16 minute read
Golden Girls
The Golden Girls and aging tastefully
Why adoration for the pioneers of female-fronted television endures today
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amina salah staff writer
The Golden Girls, a sitcom that ran for seven seasons with 180 episodes, has received various awards such as Golden Globes and Emmys, stars a killer cast, and was a hit the moment it started airing. Actresses such as Betty White (Rose Nylund), Bea Arthur (Dorothy Zbornak), Estelle Getty (Sophia Petrillo), and Rue McClanahan (Blanche Devereaux) made their characters come to life. Furthermore, its killer guest actors such as George Clooney, Alex Trebek, Mario Lopez, Burt Reynolds, and Dick Van Dyke made the show riveting; somehow, through it all, the main characters of the show were always the ones who shined.
What made The Golden Girls iconic was its unique premise – to showcase four senior women living together and the many adventures they went through as a collective. In an industry that promotes youth and discourages aging, Golden Girls was ground-breaking. In many ways, it was inspiring.
The impeccable writing also set the show apart from many others on the air at the time. It was raw, fierce, and audacious, and took many risks by shedding light on important topics. In an interview with Out Magazine, Susan Harris, the show creator stated, “[w]e liked to tackle – not outrageous issues – but important issues. Things that I knew that people went through that hadn’t been addressed on television.” Harris is a visionary in television for the creation of The Golden Girls but also for writing the emblematic abortion episode on Maude. This episode led to her being recognized for the Humanitas Prize, an award for writing in film and television that emphasizes on human dignity, safety, and freedom. In a 2010 interview, Harris stated, “I think everybody including younger people when they
reach an age when they feel alienated – the thought of being alone, and spending your life alone, is terrifying. These women were at an age where they were alone and were likely to stay alone until they found each other… They encouraged each other and had a life together. It showed that you didn’t need the customary, traditional relationship to be happy. It paints a picture of all the possibilities for family. I also think young people like Sophia because she says whatever pops into her head!”
The show highlighted an important message: women don’t need to be in romantic relationships to be happy. Marriage or a being in a romantic relationship does not ensure that you will always live with your partner. Divorce can happen, as shown in the case of Dorothy. Death can happen, in the case of Rose, Blanche, and Sophia. The show emphasized the importance of cultivating friendships with other like-minded women. A soul mate is not just your romantic partner. A soulmate can be your best
friend, and that’s what The Golden Girls showed us all. The older you get, the lonelier life can get – and amidst it all, everyone needs people who understand them, people who will always be there for them, who will make room for them to be vulnerable, and to be accepted by those loved by them. Ultimately, the little things are what make life special and that is what many fans found in The Golden Girls.
The show was also a success due to its depiction of aging. Aging is not linear and there is not just one way of aging. Aging is complex and unique to everyone. In an episode titled “Rose Fights Back,” viewers see the harsh reality that happens when Rose is unfortunately removed from her deceased husband’s pension plan. As a result, she is forced to find a new job. The episode focuses on age discrimination as Rose worries about how she will be able to pay her portion of rent. After seeing an older woman going through the trash, Rose tells the other ladies, “I wondered, what did she do to get herself into a
“A soul mate isn’t just your romantic partner. A soulmate can be your best friend, and that’s what The Golden Girls showed us all.
– Amina Salah
fix like that? I thought, well, she must be lazy, or she must be pretty stupid to let something like this happen to her. The truth is: she’s me.” This is a powerful example of reckoning with ageism in our society.
Another episode focuses on Sophia’s new friend, Alvin, who has Alzheimer’s disease. After finding out, Sophia tells Dorothy, “People think if you live to be my age you should be grateful just to be alive. Well, that’s not how it works. You need a reason to get up in the morning and sometimes even after you find one, life can turn right around and spit in your face.” The episode highlights the reality that life is simply just not fair.
Another episode introduced viewers to Viola “Mammy” Watkins. Viola discloses that she had an affair with Blanche’s father. “In another time and place, we would have been married. But at that time in the South, it wasn’t an option.” The episode showcased how easy it is for white children to forget the racial complexities of the society they live in whilst simultaneously being attached to their Black caretakers. The Golden Girls was innovative for choosing to display topics relating to race in an authentic manner.
Over the span of seven years, The Golden Girls racked up 68 Emmy nominations with 11 wins. Today, it is among only four shows in television history where all its main actors won Emmys for their roles. The reality is that without The Golden Girls, many shows would not exist today. It’s The Golden Girls that made shows such as Sex and the City, And Just Like That, Grace and Frankie, Hot in Cleveland, and more possible today. As a result, The Golden Girls will always be known as a pioneer in entertainment, film, and television. In a culture that views mature women negatively, it was refreshing to finally have a show that unapologetically appreciated ageing and female friendships, making both the centre of the show.
Escape Club review
Board game café and escape room outlet
Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash I think I can (beat your ass in Monopoly).
jorah bright a&c writer
Board game cafés are a great place to hang out and drink with your friends, whether you opt for an alcoholic beverage or not. Appealing because of their wide array of games to play, kind and fun-loving staff, welcoming environment, and added escape rooms, board game cafes are on the rise.
