The Bull & Bear | Fall 2022 – Status Quoi?

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news

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queer history at mcgill hate has no place here: tweets praising iranian government linked to mcgill ph.d. student friday night renaissance do revenge and the rise of female friendships in teen media a new chapter: how your independent bookstore navigated the pandemic

18 opinion

learning how to become “not the fun kind” of feminist what’s ‘in’ this season? microtrends and fast fasion remakes, reboots, recyle: media adaptations that sell the same ideas back to us

arts and culture creativity, identity, and transition: teiya kasahara’s journey

24 sports

the perennial middle: lilliard, beal, and the NBA’s evolving team-building strategies the tragic over-commercialization of mount everest does money win football games?

Sarah

Sylvester, Managing Editor

Editor’s Note

When I joined the Bull & Bear in 2019, I wasn’t anticipating it being any more than an extracurricular. I came on as a copy editor expecting to edit a few articles here and there, and perhaps attend some meetings. I quickly realized that the Bull & Bear would present me with much more.

Over the last four years, I have had the pleasure to collaborate with excellent writers, confdent leaders, ambi tious coordinators, and fantastic artists. The quality of our publication has exceeded my expectations for what an entirely student-run magazine could be, thanks to our committed staff of writers and reporters. Our editors’ efforts have been nothing short of brilliant; each section is led with kindness and packed with talent, and our Ed Board has tackled any issue thrown its way.

Therefore, I am pleased to present the Fall 2022 semester’s print issue to the McGill community. Our editors and writers dove deep to challenge our ideas of the status quo and what it means to live in an ever-changing, turbu lent world. Our Executive Editor Claire and I are immensely proud of what the Bull & Bear has accomplished and we hope that our readers will enjoy each and every page.

Voilà!

QUEER HISTORY AT MCGILL

By Lydia Atkinson and Zoe Yurman

McGill University is just over two hundred years old. The social context present when the university was es tablished is vastly different than the one today, and as such it is valuable to refect on how the institution has grown and consider strides to be made moving forward. The frst Queer History Month was in Missouri in 1994, beginning a tradition celebrated widely across the United States and Britain. McGill celebrated its frst Queer History Month in 2018, a mere four years ago, and was the frst Canadian university to do so. Every October since has introduced a roster of community events to celebrate McGill’s queer community. However, half of the Queer History Months celebrated at McGill thus far occurred during the COVID-19 pan demic, and the scope of events was greatly limited. This year was particularly exciting as it marked the re emergence of Queer History Month unencumbered by social distancing regulations and zoom sessions. In order to celebrate this comeback and honour McGill’s queer history, Dr. Alex Ketchum, a professor at McGill University’s Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (GSFS), and Jacob Williams, an undergraduate GSFS student in his fnal year, curated an exhibit featuring posters, articles, artwork, and other artifacts dating back decades, accompanied by a presentation and vernissage of the exhibit.

Ketchum and Williams’ timeline of queer history at McGill shows a tumultuous but increasingly accepting history of minority communities at McGill and in Montreal.

A couple of years lat er, a prominent member of some of the frst gay activist organizations at McGill, Bruce Garside, was pressed to leave his posi tion as a professor in the

Philosophy Department. This was on the grounds that he was “outspoken about gay liberation and his own homosexuality,” according to the timeline.

McGill and Queerness in Academia

Queer Students and Professors

Recounting his life in the early 20th century, V. H. Mottram, a former profes sor at McGill, shares that his friend and colleague, Dr. George Ralph Mines, may have taken his own life because of the diffcul ty he faced with his queer identity. Mottram also shared that he was forced to leave his job at McGill because of his bisexuality or homosexuality.

Jumping to 1972, mas ters student Will Aitken

outed himself as gay in his thesis paper on The Novels of Christopher Isherwood by writing from the frst person about the experi ence of a gay reader re lating to a gay character in the novels his thesis was based on. His examiner threatened to fail him un less he edited out the part of the thesis that explicitly identifed him as gay; Ait ken won the legal battle to let him keep that part of his thesis and pass.

McGill frst approved a Women’s Studies minor in 1978, and by the 198081 school year, Women’s Studies courses were of fered in thirteen units. In 2005, they approved a minor in Sexual Diversity Studies, and in 2016 stu dents could major in Gen der, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies (GSFS).

Despite the formal ad dition of this minor, peo ple were still opposed to queerness being taught. In 1990, a History professor at McGill reported students made a show of walking out in a group when shown content related to queer history and identity.

The Biblioqueer website, created by Queer McGill and the Union for Gen der Empowerment, was

launched in June 2016. It features an online catalog of Queer McGill and the Union for Gender Empow erment’s library books, available to borrow. In the same year, the GSFS pro gram was launched. This major and minor program combined the existing Women and Gender Stud ies with the Sexual Diversi ty Studies programs.

In October of 2018, McGill celebrated its frst Queer History Month, organized by the previous Social Equity and Diversity Edu cation offce. In 2021 and 2022, the Queer History month themes have been “Coming Together” and “Queerness and Creativi ty” respectively, including an array of events aimed at increasing awareness and transparency.

Historical Queer Events at McGill

In September 1972, 150 people went to McGill’s frst GAY meeting. GAY McGill, currently known as Queer McGill, was Quebec’s frst gay organization for an glophones. GAY organized several projects, including newsletters, a speakers bureau, and community dances. Their frst dance was predicted to attract 100 people, rather than the actual 500 it did. Gay bars in Montreal “claimed lower attendance and business by almost half that night,” according to the exhib it timeline. At their peak, Halloween of 1974, these dances hosted upwards of 2,300 people from across the US and Canada. They continued to average nearly 2,000 people per event until 1975 when the SAQ took away their li quor permit, ending their funding. A few months lat er, what would eventually become the famed Café Campus regularly hosted a ‘Gay Dance Party.’

These events did not come without backlash. The Quebec newspaper, La Presse, refused to print an ad for one of GAY McGill’s dances in 1973. Ketchum and William’s timeline ex plain that this refusal was one of many instances of newspapers in both Mon treal and Canada refus ing to promote gay events and spaces.

Your Mother Wear Army

Boots, the frst GAY dance held exclusively for wom en, was held on February 9, 1973 in the Student Union Building at McGill. This dance attracted approx imately 60 women, which according to the lesbi an magazine Long Time Coming was lower than hoped but still “indicated the need for [a] separate dance for women,” given that the gay dances run by GAY McGill tended to be male-dominated.

Shortly after, in March 1973, GAY’s Wom en’s Committee left the organization because of the male-dominated membership. This gener ated issues for the wom en’s committee, which upon leaving, formed the grounds of Montreal Gay Women. Additional ly, some women from the committee helped orga nize the Women’s Centre, which frst opened on St. Laurent on May 1, 1973.

Gert’s student bar, beloved by students to this day, was founded in 1974 by an active frst-gener ation GAY McGill member, Kirk Kelly. Gert’s is short for Gertrude Stein, the “20’s biggest literary diva, and stately dyke” said GAY Mc Gill member (at the time) Will Aitken. The bar was a popular hangout for GAY McGill members, and the McGill gay and lesbian communities in general.

In creating this exhibit, Dr. Ketchum and Jacob Wil liams sought to compile documents from previous generations in the hopes of showcasing their activ ism and community building and inspiring viewers to create a more welcoming environment celebrat ing the diversity of identities at McGill and around Montreal. Additionally, they provided resources on how to get involved with current community-fo cused and activist organizations at McGill, such as Queer McGill, The Union for Gender Empowerment, First Peoples’ House, Midnight Kitchen, the Black Stu dents’ Network, and the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students.

This exhibit was put on display in the lobby of the McLennan Library to provide easy access and in crease the likelihood that students would acciden tally stumble upon it and end up learning some thing, according to Dr. Ketchum. The hope was that the display would simultaneously honour the strides that have been made in the Queer community to overcome hate, while also highlighting Queer excel lence and enjoyment.

With the recent increase in Queer organizations, spaces, and general awareness about the diverse identities at McGill, there is progress toward improv ing transparency, representation, and belonging for both students and faculty. It is crucial that students in the McGill community are able to see its Queer history not only as an opportunity to see themselves represented but for all students to understand the progress that has been made and the community’s resilience. Furthermore, despite the strides that have been made progress is always ongoing, and refect ing upon McGill’s history will hopefully mobilize stu dents to enact further change.

Ketchum, Alex D. and Williams, Jacob, ed. LGBTQIA2S+ McGill Student, Faculty, and Sta Activism. Montreal: McGill University McLennan Library, 2022. Exhibition catalog. http://lgbtqactivismatmcgill.com

Carly Rabie

@statusquoi

Hate has no place here: Tweets praising Iranian government linked to McGill Ph.D. student.

n Thursday, September 22, a tweet from the Twitter account @sorooshibnMA was posted prais ing the arrests and execution of civil protesters at recent protests in Iran against the government. This Twitter account has been linked to Soroosh Shahriari, a McGill Ph.D. student and instructor in the Department of Jew ish Studies.

