As a political reporter in the 1980’s, I spent a lot of time learning about and navigating the bureaucracy that every government creates. It’s a fascinating creation, crucial to the effective operation of a government and yet frustratingly inefficient in so many ways. It’s also ripe for caricature and lampooning.<\/p>\n
In 1979, Canadian director Donald Brittain captured the importance and the absurdity of a government bureaucracy in a classic documentary for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the CBC. It’s great fun to watch what the world was like and meet the bureaucrats who kept the place running – or didn’t, depending on your point of view. Comparisons with the current attitudes towards government are inevitable, of course.<\/p>\n
I recommend this film. Thanks to the visionaries (probably many bureaucrats were involved) Canada has the NFB and the CBC, both government institutions, that keep a watch on the Canadian way of life and present it for us. They are a rich history and available with a click of your mouse on your home computer – through the NFB and CBC archives. What a treasure.<\/p>\n
Go ahead and watch Paperland below.<\/p>\n