The McGill Daily: Volume 113, Issue 14

The McGill Daily is located on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory.

Volume 113, Issue 14 | Monday, January 15, 2024 | mcgilldaily.com Volume 113, Issue 9 | Monday, November 6, 2023 | mcgilldaily.com in kahoots since 1911 abandoned, desolate, derelict since 1911

The McGill Daily is located on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory.

Published by The Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University.

Published by The Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University.

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table of Contents

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Table of Contents 3

Editorial •

Honouring Palestinian Journalists

4 News • •

7

McGill’s Divestment from Fossil Fuels Quebec Teachers Return to School

Culture •

Female Directors in 2023

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Features •

Claude Prairie’s Le contenant comme métaphore

10 Commentary •

Advice to Graduating Students

11 Compendium!

•

Chilly Crossword

EDITORIAL

Volume 113 Issue 14

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

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editorial board

3480 McTavish St, Room 107 Montreal, QC, H3A 0E7 phone 514.398.6790 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com

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Published by the Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University.

The views and opinions expressed in the Daily are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of McGill University.

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Honouring Journalists in Palestine

n the 101 days since Israel began its military assault on Gaza, many of us have relied on the work of Palestinian journalists to understand what’s really happening on the ground. For people of conscience concerned about the genocide in Gaza, checking the pages of journalists such as Motaz Azaiza, Bisan, Wael Al-Dahdouh, and many more to see the latest updates has become a daily routine. Since the recent escalation of Israel’s violence, these journalists have steadfastly documented not only the horrors experienced every day by Gazans, but also their incredible resilience in the face of a genocidal military campaign. When addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of South Africa, lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh described this as “the first genocide in history where [the] victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time.” However, documenting Israel’s genocide against their people means that Palestinian journalists and their families have become targets of Israeli attacks, and in many cases have been murdered for their work, despite international law prohibiting the targeting of journalists.

At the time of writing, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) estimates that at least 79 journalists and media workers have been killed by the IDF, with several more reported missing, injured, or arrested. While most of these journalists are Palestinians, many from Israel, Lebanon, and other countries also count among the dead. Furthermore, CPJ describes the last three months as “the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.” However, many journalists in Gaza have opted to stay, despite immense safety risks, to document Israel’s crimes against their people for the world to see.

Palestinian journalists have made it clear that they are sharing these stories so that the world can bear witness to the horrors experienced by Palestinians and take action to stop this genocide. In this, the international community has made little progress. Despite mass protests taking place around the world and several countries supporting South Africa’s genocide case at the ICJ, Israel continues to receive support from most Western countries, including Canada and the United States, to pursue its genocide in Palestine.

Palestinian journalists have frequently expressed outrage that despite their advocacy, the genocide has continued for more than 100 days. “I survived death multiple times, and put myself in danger to show you the situation on the ground, and I believe that’s enough for now,” wrote journalist Ismail al Dahdouh in an Instagram post announcing the end of his coverage. “As one of my colleagues said, ‘seeking refuge within family is a better option than seeking coverage for a world that doesn’t know the meaning of humanity and compassion.’”

Al Dahdouh’s concern for his family is well-founded.

Israel’s targeting of Palestinian journalists extends not only to the journalists themselves but also to their families. Al Jazeera bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh received the news that several of his family members – including his wife, son, daughter,

and grandson – were killed in an airstrike while live on air.

Last week, his son Hamza, another Al Jazeera journalist, was martyred when the IDF struck the car he was travelling in with freelance journalist Mustafa Thuraya.

As student journalists, we know that journalism can be a powerful tool to hold our institutions accountable and expose their wrongdoings. Israel’s targeting of the Palestinian journalists showing the reality of the occupation to the world further emphasizes the importance of these journalists’ work in countering narratives that dehumanize Palestinians and justify the occupation. In particular, as editors of the Daily, a publication with an anti-oppressive mandate, we believe that it is our obligation to stand in solidarity with Palestinian journalists and to condemn in the strongest terms Israel’s attempts to silence them.

As we honour the bravery of Palestinian journalists, we must also call out the Canadian journalists and publications whose coverage has served to minimize the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people and to sanitize the actions of the Israeli state. Analysis by The Breach showed that large Canadian publications, such as the CBC, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the National Post avoid using emotionally evocative language when describing the killing of Palestinians, despite using that language when discussing the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas. The CBC has confirmed that this choice of language is intentional, claiming that the difference in language is used because Israel kills Palestinians “remotely.” Palestinian journalists, such as Yara Jamal of CTV Atlantic and Zahraa al-Akhrass of Global News, have also been fired from Canadian news organizations.

In our Statement of Principles, we recognize that “all events and issues are inherently political, involving relations of social and economic power and privilege.” We know that the way we choose to frame an issue is a political choice that shapes how our readers may view the world. Too often, news organizations reinforce oppressive power structures and obfuscate injustices committed against marginalized groups under the guise of neutrality. But Palestinian journalists have shown us how journalism can be used to challenge, rather than uphold, traditional power structures. Current and future media workers must set the standards for ethical, responsible journalism that questions systems of power and uplifts marginalized voices.

As journalists in Palestine continue to be targeted, it’s important for us to continue to engage with them in any way we can and spread the stories they are sharing. To ensure that their efforts are not in vain, continue to protest, boycott, and pressure your elected representatives to hold Israel accountable by calling for an immediate ceasefire, imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel, and supporting South Africa’s case at the ICJ.