The tweet takes a pro-regime stance by supporting the execution and arrests of people protesting the Iranian government over recent hu man rights violations. Leaders of the Mojahedin, an organization that ad vocates for overthrowing the cur rent government, have been highly involved in these protests and were mentioned explicitly in the tweet posted from his account, which de

scribes “the execution of hundreds of Mojadedin leaders arrested in the recent riots” as “heartwarm ing.”

The Iranian protests were trig gered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, who was arrested by the morality police for not covering up her hair with a headscarf. Police reported she died of sudden heart failure while in custody, but Amini’s family has denied this and claimed that she was beaten to death by police of fcers. Amini’s death provoked pro tests across the country regarding the morality police and hijab laws, which have been met by authori ties with disproportionate violence and force. Authorities have been criticized for the killing and arrest of

protesters, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and civil society activists, among others.

Students have sought action from the university regarding Shahriari’s tweet, advocating on Instagram, contacting McGill Human Resourc es, and creating a Change.org peti tion. Some have called for an inves tigation into the tweet to reveal if it is in fact from Shahriari and deter mine an appropriate course of ac tion from there; others have called for Shahriari’s immediate remov al from the university. Concern has also been raised over Shahriari’s teaching position in Jewish Philoso phy and Thought 2 (JWST 338).

Kimia Mofd, a U1 student who identifes as both Persian and fe male, stated she believes Shahru

ari should be fred. “If he tweeted something cele brating [the] oppression of a group or violence [against] a group that was more clearly known … the reaction would have been very different,” Mo fd said, “and this would be immediately identifed as hate speech, leading to Shahruari’s immediate dismissal.”

Another student, who identifes as Persian and female, but wished to remain anonymous, shared with the Bull & Bear that she “would like more transparency on how they are dealing with their investigation of him and the tweets that were made” and request ed “a clear statement to be made about what they are doing to solve this situation and make amends with people in the community that was affected.”

McGill has sent out an email to the community addressing the tweet and students’ calls to action

should be protected, “even when such expression is distasteful or dis turbing.” Canada protects freedom of speech; however, this right has limitations, including hate speech and discriminatory speech. There seems to be disagreement between members of the McGill community about whether or not the post con

ing multiple political opinions in a room” and shared that she draws the line “when an opinion isn’t nec essarily just an inconsequential thing someone believes, but rather a clear statement of inciting violence or creating a threat so someone else’s life.” This student also shared that she believes that what was said

on behalf of the university. The email described the post as “troubling and offensive,” assuring the community the situation is closely monitored. Controversially, the email also stat ed that “it is crucial for all of us to remember the importance of pro cedural fairness and the dangers of rushing to judgment.” The email was sent over a month ago and there has still yet to be any follow-up at the time of writing.

Additionally, the administration wrote that everyone’s expression

stitutes hate speech or if it is simply an expression of a political view.

This situation brings up the great er debate over where it is appro priate to draw the line regarding the diversity of opinion among pro fessors. It is important to include a broad range of opinions in aca demia, which consequently means a range of opinions among profes sors. However, limitations on com plete freedom of speech and opin ion are necessary to prevent hate

in the tweet “actively wasn’t political; what it was, was it was violent,” and thus crossed the line of something a professor or anyone teaching at Mc Gill should be allowed to say without consequences.

It is now up to McGill to determine whether or not the tweet was hate speech. Depending on this conclu sion, the university will take action and fnd a way to move forward. The outcome of this situation is not to be taken lightly, as the results have implications beyond Shahriari. The actions that McGill takes or fails to take will be a representation of the university’s position on freedom of opinion for faculty and a demon stration of where McGill draws this line.

speech and make all members of the community feel safe.

When asked where the line should be drawn regarding the diversity of opinions among professors, Mofd shared that she believes it should be when an “opinion is pro-robbing the human rights of a certain group” and participating in “pro-violence.” Mofd expressed that she believes the tweet in question did cross this line. When asked the same question, the anonymous student shared she “understands the necessity of hav

Limitations on complete freedom of speech and opinion are necessary to prevent hate speech and make all members of the community feel safe

“

There seems to be disagreement between mem bers of the McGill community about wheather or not the post constitutes hate speech or if it is simply an expression of a political view

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Photo by Maia Salhofer

As summer smoulders into autumn, a percep tibly apprehensive mood settles over the down town campus. Legions of McGillians – some seasoned, some callow – jitterily settle back into Montreal life; couches are hustled up Plateau stairways; parties provide a gaugeable boom for Deps and SAQs; bagel trips are lovingly re sumed. As temperatures fuctuate, masks come off, and life seems to return to a new sense of normalcy, we nervously keep watch over a year which towers so precariously by a conspicuous storm of hopeful uncertainty.

Now, with our collective hope that this apparent upswing will prove itself unostentatious, one may wonder whether more epicurean ameni ties will roar back raucously. Is Montreal night life renascent? Yet to be reborn? Somewhere between? Most importantly, what’s happening on a Friday night?

Night Friday Renaissance

Nestled on the corner of rue Roy and de Bullion, a vibrant blue facade catches the eyes of those passing by. Hums of soft chatter and bubbles of laughter waft out through large, open windows lined with dainty red fairy lights, leafy green plants, and antique memorabilia. On closer inspection, vibrant blue fades to walls of deep forest green, offset by lamps emitting warm rays of golden light, enveloping those who lounge inside; a woman stirs her drink and peers out the window; a group of students huddle together and converse in animated tones; two old friends sit at the bar, sharing a slice of carrot cake and contemplating the meaning of life; a young couple beams at each other, cheeks pink and words giddy from the bottle of red wine they just shared. So sets the scene of a typical Friday night at Else’s: cafe by day, restau rant and bar by night.

Located in the heart of the Plateau-Mont-Royal, Else’s cozy ambiance, amazing food and drink selection, and friendly staff harmonize together, coalescing in an atmo sphere of mellow warmth which envelops its customers. Else’s has an uncanny ability to bring people together, serving as a faithful comfort to many Montrealers, old and new. Indeed, no one type of crowd monopolizes Else’s: from hip, retired cou ples to lively university students looking to enjoy a night out surrounded by friends, people from all walks of life fock to the pub. Conversation, laughs, pints and cocktails, eclectic decor, and friendly faces: Else’s represents many things to many dif ferent people, however, its ability to foster human connection through food and ambiance is perhaps the most astounding.

Opened over twenty years ago by namesake Else Smith, the bar certainly refects all things cozy and fun, with a twinge of punky free-spiritedness, much like the woman herself was said to be. Although Smith passed away in 2000, her spirit lives on, branded into the Plateau through the iconic establishment.

A Friday night at Else’s takes many forms. From frst dates to anniversaries; solo nights spent observing in solace to friendly gatherings and nights spent catching up with old friends. Yet, all experiences are grounded in a common locale, interconnected with one another through time and space. Drink menus open and close, passing from one table to another. Comfort food manifests in steaming plates of butter chicken, mac and cheese, dumplings and more, cross ing paths prior to arriving at their fnal destinations, traced by gleaming eyes and smiles radiating in anticipation of taste. Else’s iconic, freshly baked carrot cake is divided into slices, to be shared amongst the patrons. Candles futter as move ment spurs. Emotion is tangible.

Else’s and Friday nights pair together like citrus and sugar: a classic cocktail combination that can do no wrong. From its cozy ambiance and quirky decor to delicious food and spunky drinks, Else’s brings together a community united by a mutual love of good food, good vibes, and great Friday nights!

A Friday Night at Else’s

By Hannah Murray

Photo by Maia Salhofer

Refections on Brutopia and Attempting to Host

By Jacob Sponga

I

am sitting on an indoor balcony that is some what cantilevered above a “‘stage’” – a space defned more by the band’s use of it than any physical parame ter. This coveted view renders the performance gloriously, eardrum-burstingly loud. On the table in front of me and friends is a poutine,; three glasses of shamelessly hipster I.P.A,; a smattering of fries and napkins. The song itself is so loud that the lyrics almost sort of fail to resonate – they are quite ambiguous, lending themselves more to wails than anything else (not that I mind) – although I’m able to make out what I believe to be an instrumen tal verse that’s consistent with twelve-bar blues. This is Brutopia, early October, Friday night. Reconnaissance yields almost too much info to be of any use. I am fanked by people:; people spew ing in and out of bathroom doors, ; people throngs in the stairwell, the foyer. Under the table we are a tangled mess of Docs and jackets. I learned this month that broil on the oven’s dial means the heat comes top-down. Thatis is not what is happening here: Tthe heat is collective and effervescent,. aA sort of primordial group warmth.

Does this moment belong to another time? The poutine’s cheese curds produce a soft squeak that is just exempla ry. I am considering hubbub as a phenomenon in binary not with silence, but music. I am anticipating the cold rush of air on exit as fnally a sensation juxtaposed. What year is it?

