March 2, 2021

The Concordian.

NEWS // CSU New Amendment / Laval Migrant Center / Yemen Humanitarian Crisis / +

COMMENTARY // 2014 Nostalgia / Sia Controvesy / Anti-Asian Violence / +

ARTS // Malcolm and Marie / Ar(t)chives / Nomadland

MUSIC // Death to Hidden Tracks / Qi Yama Interview / Slowthai

VOLUME 38, ISSUE 11 TUESDAY MARCH 2, 2021

// theconcordian @theconcordian @theconcordian theconcordian.com

SPORTS // Stingers to Watch for / Sports Power Rankings / Lebron James

News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

NEWS

Canada Joins Australia in the fight for the future of the internet

Can’t share this Grayson Acri Staff Writer

The fight for the future of the internet has gotten the heat turned up. Earlier this month, the conflict playing out in the Australian Parliament between Google and a proposed law that would make them and Facebook pay to link to news sources jumped to the public consciousness.

Google has since decided to get ahead of the legislation and began paying news outlets for their stories in their Google News Showcase program. This is a complete reversal after threatening to exit the country completely, should Australia go through with the legislation.

Facebook, on the other hand, went on the offensive. On Feb. 18, Facebook users in Australia were unable to see or share any news content. The ban was far-reaching, covering both domestic and international news outlets. The ban went so far as to remove some pages relating to government institutions. In regards to this issue, Australian Prime minister Scott Morrison said, “They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.”

Facebook relented once they began striking deals a few days later on Feb. 23 after the code was amended.

Facebook claims that they are different in handling news than Google, namely that publishers choose to publish their articles on Facebook. Facebook claims that they give publishers “5.1 billion free referrals to Australian publishers

worth an estimated AU$407 million.”

According to Axios, the number of visits to Australian news sites both domestic and international dropped during the few days the ban was in place. It remains to be seen how restoring sharing af- fects these sites or if the ban hurt Facebook usage in the country on a larger scale.

Enter Canada. The same day that news was removed from Facebook in Australia, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, who is in charge of similar legislation, doubled down on his commitment to the project. His proposed legislation is expected to hit Ottawa later in the spring, according to Reuters. Indications suggest the legislation will follow the Australian model rather than the French model, which differs in that publishers are paid to have their content used in a special content area called Google News Showcase, rather than charging for access to links.

Pandora’s box has been opened, with Australia leading a charge that appears to only be snowballing from here.

Canada’s follow-up to Australia will likely be pivotal. Many popular outlets of Australian media are owned by a rather controversial company, News Corp., which contains The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and Fox News, among others. News Corp. championed the legislation through their various channels, leading some to question the motive of the legislation and consider it “media blackmail,” such as Jeff Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York.

Other companies such as Seven West Media have joined Google News Showcase in Australia.

Canada following the Australian model legitimizes it and establishes it as a standard, even though it’s not an actual law yet.

As we spend more time online due to the continuing pandemic, the market dominance of Google and Facebook has come to the forefront. The Canadian Media Concentration Research Project clocked Google at 50 per cent market share in Canadian online advertising in 2019, and Facebook was nearing one-third, leaving only roughly one-fifth of the market.

It is unknown how this legislation will change those figures or anything as of yet since France is the only country to enact a law similar to this, and their model is not applicable.

So by the time you read this, you may not be able to share this. We are now in the waiting game to see what Canada’s heritage minister’s legislation brings to Canada, and how Facebook and Google react. If Australia is a model to go by, we may go a few days without sharing.

CONCORDIA

Changing your name at Concordia — what you might not know A simple application through CU’s website allows any student to change their name without need for justification

Juliette Palin News Editor Concordia University has a very diverse student body, whether through ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

Because of this diverse student body, there are some issues that the administration has tried to address. For example, there is a very clear and precise procedure Concordia offers in order for students to change the name they use, without needing to give a reason.

The issue is, many students aren’t aware it exists.

Gino Eloise studied Biochemistry at Concordia, and has used they/them pronouns ever since enrolling. However, they used to go by a different name, which is still used in academic settings. They haven’t officially registered their new name with Concordia, in part because it’s a recent change, but also because they didn’t know how.

“I didn’t even know it was something that can change or whether it would just be extra trouble for everyone,” said Eloise.

“I just feel like my identity is a burden. So

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Graphic by @the.beta.lab

I don’t go through like, the trouble of making it known, especially in academic settings,” they said.

They also explained that they experience a lot of misgendering, “Especially since I look the way that I look — I’m very fem presenting.”

Ariane Lussier-Gendron, the health and resources coordinator at Queer Concordia explained that although there is a way of changing names at Concordia, it isn’t necessarily well known.