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news

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

McGill Board of Governors Votes Unanimously to Divest From Fossil Fuels After 12 years of campaigning, Divest McGill celebrates a victory

India Mosca News Editor The following interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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or Divest McGill, 2023 ended on a positive note. Months of petitions and advocacy efforts led to a pivotal decision by the Board of Governors (BoG) on whether to remove the remaining fossil fuel holdings from the McGill Investment Pool (MIP), which currently account for less than one per cent of the University’s endowment fund. On December 14, the BoG unanimously voted to divest from direct investments in fossil fuel companies of the Carbon Underground 200 (CU200) by 2025. This came days after the COP28 signed an agreement laying the groundwork to phase out fossil fuels.

Between 2019 and 2022, the

Nelly Wat | Visuals Contributor MIP’s carbon footprint was reduced by 49 per cent. With this announcement, the university entered Phase 2 of its Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) strategy, which aims to reduce its carbon footprint. Currently, the CU200 holdings in the MIP make up only 0.5 per cent of total assets. This new eight-point plan builds on the university’s previous achievements and targets.

The BoG also approved other SRI commitments, including allocating 10 per cent of the MIP to Sustainable Investment Strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) by 2029, and integrating an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) scoring system and risk metrics into their fund manager monitoring processes.

This decision culminates 12 years of dedicated efforts by Divest

McGill to get the university to divest from fossil fuels. The Daily met with Laura Doyle Péan, a McGill graduate who was part of Divest McGill between 2019 and 2023; and Emily Hardie, a current member, to discuss the implications of this announcement and their next steps moving forward.

India Mosca for The McGill Daily (MD): What significance does the December 14 announcement hold for you and the community of Divest McGill?

Emily Hardie (EH): This is a huge win for our campaign because this has been the main focus, but it’s also a win for the rest of the community, all the students, staff, and faculty that have endorsed divestment for so long now. When I first heard the news, alongside other members of Divest, I was definitely in a state

of shock, because this campaign has been running for 11 to 12 years now, and it’s incredible to experience this win within my time at McGill. At the same time, it did take 12 years for the Board to make this decision, which is really unfortunate.

Laura Doyle Péan (LDP): I think for myself, there was a fear that they would change their mind at the last minute. So until it had been officially stated, even if at that point we were expecting it, it was hard to be certain. Even after it had been announced, I think it took a while to digest the news and actually feel the victory, in a sense, and understand that it was real, because the campaign had been going on for so long. But now that the weeks have passed, I think what Emily said as a victory for the community is really true, because it reinforces a great precedent [for]

other campaigns that are looking for divestment for human rights.

We’ve been part of a coalition with SPHR [Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights] and other groups for a couple of years now, [and they] can use that precedent to get the Board to divest from other companies that are causing human rights abuses.

MD: What made this announcement finally possible?

EH: The recent announcement is due to the work that has been done for the past 12 years, it’s not a decision that’s just been made over the past year. We’ve been in communication with CAMSR [now known as CSSR, the Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility], which is a committee on the Board of Governors, and we were invited to do a presentation in September to

news

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

the Board. I don’t think we would have had the opportunity to do this presentation for them if we hadn’t made a name for ourselves over the course of 12 years. Although the SRI review was supposed to be for next year or the year after that, we accelerated the SRI review in advance, in part due to the presentations and communications that we’ve had with the Board recently.

MD: What do you think the impact of this announcement will be? Do you believe it will influence other universities and the broader movement to divest from fossil fuels?

LDP: It’s kind of funny at this point, because one of our arguments in the campaign for so long was that the impact goes beyond McGill and it will influence so many other institutions. But McGill took so long to make up their mind about divestment that we’re one of the last universities in Canada to make this announcement. But I do think that it still has an impact on the movement, because it is further proof of the potential of collective organizing, mobilization, and the power that students have when they come together to push for these sort of things. So, I think, even though it’s not the first victory that our movement has seen, it’s still something to be celebrated and something that can serve as fuel, no pun intended, for mobilizing for climate justice.

EH: It’s important to note why McGill has divested. I think a large part of why we have divested, [which] was also communicated to us in meetings with CAMSR, was because Harvard, the University of Toronto, and other major universities have also divested.

[With] the more institutions and schools that divest, we continue to slowly tear at the social license of fossil fuel companies, and we continue to delegitimize their operations. So hopefully, this will lead other schools to divest as well, as it was a large part of the reason why McGill divested. But I also wanted to add that divestment isn’t only about fossil fuels. We fully endorse SPHR’s campaign goals to get McGill to divest from the arms and weapons industry,

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that could help other campaigns.

EH: I just want to reinforce what Laura said. The reason why it took McGill 12 years to reach this conclusion is because we’re fundamentally an undemocratic institution. Almost every governing body at McGill has already endorsed divestment way before this decision was made. The Senate, SSMU, and student associations, not only endorsed, but re-endorsed divestment, and the Board only decided now that they were going to go with divestment. So, clearly, there’s a disconnection between the community and the Board that really needs to be addressed.

“The reason why it took McGill 12 years to reach this conclusion is because we’re fundamentally an MD: What were the biggest challenges you faced during this undemocratic 12-year campaign?

LDP: There’s the financial incentive, so money was definitely institution.” one of their reasons. But I also it was just a disconnect in - Emily Hardie think values and priorities. [Previously], particularly Israeli arms and weapons companies. Similar to what Laura said, we hope we set a precedent for McGill to divest from these companies and that [other groups] can use this case to help support their campaign. Part of the other sustainability commitments that McGill has made, in addition to divestment, to reinforce and endorse the ESG principle. If McGill is serious about committing to that, I think that can be used to argue that we need to also divest from socially destructive and extremely unethical companies.

MD: Why do you think it took so long for McGill to divest?