A week later I am bumbling back up and down my apartment’s stairwell, guiding partygoers from portico to foyer. We have billed tonight as a “literary character party” – quite the experimental theme – and so far, it has yielded exper imental results. In atten dance we have We have, in attendance, Dr. Frankenstein, Circe, The Color Purple, Hal Incandenza, Sherlock Holmes, Joe March, Isabella Méliès, Jane Bennet, and a haphaz ard Edward Cullen, to name a few. In all honesty, this is This is, in all honesty, our frst attempt at hosting a closeto-largesort-of-large gath ering since the pandemic struck. IThusI have =thus, in all my wisdom, I have forgot ten solo cups, and our frst glass of the night shatters at approximately eleven-thir ty. (A bottle of wine is also dropped; however, it survives, miraculously.). I consider the

suppressed, yet nonethe less innate strangeness of inviting twenty-plus people to use your bathroom. I also consider the peculiar quali ty by which people seem to love to jam themselves into kitchens – leaving huge, precleared living spaces empty, and creating somewhat of a feedback loop where in everyone speaks louder and louder until you’re all screaming joyfully and non sensically. As one am reels into two and two reels into three-thirty, and the last invi tees slink off into the October night, and that funny-feeling of silence descends over the just-thronged apartment. I open a window and allow a mysterious smell of burnt plastic to waft its way out of the place. An assessment of the area the next morning yields forgotten water bottles, half-empty P.B.R.s on stove tops. A paper plate with a splatter of queso salsa atop the hamster’s enclosure. AsAnd as the toaster dings, and coffee pours, I’m over come by a strange feeling of confdence in social upswing: life must be living – it’s left its footprints here.

AND OF RISE IN

DO REVENGE THE FEMALE FRIESHIPS TEEN MEDIA

by Arismita Ghosh

PHOTO BY LYSETTE UMWALI

ver the year, classic teen media has ome to be associated with a variety of specifc character archetypes. One of these is undoubtedly the quirky best friend: no chick fick is complete without this character’s witty commentary and jokes. However, their importance in the story often ends there, suffering the inevitable loss of agency that comes with being reduced to a prop whose only purpose is to support the lead.

Female friendships in particular have been subject to this treatment since the inception of the teen movie genre: think Rory and Lane, Cady and Janis, Gabriella and Taylor. In each of these examples, one character is pushed down in favour of the other’s time in the spotlight, pitting them against each other despite the appearance of an alleged friendship.

Another version of this can be seen through examples like Serena and Blair, Buffy and Faith, or the prototypical Betty and Veronica. Women in these stories are not allowed to have meaningful relationships with each other unless men are involved. The narrative refuses to centre around the female friendships, implying that they are less relevant to the plot than romantic relationships.

Recently, however, there has been a shift in how female friendships are portrayed in popular media. The past few years have seen a rise in media centering around non-romantic relationships between women: Netfix’s recent hit Do

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Revenge is a prime example.

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the movie revolves around high schoolers Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke) as they plan elaborate revenge plots against the people who have wronged them. The two hour runtime feels much longer as the story weaves through multiple subplots and twists that leave viewers reeling. The cast of undeniably talented actors paired with a killer soundtrack and costume design gives it all the makings of a future cult favourite.

Set up as part-satire, part-homage to early 2000s high school movies, Do Revenge is full of self-referential humour and plot devices that make you feel as if you are in on the same joke as the flmmakers. It borrows tropes from these movies to relate to its new audience’s generation, such as the scene in which Drea gives Eleanor a complete Cluelessesque makeover to turn her from a gangly oddball into a sexy, mysterious newcomer who can help her achieve her vengeance. Sarah Michelle Gellar even makes a cameo as the headmaster, a nod to Cruel Intentions - another classic revolving around sadistic private school students. References to Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She’s All That also made their way to the fnal cut.

Although incorporating this nostalgia is an effective way to appeal to its viewers, the movie’s attempt to do so through its use of slang tends to fall fat. It is tedious at its best, and entirely cringeinducing at its worst. At times, the script reads as if it was written by someone trying to cram in as many buzzwords as possible.

“Peaking in high school is cringe anyway.”

— Drea, Do Revenge (2022)

The language is not the only aspect that gets a modern update. Token characters such as the “popular jock” are adapted to ft the Gen Z perspective: golden boy Mike (Austin Abrams) is your typical internet “soft boy” with painted nails and faux-sensitivity. He is written as one of the main antagonists, founding the “Cis Hetero Men Championing Female Identifying Students League” as a camoufage for his specifc brand of misogyny. The movie earns its laughs through tongue-in-cheek satire like this, making fun of the very real people who use politically correct language to get away with their otherwise controversial behaviour. What really made this such a worthwhile watch for me, however, was the way Do Revenge treated its central friendship. We see Drea and Eleanor go from being the best of friends, to hating each other’s guts, to returning to their original closeness—but through it all, they remain the most pivotal person in each other’s character arcs. The story grants both of them their respective endgame love interests without distracting from the importance of their relationship to the overall plot.

Neither of the characters would be the same person at the end of the movie if it was not for each other’s intervention. Even when they appear to hate each other, Eleanor is shown to be singularly obsessed with Drea in a way women typically are not permitted the agency to be. This goes both ways, as Drea fnds

in Eleanor a kind of companionship she has never experienced before. It is rare to see female friendships written like this, especially when they blur the line between romantic and platonic so boldly. Mendes’ and Hawke’s sizzling chemistry is the missing puzzle piece that truly rounds out their performance and turns the movie into something to remember.

“Feeling alone is a specifc type of pain, with distinct recognizable signs to

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the trained eye. Drea and I, we were two wounded soldiers on the battlefeld of adolescence.”

— Eleanor, Do Revenge (2022)

The trend of teenage media centered around female friendships is not an entirely novel idea. Girl Meets World frst aired in 2014, a spinoff to the original 1990s show that revolved primarily around the male perspective. It provided a portrayal of unconditional friendship that was important for young girls to see, with little interference from their male love interests. Booksmart, released in 2019, similarly revolves around two best friends going through the full high school experience together. And Netfix’s latest show Heartbreak High deals with the aftermath of what happens when its inseparable main characters fall out—with the added beneft of having a remarkably diverse cast.

Movies like Do Revenge spotlight relationships that do not often receive the kind of visibility they should. Teenage girls play pivotal roles in each other’s lives, and seeing that refected in media is not only good representation, it makes for ingenious storytelling. As audiences and tastes change with the coming years, we might just be lucky enough to witness a new renaissance in teen media.

Women in these stories are not allowed to have meaningful relationships with each other unless men are invovled.

It is rare to see female friendships wrriten like this, especially where they blur the line between romantic and platonic so boldly.

A

New Chaper

How Your Independent Book Stores Navigated the Pandemic

By Aidan O’Reilly

he question of what your local, independent bookstore does for you can be hard to conceptualise. However, when you sit down to think about it, you realise how important these places are. Finding and reading new books can be an intimidating prospect for many people, whether you are a veteran reader, or simply trying to relearn the habit. “Will I like this book?” “Do I have time to read it?” “Will I like another book better?” These are just a few of the questions we all have when looking for a new book.

The books you actually read are but a fraction of all the books you have ever heard of, which themselves are a tiny percentage of all the books that have ever been written. There is not enough time in one hundred lifetimes to read them all, let alone the one life we are given. Thus, we want the books we read to matter. This, more than anything else, is what an independent bookstore helps us accomplish. Chain bookstores, like Chapters and Indigo, and book retailers, like Amazon, can tell you what the world is reading, but independent book stores can tell you what the people around you in your day-to-day life are reading. There is more of a personal touch.

They are the type of place that feels familiar and known to you, even during your frst visit. When you enter an independent bookstore, you do so with the knowledge that you are being given access to a collection of books that you simply will not fnd anywhere else. The kind of obscure books that you could spend ages searching for, or the book you never knew you needed in your life. They are a plentiful hunting ground for any voracious reader looking to satiate their hunger and sink their teeth into rich and diverse literary worlds.

Despite the value of independent bookstores, the media often emphasises their decline and impending death, with claims that they cannot compete with commercial retailers like Amazon, we will all be listening to audiobooks in just a couple of years, or the eBooks have already made independent bookstores redundant. Yet the independent bookstore remains.

Although the number of independent bookstores has certainly declined in the past decade, they have not disappeared, with their numbers even increasing in places like Ireland and the UK, according to Irish news site, TheJournal.ie.

The independent bookstore is not going anywhere anytime soon, and it will take more than a pandemic or a tech giant like Amazon to wipe them out. These independent bookstores changed during the pandemic and adapted to be better equipped to face the challenges and threats posed to them. Whether it is increased competition from book-retailers, or exten sive social media usage, the true cornerstones of any community do not simply vanish quietly into the night.

However, this is not to say that the pandemic was easy for independent bookstores. Al though many of these stores voluntarily shut their doors before any offcial restrictions were enacted for the health and safety of their communities, doing so also closed their most signifcant business model: browsing. No longer able to have people enter their stores, these businesses had to draw upon their innate creativity to cope with the pressures that came with the pandemic.

Located on 469 Milton Street, in the Milton-Parc neighbourhood adjacent to campus, The Word Bookstore is one such local bookstore that has a special place in the hearts of many McGillians. Brendan King-Edwards, manager at The Word, commented on the struggles the store faced during the pandemic:

“We were shut down obviously when we were mandated to shut down by the government. . . . It was tough. One of the problems is that this is a very small space, so we were only allowed

to have three or four people in at a time.”

