OPENWIDEZINE.COM
VOLUME 19, ISSUE 2
Table of s t n e t n co
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WORLD - 5: FIMS goes Abroad 8-9: From Absolutist to Relative: Shifting Mainstream Rhetoric of Data Collection
10 19
Western life
10-12: Western’s Mental Health Care System Failed Me, Here’s Why
A&E
-14: Crazy rich asians: a review
17-18: Affection in the Digital Age: ASMR and Illusory Intimacy Mainstream Rhetoric of Data Collection
creative 19: Vic’s Tips to get a grip 20-21: Halloween lookbook 22: Zine canada headlines 23: spooky szn things
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Editors Note
Brienna FRENCH EDITOR IN CHIEF
ZEHRA CAMILLERI Hey FIMS! As I’m sure you can tell by the cover (READ THE BACK) and the posters plastering campus billboards, faculty are in negotiations right now. However, the issues at hand are not specific to faculty; Western is making a conscious decision to not invest in the quality of our education. They have abandoned the core mission of the university, which includes fair pay, reasonable tuition, and reasonable class sizes, as well as support for quality research and teaching. 30% of Western instructors do not have job security--they are contract faculty, similar to ‘gig’ workers--which means they are paid per course and given no benefits. This means that many of your favourite professors may not be here under the proposed further budget cuts. Faculty members feel that enough is enough, especially after a decade of surplus. Abandoning the core mission has already taken its toll. FIMS increased class sizes several years ago due to imposed budget cuts during times of surplus, to avoid firing some of your favourite instructors. Larger classes result in a change in teaching methods, types of assignments, and further lack of instructor contact, all of which are detrimental to our learning. I don’t know about you, but with the tuition I pay, I expect a better quality of education than that, especially during years of surplus. I want my education to be meaningful, which is only possible if the university invests in the core values of fair pay, quality teaching, and quality research. I support our faculty in their negotiations and will and will continue to do so along the way, and I hope you do, too. To stay informed please follow: Twitter: https://twitter.com/uwofa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UWOFA Web: https://www.uwofa.ca Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/UWOFA” Change.org petition is coming soon
MANAGING EDITOR
VICKY QIAO WORLD EDITOR
BRIELLE GOULART A&E EDITOR
ELISABETH EDWARDS WESTERN LIFE EDITOR
VICTORIA GIGUERE CREATIVE EDITOR
ANASTASIA INTOUNAS web editor
NOAM LEVY graphics editor
Brienna P.S. How is essay season going? Well? Not so well? Either way, if you’re writing anyway, please consider sending us your work for publication! I personally love reading your brilliant thoughts, and I’m almost certain the rest of FIMS does, too!
HANNAH AVIV graphics editor
JILL HUANG DING
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openWIDE// WORLD pt. 1 //Minyi Huang (article and photos) If you ask me, ‘how was your exchange?’ I will probably tell you that it was amazing and I didn’t even want to come back! And this is likely where I stop talking. Sometimes, the most precious memories are hard to describe, and when words finally reach the meanings, they seem to overshadow and alter those experiences. There are so many treasures I would like to share about my exchange experience. I would like to tell about you what Leeds is like, the traditional farmer’s market and super delicious Thai food, and my trips to 16 places in Britain and 11 countries in Europe. I’m sure now you are getting the idea that exchanges are like a 10-month Spring Break. You are right in a sense, but it is much more than that. In my experience, one big difference I found between Europe and China (where I’m from) or Canada (where I study) is the lifestyle. By lifestyle, I am referring to what people like to do, and how they think and communicate with each other. My European friends tend to be more laid-back and take more time to enjoy life. They appreciate nature and go on hiking trips regularly. They are passionate about new ideas and good books. They like face to face conversations about anything- from theories of a parallel universe, acupuncture, religion, and Brexit, to grandmas, traditions, crêpes and pasta. We would have hours of conversations during afternoon tea and around the dinner table while enjoying food from different cultures; I always forgot about my phone. If there is one thing that has changed in me after my exchange, it would be that I’ve developed a greater appreciation for face to face conversations - with an open mind and a bottle of wine (had to do it for the sake of rhymes).
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This unhurried, focused way of appreciating things is also reflected in my academic experiences. At Leeds, class schedules and workloads are not intense or overwhelming compared to Western. There are generally 2 essays per course and 3 courses in total throughout one semester. This gave me
adequate time to absorb what I was being taught and conduct extensive research. Also, professors are more like mentors. They guide students through different viewpoints on issues and encouraged us to understand different perspectives, do independent research, and come up with our own ideas. With adequate time and a comprehensive reading list, I could freely explore topics of interests, absorb ideas and analyze debates. Additionally, the standard class size in media courses at Leeds is smaller than those at Western. I remember going to a seminar of only 5 people, in which each one of us was from a different country. This turned out to be my best seminar experience because we could really engage and interact in discussions, learning different perspectives from media students around the world.
openWIDE// WORLD
At some point into my exchange period, I had an uncanny feeling that I was in an art exhibition of an exotic life. I was absorbed into this life; I enjoyed it but was not fully controlled by it. I was inside the lifestyle that I was observing.
Then I came to a realization: going on exchange for me is the shifting between different cultures and thoughts, and finding a way to observe, balance and choose. It opens up new ways to think and to live my day-to-day life. I got to know myself better and I have integrated these experiences as a part of myself; and that was the best part of all.
In terms of technology, however, I took a step ‘backwards’. I grew out of the habit of checking my phone while talking, and became a better listener. I tried to read the book instead of a dozen pages in PDFs. I wrote more diary entries, especially during my travels to keep up with my shifting mind. My pens ran out of ink for the first time in fours years. I felt more focused and present with the things I was doing and enjoying: studies, travels, conversations, and food. It is only when I am fully engaged that I can start to fully enjoy my daily life.
