Breaking the Ice

Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710Produced by White Pine PicturesDirected by Sylvia Sweeney1997, VHS, color, 23 min. Produced primarily for broadcast on cable television in an ongoing series entitled, A Scattering of Seeds: The Creation of Canada, this 5th episode of the first season explores the contributions of Mary Ann Shadd in the mid-nineteenth century. The series is currently in its fourth season. Mary Ann Shadd moved to Ontario, Canada in 1851 to teach slaves escaped on the Underground Railroad. She succeeded in opening the first racially integrated school in North America which embroiled her in disputes fought in newspapers, eventually leading her to publish her own paper, The Provincial Freeman. The focus of this program essentially deals with this period of her life. The major point of the program is aptly summarized on the liner notes: "Shadd believed that separate churches, schools and communities would ultimately undermine the search for freedom. Integration would require self-sufficiency, but it also meant living and working in cooperation with others." One of the difficulties in producing documentaries on subjects for which there is little visual archival material, leads the filmmakers to make decisions to either show photographs of similar events, or recreate them for the camera. Thus, in the case of Mary Ann Shadd, an actress portraying Shadd is shown on a train to Canada, arriving in Canada, being met by rival publisher Henry Bibb, writing at a desk, etc. What becomes unclear in cases of "docudrama," is what is fictionalized and what is not. Are the images of the schoolhouse mere recreations or is it the preserved original schoolhouse? The program also uses, perhaps more successfully a series of watercolors depicting events and people in Shadd's life, however, the watercolor depiction of Henry Bibb is based on the actor portraying him in the program, possibly because the producers may not have been able to locate any photographs of him. Less successful tactics include a layering of recreated footage, superimposed with the text that is being read to contemporary music. The intent, most likely, is to create a feeling of the idea presented. In reality, it simply adds to the superficiality of the program, detracting from what little content there is. The melting of sentences by Shadd family members and biographers shot in profile, detracts from what they are saying and accentuates the importance of style over substance. This desire to create a feeling goes too far when the narrator explains that Shadd was asked to recruit black soldiers to "go" to the Civil War with an amalgamation of the Canadian anthem, "O Canada" and "Dixie" playing on the soundtrack. The song, "Dixie" is associated with the Confederate side of the Civil War making an already unclear point even less comprehensible. However, the layering effect is useful if the video is actually layered with the Web site which provides considerable information. Thus, the video and Web site together can be used as a supplemental parts of an established history curriculum in junior high school. The Web site not only provides lesson plans for teachers, but additional pages for junior high school level students on such topics as the Underground Railroad. Still, the instructor will have to provide the background information on fugitive state law, and the meaning of terms like integration and segregation. As a teaching tool for African American Studies and Canadian History, it works only in conjunction with other teaching tools. As a stand-alone video, it is representative of the trivial edutainment on many educational cable channels. Not recommended for students above grade 10. A later episode of this series, Captain of Souls, is also reviewed.