For some, this meant curbside pick-ups, while for others, it meant becoming delivery drivers and drop ping books off right at the customers’ doorsteps. Some increased their capacity to do online orders and shipments, while others utilised the benefts of social media to promote their stock and connect with people, says CBC. Whatever method they used to stay open, independent bookstore owners all began to notice one thing: people cared about them. People wanted books, and local bookstores were essential to providing that service.

“We had to fgure out how to deliver throughout the city, which we were doing ourselves at frst and then we got bike couriers to help us do that, so we set up delivery.”

Though the normal experience of book browsing and chatting with the staff was not possible, people still valued what bookstores represented and the place they flled in their community. Loyal customers and generous donations would keep the doors open and the lights on, enabling many independent bookstores to survive during the pandemic. Even though eBooks could be purchased through the comfort of one’s home, or physical copies bought directly from Amazon, people demonstrated an appreciation of independent bookstores, giving them the endorsement of their communities.

BY LYSETTE UMWALI

And that is what independent bookstores are: a community. The world had become a messy and confusing place, and it was hard to make much sense of what was going on. Whether we were looking for a temporary escape – to get lost in a story unlike our own, or to better understand and process what was happening to us, our independent bookstores were able to give us not only the books we wanted during the pandemic, but the books we needed.

“Sales went down for sure, but we had a lot of support, we had a big network of people who were actively fnding ways to support us, by buying gift certifcates, buying surprise book boxes and stuff like that.”

In a post-pandemic world, we still have our independent bookstores. The issues that plagued them before the word “pandemic” was on anybody’s tongue are still here today. Large book retailers, eBooks, and audiobooks still present major obstacles for the indepen dent bookstore, but the pandemic showed that they are not insurmountable. Before, it could be argued that independent bookstores were outdated and ill-equipped to progress in the modern setting. However, the pandemic proved that not only could these places survive despite changing their entire business model, but that communities cared that they stayed open.

“Just being able to continue to engage with the community. It was really important and we managed to make that work for the most part.”

Though not labelled as such, independent bookstores were an essential service to many people during the pandemic, providing both connection, and an escape from the routine that dominated so many of our lives. The memories of what local bookstores did for people will live on and we will not simply stop supporting them just because we have returned to a new sta tus quo. Your local bookstore is a hard place to forget and will stick with you longer than you may realise, as it is a place where people congregate with one another, share their interests, and refect on common values.

“We had line-ups, people waiting to get in.”

Let there be the Indigos, and even Amazons if there must. But let there also be the local bookstore – and let us hope that their doors remain open, their lights on, and their books neatly shelved, to remind us why we read, and that we do not read in vain.

PHOTO

Creativity Identity& Transition

By Magdalena Nitchi Teiya Kasahara’s Journey

Photo by Dahlia Katz

or the ffth anniversary of Queer History Month, McGill invited a very special keynote speaker: Toronto-based Teiya Kasahara, a trans and nonbinary opera singer. Their talk, “(Trans)itioning Inward: Making Art with Intention,” discussed their career path and how they approach the ethics of theatre and opera as a transgender artist. The event was held at Tanna Schulich Hall’s stage, accommodating the sizable crowd in attendance. After a few brief speeches from local personnel including, Serge Sasseville, city counsellor for the Peter-McGill district, who is openly gay and fghts for the rights of his 2SLGBTQIA+ constituents—Kasahara took the stage.

Kasahara opened with a powerful question: “To whom do I hold myself accountable? To my colleagues, to the theatre, to the producer sending me the e-transfer? To my wife, my cats, my family? To you? To me? To the land? Artists are taught not to ask this, and just to focus on what will progress our careers. But progress is not a straight line. I’m not even sure if progress is a goal, if we look at the supposed history of human progress, and how the world is currently on fre.”

For Kasahara, the defnition of an ethical artist is quite simple: an ethical artist works “through intention, not letting others’ rules keep you from the path you are meant to tread. An artist understands their own imprint in relation to the world, to the people around them, to their community, and to the land.”

As Kasahara spoke, I could tell that they had thought deeply about the topics they explored throughout their life and artistic work, sensing wisdom in the advice they dispensed. Their experience as a queer, trans artist learning to re-navigate their creative environment was valuable for anyone in the audience.

Despite the seriousness of the topic, Kasahara did not shy away from humour. Once they had explained their conception of an ethical artist, they shared their own story and quickly established a rapport with the audience. Kasahara’s humorous retelling of their frst foray into opera as a ffteen year old garnered laughs from the audience. Kasahara,

a “self-professed tomboy” and “lazy overachiever,” decided to go overboard for their fnal presentation and learn the revenge aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This would lead Kasahara to their frst role: the Queen of the Night in the same opera. Soon, Kasahara and the Queen became “an item, operatically speaking.”

However, Kasahara’s dream eventually turned sour. As they were relentlessly ferried from black box theatre to black box theatre across

Kasahara needed a change. Unfortunately, their auditions for other parts went poorly. Kasahara painfully described how they constantly fretted over their queerness and gender presentation. They kept long hair despite feeling uncomfortable, and felt the need to “soften their look” in order to audition. As a queer person of colour, they often felt self-doubt, wondering if they were rejected because they “weren’t feminine enough,” or because they “weren’t white enough.” A step back from their art was necessary. Kasahara was able to explore writing while taking time away from singing. This proved liberating for them: Kasahara was able to fashion their own show built around their identity, and strengthen their relationships with the important people in their life.

Europe, kept in the wings only to be swept out for a total of 8 minutes onstage, they began to grow tired. Among the “pyrotechnics and pearls,” they realized they were not happy anymore: “I was so caught up in being good enough for everyone, I essentially lost sight of why I started doing this,” Kasahara said. “Because I loved operatic music and the way my body felt when performing it, I kept asking myself the question, ‘am I enough?’ and the answer was never yes. Had opera betrayed me, or was I betraying opera?” It is easy to slip into the self-destructive loop of questioning your worth and holding yourself up to arbitrarily high standards. However, as Kasahara insightfully pointed out, this is not a productive question to ask. It leads to instability and to the need for outside validation, which are not conducive to building self-identity. Regardless of one’s pursuits, in order to live as a self-actualized person, they need to let go of the need to be enough for others. This issue is particularly poignant for queer people and people of colour. By focusing on their personal journey and struggles with self worth rather than on social struggles, Kasahara connected emotionally with the audience.

During this time, Kasahara also began to “acknowledge the complex truths” about themself, exploring their identity as a transgender person. Around this time, they also began to return to performing; not as a traditional opera singer, but in theatre. Through theatre workshops, they were able to re-imagine the canon that had previously felt so constraining.

Kasahara’s show The Queen in Me re-imagines their frst role and love, the Queen of the Night. But in this opera, the Queen of the Night refuses to come onstage, and fghts for space for herself and the actor playing her. Kasahara’s goal was to “explore the many ways in which race, gender, and sexuality are policed in the opera industry,” while “[reclaiming] space for the multitudes of women, trans, and non-binary individuals excluded from the stage.” With fve Dora Mayor Moore Award nominations, the Toronto theatre scene has evidently taken notice.

Kasahara’s work as an ethical artist is exemplifed in their Amplifed Opera initiative, their position as the Canadian Opera Company’s Disruptor-in-Residence, and their work with Debi Wong to create River Island, an opera inspired by the life of Yoshiko Kawashima, a military leader with fascinating cultural and gender fuidity.

“TO WHOM DO I HOLD MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE? ... ARTISTS ARE TAUGHT NOT TO ASK THIS, AND JUST TO FOCUS ON WHAT WILL PROGRESS OUR CAREERS. BUT PROGRESS IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE.”

Learning How to Become Not the Fun Kind of Feminist

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By Alia Shaukat

afterwards. While reading further, I was struck with the harsh realization that the sex positive feminism I had become accustomed to is no more than misogyny repackaged in pink wrapping paper and ribbon –– an ideology that continues to beneft masculinity, all while perpetuating female suffering. Intercourse was published in 1987, Dworkin passed away in 2005. We have entered into a new era without her voice, and all that I’m left with is a bewilderment of when and how women will fnally break free from the patriarchy. For me, one thing is for certain –– sex positivity is not the solution.

Earlier this year, my older sister was reading Andrea Dworkin’s Inter course, a radical engagement in the politics of heterosexual sex and love. As I plucked it from her bookshelf (according to sister law, anything my sister does must be copied!), drawn to the watercolor cover and provocative title, my hands traced over the broken spine. The copy was sourced from a second-hand store –– Dworkin had been out of print for years, a voice far too controversial for modern day feminists.