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openWIDE// WORLD
The Anthropocene: A Reflection
//Ariana Magliocco The Anthropocene, the current epoch conceptualized as a human produced geological phenomena, has entered the media landscape in recent years as a way to frame conversations about climate change. As the debate surrounding climate change intensifies within public policy, the media has been tasked with communicating the complexity of what Allanby describes as, complex adaptive systems, which have produced a technological society guided by colonial principles of progress, rationality and efficiency. Within this rapidly changing technological society, the standard measurements of geological time within the scientific community have been challenged, and geologists have been forced to recognize a new era in which humans have irrevocably altered the physical landscape of the world. The Anthropocene is thus an attempt to understand the extent to which human activity has affected the world. But the extent to which this is an effective way to communicate the material realities of a highly rational world that is nonetheless subject to chaos, is still to be seen. The Anthropocene places human activity at the centre of analysis, without unpacking the particular ideologies obscured by the monolithic label of “human.” When discussing the Anthropocene, I believe it is necessary to fold in discussions about the colonial systems which have created the “standard human” through which the anthropogenic world is viewed. Throughout this
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reflection, I will attempt to situate the Anthropocene within a conversation about the logic of technological advancement and acceleration that is not entirely humanistic, but rather socially constructed by powerful elites; in other words as not natural but social. While the Anthropocene does not inherently negate this complexity, I will attempt to show the ways in which the conversations that accompany the Anthropocene insist on a narrative of inevitability and technological advancement as akin to biological evolution, as well as an assertion in the ability to understand and thus dominate the natural systems of our environment. The Anthropocene purports itself to be a recognition of the human impact on geological systems. While I do not dispute the reality and in fact, the necessity of such claims, I find the umbrella group of ‘human impact’ to be abstracted from the colonial epistemology which is specific to a westernized conception of space and time. The Anthropocene brings with it a level of inevitability, presumably because of the ways in which its centres colonial technology which in and of itself obscures our ability to perceive the environment. Using Heidegger’s idea of a standing reserve is valuable here to illustrate the ways in which one’s understanding of the world is shaped by the particular ideologies within which it is framed. I would argue that human beings do not innately see land as a resource, but rather, through hegemonic discourses, have come to construct a reality which benefits colonial resource extraction and corporate interests. Therefore, while I understand the value in Allenby’s assertion that in an anthropogenic world, we must develop macroethical frameworks which, “accept, respect and work with mutually exclusive but equally valid ontologies” (Allenby 112), we must consider how the dominant ontologies which have forcibly
openWIDE// WORLD constructed the global material reality as we know it, do not allow for the complexity and nuance Allenby calls for. In a world dominated by global corporate capitalism, which serves to maintain the power of colonial states, varied epistemologies and ontologies are not allowed to exist, as they undermine the sovereignty of the powers that be. Therefore, if the Anthropocene is to become an effective framework to understand and create solutions to a world which has produced complex adaptive systems that negatively impact our environment, we must reimagine humanity’s place in the world ecosystem entirely, in a way that is not contingent on colonial epistemologies. Allenby argues that it is in naming this era of technological advancement, that we can come to understand or at the very least perceive the impact humans are having on the world. This assumes that humans can in fact holistically and fundamentally understand and thus control the vast and decentralized problems which technology has created, specifically as it relates to our changing climate. Take for example the ways in which Damian Carrington defines the anthropocene by “nuclear tests, plastic pollution and domesticated chicken” (Carrington) Carrington reports that, “The new epoch should begin about 1950 …. and was likely to be defined by the radioactive elements dispersed across the planet by nuclear bomb tests” (Carrington). Inbedded in this assertion is the assumption that human systems have the capacity to account for how much and in what ways radioactive elements have been dispersed across the planet. My next line of inquiry is, what about the bombs that have not yet been dropped? How does the very existence and knowledge of nuclear power capable of ending all of humanity impact the ways in which people perceive the environment? What I am attempting to point to here is what Heidegger calls, “the sway of gestell.” This means that we do not yet have the language or framework to comprehend the essence of technology, and so as the world becomes infected with the values of the machine they are coded as human values. It is for these reasons that I proceed with caution when conceptualizing “biology as information science” (Allenby 133). How does “biology as information science” lend itself to fantasies about the inevitable and technological evolution of humanity? Further, how does this fantasy
facilitate and feed into what Jacque Ellul theorized as technique; the creation of technical solutions for technical problems in a constant feedback loop. Take for example Martin Rees’s optimism for a future beyond the Anthropocene; “Human societies could navigate these threats, achieve a sustainable future, and inaugurate eras of post-human evolution even more marvellous than what’s led to us. The dawn of the Anthropocene epoch would then mark a one-off transformation from a natural world to one where humans jumpstart the transition to electronic (and potentially immortal) entities, that transcend our limitations and eventually spread their influence far beyond the Earth.” Rees’ techno-futuristic utopian is characterised by a complete and total domination over the environment. My final question is then, to what extent does the framing of the Anthropocene contribute to such belief? Given the concerns I have detailed in this reflection, it is hard to believe that it doesn’t.
Works Cited Allenby, Brad. “The Anthropocene as Media: Information Systems and the Creation of the Human Earth.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 52, no. 1, 2008, pp. 107-140. Carrington, Damian. “The Anthropocene Epoch: Scientists Declare Dawn of Human-Influenced Age.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 29 Aug. 2016.