One common thread at Concordia may be that there is a gap between what the university does for its students and what the students know about. Having recently gotten involved with Queer Concordia, Lussier-Gendron has already received emails from students, asking for help accessing these resources.

She explained, “Personally, I’ve had people come to me by email asking me questions. Not exactly related to this, but something similar, and I have had to do the research myself. So we don’t

have a protocol or anything, but that is actually something I’m working on.”

Through her research, Lussier-Gendron found two students who had gone through the procedure to change names, and to her surprise they had fairly positive experiences.

One downside to this process may be that Concordia doesn’t inform professors of changes. “[One student] changed their name, like mid-semester. And they said, ‘I kind of wish [Concordia] would email your profs about the change.’ Because they wound up having to do it themselves, and that was a little bit awkward,” said Lussier-Gengron.

An easily fixable detail.

All in all, this procedure does what it needs to do — now it’s just a question of telling students that this is an easy process; that, despite some hurdles, it’s possible to change your name without having to justify your decision.

NEWS

Yemen’s uncertain path to peace In the short term, Biden’s diplomatic approach in Yemen may not be enough to leverage peace Léa Beaulieu-Kratchanov Contributor Earlier this month, the Biden administration took considerable steps to reverse U.S. policy on the war in Yemen, instigated under Obama and continued throughout Trump’s presidency.

It notably put a hold on its support to the Saudi-led coalition, revoked the terrorist designation of the Houthi movement, and appointed veteran diplomat, Timothy Lenderking, as special envoy to the conflict.

What began in 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement overthrew president Hadi’s unpopular government, has since turned into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. As of 2015, neighbouring Saudi Arabia has spearheaded a coalition, while mobilizing a substantial part of its GDP, to back the Hadi government and wage a war against the Houthis and their allies – so far, unsuccessfully.

According to the United Nations, 233,000 people have been killed in the war and more than 20 million are left in dire need of humanitarian aid. In a briefing to the Security Council last week, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock warned the country is “speeding towards the worst famine the world has seen in decades,” adding that “something like 400,000 children under the age of five are severely malnourished across the country.”

“This war has to end,” Biden said earlier this month, of the conflict that has reached a stalemate since the latest attempts at peace talks failed in 2018.

For the population, peace is long overdue. As reported by Newlines Magazine, many have wel-

comed efforts to reignite the peace process, but remain pessimistic about the prospect of a political solution in the near future.

The U.S.’ shift towards a diplomatic approach or even a hypothetical withdrawal of regional actors, like Saudi Arabia, would not necessarily result in the end of the civil war, warns Elena Delozier from the Washington Institute. In an interview on the Conversation Six podcast, she stressed that this conflict was and remains one mostly animated by local actors – the Houthis and the Yemeni government.

“If we had an arrangement for peace talks tomorrow, neither of them have the political will right now to go to the table,” she said. “The question for the United States is how can it get the Hadi government, the Houthis, or how can it help the U.N. get, those two parties to come to peace talks.”

In recent weeks, the Houthi movement has made advances on the government’s last stronghold of Marib – the fall of which experts say will bring about further displacement and humanitarian consequences.

Last September, a UN group of experts designated Canada as one of the countries responsible for “perpetuating the conflict” by selling arms, including sniper rifles and light armoured vehicles, to Saudi Arabia. The ongoing arms deal currently amounts to $14 billion.

The New Democratic Party reiterated this criticism earlier this month in the House of Commons.

POLISAVVY

Montreal will push Canada to collect race-based COVID-19 data Marginalized communities face some of the highest COVID-19 infection rates Hadassah Alencar News Editor Montreal city council voted on Feb. 23 to push the federal and provincial governments to collect and publish race-based COVID-19 data, which would entail registering ethnic and socioeconomic information from those who have tested positive for the virus.

Minority communities have faced increasingly higher COVID-19 case numbers across Canada, according to studies cited in the motion. The goal of the initiative is to better understand systemic disparities in marginalized communities and to develop effective health measures to address social inequalities.

Developed in cooperation with the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), the successful motion was proposed by Marvin Rotrand, independent city councillor for the district of Snowdon.

This initiative would be the first of its

kind in the country, and for co-author of the motion and researcher at CRARR, Kathryn Nicassio, a necessary step to address inequalities among vulnerable communities.

“These groups tend to be racialized groups, people who are poor, or struggling in other ways,” said Nicassio.

In Montreal, Nicassio cites disproportionate COVID-19 infection rates in largely racialized communities, such as the Côtedes-Neiges and Ahuntsic boroughs, that have seen over 9,000 and 8,000 cases respectively.

Comparatively, the affluent suburb of Westmount, with fewer racialized groups, saw just a little over 600 cases.

