Brocket 99

{{Infobox radio show

|show_name = Brocket 99

|other_names =

|format = Parody

|runtime = 112 minutes

|country = Canada

|language = English

|home_station = CHEC

|syndicates = None

|television = None

|presenter = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|starring = Tim Hitchner

|announcer = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|creator = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|writer = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|director = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|senior_editor = Tim Hitchner,

|editor = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|producer = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|exec_producer = Tim Hitchner

|narrated = Tim Hitchner, others unknown

|rec_location = 1090 CHEC, Lethbridge & 1570 CKTA, Taber

|rec_date = 1986

|first_aired = September 1986

|last_aired = 1989

|num_series = 1

|num_episodes = 2

|audio_format = Reel to Reel(Side A) and Cassette Tape(Side B), transferred to Compact Disc

|opentheme =

|othertheme =

|endtheme =

|website=http://www.brocket99.net/|rem_location=}}

File:1090 CHEC in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.jpg

File:Tim Hitchner July 2006.jpg

Brocket 99 was a comedy audio tape that parodied aboriginal people in Canada. It has been described as a "phenomenon" by some, and racist by others.

1986 tape

The premise of the Brocket 99 tape was that of a fictitious radio station broadcasting from Brocket, Alberta, on the Southern Peigan reserve (a real First Nations reservation 70 km west of Lethbridge, Alberta), hosted by a character named "Ernie Scar" and featuring other participants.

The tape stereotypes Canadian First Nations peoples as habitual users of alcohol, drugs and welfare, engaging in anti-social behavior, and low in intelligence. The content of the tape is a mixture of music, advertisements, news, sports, interviews and local announcements divided into two parts corresponding to the two sides of a cassette tape in common use at the time. Music played on the tape included complete versions from AC/DC, Hank Williams Jr., The Romantics, Paul Revere & the Raiders, John Anderson, Doctor and the Medics and Dwight Yoakam, although AC/DC is the most used artist throughout the tape. Advertisements on the tape were either original creations interspersed with vulgarity, racism, and stereotypical language for real products, such as for Lysol, or taken from legitimately produced radio commercials for companies such as Safeway, Penner's Men's, and Women's Wear in Taber, Alberta and Beaver Lumber. News, sports, interviews, and local announcements on the tape are largely original creations interspersed with factual entities, such as the Seattle Seahawks and Toronto Blue Jays, as well as non-existent entities, such as "Brocket Used Motors" and "Brocket Alcohol & Drug Abuse Hotline" created specifically for the tape. It is unconfirmed though realistically impossible that any of the music or produced or original advertising content for any of the businesses referred to in the tape would have authorized their use during the production of the tape, owing to the stereotypical and racist content used by the tape's creators.

The tape was created in 1986 by Tim Hitchner, a radio DJ in Lethbridge, Alberta, as a parody and not intended to be marketed.{{cite web|title=Beef denounced in Yates play|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/alberta/lethbridge/lethbridge-herald/1995/10-14/page-24|last=Sullivan|first=Pat|date=1995-10-14|publisher=Lethbridge Herald}} Hitchner worked as a radio DJ at CHEC, CKTA, and CKIZ-FM from 1985 to 1992.{{cite web|title=CKIZ 90.5 FM, Pincher Creek, Alberta|url=http://ckiz.ca/|last=90.5 FM|first=CKIZ|date=2013|publisher=CKIZ 90.5 FM}} It is claimed that Hitchner was inspired to create Brocket 99 based on another underground tape circulating in 1986 called "AIDS Radio" that was a spoof of a homosexual radio station using stereotypical and bigoted references.{{cite web|last=Ruzek|first=Jonathan|title=Brocket 99: still unfortunately notorious|date=13 March 2009 |url=https://lethbianlove.ca/2009/03/12/brocket-99-over-23-years-and-still-notorious/}} The initial method of distribution from Tim Hitchner has not been documented, although its wider distribution has been described as viral. The tape has been described as an "international underground phenomenon".{{cite news | last = Burroughs | first = Alexandra | title = Is it comedy or racism? Brocket 99 film raises big issues | pages = E4,E7 | publisher = Calgary Herald | date = 2005-07-13}}