With time, Intercourse went from being a tantalizing night-stand dec oration to an engrossing read. I fell completely and utterly in obsession with the text. For the frst time in my life, I was confronted with a feminist attitude that seemed to go beyond the superfcial, serving as a haven amongst the excess of the com modifed #girlboss and sex posi tive feminism I was surrounded by. For Dworkin, sex was not an act of confdence or an expression of fe male liberty, but rather “the pure, sterile, formal expression of men’s contempt for women.” She was an gry with the world and demanded a voice, often imaginative with her dis pleasure. The feminine experience of sex was seen for what it oftentimes is for many young women –– a de grading, dehumanizing, and even violent act. A corporal violence that we are meant to want, enjoy, ask for again and again, and say thank you

Although feminism is a dynamic and ever-expansive concept that can’t be dated, its widespread ex istence in the U.S. and Canada is best described in ‘waves.’ These waves are certainly not monolith ic, and contradictory opinions have always been present throughout ––Dworkin, for example, arose from the bra-burning free-love bohemians of the 60s and 70s. The frst wave, 1848 to 1920, was focused on gaining women the right to vote in the U.S. The second wave, 1963-1985, was dedicated to legalizing birth con trol. Both of these waves were high ly concerned with the rights of rich, white women –– even though a ma jority of the work was done by Black activists. The third wave began in 1991 and addressed a wide variety of issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace or the wage gap; and provided a newfound normalization of intersectionality in mainstream discussions. The modern day fourth wave continues to engage with all of the above, yet has been increas ingly focused on sexuality –– rang ing from the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017 to sex positive education. This newfound ‘fourth wave’ often coincides with ‘choice feminism,’ a modern feminist theo ry that argues all choices and ac tions are inherently feminist if they are made by a woman. Modern day choice feminism is most prevalent in the sex positive feminist movement, which argues for female sexual lib eration and the normalization of sex work.

The origins of our current day ‘choice feminism’ lie in compre hensive sexual education for young

people, a pillar of feminist ideology. Certainly, it is a privilege for us to hold productive and open conver sations on female anatomy, female pleasure, consent, and inclusive sex education. In the past, education was both largely unavailable for the majority of women and extreme ly reductive. This remains a reality for underprivileged, marginalized women. There is no question that education is crucial to empower people, especially as the sexual vi olence and domestic violence rates against women (primarily, women of color) only rise with time. Comprehensive sexual education, however, is not what choice feminists are engaging in today. Sex positive feminism has morphed from inclu sive education into harmful, violent rhetoric that is dripping with misog yny. Perhaps best exemplifying this is the iconic controversial podcast Call Her Daddy, created in 2018 by Alex Cooper and Sofa Franklyn. Call Her Daddy rapidly rose to fame fol lowing its release, accumulating a cult fanbase of die-hard young lis teners that take the word of creator ‘Father Cooper’ as gospel. The pod cast provides sex and dating advice, essentially resulting in a hollow at tempt at empowering women, but easily falling short. Cooper encour ages her female listeners to engage in ‘locker room talk,’ objectify their sexual partners, and strive for male validation by changing their ap pearance during their conquests. It is, at its core, female empowerment that not only pleases but praises the patriarchy, through the encourage ment of sexual promiscuity and in ternalized misogyny. In fact, Cooper describes her reasoning behind cre ating the podcast as a result of her lack of sexual education growing up –– but if these are the lessons she provides to young women, I’m not sure if it’s much more helpful than a lack of education. Call Her Daddy and the bubble of sex positivity are misguided at best–– a subdued, palatable, and pink-washed excuse for equality.

which creators can control their own content and engagement with their audience. Despite the seemingly empowering nature of the platform, the choice feminism of OnlyFans is equivalent to the blatant misog yny of the past. A BBC News report exposed that the platform accept ed illegal sexual content, such as non-consensual acts or acts involv ing minors; meanwhile many cre ators have reported being harassed and stalked by their viewers. Cer tainly, it is important to advocate for the safety and support of sex work ers, yet it can be done while acknowl edging that it is actively benefting the patriarchy. This sapid and com modifed feminism is simply another instance of women being subjected to the same exploitative standards they would be in a male-controlled industry, yet with a veil of false-em powerment laid upon it.

This threatening reality, however, runs much deeper than the media we consume –– the normalization of misogyny disguised as female em

“

This harmful ideology extends to the normalization of modern day sex work, often synonymously as sociated with the creation of On lyFans in 2016. OnlyFans is a sub scription-based online platform in

powerment is rooted in our every day lives. Sex positive feminism can lead to a false sense of safety and can normalize harmful relationships. Young women are told that the mo ment they turn eighteen, they are liberated women who not only have the right to, but should be having sex. Yet, the reality is that many sexual encounters of our generation are in fected by misogyny. Safe, educated, consensual, and enthusiastic sexual experiences are the ideal –– but for the impressionable women who feel infuenced by the Father Coopers of the world to ‘keep a roster’ of ques tionable men to have sex with, fall

ing into harmful relationships hap pens all too easily.

Under the regime of sex posi tive feminism, the worst part re mains: there will never be a smoking gun. There is no offense, no blatant wrongdoing, as he did everything he was told he could do. Sure, the sex was abrasive, or violent, and you were treated not only disrespect fully, but sub-humanly within the vicious cycle of hook-up culture ––but in the eyes of sex positive fem inism, this is the equality we signed up for. I witness discussions of sexual violence daily as the president of an anti-sexual violence student orga nization on campus. Too often, the groups that ask for workshops seem to be doing so to check off a box on their list for ‘inclusion training.’ They want me to give them a line –– to teach them where to step and where not to, how to carefully tow that line, how to be a good man in a one hour brief. A true interest or engagement in equality is out of the question. “It’s so hard to be a young man these days,” I once heard an out-of-touch aunt cry at a family gathering. The man cannot be faulted in the eyes of society because he did everything he was told he can do, precisely walking that line of mediocrity until he reaches the other side. We have been lulled into a pacifed state, the cushions of pseudo-feminism catching us as we tumble down the rabbit-hole.

Sex positivity and a woman’s choice to participate within it should certainly be acknowledged as a vi tal pillar for modern feminism, but it shouldn’t be the ultimate defni tion. Perhaps this new wave of fem inism, although currently harmful in its misdirection, is just part of the complex and interwoven process ––slowly, methodically prodding to wards eventual equality for women. As the violence against women to day not only perpetuates, but grows and fourishes, I’m drawn to Dwor kin’s legendary quote –– “I’m a rad ical feminist, not the fun kind.” With time, I only hope that I can learn not to be the fun kind either.

“

I was struck with the harsh realization that the sex positive feminism I had become accustomed to is no more than misogyny repackaged in pink wrapping paper and ribbon

Micro-Trends

By Lydia Hamouda

& Fast

is Season?

What’s “In”

There is no better way to gain fashion inspi ration than by looking at McGill students’ out fts in the fall season. The comfort able weather and the untainted ex citement encourage McGillians to dress their best for class and show off their trendy new looks. Consid ering the many new fashion trends that graced 2021, I had not expected another drastic change in popular styles this year. I could not grasp the fact that 2021’s Pinterest-popular pleated skirts and crewnecks have been completely replaced by midi skirts and knit jumpers. Long coats have been traded in for oversized leather jackets and Y2K low-waist ed jeans have begun to gain mo mentum once again. Most trends and styles I followed a couple of months ago have already become ‘dated.’ These fashion trends that I

Fashion

thought would have lasted at least a couple of years ended up lasting barely a few months. Not only has my wardrobe lost its stylistic ap peal, but I now have nothing to wear. I had fallen victim to micro-trends.

Micro-trends are accelerat ed versions of regular trends that both gain and lose popularity fast er than a sixth-grade relationship. Compared to macro-trends that often make it through a decade, mi cro-trends last shy of a season. The growth of social media has only fur ther accelerated this timeline. For example, videos featuring specifc aesthetics gain millions of views, in spiring their audience to alter their own individual style to follow these wildly popular trends. However, the dynamic nature of these apps al lows for these aesthetics to be shortlived. All it takes is a new viral vid eo with a fresh style for the old one to be deemed unfashionable, and for the micro-trend cycle to restart.

The pressure to keep up with new aesthetics and the constant pur chasing of ‘trendy’ clothes is inten sifed by the judgmental nature of social media. Likes, comments, and views directly correlate value to out ward appearances. Failing to abide by the latest fads is undesirable and will be publicly belittled as dated and ‘cheugy’ styles. Deeming prod ucts such as skinny jeans, which had dominated most of 2010s fashion, as ‘cringy,’ insinuates that wearing the style is embarrassing. Social me dia not only nurtures micro-trends, but also the hyper-critical platform that is quick to engage in cancel culture, infuencing the purchas ing habits of younger generations.

Celebrities and infuencers can also be blamed as they facilitate these micro-trends and wasteful consumerist habits. Their large fol lowings enable them to proft off clothing partnerships by simply appearing in a company’s post or wearing an article of clothing. Their many followers, hoping to appear as glamorous as their idols, are quick to imitate those same styles. Two

years ago, we were satisfed with high-waisted jeans and happy to leave the low-waisted styles back in the early 2000’s. However, all it took was supermodel Bella Hadid to be photographed in a pair of low-slung Levi’s for the trend to regain trac tion two decades later, according to Seventeen. Celebrities and infuenc ers are also often given a variety of clothes to wear and are constantly changing their style. When our idols do not repeat outfts, we assume that to achieve their ‘effortless fash ion,’ we must own as many gar ments as possible. However, while it may be more doable for Bella Had id or Kendall Jenner to fnance new looks regularly, it is incredibly diffcult for the average person to keep up.