LDP: The reason it took so long for McGill to divest is the fact that that decision was not democratically made. Most of the people on the Board are not elected to be there. They’re appointed by other members of the Board. For a long time, those against fossil fuel divestment had the majority and would appoint other people that had similar values in them. We were lucky that [attitude] shifted inside the board thanks to our organizing. But had we had more power over how decisions are made, that decision could have been made earlier. Hopefully, that’s something we’re able to push for in the future

there was a refusal of associating the harm with the industry, which is something I’m really glad we were able to break through.

Part of removing the fossil fuel industry’s social licence is making it very clear that this industry is responsible for the climate crisis, that this industry is responsible for land theft and for violence against Indigenous communities and so many other communities.

EH: The argument for divestment is very simple. We have so much evidence of the social injury that fossil fuel companies cause, and yet it wasn’t really about that. It doesn’t matter how much evidence we have, it didn’t seem to matter, or else we would have divested a long time ago. For instance, McGill is investing in TC Energy, which is building the CGL [Coastal GasLink] pipeline.

The CGL pipeline is going through unceded territory without consent from the hereditary chiefs.

McGill is investing and profiting off of these extremely socially destructive projects. As a school, we’re also producing research on the climate crisis and we teach courses to students about how our planet is completely going to be destabilized by the climate crisis.

Yet, as an administration, we’re also simultaneously funding the very sources of the climate destruction.

There’s such a disconnect between the two and I think the struggle has been trying to explain, even though we have so much evidence, why these companies are causing social injury. And it’s come down to a matter of communication. How can we most effectively explain and try to communicate this to individuals who have different values than we do?

Eve Cable | Visuals Contributor other side, having Divest organize more pressure tactics. We had a lot of marches, a lot of petitions that were sent to the Board. That dual approach, I think, was effective, because the harder we would push with the pressure tactics, the friendlier those that were making presentations would seem.

But we were both asking for the same thing. Another one of the tactics that we had was to follow the money by putting pressure on the financial relationships and incentives that McGill has.

MD: What are your next objectives?

EH: One would definitely be supporting SPHR and other groups on campus that are in support of Palestinian liberation. But also, looking into whether McGill follows through with their commitments.

So whether they follow through within the next year because they committed within 2024, by the end of it, they would phase out all the investments. McGill has only committed to divesting their direct investments, but this excludes the indirect investments that are still in fossil fuels, […] so advocating to divest the remaining amount.

towards what is McGill doing about addressing the climate crisis or what is our government doing, what is their plan to address the climate crisis? Is it adequate?

What is Canada doing? How can we think about bringing about systemic changes in addition to individual ones?

If you are interested in joining Divest McGill, you can reach out to them on their social media: www. facebook .com/ DivestMcGill/ and www. instagram.com/divestmcgill.

“I’d encourage anyone who is interested by this article and is excited about what MD: Is there anything that you would like to add? the future of LDP: I think a lot of students feel like they don’t have enough climate justice knowledge, time, or experience to get involved, and that keeps a at McGill and “Part of removing the fossil lot of people from reaching out to campaigns to join them. I want to fuel industry’s social licence is tell those students that anyone beyond can and everyone is welcome, and making it very clear that this that everyone is needed in this look like to movement and that there is a place for them. [...] I’d encourage reach out to industry is responsible for the anyone who is interested by this article and is excited about what Divest so that climate crisis, that this industry the future of climate justice at McGill and beyond can look like is responsible for land theft MD: What were your main to reach out to Divest so that we we can start strategies for the past 12 years? can start building it together. and for violence against LDP: I think one thing that EH: I also feel like a lot of building it has been quite effective for us is organizing on the McGill campus Indigenous communities and adopting a dual approach where right now in regards to climate together.” on one side, we have people that action revolves around individual trying to make connections actions or changing individual - Laura Doyle Péan so many other communities.” are with people on the board and - Laura Doyle Péan

explain things to them and trying to change their mind with a very friendly approach. Then on the

lifestyles and less on systemic action. And I hope that we can see in the future more of a turn

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January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

News

Quebec Teachers Return to School What comes next after the five-week strike

Lisa Banti News Contributor

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ive weeks of picket lines and chants faded into the background as Quebec schools cautiously reopened their doors on January 9. For students, returning to classrooms meant reconciling months of missed lessons and potential learning gaps. For teachers, it marked a complex transition – a mixture of relief at resuming their roles and trepidation regarding the road ahead. Recent agreements signal a potential end to the disruptions, but anxieties still linger around their implementation.

At the heart of the dispute lies teachers’ demands for improved working conditions and increased support for students, primarily centered around smaller class sizes, reduced workloads, and increased autonomy for educators.

These demands were articulated by the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) representing 40 per cent of teachers, and the Common Front alliance of four public sector unions. They resonated with many educators struggling with understaffing and administrative burdens.

The strike has received widespread support. As shown by a Léger poll conducted during the strike, 82 per cent of Quebecers backed teachers’ demands for smaller class sizes and reduced workloads. The financial strain on teachers was also exacerbated by a significant salary disparity: while the annual national average for a teacher’s salary in 2022 was $86,830, Quebec educators remained behind, earning an average of only $80,259. This income gap, coupled with rising living costs in the province, intensifies the challenges faced by many teachers and further drives their push for improved working conditions.

“Healthy and well-supported teachers are paramount for successful student learning,” wrote Nanre Nafziger, Assistant Professor at McGill’s Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), in an interview with the Daily . Nafziger was one of 140 education professors across Quebec to sign an open letter in support of the teachers’ demands.

This sentiment underscores the importance of those demands, which research suggests could benefit both educators and students by fostering a more positive classroom environment and improving learning outcomes.

