Checkup. Frédéric Choinière takes a step back to examine present-day Canada in the light of the 1970s. “What movement have we managed to give our society? asks the journalist in effect in Mirror, mirror. If the world dreamed of being more egalitarian 50 years ago, why do certain issues still find themselves in the headlines?
“It has been said for a long time that we will find solutions, but where exactly are we going? he continues. Starting from the observation that things have evolved, but “that there are tangents to be corrected”, Frédéric Choinière met with a plethora of experts as diverse as the Canadian population in order to “promote reflection and provide the keys to go further”.
“Our guests agreed that the situation of women in Canada is the great advancement of the last two generations. Whether it is emancipation, education, access to employment, sharing of family tasks, etc., all note a significant improvement,” he explains. The talks of mirror, mirror show that the cursor has moved and that the margin of progress is undeniable. “However, there is still a lot to do, believes Frédéric Choinière, because today, we are talking about feminicides, domestic violence or even wage inequity. »
tipping point
Frédéric Choinière points out that the issue of Aboriginal rights is also always present in the public space. For him, we may be at a turning point, just as women’s rights were in the 1970s. “The discovery of the anonymous victims of residential schools really opened our eyes. We realize that there are wrongs to be righted and we need to acknowledge our past to take action,” he says.
mirror, mirror also highlights a phenomenon whose turn has begun recently. “Even if the resources are not there, there is a societal awakening with regard to mental health,” notes Frédéric Choinière. On the other hand, he is worried about the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle and addiction to screens on it. With 80% of Canadians not getting enough physical activity and a majority of them spending nine to ten hours a day in a seated position, projections for the future are not very reassuring, warns Ahmed Jérôme Romain, professor and researcher at the Research Center of the University Institute in Mental Health of Montreal.
Exhaustible resources
Far from prioritizing the different issues, the documentary nevertheless brings out a theme that cuts across all the others: that of the environment. “The four youngest speakers in mirror, mirror — Aliénor Rougeot, Albert Lalonde, Page Chartrand and Lourdenie Jean — are deeply concerned about the future of the planet. Intersectionality is interesting to observe from the point of view of youth and ecology”, specifies Frédéric Choinière.
During the realization of mirror, mirror, the journalist finally admits having been struck by the notion of indebtedness and life on credit. “The date on which the Earth’s resources are exhausted advances each year. Our financial, but also environmental mega-debt, resulting from consumerism and comfort at all costs, is not sustainable. The worst thing is that we pass this debt on to future generations, warns Frédéric Choinière. We tell ourselves that we are changing things, without really acknowledging the truth of our current lifestyles. In this, the documentary brilliantly manages to place us in front of the urgency of the situation by avoiding an overly anxiety-inducing tone.
The journalist, although he does not mention it in his documentary, believes that sobriety, whether energetic or simply applied to our daily lives, could be a long-term solution. “We have lived beyond our means for the past fifty years. It is time for things to change. »