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From Absolutist to Relative: Shifting Ma In her article “Beyond the Offline-Online Binary Why Women need a New Global Social Contract”, Anita Gurumurthy writes, “the truths of women in the peripheries may not even be represented in the data”. Throughout the article, she emphasizes the notion that emerging technological practices reinforce and create new barriers for women and other oppressed groups, such as through the use of data in policy making decisions. In response to Gurumurthy, this essay argues that the current mainstream rhetoric surrounding data collection and storage is absolutist in its ethics, in that its believed to be wholly good as a progression of our technological use. However, I believe we should take a relativist approach, which allows for us to understand that data should not be collected or stored in circumstances that we do not want them to be. First, I explain what data storage is, why it is sensitive, and who its primary owners are. Next, I argue that the mainstream ethical rhetoric surrounding data is absolutist, and problematize this approach. Finally, I offer an alternative, relativist approach, that allows for us to acknowledge the benefits of data collection and storage and simultaneously understand that this is not necessary or inherent to technological growth. The rhetoric surrounding data is polarized over whether the benefits outweigh the detriments. Data, which I define as personal information, can be accumulated for collection from almost any activity online or offline. For example, tracking information can be stored from the use of Map applications, messages and emails can be saved from various domains, and search engine searches are oftentimes saved. This data is compiled into user files and preferences sell advertising space, or are provided directly to corporations and states for various reasons, such as policy development. In regards to the relationship between consumers and collectors, Gurumurthy writes, “user consent becomes a mockery” (2016). Consumers and users are usually not given the option to consent 8 //v.19.2
to their information to be collected, stored, and shared, and are not made aware of who has access to their information, or for what purpose. If they are made aware of its collection, it is usually through the terms of service (TOS) that consumers agree to when first using a technological service. However, TOS’s are designed to discourage consumers from reading them, and if someone were to dislike what they read in these terms and click ‘I do not agree’, they cannot use that service that they might need or benefit from. Additionally, if data bearing corporations deal directly with each other, and not through state trade treaties or agreements, there is little transparency or oversight, if any. This lawlessness is unprecedented in data, as traditionally, those with access to public or client data, such as nurses and financial advisors, are under strict obligation to keep data confidential, otherwise they would face legal backlash and public outrage. Mainstream rhetoric on data is too absolutist, because its collection is seen as a beneficial progression of our technological society. Absolutism posits that there are absolute truths. Data is presented as devoid of bias and as something that captures ‘the truth’. In our globalized neoliberal age, which boasts equal opportunity, data is often thought of as an equalizer between different social and global intersections, and therefore, should not be interfered with. We collect data from advantaged and disadvantaged people and value it the same as a raw digit, as if everyone is neutral. It is not seen as a social phenomenon with influence and bias, it is a compilation of code. It is mundane, necessary, and benefits us all equally. We are not to think of it as a violation of our privacy or rights. After all, if you have nothing to hide, what do you have to worry about? I argue that rhetoric surrounding data collection is wholly good, it considers data in terms of its benefit, that we contribute our data equally for equal advantage. It excuses the trading and selling of data for market research and targeted ads as something that happens along the way to our advantage, as a means to an end. However, this rhetoric only benefits the ones profiting off of user and consumer data, as Gurumurthy
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ainstream Rhetoric of Data Collection //Brienna French
writes, “economic hegemony in the digital age accrues from control over data as means of control over social behaviour”. Data sharing allows for the amplification of certain voices, erosion of privacy, creation of policy that excludes minority groups and women, and we should not think of it in these absolutist terms. Instead of the current absolutist approach, we should consider data collection and storage through relativism, which allows us to view the ethicality of a subject as context specific and on a spectrum. Relativism considers the different facets of the subject, such as practicality, social and cultural contexts, when determining said subject’s ethicality. This would allow for the goodness of data collection and storage to land on a spectrum,
circumstances. Data is not all good, all bad, or evenFRENCH a binary of //BRIENNA this. The goodness and importance of data collection, storage, and use falls on a spectrum, and we need to make room for this in the mainstream rhetoric surrounding data. Current rhetoric is absolutist, as it excuses the malicious and exclusionary use of data to reach a greater good, considering it wholly good as a technological progression. However, we must shift towards a relativist perspective, and start acknowledging the personal and societal harms in current data practices. This shift in rhetoric cannot bring structural change to the collection and storage of data, however it can help change public understanding, which will put stronger pressure on data collecting corporations to act ethically, and for governments to ensure they do not use exclusionary data in policy. References Gurumurthy, Anita. (13 December 2016). Beyond the offline-online binary — why women need a new global social contract. GenderIT: Feminist Reflection on Internet Policies. Retrieved from https://www.genderit. org/feminist-talk/why-women-need-new-global-socialcontract.