Reducing class size, for example, aligns perfectly with Nafziger’s statement by prioritizing

teacher well-being and creating conditions for optimal learning, benefiting both educators and students. Studies have shown that smaller classes, as sought by the teachers, can lead to a 15 per cent increase in student achievement, further substantiating the value of their demands.

The consequences of the strike were multifaceted. Missed school days impacted student learning, particularly for children facing social or economic disadvantages.

Parents juggled childcare disruptions and anxieties about their children falling behind. The financial impact on families, from missed workdays to childcare costs, added another layer of stress to the situation. Recognizing these challenges, the Quebec government has announced a $300 million tutoring plan to help students catch up on missed coursework and address learning gaps. Nafziger further highlights the strike’s “significant impact” on students’ social and emotional development, emphasizing that “school environments do not only include the classroom.” Students missed out on daily experiences that help them learn, problemsolve, and create outside the classroom. This sentiment was echoed across social media, through channels like TikTok’s CBC Montreal, Instagram’s La FAE, and Facebook’s public group: CALL FOR GENERAL STRIKE. Addressing these losses, she adds, requires “a collective effort and responsibility” from schools, parents, and communities, potentially including “intensive after-school tutoring and programming” to minimize the long-term disruptions.

While anxieties persist, tentative agreements offer a potential path forward. Some conclusions have been reached

The Quebec government has announced a $300 million tutoring plan to help students catch up on missed coursework and address learning gaps.

Eric Duivenvoorden | Visuals Editor on the principle of the contract between the Quebec government and the teachers’ unions, but the details are not yet official and final. Increased funding for education, stipulated in the deals, aims to address teacher concerns regarding workloads and class sizes. Furthermore, these tentative agreements extend beyond the realm of education, encompassing an additional 420,000 Quebec public sector workers represented by the ‘Common Front’ unions.

Their deals include a 17.4 per cent salary increase over five years, representing a broader commitment to addressing concerns within the public sector.

Additional support for students who fell behind during the strike, including initiatives like afterschool tutoring programs, have been implemented in an effort to mitigate the academic impact of the disruption.

However, challenges remain.

The implementation of the agreements – a crucial phase – carries its own uncertainties.

“The province is considering making extra resources available to students who need them” remarked Kathleen Legault, president of an association representing principals and managers in Montreal, in a CBC News editorial on January 7, emphasizing that the provincial government is actively considering providing additional resources to support students affected by the strikes. On managing smaller class sizes, “The government

said it couldn’t decrease class sizes because there aren’t enough teachers in the province”, wrote CBC Kids News on January 8, implying an acknowledgment of the concern but raising doubts about immediate action due to resource limitations and the incomplete nature of the current agreement.

access to higher education institutions like CÉGEPs. Beyond the implementation of policy, sustained dialogue, collaborative endeavors, and a shared commitment to quantifiable improvements in student engagement, teacher satisfaction and academic

‘‘Education is the bedrock of our society, and teachers are essential workers that carry out the very important and critical task of taking care of and training our children every day.’’

- Nanre Nafziger Immediate concerns aside, the strike raised fundamental questions about the future of education in Quebec. Nafziger emphasized the need for a holistic approach that prioritizes not just this strike’s specific demands, but also broader issues like investment in education and long-term solutions for classroom challenges: “Education is the bedrock of our society, and teachers are essential workers that carry out the very important and critical task of taking care of and training our children every day.” She also expressed concern about the potential for educational disparities due to the strike, particularly regarding

achievement have emerged as vital cornerstones for unlocking a vibrant educational experience for learners and educators. Beyond official channels, platforms like TikTok and Instagram filled with the voices of students, parents, and educators, echoing the call for change and amplifying the impact of the strike. The fiveweek strike by Quebec teachers highlighted the need for improved working conditions for educators, increased support for students, and a long-term commitment to investing in education.

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

culture

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2023 Female Directors Wrapped A pivotal year for women behind the camera

Isabella Roberti Culture Staff Writer

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t’s been some time since we saw a year for cinema as good as 2023.

Finding someone to root for during awards season will be much more difficult than last year when we all just wanted Everything Everywhere All at Once to win everything. The directorial categories, however, have their work cut out for them: they’ll have to break the one-woman-peryear trend. 2023 saw a copious output from female directors compared to previous years, but the sheer volume of female-directed films aren’t what made it a landmark year. Rather, the genres and categories these works belong to are ones that have long been resistant to female intervention. The blockbuster, the psychological thriller, the teen sex comedy, and Canadian cinema in general saw a year led by women. These five films, all incredibly diverse in content and style, show just how broad and dominant the scope of female direction was in 2023, and will make you question why male directors even bother.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person – directed by Ariane Louis-Seize Imagine Taika Waititi’s 2014 fantasy comedy What We Do in the Shadows meets a coming-of-age story about depression and the pressure to conform to familial expectations among young women.

This is Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, which probably wins the award for best title of the year. Shot and set in Montreal, the film follows young vampire Sasha (Sara Montpetit), whose empathy and inability to watch others suffer makes her incapable of feeding on human flesh. When she meets the suicidal teen Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), who she promises to kill and eat, their pact inspires hilarious escapades and is complicated by the bond that is forged between the two.

Although Anatomy of a Fall is the French language title that has gained the most awards season hype, Quebecoise director Ariane LouisSeize’s strikingly original film should not be overlooked. Humanist Vampire is so deeply compassionate and endearing, and is such a welcome depiction of how depression, especially amongst women, while onerous and debilitating, can allow for a greater capacity for empathy.

This silver lining is at the incredibly big heart of the film, which is accompanied by a playful score and bitingly funny dialogue (no pun intended).

Unwaveringly charming in spite of all the blood, Humanist Vampire shows 2023’s triumph in female direction at the local level.