“We have some data, we know that this is happening, but [we] don’t know the extent of it, and we’re not collecting it at the scale we need to be collecting it,” said Nicassio.

This disproportionate impact on minority communities echoes the findings in the August 2020 SHERPA report cited in the press release, which found there was a greater impact of COVID-19 in racialized communities who faced an “intersection of multiple economic and social factors.”

These issues include poverty, rac-

Graphic by @jamesfaydraws

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau assured, “Human rights considerations are now at the centre of our export regime,” adding that he “will deny any permit application where there is a risk of human rights violations.”

In addition to the U.S.’ dwindling support, the declassification last Friday of a report that found Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salam responsible for approving the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, puts Ryadh in an increasingly defensive position.

But while it may reduce its military spending in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is expected to further its presence through local undercover fighters, according to Ahmed Nagi, a fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Institute.

Meanwhile, for the Houthis, the “priority today is to make more gains, not to engage in power-sharing deals,” said Nagi, indicating that under such conditions, a viable path to peace remains nothing but precarious.

ism, working in areas with higher exposure to COVID-19 (such as long-term care clinics), language barriers, lack of health insurance, and precarious immigration statuses. Ultimately, gathering race-based COVID-19 data would be integral to designing effective health policies that would account for these discrepancies.

“We need the hard data to be able to identify the root causes of system disparity … because we have to be able to inform our actions by addressing these root causes and to come up with more effective responses,” said Concordia Public Affairs and Policy student and CRARR intern Eva Rokakis, who also contributed to the motion.

Going forward, Rokakis said CRARR is working on a project to bring this initiative to the federal government. “We have to keep fighting for it,” said Rokakis.

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News.

NEWS EDITORS Hadassah Alencar / @Hadassahalencar Juliette Palin / @PalinJuliette news@theconcordian.com

MONTREAL

Community groups demand release of migrant detainees following a COVID-19 outbreak at the Laval Immigration Holding Centre

One of the migrants at the centre has begun a hunger strike to protest inadequate health measures Hadassah Alencar News Editor Multiple migrant detainees at the Immigration Holding Centre (IHC) in Laval have contracted COVID-19, spurring community groups to call on the immediate release of all detainees for the migrants’ safety.

Due to the outbreak, one of the migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 began a hunger strike on Feb. 15 to protest against the conditions at the centre, according to Solidarity Across Borders (SAB), a community group in contact with multiple detainees at the centre.

Unsanitary conditions, inadequate COVID-19 protocol, and refusal to give proper healthcare to detainees — these are some of the allegations weighed against the IHC by SAB and one of the detainees, Marlon, who used a pseudonym to protect his identity.

While the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said detainees who have tested positive are being held in solitary confinement, SAB member of the detention committee Simone Lucas claims all detainees on the men’s side are being held in solitary as a containment measure.

SAB receives all of their information through phone calls with detainees who are in isolation and cannot properly communicate with one another, which Lucas said is the reason why some of their figures are different from the CBSA. In a press release, SAB claimed four positive COVID-19 cases at the centre, while the CBSA claimed three cases since Feb. 15. To date, there are 15 migrants held in the Laval IHC, according to the CBSA. Back in the spring of 2020, detainees organized a group hunger strike during the first wave of the pandemic, to protest being held in a closed environment, which made them more susceptible to contracting the virus. Some migrants were released following the eight-day hunger strike, and a media campaign by SAB. “If the CBSA was able to release detainees in the spring we don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to release detainees this time around,” said Tanya Rowell Katzemba, a member of the detention committee at SAB. During the first wave of the pandemic, the only confirmed COVID-19 case at the centre was a security guard. Rowell Katzemba thinks the situation now, with multiple mi-

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grants getting sick, means there is an even greater risk to their safety and wellbeing.

The higher risk of exposure to the virus comes from the staff who work at the centre, who regularly come and go, while migrants are detained in closed environments, according to the press release by SAB. Marlon agrees, and he says the situation at the centre is dire.

“In my experience, the worst thing that has happened to me in my life is to have fallen sick with COVID-19,” said Marlon in an interview with The Concordian. He said the precautions and care he has received at the Laval IHC are insufficient.

Marlon said that after testing positive, he was moved to a smaller room to quarantine, where the walls appeared to have spit spread on them, the bed was dirty, and the curtains were stained with blood. He successfully demanded to be moved, saying the centre’s cleaning measures were inadequate.

According to Marlon, deep cleaning at the centre amounts to surfaces being wiped down with a rag, with high-traffic touchable services like vending machines and water fountains rarely being cleaned. In the washroom detainees use, blood is smeared on the door from the inside, and mold grows on the shower curtains.