The combination of dynamic fashion trends and mass consump tion poses a fnancial struggle to

e combination of dynamic fashion trends and mass consumption poses a nan cial strugagle to those who are not privileged enough to replace their wardrobe every season.

those who are not privileged enough to replace their wardrobe every sea son. Without the incredibly high in come of celebrities and their regular sponsorships that gift them a wide array of clothing, most people are fnancially pressured to reuse their clothes for longer periods of time. The growth of the fast fashion indus try, however, has created a solution for people who wish to afford new, stylish outfts and keep up with these fast changing fashion trends. Com panies such as Shein produce cloth ing at much lower prices that enable people to purchase a larger amount of items more regularly. This allows their customers to keep pace with dynamic styles and purchase a vari ety of trendy outfts — in other words, it enables their mass consumption of clothes. The lower prices allow people to fulfll their glamour dreams and purchase hundreds of clothing articles without breaking the bank.

Yet, this conveniently cheap pric ing has promoted not only unsus

tainable consumption and waste but also unethical production meth ods. As a result, companies that sell most of their clothes for under $20 produce signifcant consequences.

The consumerist behaviour en couraged by these cheap manu facturers inevitably results in guilt less waste. Lower prices mean lower quality, guaranteeing a shorter lifes pan for each piece of clothing, and therefore resulting in constant re purchases. The inevitability of trends losing momentum causes hundreds of purchases being left to collect dust. This excessive waste leads to signifcant environmental conse quences: it is estimated that ‘more than half of fast fashion produced is disposed of in under a year,’ ac cording to Circular Economy Month & Waste Reduction Week. Further more, these companies are also only able to produce affordable clothing at the expense of worker rights. Fast fashion is highly dependent on the use of sweatshops and child labour that violate basic ethical worker rights, and health safety laws. Using these exploitative methods allows fast fashion corporations to ensure low production costs that facilitate their attractively low prices. One of the most popular of these corpora tions, Shein, is an unethical compa ny; workers clock three shifts per day with only one day off per month, al lowing them to mass produce cloth ing at cheap prices at the expense of their employees, according to BBC.

While a switch from high-waisted to low-waisted jeans may not ap pear to pose the biggest threat to humanity, micro-trends, enabled by social media and celebrities, push people towards mass consump tion and purchasing from unsus tainable fast fashion corporations

REMAKES, REBOOTS, RECYCLE

Media Adaptations that Sell the Same Ideas Back to Us

By Maxine Bisera

Soon after the trailer for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid was released, it received over 1.5 million dis likes on YouTube and became the subject of wide-spread internet discourse. The flm is the latest installment in the Disney franchise, and the lat est remake of an originally animated movie.

While remakes, reboots, and spin-offs all differ, they rely on the same principle of taking a successful original idea and using it as a reference point to create a differ ent story. Spin-offs, for exam ple, tend to focus on different aspects and characters than the original work. Remakes are typically described as an accurate recreation of the original, while reboots signify a reimagined version of the same story. These storytelling methods have become key to the formation of franchises— as characters and settings are created and added to a company’s list of intellectual property, it becomes easier to create a new storyline when pre-existing ideas, motives, and conficts exist.

Adaptations also provide companies with a very strong business strategy: why spend time and effort creating new stories that risk negative re ception, when we could expand on the ones people already know? As such, adap tations are becoming more prevalent in today’s media landscape, gaining notoriety as they do. There seems to be a growing sense of ennui with today’s audiences who lament the ever-expanding cinematic universes — but

the numbers tell a different story. According to IMDb’s list of the top 25 highest-gross ing movies of the 2010s, all were either remakes, adap tations, sequels, or part of a larger franchise.

The fact is that nostal gia will always win us over. A spin-off of our favourite TV show will always seem like a safer choice rather than ven turing into the unknown.

There is nothing inherent ly wrong with nostalgia — a good story is one that de serves to be revisited time and time again. Further, there is nothing inherently wrong with remaking a cinematic fa vourite, especially when done out of a genuine desire to re investigate the original work. The problem arises when proft becomes the driving motive for creation. Successful elements will be recreat ed and amplifed, while other components that may not be as dramatic end up neglect ed. The moment large corpo rations detect something has the potential to be infuential, it all too often becomes fran chised and milked for prof it until all cultural meaning it once had is lost.

The source material of any remake is a product of its time and tends to refect the particular values of that era. These beliefs are often outdated compared to to- day’s standards. As a result, audiences are frequently at odds as to whether changes should be made to make the new version more palatable.

On one hand, progressive groups advocate for more minority representation in media and a more nuanced

portrayal of their communi ty. Alternatively, people ar gue to preserve prejudiced undertones and stereotypes, whether it be for ‘historical accuracy’ or just their general dislike for equality. Regarding The Little Mermaid, the main point of contention was the fact that Halle Bailey, a Black woman, was cast for the role of Ariel. Redditors mourn ed for their childhood Ariel, a white-skinned, red-headed mermaid, and argued for a faithful and realistic adapta tion. However, the number of people boycotting the ‘woke’ remake of the Little Mermaid are equally as prevalent as the people pledging to sup port it in theaters. To avoid too much backlash from either side, reproducers tend to take the middle ground — disap pointing LGBT representation, powerful ‘#girlboss’ one-lin ers while the actress is paid less than her male co-stars , and sidekicks of colour meant to serve their white saviour main-character. The resulting social commentary is often a surface-level narrative that only sets out to accomplish a corporate milestone.

Disney’s new rendition of the Little Mermaid calls for re alism and opts for a dreary, murky, CGI underwater set ting. This is the second, ad mittedly less prevalent, piece of criticism the internet has to offer: the adaptation looks lifeless compared to the an imated original. Advances in CGI have allowed for the ad dition of more realistic-look ing animations but these remakes show that photore alism isn’t always the most effective way to tell these sto

ries. The colours are not as vibrant as in cell shaded an imation, dance numbers are greatly scaled back for the sake of realism, and charac- ters are restricted in the ways they can express emotion.

Disney’s The Lion King adap- tation, for example, received criticism for being more a nature documentary than a children’s movie, as refect ed in an NPR article from 2019 titled “‘The Lion King’ is Like A Nature Documentary With A Backbeat.” The fact is more can be done creatively with the medium of hand-drawn animation; however, CGI al- lows for a faster manipulation of live actors. In effect, more content can be produced in a shorter period of time, leading to more sales and proft.

Ultimately, the biggest ef fect of these remakes is a cultural unwillingness to in- novate with the unfamil iar. While not the sole cause, the fact the most successful movies of the decade relied on pre-existing intellectual property speaks to a larger social phenomenon. In a time when ideas are largely spread through media, it becomes so important to create new sto ries that incorporate different perspectives and are not just shoehorned into today’s cul- tural climate. There will always be space for nostalgia, but we cannot forget the value of new narratives. We should never prioritize remakes over media that is experimental, open to failure, and attempt ing something meaningful. It is with the advent of these new stories that we can bet ter learn about new ideas and ways of thinking.

The Perennial Middle

Lillard, Beal, and the NBA’s Evolving Team-Building Strategies

By Henry Ceffalio

amian Lillard and Bradley Beal are two of the NBA’s premier offensive weapons. Yet, neither Lillard’s Trail Blazers nor Beal’s Wizards have won a Conference Finals game since they were drafted in 2012. When each team missed the playoffs last season, students of bas ketball history and team-building encouraged the clas sic path for a middling small market franchise: tank and rebuild. Neither team chose that course, opting instead to give substantial extensions to their star guards. The front offces in Portland and Washington thus chose to reaffrm the status quo as a quasi-contender in the league’s middle led by one elite player.

A decade ago, the Portland Trail Blazers selected a shifty point guard from a small college in Utah named Damian Lillard. Lillard rapidly ascended to one of the game’s elite shooters amid the heart of the sport’s three-point revolution. He developed an extensive of fensive repertoire that led the Blazers to eight consecu tive playoff appearances.

However, the Blazers have not equipped their star with a roster that can truly contend with the league’s best. While the Blazers have drafted profcient talents in CJ McCollum and Anfernee Simons, they have never attracted a free agent talented enough to be Lillard’s legitimate co-star. They have failed to build a sound defense and consistently rank towards the bottom of the league in defensive effciency. Modest roster ad justments were made in 2022 but the team remains a critical tier below the best of the Western Conference. Beal and the Wizards represent the more prosaic twin of Lillard and the Blazers. The Washington Wiz ards drafted Bradley Beal third overall in 2012, just three picks above Lillard. Beal has never boasted Lillard’s three-point ammunition but he consis tently performs as one of the Eastern Confrence’s best offensive players, scoring more than thirty points per game and leading the Eastern Conference in scoring in both 2019-20 and 2020-21.