based on the context in which it is being used, and by whom. For example, to look at the collection and storage of data from a relativist position, one would consider the political and social benefits for certain types of data and certain groups of people, but also might consider how this negatively impacts other groups of people, such as those whose data is unrepresented or misrepresented. They also might consider the issue in terms of who owns the data, such as policy think tanks, governments, corporations, or advertising firms. If we took a relativist approach, we could be more critical of who should have access to data, and understand that the use of it rarely benefits everyone, and even anyone apart from the profiteers, in some v.19.2// 9
openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE
Western’s Mental Health Care System Failed Me,
Here’s Why: //Elisabeth Edwards How do I go about starting this? First, I have absolutely no problem writing an article that challenges the image of Western, specifically Western’s student services. Most of the time a lot of us choose to live within the ideology that we must attend university in order to contribute to society and to our own success. However, it’s important to remember that Western University is nonetheless an institution that needs us cogs to surrender thousands of dollars to a machine that magically converts capital into educational equity (can you tell I’m a FIMS student?). How else do I go about starting this? Even though I did my part to pay into the system, the system did not stand up to the challenge of supporting me when I was in need. Yes, Western’s Mental Health Care system failed me, and here’s why: The summer before starting my first year at UWO, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After years of testing medication and therapy and ups and downs, I finally had some peace of mind and some knowledge to bring to university with me. Knowing I had to establish some sort of support system that I could attend on a regular basis to make sure nothing got out of hand, I went straight to the Student Development Centre. Here, Western boasts a number of psychological services like workshops, crisis counselling and individual counselling. After filling out the same paperwork I’d done for dozens of other doctors and therapists, I took a number and 10 //v.19.2
waited to be called. I was really nervous, walking up to a stranger and surrendering my whole story of mentalillness. Then I asked the question I thought would be easiest: “I’d like to see a counsellor on a regular basis, just so I have someone to talk to if anything goes wrong” — and I got the answer I was least expecting: “are you in crisis?” Internally it went something like this: “… NO, no I’m not in crisis… Am I? Why does it matter? What even is a crisis?” To the counsellor I just offered a small “no”. He then continued to explain to me that unless I was in a crisis, they could not offer me counselling. His demeanour reminded me of the man
openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE quite know why I wanted to cry. Maybe because my vulnerability was rewarded with rejection, maybe because I felt foolish for thinking that getting help was that easy? I brushed it off, then a week later went to an appointment at Student Health Services to get a prescription for my usual medications. At this time, I was adjusting pretty well to life as a student besides a few things: the medication I was on made me throw up almost everything I ate but I didn’t think changing medication was an option, and I was losing weight (which I gained on another medication). I was also in the beginning stages of hypomania, which is the type of mania experienced by people like me with Bipolar II Disorder. My mania just looks super productive; I talk fast, my thoughts race, ideas flow easily and often, I sleep less, eat less, spend money recklessly, and I feel AmAzIng. To this doctor, I just looked like a normal, happy 18 year old girl. When I asked him about getting a psychiatrist, he said I would have to wait until Christmas to get an appointment, and besides “it doesn’t look like you need one”. This man seemed shocked when I told him I was Bipolar, because he expected someone utterly depressed or psychotic. I left feeling like maybe I was just fine, even if I had no one to oversee my treatment. By November, everything started to change. I became extremely anxious and agitated, depressed but not in the way I usually feel depression. I was hearing voices as people walked past me on the sidewalk, confirming the horrible thoughts in my head that I should do something to end my life. This was the first mixed episode I ever experienced, it escalated so quickly that I was scared shitless — I thought “what if I didn’t make it out of this?” I knew I wasn’t safe who confirmed my diagnosis only a month earlier, being alone anymore, I gathered as much courage as I a man I sat alone in a room with, who answered an apathetic “uh huh” as I told him about all of the worst could to tell my two best friends what was happening, things that have happened in my life. “Unfortunately, and that I needed to go to the hospital. I am forever grateful for the way they responded to my cry for help, we are only offering counselling to students in a they held my hand in the car there and stayed by my crisis right now” he continued in his removed tone, handing me a sheet of paper that listed over 10 private side until 3am. By that time, I knew what I had gotten counsellors and psychologists I could see off-campus, myself into. I was placed on a 24 hour hold, meaning I could legally not leave the hospital for any reason. This which my university health insurance would cover felt very real when I was assigned a security guard. $750 for the entire year. How could this be? The website was so misleading, all I did was ask for help I wish I knew right then that this would be my life for and I was turned away because I wasn’t distressed enough? I left the office choking back tears but I didn’t the next three weeks. v.19.2// 11
openWIDE// WESTERN LIFE Okay, let’s get to the point here. The point is NOT that all this happened because of Western. Now, I know I had to be hospitalized, it’s where I finally got a psychiatrist, where my meds were prescribed properly, where I learned to ask for help, and where I learned about what my mental illness looks like. I’m not writing this article as a way of “getting back” at anyone, and maybe you’re wondering why I just told you the story of my darkest time - I did it because it’s time the administration at Western stops slapping themselves on the back for pouring thousands of dollars towards extended crisis counselling availability - the very same service that turned me away because I wasn’t in a crisis. By the time I was in a crisis, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to a counsellor, I needed a medical professional. The very word: crisis triggers an ambivalence among people with mental health problems, people who are very likely to rationalize away the severity of their mental state so long as they aren’t committed to seriously harming themselves or others. Take a moment to ask yourself, what does the word “crisis” even mean to me? According to Western’s psychological services website, “Psychological Services offers crisis counselling services to students who experience any form of assault. This includes sexual assault, physical assault and emotional abuse”. As crucial and important as these services are to students, there is no defined category for people struggling with a mental health crisis that may or may not be separate from a trauma. This very word, crisis, is so redundant in the context of counselling and support that it seeks to distract and excuse the university’s responsibility to accommodate all students and provide the validation that every single one of them experiences a crisis differently. Now how do we go about finishing this? I think a loud call to action needs to be directed at Western’s Student Services Administration. Students should demand help without discrimination. I should have felt welcomed, comfortable and heard when I opened up to that counsellor - when someone reaches out for help there is no room for “sorry, we can’t help you”. I hope you agree - and if you do, I ask you to demand the same things I’ve written here. If I had it my way, no one else would ever leave that office choking back tears - because no one deserves to be denied help. 12 //v.19.2