Past Lives – directed by Celine Song The fact that this film is Celine Song’s directorial debut both terrifies and excites me. Its emotional warfare in the form of unrealized lifetime love destroyed me, but wow, did it hurt so good. Past Lives tells the story of childhood sweethearts Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae-Sung (Teo Yoo), who lose touch when Nora’s family immigrates to Toronto from South Korea. They connect sporadically over the next 24 years, but by the time Hae-Sung is finally able to visit her, she is already married to someone else.

This romantic drama is somewhat of a modern rendition of the starcrossed lovers tale, but its fusion of this format with themes of the diasporic vs. indigenous Korean experience – semi-autobiographical of Song’s own upbringing – are what make it stand on its own. It is not just Hae-Sung and Nora’s distance, timing, and career paths that divide them, but also how they experience their culture. In one scene, Nora tells Hae-Sung that since emigrating, she only ever speaks Korean to her mother. Later in the film, Nora explains to her husband that HaeSung’s distinct “Koreanness” makes her feel both alienated from and connected to her culture at the same time. The film’s stylistic understatedness and temporally expansive narrative only amplify its emotional blows to create one of the greatest debut films not just for a Korean-Canadian female director, but for any director in general.

Eric Duivenvoorden | Visuals Editor only brought people into theatres amid the SAG-AFTRA strike, but revived going to the theatre as an all-around event. Barbie set all kinds of records at the box office, becoming Warner Brothers’ highest grossing film ever, the highest grossing film ever by a female director, and the biggest film of 2023 worldwide: proving that female directors don’t have to sacrifice their femininity and creative integrity to dominate the cinematic market.

Barbie – directed by Greta Gerwig It would be ridiculous to recap 2023’s women in film without including the bedazzled, pink, cinematic leviathan that was Barbie.

Greta Gerwig’s latest film is a stark contrast from her previous two dramas, but her masterful storytelling brings this doll extravaganza to life in a way that is both layered and enthralling. Millions flooded theatres dressed head-to-toe in pink to watch Barbie (Margot Robbie) and a hapless Ken (Ryan Gosling) embark on an adventure from Barbie Land to the real world, to find out why Barbie has been experiencing “malfunctions” like flat feet and cellulite.

Barbie in and of itself was undeniably delightful, but what made it truly extraordinary was that it reached so far beyond the narrative world it created. Rarely do we see certifiable “blockbusters” of this kind: so self-aware, so funny, so socially engaged, so pink, so feminine. The fantastical world it built reached out of the screen and into the hearts of audiences – an engagement that could not have come at a better time. It not

Saltburn – directed by Emerald Fennell Whether you’ve been pining for a new Emerald Fennell flick since Promising Young Woman, or you heard “Murder on the Dancefloor” on TikTok and wanted to see what all the hype was about, Saltburn was most likely on your radar towards the end of 2023. When Oliver (Barry Keoghan) meets the affluent Felix (Jacob Elordi) at Oxford in 2007, they become close friends, prompting Felix to invite Oliver to Saltburn, his rich family’s extravagant, baroque estate. Upon Oliver’s arrival, things become incredibly sexual, tense, uncertain, and downright disturbing.

Like Gerwig, Fennell’s sophomore feature is narratively quite distant from her first, but maintains her signature psychological tone and banger soundtrack. She uses these mechanisms to create a depiction of how class is not just about division, and that for some, there is truly never enough wealth. Fennell uses Oliver’s creepy behaviour to represent how relentless economic and social climbing can be, as he parasitically

infiltrates Felix’s loaded family. This economic invasion is largely depicted through mind games and sex, which make the film as juicy as it is poignant.

While the internet-ification of the film did risk reducing it to a mere TikTok trend, its online presence has exposed many to a level of subversive media they may not have encountered previously. For a more in-depth look at Saltburn’s symbolism, check out the Daily’s review by Evelyn Logan. Along with Barbie, Saltburn showed that female filmmakers not only dominated cinematic culture in 2023, but also the world of the internet.

Bottoms – directed by Emma Seligman The unhinged teen sex comedy is back and gayer than ever, all thanks to Emma Seligman. Finally liberating us from the years of painfully out of touch, forcefully Gen Z-ified Netflix teen flicks, Seligman, along with star and co-writer Rachel Sennott, revive the most enjoyable aspects of the R-rated teen sex romp with a refreshing, queer perspective. “Ugly, untalented gay nerds” Josie (Ayo Edeberi) and PJ (Sennott), in the hopes of getting closer to pretty girls Isobel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber), start a “selfdefence” fight club at their school to stand up to tyrannical football players.

Because the film’s queerness and femininity aren’t used as rhetorical devices and are allowed to just exist as the chaotic plot unfolds, its identity politics paradoxically become much more digestible. Josie and PJ’s identities and status as outcasts goes

beyond them being gay, making it a part of their identity, but not their entire identity. This allows Bottoms to go all out in its violence, obscenity, and hilarity – something female-directed films aren’t often allowed to do. With the most side-splitting lines you’ve ever heard being doled out by the minute, Seligman’s flick proves that women, specifically queer women, are here to spearhead a new, inclusive era of the teen comedy without losing an ounce of the absurdity that makes the genre so adored. If you’d like a closer look at how Bottoms revamps the vulgar, teen comedy genre, you can read my film review for the Daily published last September.

Five films are not nearly enough to encapsulate just how prolific female directors were last year, but these picks are certainly some of the best overall, across all films. Even if major award ceremonies have given us little hope in terms of their ability to actually acknowledge these critical and commercial standouts, the flow of female-directed film and television gained a momentum this year that shows no signs of decelerating. More female-directed content is already being anticipated for 2024: Canadian director Molly McGlynn’s coming of age film Fitting In is set to be released in February, while Lulu Wang (The Farewell) has a new series called Expats coming soon that’s already gained lots of buzz and critical attention. Keep an eye out for female-directed film and television: buy tickets, talk about it, engage with it – you will most definitely encounter a perspective you haven’t seen yet.