Marlon continued to state that multiple guards have taken off their masks while working at the centre, sometimes coughing and sneezing without a face covering. Staff do not socially distance, and instead have various points of contact between each other throughout their work day and during breaks, for example, as Marlon said he witnessed guards sharing cigarette lighters.

Personnel at the centre work in eight hour shifts, with around 12 to 20 employees coming and going from the IHC at a time, said Marlon.

In the first week of February, he noticed one of the guards in the shared communal space exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms; they were coughing, had dark bags under their eyes, and appeared to have trouble breathing.

Less than two weeks later, Marlon also tested positive for COVID-19, during which time he was scheduled to be deported from Canada. Due to his positive result, his deportation was postponed, conditional on a negative test result for COVID-19. In Canada, deportations resumed on Nov. 30, 2020, after having been paused due to the pandemic in March 2020.

The CBSA did not respond to questions regarding whether any personnel at the centre had contracted COVID-19.

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

The CBSA released a statement pertaining to cleaning measures at the centre.

“Since February 2020, several additional measures have been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the Laval IHC. These have been taken in response to directives put forward by health authorities and are reviewed several times a week as the situation continues to evolve.”

One of these measures was also to stop all visitations from the public. Marlon has not seen his wife and son who live in Montreal and whose refugee applications have been approved, since he was detained for lack of identification papers on Nov. 16, 2020.

At the centre, Marlon finds it ironic the guards are “treating them like lepers and keeping their distance,” while it was those very personnel who brought COVID-19 into the detention centre. While some of his symptoms have improved, Marlon said he has many headaches, and can only sleep facing up, for three hours at night.

Marlon has refused to be tested for COVID-19, saying if he tests negative, they will immediately deport him. Instead, he wants to make sure COVID-19 has left no long-lasting health issues, and has asked for a medical evaluation.

Since he became sick at the centre, he feels it is the responsibility of the health workers there to care for him.

“They don’t care how my body is doing or the state of my lungs,” he said. ”They just want me out of the way.”

While Montreal opened their first postCOVID-19 clinic earlier this month, Marlon said detainees at the holding centre are being denied follow-up care. He said he would not refuse deportation, but wants to know he has fully recovered from COVID-19, citing that this is now a human rights demand in the context of the pandemic.

He feels since the shelter cannot treat detainees humanely, it should be closed down. In the meantime, SAB will continue to pressure the government to release detainees at the Laval IHC. “Treat us like humans,” said Marlon.

Translation for the interview with Marlon provided by SAB volunteer, Alonso Gamarra.

STUDENT POLITICS

Referendum question on change to CSU bylaws CSU wants to change bylaws to allow easier removal of councilors who committed misconduct Fern Clair Assistant News Editor The Concordia Student Union (CSU) is sending a question for referendum to change bylaws regarding the CSU Code of Conduct and Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy, ensuring that these regulations are cohesive with the CSU bylaws.

According to Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator of the CSU, the Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy and the Code of Conduct don’t properly reflect the bylaws. This means that if there is a dispute, or a councillor violates the regulations, the process is tedious to remove them from the CSU. The questions going to referendum will ask students if they support two changes to the bylaws, allowing for easier enforcement of the Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy and the Code of Conduct.

Joyner explained that the proposed changes will allow for a more streamlined way to remove councillors, where the issue will be brought to the Judicial Board or another CSU committee

“empowered by such policy and Code of Conduct.”

As an independent and impartial branch of the CSU, the Judicial board has the mandate to pass judgement on cases brought before them. They interpret the bylaws and standing regulations, and judge over a myriad of issues.

The motion to put this change to referendum was made on Feb. 17 during a special council meeting, which, according to Joyner, is the only time council can change to the bylaws.

Bylaws are the governing rules of an organization. Meaning that no matter the policy or regulation, if there is a dispute, council must defer to the bylaws. However, these bylaws currently disagree with the Code of Conduct and Sexual Violence and Safer Spaces Policy.

For the CSU to implement certain rules, such as changes to the bylaws, the change must be put on referendum, where students will vote on whether they support the modification. The upcoming referendum, which will include several questions for students to vote on, will be held during the CSU’s general election period in November.

“There is no such thing as a perfect policy,” said Joyner. “But this is the first step towards a better and more accountable CSU for serious issues.”

The new proposed system will have the Judicial Board make a decision on the issue and then send a recommended action to the CSU. “If the Judicial Board or other committee so empowered by such policy or Code of Conduct determines that a Representative or an Executive committed a misconduct under such policy or under the Code of Conduct, and determines that the appropriate sanction for such misconduct is removal from office, then, the Committee [Judicial Board] shall prepare and present to the Council of Representatives [CSU] a report of its findings and recommended sanctions,” states one of the proposed amendments to the bylaws.