If you or a friend needs someone to talk to or immediate help for mental health, please call REACHOUT London (a 24/7 crisis helpline and mobile crisis intervention team) at 519.433.2023 or visit their website for online web chatting with a mental health professional: reachout247.ca
openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Cr az y
Ric h
Asians Review //Vicky Qiao
What was the hottest movie this summer? Here are some hints for y’all: “An all-Asian cast and no martial arts” (The Washington Post), “A Party with a First-Rate Guest List” (The New York Times), “Glossy romcom” and “a vital crowd-pleaser” (The Guardian). You guessed it. It was Crazy Rich Asians, a film adaption of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel of the same name. Since its release in August, the film has swept the world like the 2018 summer heatwave, setting records and making history. Being the first major studio movie featuring an allasian cast since 1993, Crazy Rich Asians gathered much spotlight way before it was released. Media, audiences, and Asian North Americans in particular, were beyond excited to see this groundbreaking production on the big screen. The stakes for this film were as high as its box office sales. With a dazzling $22 million in box office sales within the first three days of
its release, Crazy Rich Asians sure lived up to its hype. In fact, calling it a hype would be an understatement. A movement, now that’s a more accurate term. Its supporters created a #GoldOpen movement, buying out theatres to give Crazy Rich Asians the most successful opening week. And they did it, Hollywood hasn’t seen rom-com this big in six years! Frankly speaking, when I saw the trailer I didn’t fall in love. It all seemed a bit too cliché and cheesy, just another modern version of the Cinderella story. Though Hollywood has made arguably way too many movies of this genre, it is rare to see Asians playing main characters - even Mulan had to know some Kung Fu to become a Disney Princess. This is what distinguishes Crazy Rich Asian from the rest of its kind. Being Chinese myself, I felt like I had to see it, otherwise I would be unsupportive of my culture. So there I was, sitting in the front row of a theatre in downtown Toronto, not because I enjoy seeing Henry Golding’s handsome face super-magnified, but because I had to join the crazy-packed theatre. At this point, it had already been three weeks since the film hit the cinema. v.19.2// 13
openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Crazy Rich Asians is supposed to make us crazy proud experience is meant to take us away from the mundane to be Asian. However, I had a difficult time relating life to, in this case, the lavish, exciting world of the to the characters other than our shared ethnicity. ‘crazy rich Asians’. However, a good fantasy always has Growing up with my grandparents and spending my a little touch on real life, to further engage the audience childhood in Beijing, China, I can say that I have a into the manufactured dream. Just like in a magic trick, sufficient understanding of Chinese culture. However, the most exhilarating moment is when a magician what the film showcases as traditional values of brings back the disappeared poker card. The film Chinese culture simply fails to resonate with me. It is Crazy Rich Asians has this magic touch in the proposal true that family plays a huge role in Asian culture, but scene, where Nick Young stops Rachel on the airplane the way Nick Young’s family is represented in the film and asks her to marry him. If only the film had ended is nothing but an outdated, stereotypical exaggeration. there, I would have bought into the fairytale and For example, Young’s grandmother, who transforms liked the movie a little more. Director Chu just had from the loveliest to turn the camera lady to a nasty b**ch back to Singapore, By creating a kind of exoticism through in a snap, is depicted ending the film with the lifestyle of the extremely wealthy, as an empress figure, the miraculously if not a dictator. As extravagant the film reinforces a stereotype that is far as I know, this is wedding scene - as only true for the 1% not the wise, caring if we haven’t seen elder figure that is enough of diamonds celebrated in Chinese culture. and glamour. After-all, Rachel and Nick’s happilyever-after has to be a ‘crazy rich’ one. The grand finale strikes me as more unnecessary than appealing, leaving Here’s another thing that bothers me:the protagonist, me detached and weary of the fantasy world. Rachel Chu, is an Economics professor at NYU. Yet, she is “never enough” for her family according to Nick’s mother Eleanor, simply due to her lack of ‘old Don’t get me wrong- I am not trying to bash on a money’. Rachel’s character setting differentiates her movie that means so much for the Asian community. from many other modern Cinderellas in Hollywood Nor am I saying that Crazy Rich Asians is poorly done. romances. She is no prostitute (Pretty Woman) The film was quite entertaining to watch, the acting or maid (Maid in Manhattan); she is a freaking was on point and, not gonna lie, I laughed out loud intellectual with high social standing and economic every single time Awkwafina opened her mouth. What well-being. The film implies, to some extent, that I’m saying here is that the film does not offer a truthful the social hierarchy in Asian societies is determined representation of Chinese culture and traditional solely by family heritage, and that an individual’s own values. By creating a kind accomplishments are rendered irrelevant. From what I of exoticism through the have learned, however, the sense of ‘class’ in traditional lifestyle of the extremely Chinese culture has always depended greatly on one’s wealthy, the film reinforces educational and intellectual attainment. Teaching, a stereotype that is only true in particular, is one of the most highly respected for the 1%. (Crazy Broke Asians occupations. In ancient Chinese society, scholars anytime soon? #wearethe99%) were granted the highest social ranking (followed by farmers, artisans, then businessmen). Thus, it seems to Crazy Rich Asians is me extremely ironic that Rachel, a university professor, undoubtedly a huge push was deemed unworthy and treated with little respect by forward in terms of the Young family. representation, but we still have a long way to go, Hollywood is fundamentally a dream factory, creating and I think we can do escapist fantasies through film. The cinematic better. 14 //v.19.2
openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Destitute to Diverse: Representation at spring/summer 2019 runway
Mariah Brenders The lights dim, and the large screen comes to life with a galactic light show that flashes to the accompaniment of suspenseful trance music. The audience holds its breath in collective anticipation. Abruptly, the music drops to a deep house beat as Filipino, transgender model Geena Rocero powerfully strides down the runway, oozing both confidence and sex appeal in Marco Marco’s new spring/ summer 2019 collection. Marco Marco’s show made history this autumn with an entirely transgender cast walking the runway at New York Fashion Week (NYFW). His show wasn’t the only one accounting for groundbreaking advances. For the first time in the history of NYFW, more than 44% of the runway models were of colour, and an unprecedented amount of trans/and or non-binary, plus-size, drag performers, and women over-50 walked the runways, according to The Fashion Spot’s bi-annual Diversity Report. Fashion shows are finally catching on. Or are they? The representation of diversity at worldwide fashion weeks has been an ongoing topic of discussion in media channels surrounding both the fall/winter (FW) and spring/ summer (SS) fashion show months. Judging by the model diversity from previous years to this September’s SS19 show in New York, progress is apparently being made as more designers are looking to represent an accurate reflection of our diverse world. Since 2015, The Fashion Spot has been tracking diversity at each seasonal fashion week around the world. Every season in New York has been seeing incremental increases in inclusivity; this
season, however, hit new highs in each measured category of diversity. They point out noteworthy brands in race representation, such as Pyer Moss, Claudia Li, Chromat, Gypsy Sport, Prabal Gurung, Savage x Fenty, Cushnie, Oscar de la Renta, Marco Marco, Brandon Maxwell, and Michael Kors, to name a few, all with a more than 50% nonwhite cast. A lesser number of brands made the effort toward allaround inclusivity, but those who did still made an impact. Nearly 92% of Chromat’s models were women of colour, thirteen were plus-sized, three were transgender, and two were over the age of 50 (worthwhile to note that both of these older women were the only plus-sized, 50+ models to be featured in any show this season). Notably, Chromat also cast amputee and cancer survivor, Mama Cax, and Kadija Diawara, a hijab-wearing model. Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show cast a total of 72% models of colour, 12 plus-sized models, and 2 models who were actually heavily pregnant during the show. But are these inclusive statistics just representative of young, early diversityinclusive labels? What about older luxury brands? Marc Jacobs and Coach 1941’s shows stood out in the luxury field for gender representation, having two transgender models and one non-binary model, and three transgender models, respectively. However, a lot of progress is still required by luxury New York brands, particularly in the race and age demographics. Although the SS19 NYFW has made significant progress in representation of
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openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT gender identities, age, drag, and size, there was once a time of breakthrough in race representation preceding these recent trends: the 1970s. The 1970s arrived after a period of significant political importance for African American citizens. There was a serious need for access and visibility for the black community, and fashion was an ideal avenue to achieve that. The first real kick start for this revolution was a fashion show competition and fundraiser at the Palace of Versailles in France, 1973 (Newman, S., ‘Black Models Matter,’ 2017). In an effort to raise money for repairs to the Palace, five American and five French designers were invited to put on spectacular runways. Nearly one third of the models cast by the American designers were African American; this representation gave the Americans the advantage of appearing modern, upbeat, and fresh—ultimately winning the competition.
Greater than a competition, however, was the effect this casting decision had on the fashion industry. Top French designers Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert Givenchy were struck by the beauty and athleticism of Pat Cleveland and Bethann Hardison. The revolution had started. African American models began to characterize Givenchy’s runways and advertisements, while other brands followed suit throughout the 1980s. Then came the rise of supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, and Veronica Webb, who made history through representation of the African American community. Then the mid-1990s came along, and racial representation began to decline. Fashion brands began to lean toward a more homogenized, demure, and waif-like look, much different from the bold, outspoken, sexual presence that black models were previously hired for (this is a whole other issue itself, but we won’t get into that now). After a decade or so of this depressing whitewashing of fashion runways, a new concept emerged: tokenism. As the public again began to demand more representation on the runways, brands would employ the technique of ‘tokenism’ to satiate their audiences. For example, the 2013 runway shows worldwide were 90% white, with high-profile, luxury brands casting only one model of colour for their runway—if any. Some casting directors, such as Leila Ananna for Burberry, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, and Saint Laurent, believe that they are merely supporting a “homogenous aesthetic” for the brand, and that it’s not necessary to represent reality (Interview 16 //v.19.2
with Ananna by James Lim, Buzzfeed, 2013). And that was only 5 years ago. NYFW has come a long way from 10% of nonwhite castings in spring 2013 to now 40% in fall 2018, but there is still a lot of work to be done. It is interesting to note that three of the brands this season which had the most diverse castings in terms of size, race, and gender, those being Chromat, Marco Marco, and Savage x Fenty, are new and relatively alternative bathing suit and/or underwear brands. This brings up a few concerning questions. One could argue that by representing plus-sized bodies of colour through underwear modelling, this facilitates the hyper-sexualization of black women that has permeated through visual media since at least the 1970s. The same goes with transgender bodies. A lot of concern by transgender activists in current scholarship is that society copes with the unfamiliarity of transgender people by hyper-sexualizing them (see Serano, J. ‘Trans Woman Manifesto,’ 2016, for instance). Marco Marco’s scantily clad transgender models certainly seem empowered. Yet one can’t help but wonder if they were included by a range of designer styles and not just in the underwear department. Although the fashion industry has begun to take baby steps away from tokenism and leaps from the outright homogeneity of the 1990s, there is still room for improvement on the runway. It is important for all fashion brands to move toward an accurate representation of today’s social fabric, and not just in New York. It’s time for the runway to catch up.
