Artichoke Vol. 5 No.4 by Artichoke Magazine

mag

WINTERED OVER 05

Spotlight: Exiles Sad Ibsen Theatre

JANUARY 2016 | VOL. 5 N o . 4

ARTICHOKE

CONTRIBUTORS Editor-in-chief

Mayeesha Chowdhury

Writers

Alex Gage Christina Zisko Cole Kennedy Curtis te Brinke Diana Edelhauser Elijah Budgeon Katherine Collier Luke Gagliardi

Art Director

Karen Keung

Designers

Camilla Dinardo Caroline Gonzales Daniel Kim Justin Veneracion Maryanne Cruz Olivia Chan Scott Osbourne Simone Robert

CONTENTS

Spotlight: Sad Ibsen, Exiles Mayeesha Chowdhury

Major Speak 08

New Year, New ? Alex Gage

Stuck in Revierse Curtis te Brinke

Creative 12

Surprises Katherine Collier

The Eulogy of Phwan Mallan Luke Gagliardi

Entertainment 16

Reaching All Audiences Cole Kennedy

Between Panels: Bronze Age Elijah Budgeon

Lifestyle 20

Anticipating Abroad Diana Edelhauser

ŕĽ? My Gosh

Christina Zisko

VOL 5. No. 4 | JANUARY 2016

JANUARY 2016

ARTICHOKE

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR HEY EVERYONE! Welcome back! There’s just something about the December break that makes settling back into the usual routine really difficult; maybe it’s because the break is too short, or maybe because we’re still sleep deprived- I don’t know. With the end of Frost Week, and the near-end of January, it’s high time for us to get back into school mode—and now that we are back, we have two big announcements! Firstly, the Artichoke’s gradual transition into the online platform is now complete: four out of our six issues will be available online only. We will be printing a Frosh issue, and an end-of-the-year issue. This letter is to also announce the first end-of-the-year issue! This issue will be something you can hold on to that commemorates the entire academic year, Artichoke’s journey, past cover-arts, notable contributors, and a way to meet the team that has written for you in the past year! In terms of upcoming events, check out ewag Word Nights on the 23rd of February! LOVE, MC

WINTERS

The Artichoke is a big supporter of student initiatives—so, for this month we will be featuring Sad Ibsen Theatre. Sad Ibsen Theatre is a new independent theatre company that has emerged out of York’s theatre program. They are currently working on a production of James Joyce’s Exiles. We were made aware of the show, and the company by Ryan Borochovitz. Ryan is a fourth year theatre student, and Sad Ibsen’s artistic director.

ARTICHOKE

SAD IBSEN

EXILES

WINTERS

Sad Ibsen Theatre is an independent Aestheticist theatre company, devoted to “art for art’s sake.” The company explores works with some historical, literary, religious, or spiritual significance, with a special preference for older plays, both classics and forgotten gems alike. Sad Ibsen Theatre introduces itself to Toronto with this “noncanonical play by an otherwise canonical author.” The company favours plays that are typically performed by large-scale theatres, and differing objectives lead to multiple cat and mouse dynamics.adapts them to smaller and more intimate settings. Written in 1914, after Joyce’s publication of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and before Ulysses, Exiles is the only surviving play by the renowned Irish novelist. Heavily influenced by his own life as well as Ibsen’s work, the play follows the narrative of two love triangles, and suggests questions about religion, nationalism, love, and identity. Richard and his common-law wife return from nine years of self-imposed exile in Italy, and as they attempt to settle back into life in Ireland, old feelings are reignited. The characters’ attempts at maneuvering these relationships to reach their vastly The cast includes five York University students, George Kiriakapulos, Tiffani Anderson-Davies, Ashley Stevens, Tara Schell, and Adriana DeAngelis, and one recent York University graduate, Benjamin Diamond Coles. Showing Wednesday Jan 20 until Sunday Jan 31, 2016 Wednesday—Saturday @ 7pm, Sundays @ 2pm Red Sandcastle Theatre 922 Queen Street East, Toronto $20 regular, $15 student/arts-worker Wheelchair Accessible, box office: 416-845-9411 For more information, contact Ryan Borochovitz, sadibsentheatre@gmail.com, 905-808-3430