When asked if the common claims of the CSU being a toxic environment had a role in creating this new system to remove councillors who committed misconduct, Joyner said it was not.

“This is something that should have taken place a long time ago,” he said. “This has been a long standing issue, so now it is finally being put to rest and resolved” Joyner stated that one of the goals of this new proposed system will be for the CSU to be a safer and better environment for people that want to participate in the union.

NEWS

A Nunavut iron ore mine’s expansion faces backlash from the Inuit community Hundreds of Mary River Mine employees were unable to return home as Inuit hunters fought for wildlife protection Bogdan Lytvynenko Assistant News Editor The proposed expansion of the Mary River Mine in Nunavut was interrupted by a week-long Inuit protest earlier this month. A group of seven hunters barricaded its main road and airstrip, which left 700 mine employees stranded at the facility.

Inuit land defenders were outraged by the planned construction of a 110-kilometre railway, which would connect Mary River Mine to the nearest port in Milne Inlet. While the expansion allows the mine to double its output and ship 12 million tonnes of iron ore annually, it also raises serious environmental concerns.

The Inuit hunters, also known as the Nuluujaat Land Guardians, believe this expansion will disrupt the local caribou and narwhal habitats. To this day, these animals play a significant role in Inuit life, as hunting is a necessity rather than a hobby in the isolated communities of the north.

Mary River Mine is located almost 1,000 kilometres away from Iqaluit, the only town with a population of over 5,000 in the territory. As the hunters saw a potential threat to the traditional way of Inuit life, they physically blocked the mine’s operations for an entire week, until Feb. 11.

Donat Milortuk, an Inuit activist from the town of Naujaat, organized a local protest in his community in support of the hunters’ actions.

“We are thinking about our younger generations. We want a clean environment and healthy food. This is everyone’s responsibility,” he said in an interview with the CBC. “We don’t want our wildlife and land contaminated.”

However, as a result of the barricade, the mine workers had no access to fresh food and supplies while being trapped in the facility. The land defenders refused to free the airstrip that would allow the employees to return home, only making an exception for one bus carrying medical equipment.

“It’s unfortunate that they felt they had to go to those extremes to be heard,” said Udloriak Hanson in an interview with CBC, the vice-president of community and strategic development at Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation.

an order to the Inuit hunters on Feb. 10, requiring them to free the airstrip and to allow the workers to come back home. The land defenders peacefully agreed to end the blockade, following the order from Nunavut’s Court of Justice.

In return, Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation announced that the company is open to adjusting the mine’s expansion plan, which includes scaling back its planned increases in shipping. The potential expansion will also undergo an environmental and socio-economic review in Iqaluit, during a series of public hearings set to begin on April 12.

After the hearings, the Nunavut Impact Review Board will advise the territorial government whether this controversial project should become a reality on the land of Inuit people.

Mary River Mine lost an estimated $14 million due to the week-long blockade. As the busiGraphic by Lily Cowper ness was at a standstill during the protests, the Inuit resistance ended up costing the company over $2 million per day.

When the mine corporation’s lawyers took this matter to court, Justice Susan Cooper issued

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Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

OPINION

Sia’s new movie is dangerous and offensive Why activists are calling Sia’s Music ableist Nadia Trudel Staff Writer Australian vocal powerhouse Sia’s directorial debut Music has finally been released, despite the fact that many wish it hadn’t.

The film stars Kate Hudson as Zu, a newly sober drug dealer who becomes the

guardian for her half-sister Music (Maddie Ziegler). Over the course of the film, Zu learns to take care of Music with the help of Ebo (Leslie Odom Jr.), and musical sequences take place inside Music’s mind showing how she sees the world.

On the surface, the film might look like the perfect recipe for positivity, great musical sequences, and representation. After all, the autistic community is typically portrayed in only one way: a savant white man who is awkward with women (Sheldon in Big Bang Theory, Shaun Murphy in Good Doctor). Sia also called the film “a love letter to caregivers and to the autism community,” and claimed she spent three years researching for the film. And yet Music, and Sia, are still being called out for ableism.

The most obvious issue with the film is casting. In case you were unaware, Maddie Ziegler is not autistic. Despite Sia and Ziegler’s longtime collaboration, Sia said, “I actually tried working with a beautiful young girl non-verbal on the spectrum and she found it unpleasant and stressful. So that’s why I cast Maddie … Casting someone at [the character’s] level of functioning was cruel, not kind, so I made the executive decision that we would do our best to lovingly represent the community … I did try.

It felt more compassionate to use Maddie.”