The Wizards have won just one playoff se ries since Beal’s draft. They’ve had many ill-fated draft picks and have not attracted a veritable star via free agency. The Russell Westbrook experience in 2020-21 was a truly raucous season that just inficted further frustration. The past decade of Wizards basketball be yond Beal has been remarkably undistinguished. The consolation is that they’re in the same spot as the Blaz ers – a mediocre team behind a perennial star that hasn’t truly competed for a title in decades. Both teams began the season projecting to fnish in the middle of

their conferences.

The middle of the pack is a grave limbo. Average to good NBA rosters simply cannot win the champion ship. In Major League Baseball a middling group like this year’s Philadelphia Phillies can abruptly transmute into an excellent contender in October and play for the World Series. That doesn’t happen in the NBA. To win the NBA Finals you must possess one of the most offensive ly talented rosters, be stellar defensively, and, most im portantly, have a star - one of the best couple of basket ball players in the world. The 2004 Detroit Pistons are the only Finals winner this century without one of the NBA’s offcial top seventy-fve players. No team lower than the third seed has won the Finals since the 1995 Houston Rockets. The Blazers and Wizards cannot complete a Cinderella story against the league’s juggernauts.

Portland and Washington would require a second star equivalent to or above the standard of Lillard or Beal to win a title. Unfortunately, the Blazers and Wizards play in cities and receive draft picks that can’t yield that sec ond star.

Teams that play in glamorous cities with big basket ball markets can pull top-tier talent in spite of their ros ter’s mediocrity. The 2018-19 Los Angeles Clippers were a frst round playoff exit but acquired Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George in the summer. The Brook lyn Nets met the same fate that year yet signed Kev in Durant and Kyrie Irving at the end of the season. The Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs in 2017-18 but still procured LeBron James in the offseason and won a championship two seasons later. Free agent stars prefer going to America’s biggest cities to play for the league’s most valuable organisations. Portland and Washington are strong basketball markets but they have never at tracted a star free agent in their prime. This is a reality that disadvantages most teams outside of California or New York.

Stars don’t come to small market teams. They will, however, remain with the team that drafted them for their entire career. This makes drafting, developing, and holding onto a star the best path for teams like the Blaz ers and Wizards to construct a championship roster.

Most of basketball’s league-ready elite talent is found in the top fve or six picks in the draft, where Lillard and Beal were selected. The draft order is decided with a lottery that gives the top picks to the teams with the worst records and the middle picks to teams with re cords in the league’s centre. Washington’s average frst pick since Beal’s class is sixteenth and Portland’s aver age frst pick is seventeenth in the same span (exclud ing 2014 and 2016, when Portland held zero total picks). Immediately productive and star-level talent like Luka Doncic typically won’t fall to that point of the draft, granted there have been exceptions. The mediocre to above-average records the Blazers and Wizards earned just yielded ineffectual draft picks that could not mate rialise into any stars.

The Blazers and the Wizards were at a critical impasse this summer. Neither their city nor their draft trajectory can yield them another star in the near future. The ceil ing for 2022-23 is a Conference Finals appearance but they are not among the worst teams vying for the top

couple picks. These teams seemed trapped in the perennial middle that they occupied for years. Yet, each chose to reaffrm the status quo by extending their stars’ contracts.

The Blazers inked Damian Lillard to a twoyear extension this summer that keeps him on the team until the summer of 2027. Lillard will make $63 million dollars in 2026-27 in his fourteenth NBA season at age 36. This is a risky gamble on Lillard’s continued value well after his prime. Bradley Beal’s new deal will pay ap proximately $251 million over fve years. Beal is also the only player in professional basketball with a no-trade clause, meaning that he can personally veto any trade the Wizards might make to get out of his contract. Beal and Lil lard are the ffth and sixth highest paid play ers in the league, respectively, and will remain atop this bracket for the foreseeable future. The Blazers and Wizards are committed to re taining their franchise players who have nev er brought them to the Finals and will soon be past their prime.

The game’s other small market teams are constructing a different path to success via purposeful losing. The Utah Jazz this summer were stuck in the same spot as the Blazers and Wizards. They had two elite players in Dono van Mitchell and Rudy Gobert who together saw consistent regular season success. Yet, the duo faltered each playoff run and never once reached the Western Conference Finals.

The Jazz knew that they couldn’t win a championship with Mitchell and Gobert. They knew that their regular season wins would bring them largely futile draft picks and that they had slim hope of bringing another star to Salt Lake City. So, they sent Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Gobert to the Minne sota Timberwolves in exchange for a war chest of draft capital. The Jazz project to be one of the worst teams in basketball this season. But that is exactly what they want. They hope to lose enough games to get the frst overall pick. This year, that honour will be bestowed upon the 7’3 Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, the best prospect since LeBron James.

The Jazz are actively trading away their current assets and trying to lose in hopes of drafting the game’s next star. The New Orle ans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves are small market teams who turned themselves into contenders through this strategy of tank ing. The Pelicans and Timberwolves assem bled some abysmal squads in the late 2010’s. These performances yielded each franchise one frst overall draft pick. The Pelicans draft ed Zion Williamson frst in 2019 and the Tim berwolves secured Anthony Edwards at the same spot the following year. Williamson and Edwards are generationally gifted athletes currently surrounded by the other talent their

teams acquired while losing. The tank gave New Orleans and Minnesota a genuine chance to contend for a title in 2022-23 and likely well into the future.

Tanking is a proven path to success that the stagnant Blazers and Wizards seemed primed to follow. If Portland traded Lillard they would receive an extensive, perhaps unprecedent ed, cornucopia of draft picks and young tal ent. The return for a scorer like Beal would also be substantial. More importantly, Washington and Portland would fall to the very bottom of the standings, meaning atop the draft board. They would have a chance at Victor Wem banyama, or whichever teenager will be the next Ja Morant or Jayson Tatum.

So, why did Portland and Washington dou ble down on a formula that has led to a de cade of failure? Did they fail to realise their roster, city, and draft picks can never realisti cally garner them a title?

Perhaps you can’t tear down a status quo that is as attractive as this. Damian Lillard is an outstanding point guard and a legend ary fgure. He made basketball’s most iconic three-point buzzer-beater while wearing Trail Blazers red. Fans adore him and pay to watch him bomb threes from the stratosphere. Lillard has displayed an unremitting loyalty to Port land. Beal doesn’t have the notoriety of Lillard but he is the reason to buy a Wizards jersey for Christmas and drive to the arena. Each player makes their team competitive enough where they’ll have a few games televised national ly and likely make a brief appearance in the playoffs.

You can’t demolish a status quo that’s achieved some degree of success along with sustained personal bonds. There’d be civil tu mult in the wider Pacifc Northwest if Lillard was ever traded to Los Angeles. It’s true that if Portland and Washington began to tank this summer they might have a shot at the cham pionship in fve years. But they would be irrele vant, boring, and losing teams this season.

A team’s goal is a championship. Even if that means sacrifcing current success for glory years later, the target is the title, by any means necessary. But what if it’s not? The Blazers and Wizards’ front offce certainly understand that their past rosters centred around Lillard and Beal have never really challenged the league’s best teams, and that the next few years will likely be the same. Perhaps their goal is not to hold the trophy. Perhaps they wish to maintain an exciting and bankable team behind bril liant and loyal stars - a worthy status quo.

ount Everest has long been considered the end-all beall of mountaineering. The summit, which is located along the Chi na-Nepal border, sits at 8,849 me ters and has attracted thousands of climbers eager to add its ascent to their list of accolades. However, with time, summiting Everest has become increasingly accessible to wealthy and inexperienced climbers. As a result, the mountain and those who depend on it are suffering.

In recent years, climbers ap proaching the summit of Everest have witnessed an increasingly worrying phenomenon: traffc jams. As larger masses of people aspire to reach the highest point on earth, the mountain becomes more con gested. According to Freddie Wilkin son from National Geographic, the Nepali government issued a re cord-breaking 381 climbing permits in 2019. Taking into account expedi tion guides and Sherpas – an ethnic minority native to the area – over seven-hundred people summited Everest that year. The article ex plains that experienced moun taineers at tribute the traffic jams to an

increase in inexperienced climbers who struggle to navigate the more technical sections of the ascent.

Overcrowding has made climbing Everest even more dangerous as long lines near the summit make climbers more susceptible to hypo thermia and running out of oxygen.

Many have attributed this rise in inexperienced climbers to the in creased commercialisation of Ev erest. If you can afford the $30,000$130,000 price tag, as reported by BBC, chances are you can fnd a tour group to get you to the top, regard less of skill level. Everest’s improved accessibility has turned it into a wealthy person’s playground. The transactional nature of climbing Ev erest has made it increasingly main stream, almost alienating it from the rest of the mountaineering world. The barrier to entry for Everest has long been both fnancial and skill-related. One’s ability to pay exorbitant sums

should not override the fact that mountaineering is a serious sport which carries considerable risk. As reported by Reuters, some suggest that the Nepali government should cut down the number of permits supplied. Others believe this will not address the growing number of un der experienced climbers and ar gue the government should require proof of mountaineering experience when requesting permits.

