“Playing with ‘Nitro’” is a text adopted from a one-minute 1990s clip that offers a historical description of Chinese rail workers experience in Canada. Chinese came in Canada as a source of labour in the construction of the Canada Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. “Nitro” is a clip that was released courtesy of a millionaire named Charles Bronfman and is under the Heritage Minutes of Canada. The clip depicts major themes of anti-racism and exploitation that Cantonese workers went through in Canada in the construction of CPR. Further, the clip manages to portray the realization of a national dream at the end of the clip, where the Chinese survived all the danger and Canada being a multi-cultural society. This paper applies critical analysis of issues emerging from the textualized one-minute clip “Nitro”. The paper assesses whether “Nitro” minute was able to present a comprehensive experience of Chinese rail workers and validity of its representation of Canada …show more content…
In that right, CPR is known to have been completed on November 7 of 1885, which was six years ahead of schedule (Murray, 1974). Back to the minute, the Chinese laborer agrees to undertake the dangerous task. The task involved using a chemical by the name nitroglycerine to trigger an explosion as a way of continuing mean of railroad construction. That is where the minute derives its name “Nitro” and the textualized version “playing with Nitro.” The acceptance of the offer by the Chinese depicts another theme of sacrifice that the workers portrayed in their work, for the sake of their families back at home in China. The caring nature of the supervisor is presented where he gives some instructions to the worker that is interrupted by a loud explosion at the railroad tunnel. Everyone thinks that the laborer has died in the explosion, but he