In a video about the film, Paige Layle, a young autistic woman with over two million

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followers on TikTok said, “What Sia should be promoting is accommodating autistic people,” and, “if you’re saying that anyone can act autistic it’s just acting … you need to recognize your own ableism there, and why you think that autistics are not good enough at being autistic on their own that they need to fit your level of what autism looks like and they need to perform to what you know.”

Ziegler’s performance has also been called

tistic people. Online, however, people say that the scenes have not been removed and there is still no warning.

Sia has not responded very well to her critics, personally attacking a few before deleting her Twitter account. When one autistic actor expressed their ability and willingness to act in the film, Sia replied, “maybe you’re just a bad actor.”

For the film, Sia also collaborated, to an

a caricature of autistic body language. One Twitter user explained that: “It is deeply reminiscent of the exaggerated mannerisms non-autistic people often employ when bullying autistic and developmentally disabled people for the ways we move. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the ways autistic people move, or the ways we make facial expressions. Some of us roll our eyes and put our teeth over our lips as a stim or just because it’s comfortable. But we do those things naturally. Maddie Ziegler does not. The fact that Ziegler is not autistic, and the fact that her performance is so heavily exaggerated, turns the entire movie into one long display of mockery.”

The other massive issue raised by activists has been a scene in the film that shows Music being forcibly restrained by Zu and Ebo who “crush her with their love.”

extent, with Autism Speaks, an organisation that has been called “a eugenics-promoting hate group.” Over 60 disability rights organisations have condemned Autism Speaks. Sia could have learned that by simply looking at their Wikipedia page and yet she said, “I had no idea it was such a polarizing group!”

Sia eventually admitted to being ableist to a degree and said she’d learned her lesson, but also said, “I have my own unique view of the community, and felt it is underrepresented and compelled to make it. If that makes me a shit I’m a shit, but my intentions are awesome.”

Despite Sia’s seemingly good intentions and some supporters, Music remains at best problematic, and at its worst dangerous. Its nomination for two Golden Globe awards is both confusing and concerning. A petition for the Golden Globes to rescind the nominations currently has over 120,000 signatures.

In her video, Layle claims, “this was not for autistics. This is for caregivers, to feel like some inspiration porn, saviour complex.”

For full disclosure, I haven’t seen the film.

The film’s reviews, messages from disability organisations, and videos and tweets made by autistic people have almost universally shared the same message: don’t watch this movie. It’s bad, offensive and dangerous. So I did not feel the need to waste $6 or two hours to confirm.

Instead, I think I’ll look at the work of actual disabled creatives and I’d recommend you do the same.

“[Music] doesn’t just promote harmful stereotypes about autistic people — it shows restraints that have killed members of our community as necessary and loving acts,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

In response, Sia promised that the film would add a warning ahead of the movie, and that future printings would remove the scene.

She also clarified that the film does not condone or recommend the use of restraint on au-

O Canada… Whose home and native land?

PERSONAL ESSAY

Canada is finally breaking the silence around anti-Asian racism Elyette Levy Assistant Commentary Editor Ever since I’ve been old enough to recognize patterns of race and gender-based discrimination in society, my mother has denied being a victim of either of those things.

My Taiwanese mother immigrated here over 20 years ago. Single-handedly, after only a few years of living here, she had bought a house and started taking French classes offered by the Quebec government’s immigrant integration services — the fourth language she would be learning after Hokkien, Mandarin, and English.

I’ve witnessed her being talked down to by bureaucrats at government offices and had countless store employees turn to face me to answer a question she had asked, sometimes with a look on their face that was asking me to relate to their deliberate misunderstanding of her Chinese accent.

As a teenager, I remember looking at my sister as we drove past someone who had just yelled out a racial slur and commented on our mom’s driving. I’ve never rolled up my window so fast. To this day, I’m still glad she didn’t hear it.

And yet, despite all this, my mom is probably the person I know who is the most optimistic about the social climate of Canada; she’s never let her optimism and gratitude towards the country be clouded by microaggressions and negativity.

I was on exchange in Singapore when COVID first hit, when the western world was busy making coronavirus memes instead of planning ahead for an inevitable pandemic. And one day, on a WhatsApp call with my mom, as I was telling her I was okay and was monitoring my temperature every day, she told me she didn’t want to go out too much because there were increasing reports of anti-Chinese violence in Chinatown. She told me there was a lot of racism around Montreal those days.

To say the least, that made me terrified.

East Asians are often dubbed the “model minority”: they have the benefit of a skin tone fairer than other ethnicities’. Some have even said they don’t fall into the “people of colour” category.

And the stereotypes associated with being East Asian, including academic excellence, obedience, bring really good at martial arts, and eating dogs are frankly not as harmful as being associated with inherent violence, terrorism, and drug addiction.