ARTICHOKE

New Year, new? BY ALEX GAGE

here is something refreshing in the idea of the New Year. Maybe it is the lack of mistakes we’ve yet made. Maybe it is just the vague promise of something new, of a future, of an undiscovered destiny in the blankness of the fresh calendar pages. But still, it is hard to forget our past. Never mind laments of what these hands hath wrought; it is hard just enough to forget the stupid shit we’ve said sometimes. Although sometimes, with a little arbitrary perspective we can frame some of our mistakes as small steps of progression. Some of our gaffs of verbosity become wise with portent after years. I watched J.J. Abram’s beautiful Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the theatres. Even if you hate Star Wars, I think you would be hard pressed to refuse that this is a pretty movie with intelligent and artful cinematography—particularly in is use of rhyming. The movie got me thinking. George Lucas once made a comment about the story-telling of Star Wars: He said, “it’s like poetry; it rhymes.” The internet was rather merciless about it. Of course, while you may find the idea as absurd as pottery, it is actually true. To avoid spoiling it for the three people who have yet to see it, I won’t give anything away about the new film. However, there are shots framed so as to almost perfectly echo iconic moments form the original trilogy: Obi-Wan Kenobi deactivating the tractor beam, the duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, the wampa’s ice cave on

Hoth, the cave of ordeals on Dagobah, and attack on the second Death Star being the bluntest of the lot. If you mistook this narrative device as simple fan service, think again. The first trilogy (IV-V-VI) has become the cultural juggernaut that it is today because Lucas modeled it from classic fantasy, which itself draws upon classical and ancient myth. From the pioneering work of Joseph Campbell and James Fraser we understand ubiquitous story-telling architypes like the “Hero’s Journey” and the “Monomyth.” While some of their conclusions don’t cut the postcolonial mustard, these men nonetheless had an acute understanding of the structures of human storytelling. In gist, essentially all human stories follow similar shared archetypes. From pre-historic creation myths across the globe, to the epics of Homer, to Star Wars, they all share a common skeleton in terms of plot and themes at a broad level. The works which become “timeless” or “masterpieces,” that possess a preternatural nostalgia about them the first time you experience their story; these are good indicators that they fulfil the archetypical requirements of the monomyth in a robust and sound way. For example: Godfather I and II pass this litmus test, therefore becoming classics. Godfather III has some elements… but fails to unite them in a recognizably sound monomythic form. It has become a bastard film in the eyes of all associated with it.

Section

Obviously, all this means that cinema isn’t the only venue outside of poetry that rhymes. Forms of the technique appear across the arts. In graphic art, the repetition of shapes and colours can be used to create a unity through spatial or chromatic rhyming. In music too, is the practice of “rhythmic rhyming.” A repeated or recurring rhythmic pattern will create a sense of unity or continuity, regardless of the pitches. This technique can be fundamental in order to guide an audience through the work—especially when the rhyme is there to provide a guidepost after extensive unfamiliar or disorienting material. Life lived to its fullest is itself an art, just as the highest art has something of life within it. We don’t tire of the mythical rhymes in the arts because they echo the rhythms of our own lives. We very explicitly structure our lives in rhyming chunks—stanzas, if you will—year by year, every December 31. We do the same as Abrams as we frame the next chapter in the story of our lives in a 365 day box. The New Year’s resolution is a clear paradigm of this as we stich together the threads in the story of our own journey (sometimes not as heroic as we might like). In accordance with the monomyth theory, winter brings us to the stage of rebirth and fertility. The old self dies so the new may return triumphant, bringing back the spoils gained of the journey. Come January 1, we are going to lose that 25 pounds, we are going to be bold, we are going to get

that job, get that lover, going to move to a new city; become our new, undaunted, and successful, bestselves. There is nothing new in these desires, these goals, nothing modern about wanting our lives to be like the movies. We want to be the hero and, through eons of cultivation, we know what the plot has to look like to see ourselves as such. We have been acculturated in how to organize our perceptions of experience according to this structure. All it takes is to dress the framework with the specifics of our own lives. The promise of the virgin calendar page is a part of this myth. And while the mirror now hanging next to the bed may be shiny and new, the dark skin beneath our eyes is not. The mythic rhyme is a powerful tool at the director’s disposal. It can turn clichés into commentaries, incredibly meta- metaphors even. So at the risk of one more cliché: We are the directors of our lives; we set up the storyboard on New Year’s, we shoot on location for 12 months, and we edit our memories of it all in post-production. The human experience is a genre piece. There are few surprises in the basic structure of the plot. Given everything…. I would hazard that the question of a good life can be found in if you are up to the task of an auteur behind the lens, or just another studio director.