Right here in Regina is the Escape Club. Home to six different escape rooms and 365 board games, there’s lots for you and your friends to do. The hours are great for people who work or are in school. From Monday to Saturday Escape Club is open from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
I recently went to the Escape Club with my friends to play some board games and we all had an amazing experience. The atmosphere of the board game café is fantastic. It feels cozy and homey, and I felt comfortable to sit and hang out.
Worried about what games they might have or if you’ll know how to play any of them? Their website has the entire list of games so you can choose what you want to play before you get there or find out if they have the game you really want to play. When you get to Escape Club, each game is labeled according to their labeling system, which has an incredibly easy to follow guide.
What was really important for me is how inclusive and accessible Escape Club is. It’s truly a 2SLGBTQ+ safe space. The bathrooms are gender neutral, labeled in theme with the escape rooms instead of by gender. Four of the escape rooms are wheelchair accessible and staff are incredibly accommodating. Even for those who are afraid of being locked in an escape room, there’s always a way out. The website lists trigger warnings like fear and flashing lights right on their website.
The escape rooms themselves are made for lots of different groups. You can have up to 16 people in the biggest room, but they are made for 4 to 16 people. The first room they have is called Spellbound. It’s a large room meant for 8 to 16 players and focuses on solving the disappearance of a man. It’s a supernatural themed escape room for ages 13 and up.
The next room is called Dr. Jones and the Tomb of Life. This hidden tomb is meant for 8 players, but 4 to 12 people is the recommended group size. It has a 17 per cent success rate and is restricted to ages seven and up. Following that is a room called SeCure. This room lets you escape from “an underground Russian medical research facility experimenting with reanimating dead cells.” Similar to the Tomb of Life, SeCure is meant for 8 players, but recommends 4 to 12. It’s meant for ages 13 and up and has a 13 per cent success rate.
For smaller groups, Miss Fortune is meant for 2 players, but is recommended for 2 to 6. Miss Fortune takes place in a fortune teller’s parlor, is restricted to ages seven and up, and has a 29 per cent success rate. The highest success rate at 34 per cent is Old Mac’s Farm. Themed around the children’s rhyme, players must find Old Mac’s most beloved animals and explore a classroom to find the missing animals. This room is for 2 to 10 players and is restricted to ages seven and up.
Escape Club is an incredibly fun place to be, and the staff are incredibly kind and dedicated to guests having the most fun possible. Located at 2410 Dewdney Ave, I highly recommend an escape room or some board games at Escape Club for your next outing with family, friends, or for team building.
#StillNotOverIt: Don’t F**k with Cats
gillian massie
staff writer
The true crime series Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer absolutely knocked my socks off when I watched it for the first time. A twisted story about internet activists on the hunt for who made a cat killing video for clout turns into a bigger than anticipated investigation for a murderer. Nothing is more frightening than the kitty-kat killer/internet narcissist Luka Magnotta – and I could not look away from my screen until it was over.
The documentary begins with a video called “1 boy 2 kittens,” which showed the first two cats being killed and gained national attention after being launched on the internet. The public outrage caused two cat lovers, Deanna Thompson and John Green (not the author), to form a Facebook group attempting to decode who the murderer was and serve justice for the two kittens.
Here unfolds the internet manhunt to find the kitten-killer. The Facebook group gained traction from many other followers and every step forward in the investigation led two steps back. In one attempt to narrow down a suspect Thompson and Green prematurely convicted the kitty-killer, which resulted in members of the Facebook group attacking the suspect. Thompson and Green tried to backtrack when they realized that they had convicted the wrong person, but pressure from the group caused the suspect to commit suicide – a scene that is very quickly brushed off as an accident but is truly disturbing considering this is a true crime docuseries about murder.
Little did Thompson and Green know that the killer had been watching them all along. The kitty-killer, who was still at large, began baiting the Facebook group through two more cat-killing videos, each more horrific than the last. It is intriguing to see a group of internet sleuths who are much more invested in the case than the general police. Even before police involvement, the Facebook group had decoded the diversionary tactics of much of the initial videos and eventually identified who the killer was. While they continued to identify the killer’s clues, they were always one step behind Magnotta, who only let them know as much as he wanted. Much like many other animal murderers, it was not long before a video appeared of the cat-killer morphing into a full-fledged murderer – the footage containing the pivotal point where Magnotta murders Lin Jun.
This was when police enforcement entered, who almost muddled the story even more and ignored the Facebook group’s advice. Panic ensued when the Liberal and Conservative parties were mailed limbs of Jun’s body. I find this documentary so intriguing because I remember watching the chaos of the limb-mailing unfold on the news as a child. While I didn’t know the whole situation then, it completely blew me away learning the full story 10 years later.
