Conn:
Ken Dryden is a famous hockey goalie. He's also a Member of Parliament, a piece of Canadian pop culture, and a white man.
He first caught my attention when I was 10. I noticed that Ken Dryden wasn't normal. Whenever there was a bench clearing brawl he'd stand leaning on his stick and watch until the fights were over.
The next time I thought about him was in the mid-1980's during a CBC Radio interview. He talked about the connection between sports and violence against women. I had a tape recorder so I pointed it at the radio. Ken focused partly on a controversial new movie, The Accused, where Jodie Foster was sexually assaulted in a pool hall.
I thought at the time, this is an unusual man. I was in my 20's and trying to figure out what it meant to be a man, a white man.
Today, as a politician, Ken Dryden's become a very powerful white man. He seems to be changing over time, he started with the Conservatives, then joined the Liberals, and now seems focused on improving social programs. He travels the country consulting the population while using his hockey past as a folksy door-opener. Recently, he declared that ending poverty in Canada is a goal we should all see through. Sadly, I feel that what he's offering is... impossible. Not ending poverty. Him. If he's telling the truth, then he's impossible.
He has a sometimes clumsy, but straight forward way of talking. He still speaks like an athlete, in sports metaphors, but maybe this will help him stay focused. He says we should tackle big problems, like poverty, in a steady, organized way, and to keep going until we win!
This is anti-politics, if he's telling the truth, because our prevailing social system asks that everybody join in when there's a bench-clearing brawl. Never mind the goal.
Ken Dryden ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal leadership. He said he was running because he was angry, which I liked. What would it mean if we had a goalie Prime Minister? Would he wear his mask in Parliament? Could he stay calm and focused, and defeat the problems of poverty, greed, and hate?
Now I'm watching this white man's life along with the rest of the country, watching its narrative arc unfold like a life-long sports movie. (Who will win?)
Ken Dryden Photobooklet, Single Page View .pdf, for smaller screens, colour diptych series, 9 MB
Ken Dryden Photobooklet, Double Page View .pdf, for wide screens (recommended), 9 MB
Ken Dryden is a computer-based projection creating randomly regenerating patterns using a hybrid blend of cinematic and web-based technology. 10 minutes looping & re-mixing.