Affection in the Digital Age:
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ASMR and Illusory Intimacy
// Elisabeth Edwards
A pretty, twenty-something brunette reaches towards my face - brush in hand - and whispers something about foundation. She begins tapping the brush on what must be the camera lens (and not my real face) while repeating the word “stipple” over and over and over again. As someone with the ability to experience ASMR, I’d be lying if I said this felt strange. In fact, it feels quite the opposite: relaxing, trance-inducing and even “tingly” - the defining adjective of the ASMR community. But also as someone with the ability to see through the illusion of carefully curated intimacy, I’m intrigued by this global phenomenon that has swept the digital world up with whispers. Before we can draw any conclusions about the emotional effects of ASMR on the modern psyche, we need to delve in to what ASMR is and how this community of “ASMRtists” have built a massive following from tea shop role plays, ear-cleaning videos, and even
NSFW content. The Whisper World is a diverse and strange one, but what can anyone expect from the Internet? ASMR or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is a physiological response which occurs in people that, according to recent studies, have “atypical sensory association” — and no it’s not as scary as it sounds. Basically, it means that the brain’s of ASMR sensitive people have networks which fire in different parts of the brain when stimulated, compared to that of someone who denies experiencing the tingling sensations inflicted from (and not limited to) tapping on objects. These people experience a variety of effects from auditory and visual stimulation: like a tingling around the base of the neck and along the spine, sleepiness, and a trance-
like state of relaxation. I say “visual” because despite it’s deep connection to the sounds extracted from objects and how it’s conveyed to the listener, ASMR’s success is in its visual performance. Just type four letters into YouTube’s search bar and instantly users are rewarded with millions of niche categories like “role plays”, “inaudible whispers”, “mouth sounds, candy eating and kisses” and those ever-so popular slime videos. The world of ASMR offers a diverse market with something for everyone; a world where millions of people watch 45 minutes of hair brushing to sleep at night. This universal truth paints a complex picture of life in our modern age, a life constructed from shared snapshots of data. One scholar suggests there is a common thread in this tapestry of tingles: “While anecdotes suggest that different people
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openWIDE// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT have different “triggers,” ASMR is often associated with scenes of intimacy and concentrated attention: it might be brought on by watching someone performing a meticulous task, by the cadence of a voice, by whispering and soft sounds or by expressions of care, interest and affirmation” (Gallagher 2016). ASMR is a pop-culture phenomenon that frames my question perfectly: how has social media altered the human experience of intimacy and affection? Gallagher dares to suggest that ASMR isn’t about sounds at all, rather the extending of intimacy and affection we so lack from other digital platforms. Instagram models with millions of followers present their content like an inaugural address, where “you” translates to a sea of people desperate for self-sabotage and more followers. Even other YouTube videos with a seemingly personal touch always start with “Hey everyone, welcome back to my channel!” as if the creator is conscious of the crowds of invisible people behind the camera. ASMR offers a completely different experience, unlike any other online. When Sharon (AKA ASMR Glow) bats her eyes sleepily and brushes her hands over the camera, she addresses just one person, and as more viewers participate there is an exponential doubling of singular “you’s”. When you get in to bed at night and watch your ASMR video, everything is curated to be as distant from Alexis Ren as possible and as close to your own mother at your bedside - but how genuine is this connection? At times, I am astounded at just how real these videos sound! When Emma (AKA WhispersRed ASMR) brushes the camera — or my face? — you can hear the bristles touching skin, or when Maria (AKA GentleWhispering ASMR) lights a match, I can hear every sound from the striking to the faint crackles of burning sulphur. When their hands fall over the lens from top to bottom, my eyelids fall with them.
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How can this be? Magic? Or perhaps it is I that conjures the magic. When I click on a video, I give my immediate consent to it’s creator to manipulate my senses. Because it’s free and private, watching ASMR does feel like a personal experience — and at times, a guilty pleasure. ASMR’s presence in the pop-culture community has also painted a weird and shameful picture of those who watch these videos; it is often labelled as “pervy” or grossly sexual, when in reality all of these creators share one common goal: to help their audience relax. Many vouch that their viewers are insomniacs or workaholics who need ASMR to sleep at night. But this leads to another paradox: how healthy is the practice of watching videos to sleep? The National Sleep Foundation states that “The blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrain the production of melatonin” a hormone that signals the brain to sleep and controls the circadian rhythm — therefore “reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep”. Some researchers have even dubbed this exposure to blue light a “junk light” (National Sleep Foundation, n.d). The junk light effect (as I am now calling it) lends an interesting paradox to ASMR as a sleep aid, suggesting it’s possibly addictive qualities that hook viewers in rather than ethically treating their sleep issues. This also points to ASMR’s highly aestheticized nature that ultimately creates this false intimacy between viewer and creator. The more one relies on a video to sleep, the more likely it is that the true problem is a lack of thoughtful connection with others. Just like yoga, meditation, essential oils and other relaxation tools that have become the bottomless money pit of a billion-dollar wellness industry, ASMR is another therapy-turned-product that — through monetized YouTube videos — has made a business out of illusory personal connection (dare I say exploitation) through viewership.
Gallagher highlights that, “ASMR videos pose important questions about… where the discourse of “aesthetics” in the sense of styles, formal properties and expressive strategies shades into that of “aesthetics” in the sense of embodied viewers’ engagements with cultural texts” (Gallagher 2016). The most dynamic aspect of this market is the controlled, calculated presentation of ASMRist to viewer. Every sound is perfectly curated to fit the binaural capacity of headphones, backdrops are often computer generated with green screens to immerse the subject in role plays, and every cameraangle conjured to be as connective as possible. All of these aspects of ASMR have built an incredible digital community that encourages imagination, creativity, sensitivity and intimacy. But it’s also created a giant money pit that has drawn companies like FabFitFun, Blue Apron and Hello Fresh and more, as ASMR videos offer a unique opportunity for creators to interact with sponsored products by using them as triggers as seen in videos like “Tingly Unboxing” and “ASMR Cooking”. I don’t think we can draw a conclusion as to how positive or negative ASMR is to viewers. At best, it is a new art form that helps millions of people relax and fall asleep; at worst it is creating a new generation of individuals who don’t know how to experience intimacy outside of a screen. What can definitely be agreed upon is that ASMR is indeed a digital phenomena and an extremely interesting cultural event that only adds to the weirdness of the 21st century. All I know is that I won’t stop loving ASMR videos anytime soon.
