Postcolonialism in North America: Imaginative Colonization in Henry David Thoreau’s “A Yankee in Canada” and Jacques Poulin’s “Volkswagen Blues”

From the dreamy ‘60s Bahama Blue to the more vivid hues from the seventies and all the various shades in between, it’s difficult not to find one of the VW blues that is right for you. Here’s some of Volkswagen’s more memorable shades from its colour palette…

Things started to come a bit more down to earth again with rather unimaginatively named VW Blue (L 633) – see below – which was offered between 1966 and 1968 alongside Zenith Blue (L 639) from August 1967. Cobalt Blue (L 630) was similarly subdued and appeared on a variety of VWs until around 1970. This was followed by Diamond Blue (L 50B) from 1969 and Marina Blue (L 54) and Sapphire (L 50D) from 1970. Gemini (L 96) heralded the first of the vibrant ‘70s metallics. Gentian (L 51B) joined VW’s colour palette from 1971 and a rather unusual Turquoise metallic (L 95) appeared a year later. Into the mid-‘90s and VW again freshened their palette with the addition of a variety of exciting new blues, including Mint (LB6U), Calypso (LA6Z), Smoke Blue (LH5Y), Jamaica Blue (LL5V) as above left and Steel (LB5T) above right. Alas, things all became a bit more reserved when it came to later blues, with most being somewhat dark and anonymous metallics. What a refreshing story... Two characters, randomness, a quest... This book is so full of love, simple love, but also history, hurt, disappointment and anger, too. I just love this kind of books, because even though the story seems so peculiar and maybe, in a way, unrealistic, it really is about life, in the end. Bernier, France, (1998), Du paratexte au texte: lire l’Amérique dans Volkswagen Blues de Jacques Poulin, Laval, Faculté des Lettres Université Laval, 72.

Gilberto Gil, who was also a key figure in the tropicalismo movement, uses powerful imagery and metaphors in the song to convey his message. The mention of the Volkswagen Beetle in the title serves as a symbol of both nostalgia and freedom. The car in the song represents a means of escape, a vehicle that can take us on a transformative journey, both physically and spiritually. The vivid Olympic Blue (L 51P) broke cover in 1973 alongside another of VW’s rather non-descript blues, Biscay (L 52) and Alaska (L 96). Ontario (L 95) followed a year later and was joined by the popular and now wonderfully retro looking Miami (L 51) – below – and Laguna (L 50) in 1975. Marathon Blue (L 96) was used on the Marathon Beetles of the time, while Ancona Blue (L 97) was a lovely metallic that looked particularly good on Cabriolets. Volkswagen Blues is a French-language road novel by French-Canadian writer Jacques Poulin, his sixth, originally published by Québec-Amérique in 1984.Lintvelt, Jaap, (2000), Aspects de la narration : thématique, idéologie et identité : Guy de Maupassant, Julien Green, Anne Hébert, Jacques Poulin, Québec, Éditions Nota bene, 218. Simon, Sherry (1994), Le trafic des langues : traduction et culture dans la littérature québécoise, Montréal, Boréal, 172.