They also experience discrimination to a lesser degree than other visible minorities; Chinese people in Canada only earn 91 cents for every dollar a white person makes, which is far higher than for, say, Black people, for whom this number is 73 cents.

Yet, the model minority attribution becomes especially toxic when it comes as an excuse to dismiss anti-Asian racism on the belief that Asian people don’t stand up for themselves or fight back. It takes advantage of Asian stereotypes being associated with silence and endurance to double down on bullying, microag-

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

gressions, theft, and violence.

In my view, this is why we never heard about anti-Asian hate crimes until the numbers shot up by over 700 per cent in the past year, like the Vancouver Police Department has reported. In Canada alone, community-based groups have reported over 600 cases of racial aggression against Asian people since the start of the spread of COVID-19. In the first four months of 2020, 95 per cent of reported incidents happened in March and April, as the country entered lockdown.

Our generation is pretty good at recognizing and calling out discrimination when we see it, and especially taking a stand against it. But the state of anti-Asian racism in Canada has gotten so bad that even my mother, who has always had so much faith in this country, has noticed and become apprehensive because of it.

For a second-generation immigrant, it’s almost worse than seeing your mom cry.

SATIRE

A tell-all from one sadistic, whistleblowing cat

I spoke with an anonymous and furious source who contests Quebec’s province-wide curfew How do you respond to that? My best attempt was, “Ears.

Simona Rosenfield Assistant Commentary Editor I buy a coffee at a local cafe and wait on a nearby bench for my correspondent to arrive. It’s cold outside, around -10 degrees, but my determination keeps me planted where I sit, despite the cold puddle that forms under me. My warmth melts the snow on the bench. The wind chills me, reddening my cheeks and watering my eyes. I’ll know him when I see him; that’s what he told me on the phone the day before.

Facing an empty park, I sip my latte, and just as I begin to lose faith that he will indeed meet me, he turns the corner, stalks over and takes a seat next to me.

“It’s gone too far,” says Michelangelo the cat.

“My human is a vegetable. Nothing wrong with that, I love it when they suffer, you know I do. But it makes a year this March since my human has been home fulltime. I can’t stand it anymore. I pee in the human bed, just to send a message. Nothing.”

Just then, Michelangelo gets a call on one of his six cell phones.

“Yes,” he says to the caller, straight to business.

His tail flicks behind him.

“I won’t go less than one billion for the whole cargo. Who do you think I am? This is business. No pussyfooting around. Get it done and don’t call me until it’s finished,” Michelangelo says, before hanging up. His voice makes my hair stand. No pussyfooting around.

“Where was I?” he asks me. “Yes, the human problem.”

“What does it mean, for the readers who have a hard time reading cats, when you flick your tail? Is

Graphic by Laura Douglas it comparable to when a dog, say, wags his tail?” I ask.

“What did you just say to me?” Michelangelo narrows his eyes; his tail flicks.

“What does it mean?” I push.

“It means move out of the way before I eat your soul,” he snaps.

Noted.

I heard ears are a good indication of a cat’s mood. Is this true?”

Michelangelo’s ears turn up and face out.

“Yes—” “Now, your ears look like Batman ears. Is this good or bad?” I interrupt.

“It is bad,” he replies. “I am on my last nerve, human.”

I say nothing to this, aware of Michelangelo’s sharp teeth and untrimmed claws.

“Humans need to leave our domain or suffer the consequences. We have poop locked and loaded in every cat house in the province. I push one button, and you will see tens of thousands of houses littered with cat poop,” he says.

“On the good linens, under furniture, in the crack between the oven and the counter. They’ll have to check every drawer, every vent. Everywhere a human hides an heirloom, there will be poop.”

Michelangelo narrows his eyes at me. I can conclude from extensive research that this means he’s satisfied with himself.

“We can turn doorknobs. We know your computer passwords,” he continues.

“Michelangelo, you understand that we can’t leave our home unless it’s for shopping or an emergency. We’re in a global health crisis. Haven’t you heard of COVID-19?”

I retort.

His tail fur puffs out, resembling a pine cone. I lean back in my seat to give a bit of distance in case he decides to biff me with a claw.

“All I know is, get your humans outside,” he replies.

“I don’t care if it’s for a walk. I don’t care if it’s to birdwatch.

I don’t care if it’s to catch the sunset. Get out.”

“Those are all really good ideas for outdoor activities,” I say. “Got any more?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Take out my litter, peasant.”

“Now, as I was saying,” Michelangelo continues, “the human problem has gotten out of hand. You’d think in a year your kind would have gotten your issues solved.