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Vic’s Tips To Get a Grip The Fall Grind
//VICTORIA GIGUERE
It’s gotten to that point in the semester-you’re dragging your cold, drained-of-energy body to your (god-forbid) early morning class. You’ve resorted to a breakfast of purely coffee, and your just-showered hair is starting to freeze in the cold air. You get to class and realize that you didn’t bring your notebook, pencil case, or textbook, so you start taking notes on a Tim Hortons napkin with your tears as the ink. Though this is a rather ~ahem~ extreme version of your middle of semester routine, the fact remains that everyone is starting to feel those gears slowing down. So, I have taken the time and ever so lovingly crafted a list of tips and tricks you can use to make this time of year speed by with success!! Without further ado, I present to you:
Vic’s Tips To Get A Grip: 1. Throw some Redbull in your iced coffee. Double the caffeine, double the productivity. Better yet, use some 5 hour energy for that added kick. 2. Instead of writing completely new essays and expending all that energy, take paragraphs at random from all of your PAST essays (if you REALLY want to impress your prof, throw some sentences in from your most recent Spanish essay.) 3. For quick and effective recharging, instead of sleeping each night, adopt the Uberman sleep cycle: six 20 minute naps! More time to study, right?
7. Cut off all communication. I’m talking disconnecting your internet router, logging off social media, taking the SIM card out of your phone, abandoning electricity, building a fire from scratch with two sticks and friction, you name it. 8. Tim Hortons sells that bread that comes with soup by itself. No soup required. And the full loaf is ONE DOLLAR. You’re welcome. 9. Ignore your troubles in the academic world by purchasing a shiny new planner from the bookstore! Even if you can’t make the due dates, showing your professor your highlighted, sticker-filled calendar should get you some part marks, shouldn’t it?
4. Bring a laptop to the bar- Ceeps certainly won’t mind as long as you foot the cover! When a song comes on that you can’t stand, retreat to the corner to work on that final essay. 5. Don’t want to waste time making dinners instead of completing all that homework? Meal prep! Cook vegetables. Sear meat. Boil water, then freeze it. Then when you’re behind, all you have to do is reheat! 6. Worried about falling asleep during your all-nighter? Tape your eyelids open. No one can sleep with their eyes open. And if you can, you have bigger problems than your workload.
10. Clean. Clean your room. Clean the kitchen, the living room, the basement. Vacuum, dust, clean your car, scrub down the windows, clean each tile individually in your shower. Yeah, you’ve got a million assignments due and five midterms coming up, but things won’t clean themselves. New year, new me doesn’t just have to be a January thing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try a new style, cut your hair, change your name. Distract yourself! Good luck FIMS kiddos!
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HALLOWEEN
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These garments and accessories were fo Photo credit
Your nuclear parents on vacation
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Did you know that when you buy thrifted and there is no tax, that the money is going directly back into the community?
Unidentified zoo animal
Did you know that its possible to find chique and cool and professional attire at the thrift shop?
LOOKBOOK
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ound at the non-prof thrift shop Goodwill to caylin sun
Mom on vacation #2
Did you that fast fashion Unidentified zooknow animal #2 is socially and environmentally unsustainable, and that you can curb your carbon footprint by buying thrifted clothing? Silent Silent film star andstar Disco movie and Disco QueenQueen *
Soccer referee!
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ZINE CANADA These are the fake ones. KANYE WEST ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR DONALD TRUMP
...we still think this is a joke
STUDENT LECTURES CAT-CALLERS ON PATRIARCHY AND GENDER EQUALITY
Ceeps sues the Women’s Studies program for business decline
LONDON POLICE ANNOUNCES 20,000 PEOPLE WERE AT FOCO
In other news, PurpleFest was also going on that day
SHANE DAWSON RELEASES 8 PART YOUTUBE SERIES ON JAKE PAUL
This just in, Jake Paul is still trash
NEW ENGINEERING BUILDING TO BE NAMED AFTER YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND TODD
You know, the super needy one who wouldn’t reciprocate
STUDENT WHOSE PARENTS PAY FOR THEIR TUITION COMPLAINS ABOUT POTENTIAL PROF STRIKE “It’s just so entitled!”
FROSH STILL SAY THEY’RE IN FIRST YEAR IVEY
You’re not
PEOPLE CONFUSED ABOUT THE ONSLAUGHT OF LAMP AND MOTH MEMES HITTING THE INTERNET Lämp
ALL ROADS WITHIN A 5 KM RADIUS OF WESTERN UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Student from the south end resorts to taking flight lessons
LIBERAL GOVERNMENT SURPRISINGLY FULFILLS 1 CAMPAIGN PROMISE
This actually happened!
FIMS STUDENT LEAVES LECTURE ON EXPLOITATION EARLY TO FULFILL RIDICULOUS INTERNSHIP HOUR REQUIREMENTS
Hey, at least we get academic credit?
WHITE GIRL CELEBRATES CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
“I finally get to smoke weed without repercussions!! We made it! :)”
GROUP OF FRIENDS VISIT PUMPKIN PATCH
Wonder where the professional Instagram photographer is located BREAKING NEWS: THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE RUNS OUT, STUDENTS PROTEST UCC STARBUCKS Starbucks to release official statement of apology and provide gift baskets to all those affected
LASENZA RUNS OUT OF LACE ANIMAL EAR HEADBANDS
Female students boycott Halloween 22 //v.19.2
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SBACK N THINGS POOKY SZ
COVER
And these are the real ones.
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