ARTICHOKE

STUCK IN REVERSE BY CURTIS TE BRINKE

Major Speak

Living your life in a haze can make the things you did feel like a story someone else told you. I lost something in 2015 and I’m still trying to find out what it was. My brain was host to thoughts I found difficult to put to words, and feelings I was struggling to manage. I’m not an overly emotional person. This was strange. Despite the haziness , I knew one thing. I felt broken. I mean this in the least literary way possible. I knew what my sense of self was supposed to feel like. This was not it. This was a lack of it. I was reversing. I was losing confidence, not growing into it as I should have been. It felt like a few things: 1—Like I was about to blip out of existence. Like I wasn’t substantial enough to leave the house. 2—That I was scared of other people. Just being around them was enough to make my heart race and my breath get shallow. 3—That every choice I made was leading me to some impending and life ending failure. These were not logical thoughts. And they haven’t gone away, really. I found myself changing enough to have friends point out to me that, hey, maybe I wasn’t doing so great. I didn’t notice it myself until an old friend read a draft of something I had written and wrote back sincerely worried about my mental state. After that, it was all I could think about. Perhaps it was depression. It certainly was, and is, anxiety far more debilitating than I had thought I possessed. Lately I find myself lying awake at night thinking about the brave person I used to be. How fearless I was when it came to my work and my aspirations. Lying there, feeling crippled in my own fears, I started to recognize how far I had slipped.

I’ve learned things. Self discovery is not a straight line. It doubles back, and gets tangled up in itself. Self growth is not a level to achieve and something to check off a list. Maybe its something that happens when we aren’t looking, and something we lose when we’re sure it’s still right there. The questions remain: Where the hell did I go, am I even back, and what is the deal with airline food? I don’t think I have answers. Only more questions. Only more sections of my life I feel uncomfortably distant from. Living your life in a haze can make the things you did feel like a story someone else told you. But maybe I’m doing better, and maybe it has something to do with making choices. I decided to make an effort to be more honest with people. About what I’m feeling, as I’m feeling it. About what I want from them, and from myself. We all have habits of playing caricatured versions of ourselves, and I’m as guilty as the next person. I’m trying to find myself again, so why try and find someone I’m not? I decided to stop lusting after some other life. I’m here, I’m me, and I’m making myself recognize that it’s enough. I decided that taking time to care for myself isn’t a distraction, it’s maybe the one thing that will stop me from 1—Blipping out of existence. And I’m deciding something right now. That I’m still brave. That me writing this and maybe you reading it is an act of bravery. That it looks like different things. That I’m perfectly capable. That I’m not broken. So let’s be brave, friends. Even when we get misplaced. We’re always in the last place we’d expect to find ourselves.

ARTICHOKE

Surprises I’ve come to realize It’s those you don’t suspect Those around you who Seem the most innocent That surprise you the most The ones who once made you smile Now hurt you the most Or maybe not at all The unsuspecting changes That take place because of others Mistakes Changing I’m changing for the best My past does not define me My past is simply that Past Create your own destiny As you are its master Fear can only keep its hold for so long Will you make a change? To forgive those who have hurt you once Will you create your destiny? The power is yours Yours alone. Can you change?