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Features

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

The Art of Space

Claude Prairie’s ceramic metaphors

Olivier Lamarre | Photos Contributor Leila Espinoza Features Contributor

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resented by the Centre de céramique Bonsecours, ceramic sculptor Claude Prairie’s exhibition Le contenant comme métaphore is a breath of fresh air. Prairie draws attention to the intricate characteristics of each sculpture that are reminiscent of functional and architectural forms. The colour, texture, and material of every art piece is highlighted as each sculpture is presented with its conjugate. As the title of the exhibition suggests, attendees are encouraged to challenge their preconceptions of ceramics. Often associated with tableware, the artist transcends these boundaries of functional ceramics and compels us to reflect on our understanding of space through her work.

Walking through the exhibition, one can recognize shapes and forms that are commonly associated with tableware and architecture. Large round bowls are accompanied by vases and tall ceramic sculptures that resemble edifices. However, each sculpture’s colours and textures reveal an interpretation that subverts these initial comparisons. Different shades

and hues appear on closer inspection, seemingly handpainted — giving insight on the artist’s creative process.

In addition, Prairie purposely designed her sculptures to allow viewers to look inside them.

Depending on the abstraction of her pieces, each artwork either features a crevice or is completely laid open for viewers to engage with both the inside and the outside of each sculpture.

Le contenant comme métaphore presents works by Prairie ranging from different periods of her career, guiding the viewer into an intimate understanding of her knowledge and artistry. She challenges conventional ceramics as a utilitarian craft and as a tool to occupy space. The viewer is compelled to reconsider their understanding of artistic spatial rendering by integrating negative space as a key part of each sculpture. She refuses to consider space as a void that must be filled, and instead invites it to be part of her work.

As such, the viewer is offered different perspectives on our individual perceptions of space. Usually, no one thinks to imagine the inside of an object or sculpture. However, in this exhibition, Prairie compels viewers to reflect on

the void within each sculpture – as reflected by the title of the exhibition. Prairie turns her sculptures into transformative experiences that push the boundaries of what ceramic sculpture can represent, expanding our understanding of art and our environment by encouraging viewers to explore the spaces that surround us.

Throughout her career, Prairie has moved from studio to studio.

This constant migration compelled her to

having the same kilns, tools, or materials, she can explore many different styles and ideas. The insight she has gained from this process has distinguished her as a true fixture in the field of ceramic technology. Eager to share her knowledge, she has been teaching the theory and practice of color at the Centre de céramique Bonsecours for 30 years.

Her approach is reminiscent of the way the studio artist Robert Piepenburg writes about space: “Without this

Prairie turns her sculptures into transformative experiences that push the boundaries of what ceramic sculpture can represent, expanding our understanding of art and our environment by encouraging viewers to explore the spaces that surround us. adapt her projects to different environments and develop new skills, which in turn has allowed her to create distinct and innovative works of art. By never

intentional interaction with that visual void there is no interconnected dynamic of resolution — no final state of contentment — where all of the

work’s design elements come together and exist as a cohesive whole.”

Prairie’s sculptures invite viewers to reflect on the relationship between artistic form and operative space, urging us to recognize that both of these concepts can be considered in different ways than we are accustomed to.

Prairie reflects on the idea of perspective by purposely creating sculptures that allow the viewer to peer inside each sculpture and understand how a ceramic form can render space more tangible. In this regard, her sculptures are not simply aesthetically innovative due to her choice of color or texture.

For instance, the bowls placed at the entrance captivate the viewer’s eye due to their prominence in size and colour. But beyond beauty and brightness, she also reflects on the interactions with space that render her sculptures. By experimenting with the way artistic forms mold our impression of the spaces they both do and don’t occupy, Prairie’s work not only transforms our understanding of negative space but compels us to engage with it. She offers different manners of viewing the inside of her sculptures, pushing our boundaries through familiar forms.

Upon entering the exhibit, the viewer is met first with a series of large bowls in orange and yellow

features

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily or the private and the public – notions often found within architecture. The inclusion of hollow spaces inside these sculptures imbues each one with additional meaning.

Whether they may be bowls, vases, containers, or even abstract forms of clay, each of Prairie’s sculptures retains a central space. Her philosophy and the theme it addresses are reminiscent of the work of another Canadian artist, Rolland Poulin, who shares her fascination with the possibilities offered by our conception of space. Poulin once stated: “ Le sol n’est pas un espace nature: c’est l’espace

She invites the viewer to look inside and Olivier Lamarre | Photos Contributor consider the tones, deceptively utilitarian would not be suitable for contact possibilities that come with in their shape and figure. Upon with food. In eliminating the this change of perspective. validity of spatial Prairie further engages with closer inspection, however, possibility of using her ceramics subtle details in texture and form for their respective “functions”, the viewer’s understanding dichotomies such space by mimicking begin to emerge: throughout the she instead invites the notion of of architectural forms in her interpreting each container as exhibition, imprints left by the as the interior and artist’s fingertips can be noticed a metaphor. By decentralizing sculptures. Shown here, she the aspect of functionality in her makes use of shapes and on each sculpture. customarily Prairie’s sculptures use the ceramics, she allows viewers to proportions exterior, or the method of coiling, a traditional reflect on the vessels based solely associated with buildings, in addition to applying a brickpottery technique in which clay on their appropriation of space. private and the Through these artistic choices, like pigment to the ceramics. is rolled into long thin cylinders to be combined by hand into Prairie encourages a new kind of Curiously, she also leaves public - notions larger shapes. This method adds thinking about form and function an empty space within each a distinct texture to her ceramics, as they relate to each other. By sculpture. In doing this she in addition to allowing for subtle leaning away from the common invites the viewer to look often found within asymmetrical between the preconception that function in inside and consider the validity architecture. sculptures that Prairie displays ceramics supercedes form, she of spatial dichotomies such in pairs. These asymmetries are born from the human touch – a reminder of the actual and deeply physical relationship between the human sculptor and the “spaces” within her artwork.

