry

Of course music and singers are huge components of Montréwood, just like in Hollywood and Bollywood.  But other posts on artists and songs in this blog will touch sufficiently enough on musicians and music.

Celebrity magazines

Go to any supermarket or corner store, and you’ll be sure to see magazines at the check-out counters.   Magazines on celebrities and film/television report on famous relationships of the day, the lives of actors and media personalities, feature interviews, give the latest media updates – much like we see of Hollywood magazines.

Some of the better known magazines include:

• 7 jours
• Paris Match (actually from France, but keeps the us in the know with all that is happening with the cousins on the other side of the ocean)
• Full fille
• Le Lundi Magazine
• TV Hebdo

Sports

• Why would I include sports in a post on Montréal pop-culture? Well, sports takes on a slightly different significance in Québec than elsewhere in Canada.  It’s simple math:  Hockey = religion.  Perhaps it’s not quite to that extreme, but it’s followed so closely, that it keeps people glued to their screens at home or in pubs for half the year.  The end result is that sports personalities become part of the giant star culture that is Montréwood.  Sports (hockey in particular), becomes part of movie culture, the plot of movies (Les Boys), entwined with comedy acts and shows (Daniel Savoie AKA Patrice Lemieux), music (Le but), popular literature (Le chandail de hockey), specialty sport shows (100% hockey), off-ice affiliated hockey stars (Ron Fournier), and the list goes one.   It’s talked about, talked about, talked about, and more.

Stage theatre, literature

• Like sports, stage theatre and literature is not always considered a part of a mainstream pop-culture to be grouped with movies and television. But only a couple generations ago, Québec theatre and literature were bulwarks of change which made ground-level language (notably Montréal-style Joual), and a host of subjects (sex / sexuality, family dynamics, workplace changes, political debates, societal reflection) the templates for modern Montréwood

• Because Québec stage theatre and literature employs styles, templates and subjects which are closely related to what we see in the visual media, the movers and shakers in stage theatre and literature (playwrights, actors, and directors) often also have roles on television, the radio, and in the movies. Likewise movie and television personalities will sometimes have roles in stage theatre.

• Author’s works are vividly discussed on various television programs, and become the base for many Québec movies.  As a result, the public in Québec generally knows their best authors quite well (Michel Tremblay is a prime example).

Now that we’re at the end of our five-part Montréwood series, the table is set for us to continue our journey into the broader Québec pop-culture scene, and the wide variety of subjects, people and events that encompasses.  Remember that we’re exploring a rich part of our own country’s culture – and thus part of our own cultural heritage to share, partake in and enjoy.  I hope you have enjoyed what we have covered to date, and perhaps it helped to even gained some new insight and appreciation.  I look forward to having you join me in upcoming posts!

Merci d’avoir été là jusqu’à ce point.  Au plaisir de vous revoir demain !