The high level of tourism in Sagar matha National Park and on the mountain have had drastic envi ronmental impacts. When climb ing Ever est, each person produces 8 kg of

The Tragic Over-Commercialisation of Mount Everest

trash, National Geographic details, most of which stays on the moun tain. The path to the summit is lit tered with discarded food contain ers, human waste, and abandoned equipment. As climate change has worsened, melting snow has ex posed debris and contaminated Everest’s watershed. Thousands of Nepalis rely on the water coming from Everest for their livelihood, and the increasing levels of pollution on the mountain have put their health at serious risk. Efforts have been made to clean up the mountain but – like most things on Everest – the responsibility has fallen to the Sher pas. The Nepalese government and NGOs have launched projects which have successfully removed thirteen tons of waste from the mountain, according to National Geographic. However, most of the participants in these efforts have been Sherpas: not only do they guide tourists

up the mountain, they have to clean up after them, too.

Though the term ‘Sherpa’ has re cently become synonymous with Everest’s mountain guides, it actu ally refers to an ethnic group native to the Eastern Himalayas. Sherpa have played an indispensable role in making it possible to summit Ev erest, but rarely receive recognition. They’re in charge of setting up and taking down fxed ropes, as well as doing most of the heavy lifting whilst on expeditions with clients. The Sher pa continuously risk their lives to prepare the mountain for climbers and though they earn more than the average Nepalese person, they earn drastically less than the Western guides despite having much higher death rates, as reported by Nation al Geographic. A Western guide can expect to earn around $50,000 per season while the average Sherpa will only make approximately $4000. Climbers who reach the top are quick to proclaim their success but often fail to mention how it would’ve been impossible without the team of Sherpa helping them through out their ascent. This issue isn’t limited to individual climbers but to the West’s perception of indigenous people as a whole. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Ten zing Norgay were the frst to

summit Everest. Hillary – a New Zea land mountaineer – was knight ed for his efforts, while Norgay – a Nepalese Sherpa – only received an honorary medal. Indigenous groups have often been exploited by colonial expeditions and then subsequently erased from the nar rative once congratulations are in order. This long-standing idea that the Sherpa people exist to help rich foreigners summit a mountain not only reinforces colonial-esque rela tions, but also denigrates their ac complishments as some of the best mountaineers.

Climbing Everest has become an individual feat used to satisfy one’s ego by exploiting others. It is no lon ger about pushing the boundaries of mountaineering, mutating to a proft-driven endeavor that makes accessible to rich foreigners what was once considered impossible for the average human. The new wave of people summiting Everest have little consideration for how their ac tions are aggravating an ongoing climate crisis and contributing to an economy which disproportionately harms local ethnic minorities. The Sherpa call Everest ‘Chomolungma’ which means “goddess mother of the world.” To them, Everest isn’t just a peak to climb or a way to make ends meet, but is a holy place that is being desecrated by the mass of wealthy foreign climbers who are simply trying to cross an item off their bucket list.

Over-Commercialisation

Everest

By Berengere Fouqueray

Does Money Win FOOTBALL Games?

By Zacharie Bouquet

n the summer of 2017, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (PSG) signed Brazilian superstar Neymar for 222 million euros, the highest price tag ever registered for a football player. Although PSG has won four championships and nine domestic cups since his arrival, they have yet to win the Champions League, the most prestigious cup in Europe. The example of Neymar’s deal with PSG refects a delicate debate in modern football: whether or not money can win games. Although football clubs as a whole have benefted from increased revenues, there are still large budget disparities between competing clubs. Performances will disproportionately favor the richer club when the difference of revenue is too large. Money allows teams to attract premier talents, develop superior infrastructure, and ameliorate their academy to develop young players. Take the difference between total values of the frst and last place teams in French Ligue 1. The total value of PSG is estimated to be 890.35 million euros, whereas that of Ajaccio’s is 26.65 million euros, according to Transfermarkt. PSG has won the French championship seven times in the last nine years, while Ajaccio is struggling mightily upon their return from division two. Money will win football games if the difference in budget is extreme. But what about when the gap is smaller?

The Italian League and English Premier League have seen competitive parity among their top clubs who

constantly come in around the same payroll. Market value of top Italian sides has been stable over the past few years and the league has found a new competitive balance. The Italian Championship was dominated by Juventus of Turin before the 2019-20 season. Yet, the Italian sides have recently improved with Inter Milan, led by Antonio Conte, winning the 2021-22 season. The following year, the other Milan side won the League, confrming the end of Juventus’ dominance. The English Premier League clubs known as the “Big 6” have dominated the past ten years. They fnish in the top six almost every year and battle for both frst place and the top four, synonymous with a qualifcation for the next Champions League campaign. These clubs are amongst the richest clubs in the Premier League, with their average value being approximately equal to the sum of the other fourteen clubs. The values of the “Big 6” range from 2.130 billion pounds to 3.476 billion pounds, whereas the 7th highest valued club has a value of only 392 million pounds, according to Sports Quotes and Facts. Since 2010, the Premier League has had fve different champions, four coming from the “Big 6.” The competition is so intense for the Premier League that in the 2021/22 season, Manchester City won the League by just one point over Liverpool. There is greater parity when the overall market value of clubs is similar and clubs compete for championships with a high number of games, like in today’s English Premier League and Italian League.

The 2015/2016 Leicester team contradicts the argument that money can buy championships. Leicester has never been a historic English Premier League team. They fnished fourteenth during the 2014/2015 season and the market value of their squad was signifcantly less than those of the “Big 6.” However, after thirty-eight games in one of the most prestigious leagues in the world, Leicester fnished frst, completing one of the most unexpected underdog stories in sports history. Their Premier League championship is in large part due to their scout, Steve Welsh. He was able to fnd players unknown to the general public whose consistent performance over the season shocked many. Jamie Vardy, their top scorer that season, played in Division Five only four seasons prior to winning the League with Leicester. N’golo Kanté was also playing in the lower divisions in France a couple of years prior. Leicester’s players’ lack of experience did not prevent them from seeing unprecedented success. Although Manchester City won the League numerous times in the past few years, the David versus Goliath story still remains possible for teams. This incredible story proves that fnding underappreciated players on a budget can lead to a championship.

Factors other than money affect on-feld performance. The competition that tests the best teams in Europe is the Champions League. To win, a team has to make top two out of four in the group stages and then complete the knock-out stage with ffteen other teams. PSG and Manchester City are two examples of teams that have invested inordinate sums of money to try to win the “Holy Grail” but have ultimately come up short. Manchester City spent a staggering 1.1 billion dollars to assemble their current squad but has struggled in the Champions League. Likewise, PSG spent a fortune to attract Neymar Jr, Mbappé, and other world class players, but failed to win the Champions League since Qatar Sports Investment bought them in 2011.

Coaching, experience, and player stability are crucial. Real Madrid’s recent Champions League victory demonstrates the value of these unquantifable assets. Real Madrid has now won fourteen Champions Leagues and the road to the trophy this past season was truly impressive. After fnishing frst in their group, the Spanish side eliminated PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool in very close matches. The longevity of their squad was key to their success. Real Madrid was not particularly active in the transfer windows in the past few years and still relied on their older, tenured players. In the past three transfer windows, Real

Madrid maintained a positive net transfer balance, meaning the value of their departures exceeds that of their purchases. The intrinsic talents of their players is not especially better than those of the teams they beat in the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Chemistry and historical edge are sometimes more important than the talent of the squad; Real Madrid players have been playing at the club for several years together. Their midfeld, composed of Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Luka Modric, have played together since 2014. The chemistry development between players is non-negligible. They also have an edge over other less experienced clubs like PSG because they have won the Champions League thirteen times before. Their current success is likely derived from the fact that they are better coached, have a better overall club structure, or beneft from their ample experience. Real Madrid has shown during this campaign that mental resilience wins football matches.

PSG, in contrast, has attracted some of the best forwards in the world in Neymar Jr and Mbappé. The duo has failed to win the Champions League and their tenuous relationship has often made headlines. PSG has also seen a lot of manager and squad turnover, with seven different coaches since 2011. Before the start of this season, PSG changed their coach and general manager, added nineteen new players, and parted ways with an astonishing twenty-nine players. This high turnover has prevented the team from developing effective chemistry. PSG often dominates their opponents only to lose the lead in the feeting moments of the match. This is very likely a result from their lack of experience playing as a cohesive unit and mental unreadiness on the big stage. In order to win, a team must possess fortitude and patience. These are diffcult to develop when their team board demands instant victory. In addition, the high expectations of PSG supporters and extensive media coverage augments players’ stress levels and makes it harder to focus on just football.

Money typically wins games when the budget differential is substantial, especially over the course of a season. However, Leicester City demonstrates that teams with far less money can succeed when they attract unknown yet talented players. When the budget differential is slimmer, competition becomes more intense and the outcome of the game more unpredictable, like in the Italian League and the Premier League’s “Big 6.” Real Madrid’s recent Champions League victory over PSG and Manchester City likewise demonstrates that factors apart from money lead to success. As PSG and Manchester City continue their success at the domestic level, we will see how far they make it in this year’s Champions League.