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Performing Arts History & Criticism

John Walker's Passage

by (author) Darrell Varga

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Aug 2012
Category
History & Criticism, General, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442646087
    Publish Date
    Aug 2012
    List Price
    $61.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442614192
    Publish Date
    Aug 2012
    List Price
    $29.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442664395
    Publish Date
    Aug 2012
    List Price
    $19.95

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Description

John Walker is one of Canada's most prolific and important documentary filmmakers and is known for his many thoughtful, personally inflected films. His masterwork, Passage, centres on Sir John Franklin's failed expedition to find the final link of the Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Canadian Arctic. It also gives us the story of John Rae, the Scottish explorer who discovered the fate of Franklin and the final link in the passage, but was left to the margins of history. Walker's film brings to this story a layering of dramatic action and behind-the-scenes documentary footage that build tension between the story of the past and interpretations of the present.

Darrell Varga provides a close analysis of Passage, situating it within Walker's rich body of work and the Canadian documentary tradition. Varga illuminates how the film can be viewed through the lens of Harold Innis's theories of communication and culture, opening up the work of this great Canadian political economist to film studies.

About the author

Darrell Varga is Canada Research Chair in Contemporary Film and Media Studies at NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design), where he teaches courses in film history, documentary film, and Canadian cinema. He has published widely on Canadian cinema and is the co-editor of Working on Screen: Representations of the Working Class in Canadian Cinema.

Darrell Varga's profile page

Editorial Reviews

‘John Walker’s Passage makes a valuable contribution to contemporary film studies, reflecting on the definitive work of one of Canada’s finest documentary film makers… Passage weaves together documentary and drama to delve deeper into the complex nature of truth, history, and representation.’

Canadian Journal of Communication, vol 38:03:2013