Watching the documentary makes you flip through emotions at a rapid pace, from feeling heartbreak, to anger, to fright in a matter of minutes. Despite the intensity of the docuseries, I watched it all the way through without realizing three hours had gone by. It does a great job of making you question Hollywood (and society’s) obsession with absurd true crime series – which is especially important considering serial killer profiles are often romanticised. Magnotta’s own motives relate to his own selfishness and hurt on his behalf of never finding fame in the film industry. The documentary gives Magnotta his fame and poses a rhetorical question to audiences: why the fuck are we capitalizing on his actions when that’s what he wanted all along?
editor: katie mutschler sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | feb 3 - feb 9, 2022
The Beijing Winter Games: what you need to know
Time for world-wide competitions to get people suddenly interested in sports
katherine mutschler
s&h editor
Vytautas Dranginis via Unsplash
And we’re off to the races...
As of January 27, Canadian Olympians have been arriving in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The games bring lots of excitement and controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the games will still go forward despite critiques of pandemic protocols causing some complications. The events will begin on February 2 with various games before the opening ceremonies on February 4. It may feel like such a short time since the last games, which took place in Tokyo in 2021, but it is time for the next round of celebrations to happen. In this article, you will find out about some of the symbols China used for their mascot and torch, some notable Saskatchewan athletes who will be competing, and how and where to broadcast the games.
One of the most exciting parts of the Olympics is the torch relay. The lighting ceremony took place in October of 2021 and was broadcast as the flame journeyed from Greece to Beijing. This year, the torch relay will have some restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19; the run will take place on a closed loop outdoors track, and there will be a reduced course and fewer runners than initially planned. The relay will take place from February 2 to February 4 and will conclude with the opening ceremonies, which will be broadcast on the Olympics official website, CBC, and the CBC Olympics App.
The torch’s design has many references to Chinese culture. According to the official Winter Beijing website, the torch has a few references to the summer Olympics design from 2008, which also took place in Beijing. The torch bears resemblance through the same white and red colour scheme. On the torch, there is a winding design that represents the Great Wall of China and the courses for the ski slopes. On the bottom of the torch, there are designs in white and red that represent paper cutting, a folk art that originated in China. The torch’s design is meant to represent growth, comradery, and the gen-
eral spirit of the Olympics.
Beijing’s winter mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen, also has some references to Chinese culture. “Bing” in this context is translated to “ice” in English. “Dwen Dwen” means robust and lively, which are meant to encapsulate the games. The friendly panda mascot bears a suit of ice to represent the Games themselves, but also the advancements in technology that China has been making. The colourful design on Bing Dwen Dwen’s face is meant to be a reference to the technological methods that Olympics have been making for ice sports. This 2022 mascot is also a nod to the 2008 summer mascot, as a panda was one of the mascots for that year (and the panda is the national animal of China).
There will be some notable athletes with Saskatchewan ties competing in the Winter Olympics this year. Jay Dearborn, a former athlete for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is going to be featured on the bobsledding team this year. According to CBC news, Dearborn suffered an injury while playing football, and turned to
bobsledding as an alternative. After COVID-19 restrictions were beginning to be implemented and football games were being canceled, he returned to bobsledding, and was eventually invited to join the Canadian team. Bobsledding will begin to broadcast on February 10 at midnight CST.
Discover Humboldt features many Saskatchewan athletes who are going to the 2022 Winter games. Cianna Lieffers, who is from Cudworth, will be representing Saskatchewan on the women’s hockey team. She is involved in many hockey organizations, including the SJHL. Many of Saskatchewan’s athletes, coaches, and support staff have previously competed in the Olympics. This includes Marsha Hudey (speed skater) and Mark McMorris (snowboarding) who will be in their third Olympics. Todd McClements and Adam Burwell will be featured as coaches for some of the teams for the 2022 games. The long track speed skating team will have Mark Jesney, who is a physiotherapist, accompany them for the upcoming Winter Games.
Broadcasting of the games will take place on many platforms, including CBC television broadcast, the CBC website, and the official Olympics website. The opening ceremonies will premiere at 5:30 am CST on February 4. If that is too early for you, some platforms such as Peacock will have VODs and highlights to stream (although it will cost money). On the CBC website, streaming can be searched by day, event, and also by television event. If you want to only tune into figure skating, you can easily access the times on the CBC Olympics website. The official Olympics website has more information on how to access the games depending on which country you live in and suggests various providers.
If none of these options are available, the games are meant to be celebrated with other people. Following COVID-19 protocols, maybe stream the games with a friend. If a family member has cable television (do people still use that?) go over and watch with them. During all the uncertainty of the pandemic, the Olympics, with warts and all, can bring us together. This is the perfect time to learn about the symbols and cultures of other countries who are competing. It is time to learn about inspiring athletes from your own country or from other countries. Maybe look up the athletes who will be competing (or have competed) from your province. With access to the internet, you can learn everything you need to about controversies, policies, athletes, and companionship of the Olympic games. In 2018, I was walking on the U of R campus during the Soccer World Cup, and I witnessed a group of students surrounding a television in lab building cheering for their own teams and spending time together. The competition between people on campus brought me joy and made me excited for worldwide sporting events. Let the Winter Games be the catalyst to learn about other cultures, and show sportsmanship towards the people around you.