BY KATHERINE COLLIER

CREATIVE

ARTICHOKE

THE EULOGY OF

PHWAN MALLAN

BY LUKE GAGLIARDI

CREATIVE

“I need some fucking help here!” My lungs scream as my hand strikes the latch, and my foot smashes the stall door open with a screaking stomp. I rush the sink, dragging a body and ignoring the idle strangers

who gawk at the dying figure in my hands. “Why are there no paper towels?” I demand, launching a teary glare at portly man with more chins than vertebrae. “I need some goddam paper towels.” The portly man— his mouth agape, and his mind performing the gold medal gymnastic routine necessary for his every basic thought—asked, “Did you want some toilet paper?” “Yes. Quick. I need something for all the water around the mouth. He can’t die, he’s only one year old.” I look back to where I set down my best friend, I watch his light dim and his body turn cadaverous. The man with the toilet paper was too late, I was too late, and by the time Mr. Manychins re-emerged from the bathroom stall, Phwanny was dead. The personal sobs loosed in that public washroom carried

my anguish to the cubicles of my colleagues outside the thick door. I was careless, so fucking careless, and he’s dead for all that lack of attention. The plate-drop smash of little Phwan’s brains cracking the ceramic echoed through the guilt, deep into memory. I don’t remember how long I sat on that floor, cradling the corpse of my best friend, my confidant—who, for a year, knew the softest strokes of my fingers. Who, for a year, woke me up before the sun, and put me to sleep each night, who listened to my words and held my experiences as memories. You were more than just a cell phone Phwany, you were a companion who never failed me, I’m sorry I could not be so to you.

ARTICHOKE

Reaching All Audiences:

Diversity of Superheroes Across All Media

BY COLE KENNEDY

It is truly the age of the superhero. You’ll often have trouble avoiding seeing superheroes wherever you go. They’re in comic books, of course, but now they own the box office, there’s a primetime superhero television show almost every night of the week, some made exclusively to Netflix, and most importantly, nearly every stranger you pass on the street knows of the Justice League, and can probably name at least one guardian of the galaxy. This massive increase in superhero exposure comes from the integration of superheroes in to almost every form of media. But to the respective companies’ credits, they’ve kept audiences coming back to their

ENTERTAINMENT

material through more relatable, diversified characters as presented to wider ranges of audiences. Not only have the films created a balance of light and dark, and simplistic stories with complex undertones, they’ve also successfully reached audiences of all ages. Television is no different. We’re seeing things on television I never thought we would. Netflix Originals like Daredevil present arguably the greatest comic book adaptation we’ve ever seen. Jessica Jones offers a realistic representation of a world with superpowered individuals. We wouldn’t all be as handsome as Superman, or as noble as Captain America. We’d be normal, everyday people. There would be alcoholics like Jessica, those who abuse their powers like Kilgrave, or those who are consumed by them like Simpson. In an industry dominated by “supermen”, shows like Agent Carter and Supergirl, upcoming movies like Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, and certainly Netflix’s Jessica Jones, prove that women are just as important as men in comic books. Jessica Jones was one of the greatest superhero representations ever, female or otherwise, and more effort should be made to make more female-led programs and films to ensure that more quality and successful material is made. As women have taken prominence in TV and film, so too has their achievements grown in comic books. Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello was one of the top-selling series of the New 52, month after month. It redefined her origins and combined her warrior roots with her intelligence and skills as an ambassador. Her success in her latest series led to the decision to adapt those stories for her new film next year. Characters like Thor and Wolverine are now women in comics and new characters like

Spider-Gwen have stolen the show on comic stands of late. We’re seeing an effort by the industries to reach broader readers and audiences. More and more characters’ ethnic backgrounds are changing and more cultures and sexual preferences are being explored. More gay and lesbian characters are being introduced, or characters that were introduced as straight are being reintroduced as gay. Harley Quinn, a beloved Batman anti-villain, has just been revealed as bi-sexual in her latest series. But this only adds to her character, makes her more interesting to read about, and makes her more relatable to more readers. These changes are not just for the sake of diversity; these traits are part of the characters and are seamless, yet important expansions of the characters and the stories as a whole. You may be right in saying superheroes aren’t for you. But unless you’ve watched season one of The Flash or Netflix’s Daredevil or Jessica Jones, or Supergirl, or Guardians of the Galaxy, or read any of the great new comic book series out there now, I don’t know if you can boldly state that superheroes aren’t for you. A lot has changed with superheroes and comic books in general. They’ve evolved and expanded to reach new audiences and readers. I have friends who’ve never read a comic book in their lives. They know nothing of Multiversity, Infinity Gauntlets or Negative Zones, yet week after week, they jump to their TV’s to watch some Flash or Daredevil and are immersed. It doesn’t matter where you start or what gets you started. All I’m saying is watch the first episode of Jessica Jones and try to tell me you don’t want to watch another.

