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Palgrave Macmillan

Farming the Tools of Persuasion

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Part of the Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication book series (PSMEC)

Abstract

Tracing the origins of the documentary from its birth as a non-fiction film medium in 1895 to its use by the Government of Canada as an influential promotional tool to stimulate immigration, the documentary film is examined closely in these early years to explore its evolution as an instrument of social change. With particular focus on the Canadian experience, this chapter chronologically details its first use by a Manitoba farmer in 1897 and how his modest “home movies” inspired government agencies and corporate entities to establish production divisions serving as models for other countries to follow.

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Fig. 2.1
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Notes

  1. 1.

    All three versions of La Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DEQeIRLxaM4.

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  1. Humanities, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Mark Terry

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Terry, M. (2020). Farming the Tools of Persuasion. In: The Geo-Doc. Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32508-4_2

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