Prairie says about this characteristic of her sculptures: “The exhibition demonstrates how each corpus feeds the other.” These slight variations from each sculpture remind the viewer of the organic variation introduced by the artist’s touch.

Prairie’s experimentation with innovative materials and techniques is also showcased in her collection.

The unconventional choice of using encaustic as a medium for colour in her sculpture distinguishes her from most other ceramic sculptors. A medium normally used in paintings, the technique consists of heating wax until it takes on the artist’s desired coloration. Once heated, the wax becomes incredibly sensitive and hardens almost immediately once it comes into contact with ceramics, capturing any momentary variation in the material. Over the years, Prairie has perfected her technique using this blend of beeswax and pigments to control the intensity of color on her sculptures.

By using encaustic, she also renders all her sculptures nonfunctional. Since the pigment is toxic, any tableware coated in it

reveals the limitless artistic

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que la sculpture et le spectateur partagent. ” (The ground is no longer a neutral space: it’s the space that the sculpture and the viewer share). His observation is sympathetic to what Prairie aims to express with her exhibition, emphasizing the power of space as well as its relationship with – and impact on – the viewer.

In Prairie’s exhibition, the audience are not simply spectators but active participants in her transformative discourse where they are invited to inquire within about their preconceptions and engage in introspection. Le contenant comme metaphor fosters a deep appreciation for the relationship between space and form, allowing for her artistic brilliance to shine due to the subtle and delicate details in each of her sculptures. Claude Prairie’s work is not simply a testament to her mastery in the realm of ceramics, but a subtle reminder that within our imagination is the potential to shape our ideas and create our own realities.

as the interior and exterior,

Olivier Lamarre | Photos Contributor

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Commentary

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Before You Go

Advice to students in their last semester at McGill Catey Fifield Managing Editor

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s I boarded the train that would take me home for Christmas last December – a train from Montreal’s Gare Centrale to Oshawa, Ontario – a strange and uncomfortable feeling settled over me. Earlier that day, I had taken a stressful exam and said goodbye to one of my roommates, who was preparing to move out of our apartment. But as I took my seat next to a young nun in a white habit, who occupied herself with a worn-out copy of the Bible and some apple juice, it wasn’t an exam or an emotional goodbye that filled me with unease. It suddenly dawned on me that I was taking my last winter break. For 16 years, I had been guaranteed a two-weeklong vacation beginning shortly before Christmas and ending shortly after New Year’s – a stretch of time I filled variously over the years by building snow sculptures, conducting science experiments with my Easy-Bake Oven, watching holiday movies with my family, working retail jobs, and playing Scrabble. For 16 years, my life had been organized by a predictable, reliable academic calendar. Once I graduated, I realized, I would be plunged into the uncertainty of the winter break-less, summer vacation-less, class-less, gradeless, assignment-less rest of my life.

Having now begun my last semester at McGill, I offer the following advice to students who will soon graduate – to students experiencing the same fears and

For 16 years, my life had been organized by a predictable, reliable academic calendar.

Once I graduated, I realized, I would be plunged into the uncertainty of the winter breakless, summer vacation-less, class-less, gradeless, assignmentless rest of my life.

frustrations I’m experiencing as they prepare to conclude one chapter of their lives and embark on the next. Some of this advice will be practical and specific to McGill students (there are a number of administrative hoops to jump through before you can cross the convocation stage!) but I hope that some of it will be helpful to anybody on the cusp of a big change.

1. Ensure you have completed (or will soon complete) all the requirements for your program. It’s not uncommon for McGill undergraduate students to complete all the requirements for their Major, Minor, and/or Honours programs before their last semester or even their last year. Still, it’s a good idea to go over your program requirements during the Add/Drop period of your last semester to ensure you’ve checked all the necessary boxes – and while you still have time to register for any required courses you may have forgotten about. The Add/Drop period for faculty levels once all of your final the Winter 2024 semester ends on grades have been submitted. If you Tuesday, January 16. are taking one or more courses at another university in your final 2. Have somebody else term – on exchange, on term ensure you have completed away, or through Inter-University (or will soon complete) all Transfer – you should also note the requirements for your that you will not be eligible to program. If the requirements graduate at the end of that term. for your program are particularly You must instead select the next complex, as is often the case at available graduation term.

McGill, it’s an even better idea to review them with an advisor. I 4. Take classes you’re excited know some McGill students who about. We can’t always get into seek academic advice regularly the classes we want – I’m sure I’m and others who have never seen not the only one in mourning over an advisor. If you fall into the ENGL 366: The Teen Film in U.S. latter category, as I did until Cinema right now. But, to the best about a week ago, then you may of your abilities, you should try not be able to delay any longer. to take classes you’re passionate In fact, you may be required to about in your last semester. You complete a program audit form, don’t want to spend your last get it signed by a departmental four months at McGill sweating advisor, and then send it to the over a difficult physics course or director of your program. falling asleep to the sound of a professor’s drawl.