Hitchner died February 12, 2011.{{cite web|title=HITCHNER – Timothy (Tim) Craig|url=http://www.mhfh.com/hitchner-%E2%80%93-timothy-tim-craig/|last=Hitchner|first=Family|date=2011-02-14|publisher=McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes}} On February 12, 2011, a fan site reported the then anonymous actor who played Ernie Scar had died at age 49,{{cite web | title = ERNIE SCAR - 1961 - 2011 | url = http://brocket99.net/scar.htm | last = Anthony | first = Michael | publisher = brocket99.net | date = 2011-02-26}} of myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease.{{cite web | title = The Great Beyond | url = http://brocket99news.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/the-great-beyond/ | last = Kang | first = Chul-Su | publisher = brocket99news.wordpress.com | date = 2011-09-25}} CKIZ's list of past employees on its website currently identifies Hitchner as the voice of Ernie Scar.

Documentary film

In 2005, filmmaker Nilesh Patel produced and directed a documentary called Brocket 99 — Rockin' the Country, which examined the ongoing popularity of the tape and the relationship between aboriginal people and others in Canada.

{{Blockquote|text=A caricature imitation of the programming of an Amerindian community radio has made all of Canada bogus. It is no longer humor, it is rage. / A gross parody of an Amerindian community radio program brought belly -laughs throughout Canada. It isn't a joke any more, but a kick in the teeth.|author=Nilesh C. Patel|title=|source=}}

The film won the Séquences Magazine Prize for best documentary film at the 2006 Montreal First Peoples Festival.{{Cite web|title=Montreal First Peoples' Festival 2006|url=http://nativelynx.qc.ca/06/en/index.html|website=nativelynx.qc.ca|access-date=2020-05-08}}

In 2004, prior to the release of the documentary, Mark Campbell of Global News interviewed Nilesh Patel to discuss the creation and subject matter of the documentary. In addition to discussing prevailing Canadian attitudes on race and culture in the context of the documentary, Nilesh Patel also made an unsubstantiated claim during the interview that Mark Campbell was in denial of being the creator of Brocket 99. Contrary to this claim, no evidence has ever been presented implicating any individual other than Tim Hitchner in the creation of or participation in Brocket 99.{{Cite web|title=Brocket 99 - Rockin' The Country - GlobalTV Interview|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybCPQZqdOA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/tybCPQZqdOA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube.com}}{{cbignore}} On February 15, 2015, Mark Campbell wrote a blog post confirming again that he was neither the creator of nor a participant in Brocket 99.{{Cite web|last=Campbell|first=Mark|title=The Odd Phenomenon of Brocket 99|date=15 February 2015 |url=https://greetergrammer1.wordpress.com/2015/02/15/the-odd-phenomenon-of-brocket-99/}}

In the media

In 2022, former Alberta Cabinet Minister Jonathan Denis and Calgary political operative Craig Chandler were featured in a video where they parodied Brocket 99, and their actions were deemed racist. The video clips showed them using offensive stereotypes of First Nations. In an interview Chandler said he was pictured in one of the videos and that "Some comedy is not politically correct, but this is a private function of my close friends. The video was taken by a close friend, I thought," he said. Chandler was working on Danielle Smith's leadership campaign when the videos came out, and she fired Chandler over it.{{Cite news |last=Dryden |first=Joel |date=2022-09-28 |title=Former Alberta justice minister apologizes for racist videos — if they depict 'real events' |pages=1 |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-justice-minister-jonathan-denis-videos-1.6599395 |access-date=2022-12-13}} Denis said he did not recall being in the videos but blamed his racist actions on previous problems with alcohol. Denis then suggested the videos may be fake.

Later Chandler also said the videos were fake. However, Hany Farid, an acknowledged expert in deepfakes, said, "But the knowledge of how these things are made, how difficult it would be to make them, I think it's extremely unlikely that these are deepfakes."{{Cite news |last=Dryden |first=Joel |date=2022-11-24 |title=A former Alberta justice minister claims videos of him are 'fake.' Not everyone agrees |pages=1 |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jonathan-denis-craig-chandler-alberta-hany-farid-deepfakes-1.6660700 |access-date=2022-12-13}}