ARTICHOKE

BETWEEN PANELS: A BRONZE AGE EXPLAINED BY ELIJAH BUDGEON The Bronze Age of comics beginning in the 1970’s and the medium took a turn away from some of the more playful and fantastical elements of the Silver Age in favour of more realistic stories. Comic writers avoided discussing the Vietnam War the way they did with World War II, and the floor had been opened to talking about racism and the dangers of substance abuse in a real way. The first mainstream hero of colour was Black Panther introduced in Fantastic Four #52 with more included later on like Falcon, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Blade, and Vixen. After Marvel published a cautionary tale about drug use in the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man without the approval of the Comics Code Authority, the story was met with such acclaim the Code relaxed significantly around what writers could write. Genres that previously withered in popularity and favour made a comeback. Monsters returned in the pages of Tales from the Crypt, the Tomb of Dracula, and Strange Tales, and the western comic Jonah Hex alongside other popular properties of the time like Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars comics. With the increase of realism in comics, death had a more pronounced presence. In 1973, the seminal issue of the Amazing SpiderMan #121 saw Spider-Man’s nemesis, the Green Goblin kidnap Peter Parker’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, and throw her off a bridge, killing her. This shocked readers. Not only did the writers kill a seemingly untouchable character, but this story showed, in a very jarring way, that the hero does not always save the day.

Superman’s popularity with readers shrunk with his relevance through the Bronze Age but a new set of people fell in love with the mythology thanks to the 1978 Superman film. In the meantime, the X-Men found their second wind under the pen of Marv Wolfman who not only tackled issues of racism and bigotry through mutants, but also gave the book a global quality by including iconic characters: Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, Sunspot, and Thunderbird. The end of the Bronze Age came between 1985 and 1986. Under Frank Miller writing for Marvel Comics, Daredevil and the Punisher underwent grim revivals. Soon after that, DC Comics launched two game-changing stories, The Dark Knight Returns by Miller and Klaus Jansen, and Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Both works are credited with redefining the superhero genre by showing a depth, grit, and complexity in their storytelling that was better suited to adults than children, something that nobody expected from the medium. The work of Moore and Miller would set the tone for a dark, wild, and extreme modern age.

Section

ARTICHOKE

ANTICIPATING ABROAD DIANA EDELHAUSER

Denmark consistently ranks among the happiest countries on earth according to the World Happiness Report, a report published annually since 2012 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, in collaboration with the University of British Colombia and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, among others. So ringing in the New Year knowing I’d be moving to its capital city, Copenhagen, for five months was about more than just champagne and celebration. This new phase of my life is the inception point to what will likely develop into some form of wanderlust: a strong desire to explore and travel. I already have trips to Lapland (Finland’s northernmost region) and Iceland planned, and have recently discovered that Trip Advisor is my best friend. But what am I really getting myself into? Lonely Planet classifies Copenhagen as the “coolest kid on the Nordic bloc”, with its revolutionary cuisine and state-of-the-art biking infrastructure, while also being a royal city almost nine centuries old. Copenhagen

LIFESTYLE

is radically developed, and if there is anything to be experienced while there, its hygge - an almost unexplainable feeling of coziness. Hygge is hard to write about just yet as I find myself typing in my Toronto apartment, but as you read this I am in Copenhagen, likely discovering it. I get a lot of questions about why I chose Denmark. After all, its climate is very similar to ours in Canada, and the Danes speak near perfect English. So why wouldn’t I choose a warm paradise, such as the Gold Coast of Australia or Florence, Italy? The answer lies in several key facts: 1. The University of Copenhagen is the second oldest educational institution in Scandinavia, and boasts more culture than you could ever imagine! It’s campus is also spread throughout the city, which would allow me to really get a feel for this Danish metropolitan. 2. 1 Canadian Dollar is about 4 (sometimes 5) Danish Kron 3. The Danes are known for their minimalist fashion— who else would understand my love for constant monochromatic outfits? Plus, I’ll be arriving just in