3. Don’t forget to apply for graduation. You applied 5. Set aside time during the to get in, and you’ll apply to semester to apply for jobs and get out. McGill requires most internships. You’ve been dodging the undergraduate students and nonquestion “So, what are you going to do thesis graduate students (i.e., after you graduate?” for the past three Master’s, certificates, diplomas) to or four years – maybe longer – and the apply for graduation. This is done time to decide is slipping away. If you through Minerva, and after you’ve don’t plan on pursuing a second degree applied, you’ll be able to check the after your first, you’ll probably have to status of your application using dig out your old LinkedIn profile and Minerva’s Graduation Approval start scrolling through Indeed. I know Query. Students expecting to it can be tough enough getting through complete their courses in a Winter a semester without the added stress of term should apply by the end of job-hunting and internship-hunting, but February, in a Summer term by if you can dedicate even a little bit of time the end of May, and in a Fall term each week to these often-painstaking by the end of November. You tasks, you may thank yourself later. should note that the review of your graduation record will not be 6. Come up with a plan to repay automated: a real person will be your student loans. Next to finding a assigned to review your graduation job or internship, repaying any student record at the departmental and

Genevieve Quinn | Visuals Editor loans you’ve taken out may be the most stressful item on your post-graduation to-do list. Every student loan program is different: some will require you to pay back your loans faster than others, and some will charge higher interest rates than others. If you’ve borrowed money from the Quebec government, you’ll have to repay it to the financial institution to which you gave your guarantee certificate at the start of your studies. This financial institution will notify you six months after you’ve completed your studies to inform you that it’s time to start repaying your loan. Ontario and British Columbia residents also enjoy a six-month grace period before they must start repaying their loans.

7. Make the most of your time in Montreal. If you’re planning on leaving Montreal after you leave McGill, this may be your last opportunity to enjoy this lively city and all that it has to offer.

Chances are, you made most of the tourist stops during your first year in Montreal, but if there are any cool restaurants, shops, galleries, museums, or outdoor spots still on your bucket list, now’s the time to check them out. Has it been ages since you last climbed Mont-Royal?

Or picnicked in Jeanne-Mance Park? Or, dare I say, hit the floor at Café Campus? Before the semester ends, take some time to enjoy all your favourite Montreal spots in a tour of sentimentality.

Try not to fret if things don’t go exactly as planned, and remind yourself that there’s a whole world waiting for you on the other side of that stage.

many of the friends you’ve made in the last three or four years. Cherish the time you have left with these friends, and start thinking about how you’d like to stay in touch once you go your separate ways.

9. Remember that you’re doing your best. If you’re like me, you might be inclined to put a lot of pressure on your last semester at McGill. More than acing your exams or landing your dream job or checking off bucket-list items, however, it’s important that you take care of yourself in what may prove to be the most challenging four months of your life. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to a loved one, talk to an advisor or mental health expert, and give yourself 8. Make the most of your time time to rest. Try not to fret if things with friends. Believe it or not, the don’t go exactly as planned, and hardest part about graduating from remind yourself that there’s a whole McGill won’t be jumping through world waiting for you on the other administrative hoops. Whether side of that stage. you’re the one leaving or they are, you might have to say goodbye to

compendium!

January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

CHILLY CROSSWORD

Across Down 4. In the movie Twilight, protagonist Bella Swan 1. Famous failed expedition in the Canadian Arctic searches this up on Yahoo to find out more about her Circle. mysterious love interest.

2. 1982 horror movie directed by John Carpenter, in 5. Korean dessert which consists of shaved ice and which an alien entity wreaks havoc at an Antarctic sweet toppings. research center.

6. The first man to reach the South Pole.

3. The only US state that can be baked.

7. What burns without fire and bites without teeth? 4. Main baddie in the Hunger Games series.

9. Commonly known as the Arctic chicken.

8. Mary Shelly penned this iconic English classic, which is set partially in the Arctic.

11. Arctic eyewear traditionally worn by the Inuit and 10. What sweet treat did Edmund, from C.S. Lewis’s Yupik peoples to prevent snow blindness.

Narnia series, betray his family for?

13. Scientific phenomenon, common in polar regions, 12. Quintessential Quebecois sweetener, traditionally which creates the optical illusion of bright dots on served warm on a slab of shaved ice and eaten on a either sides of the Sun. popsicle stick.

14. Quebecois expression for mildly cold tempera13. A favourite insult of conservatives. tures.

15. The term for floating rounded pieces of ice -16. He was a jolly, happy soul. faintly resembling pancakes.

Olivia Shan | Coordinating Editor

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January 15, 2024 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

THE MCGILL DAILY IS HIRING! DESIGN & PRODUCTION (1)

COPY (1)

The Design & Production Editor is responsible for the design, format, and layout of our print newspaper.

Experience in InDesign and Photoshop recommended.

The Copy Editor proofreads Daily articles for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and prose. They also update our style guide.

NEWS (3)

COMMENTARY (2)

News Editors are at the forefront of campus coverage. Always on the lookout for stories, they write and edit about breaking news at McGill, in Montreal, and in Quebec.

The Commentary section is where we publish opinions and letters. Editors are also responsible for the Compendium! section, in which we publish horoscopes, crosswords, and other fun things.

VIDEO (1)

RADIO (1)

The Video Editor will assist our Social Media Editor in generating video content and other promotional material for social media.

Do you like radio and podcasts? The Daily is seeking to revive our CKUT segment and launch our own podcast.

Sound editing skills recommended.

APPLICATIONS DUE AT 11:59 PM ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 26.

We are also hiring staff writers for all sections!

Any questions? Visit our website at mcgilldaily.com or attend one of our weekly pitch meetings on Tuesdays at 6:00 PM.

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