time for Copenhagen Fashion Week, to which I’ve got the inside scoop! 4. Have you seen street food in Copenhagen?! Look up “Papiroen” to get a taste! 5. The University of Copenhagen frequently ranks in the top 50 universities in the world, as per QS World University Rankings. The thing is that there are so many amazing things to experience in Copenhagen: Tivoli Gardens, the Little Mermaid monument, countless castles (including the one in which Shakespeare set Hamlet), and Strøget, the most posh shopping street fathomable. Denmark is also the birthplace of LEGO, Pandora, Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard. I’m excited to experience everything this country has to offer, including its deer parks, and share it with everyone here in Canada! At the time of writing, there are 19 days until my flight, and I can only be described as a melting pot of anxiety and excitement. Follow my adventures on my new travel blog, dtakesdenmark.weebly.com

ARTICHOKE

MY GOSH: MY EXPERIENCE WITH

M E D I TAT I O N

LIFESTYLE

BY CHRISTINA ZISKO

Meditation was one of those activities that I saw on TV or movies, but never something I thought about doing myself. The idea of twisting my legs into that comfortable cross legged position and doing absolutely nothing for a while did not appeal to me. I associated the idea of meditation to peace-sign throwing hippies sitting in meadows or something. Then 3 months ago, by chance, I came across a meditation app and decided to give it a try. I researched some of the benefits of meditation, but I was skeptical about the truth of those claims. Would I really become more focused, and handle stress better? Whether I loved meditation or hated

it, I knew it would be an interesting experience to write about. The meditations were not hours long as I feared, but only about 10 or 12 minutes each. The app has one audio a day to guide you. The goal is to be still for a moment in time and clear your mind, in an effort to combat stress and improve memory and self esteem, among other things. This was close to impossible for me, as someone who has self-diagnosed Restless Leg Syndrome. I spend my life tapping my feet, bouncing my knee, or tapping my pen. I cannot sit still. Trying to clear my mind was also a challenge, and I found my mind drifting to what was for dinner, what readings I had to do, and

what my friends were doing. Until you truly attempt to sit completely still with a clear mind, you don’t realize how difficult it is. After a week, I started to notice myself getting a little better. I could sit still and focus my mind on being, well, unfocused. This is when I began to notice improvements in my sleeping habits. I chose to do the meditations before bed, and, as most students are guilty of staring into cell phone or laptop screens before going it sleep, spending a few minutes with my eyes closed made it a lot easier to fall asleep compared to when I’m watching Youtube video after Youtube video before bed. I soon began to branch out into

different, more specific, audios. For example, the app “OMG I Can Meditate!” offers meditations to manage stress, overcome insecurity, and nurture creativity, to name a few. As I write this, I can understand how far fetched these topics sound. How can meditation help in any of these areas? The app isn’t magic, but each audio allows for a few minutes to check any negativity at the door, and be open to change. My personal favourite meditations were the ones designed for bedtime. The narrator leads you through full body relaxation exercises, and some cool visualizations, paired with soft music. I like to lie in bed and listen to one before drifting off. As someone who is prone to being anxious, it was helpful to focus

on the audio before bed, rather than tossing and turning while thinking about all the things I had to do the next day. Meditation helps to increase one’s attention span, give you a better night’s sleep, and make you happier. Add to that the fact that it reduces aging and increases immunity to diseases, and there is no reason not to try meditation. It takes nothing but a few minutes of time. I do not meditate sitting on a fancy pillow on the floor, with candles and incense burning like some sort of relaxation guru. It was all done sitting or lying on my bed, arguably one of my favourite places. I wouldn’t say the past 3 months of meditation has led to drastic changes in my life, but

there have been smaller changes that I have experienced. I fall asleep easier, and use some of the skills I’ve learned whenever I feel overwhelmed or anxious. After my experience, I would recommend trying meditation, whether it be during a stressful time, like before a test or exam, or as a way to begin or end the day. In addition to apps, there are videos online and books to read that give tips and tricks to get the most of out the practice. If you’re anything like me, it may take a couple of weeks to get the hang of it, but one it becomes a habit, the benefits will come. No peace signs or meadows required.

Photograph by Ashley Batz from unsplash.com