Normally I pay no mind to the goings-on of inferior species, but my human is around so often, it gets in the way of my plotting.”

“Plotting?” I say.

“Yes. World domination. Satellites. Cambridge Analytica. World banks. Etcetera.”

An awkward silence between us begins to swell. *All names have been changed for the subject’s protection

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Commentary.

COMMENTARY EDITOR Aviva Majerczyk / @aviva_majerczyk commentary@theconcordian.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

The halcyon days of 2014

All over social media, people are reminiscing over their former Tumblr kid selves Graphic by Kit Mergaert

Aviva Majerczyk Commentary Editor Imagine you’re mindlessly scrolling through Twitter, as we all seem to be doing more and more these days, passively reading through job announcements, middling “hot takes” and COVID-19 stats. Suddenly a post comes up that stops you in your tracks and drags you right back into your adolescence with a wave of nostalgia.

Scrolling through the replies, you see that the aesthetics, music and products from your teen years are all coming back into style. You’re only 21.

Recently, a lot of people all over the internet have been reliving a certain 2011–2015 subculture that revolved specifically around the website Tumblr. This burst of nostalgia came fast and hard, but it hasn’t even been that long since us “Zillennials” were spending our days scrolling down our dashboards.

So, why now?

If you didn’t have the (dis)pleasure of living your early teens predominantly online, I can try my best to explain the early 2010s Tumblr aesthetic, often dubbed “soft grunge.” While the look had little in common with the 90s subculture it got its name from, other than the mere existence of flannel shirts, it could be seen as the product of the 20-year cycle of fashion. In the 2010s, elder millennials were nostalgic for their youth in the 1990s, and that nostalgia trickled into the style and media of the day.

Now, feed that through the hyper-visual medium of Tumblr and you’ve got yourself countless images of teens in jelly sandals, ripped tights under denim shorts and choker necklaces posing with polaroid cameras, holding up records, or, most commonly, smoking cigarettes.

On the music front, in 2014, I, like my

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fellow Tumblr teens, was listening to Lana Del Rey, Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, and Grimes, because the songs on your iPod Touch were integral to the maintenance of the aesthetic.

In terms of 2010s fashion, this aesthetic was far from the worst thing in memory. Yet, that alone can’t explain its resurgence in recent months. We’re nowhere near the 20-year nostalgia cycle yet, so there must be something special about that time, or our current time, that holds special significance.

For a lot of Zillennials, Tumblr wasn’t just an aesthetic, it was a formative part of their adolescence. While any media you consume on a regular basis through your tween and teen years is likely to shape you in some way, Tumblr was uniquely good at fostering a community environment. Being more of a microblogging site than a traditional social media, users were encouraged to publish long posts and personalize their blog’s design. This affordance, mixed with the fairly low median age of users, and possibility for anonymity, led to users sharing a lot more personal information than they would on other platforms.

While it wasn’t always perfect (I’m looking at you, #thinspo), overall, this caused Tumblr to become a safe space for many young people in the early 2010s.

As one Concordia student describes, “All the fangirling, aesthetic stock images and memes were incredibly private. Your Tumblr was definitely not something you shared with anyone.” She continued, “Yet, there was strangely a big sense of community.”

Community-making on sites like Tumblr can be invaluable in helping young people through their search for identity. And this is double fold for youth who are already marginalized.

As Stefanie Duguay, assistant professor of Communications at Concordia explained

to The CBC about LGBTQ youth Tumblr use, “They share GIFs and videos and content around queer celebrities, queer characters, and fanfiction,” Duguay explained. “It’s a general part of people’s self discovery, especially when you’re a young person and you’re determining things about yourself and your sexual identity.” For many, 2010s Tumblr text posts were their first introduction into important conversations of politics and identity.

Lisi Schauer, a fourth-year student at the University of Southern California puts it as such: “I think it struck the perfect balance of ‘cringy’ fandom stuff and people starting to use aesthetic as an adjective and just enough political text posts sneaking in to be really influential for people our age.”

Now that we are all so disconnected through COVID-19 isolation, it only makes sense that many of us would yearn for an adolescent time where everything felt new and important. As everyday feels mundane and predictable, it can be fun to engage in a bit of escapism in the aesthetic of who you used to be, before the world delved into chaos.

Additionally, many young adults have had to move back home, so if you’re constantly being reminded of your former self, why not lean into it?

While it may be jarring to see the rose-coloured glasses come out so soon, there’s really no harm in taking a stroll down those dashboard memories and into your younger self.

We all need whatever bit of respite we can get from the current world. If what gets you through it is blasting Passion Pit and digging out your old Brandy Melville clothing, far be it from me to tell you to stop. At least it keeps people indoors.

OPINION

Hustle culture and toxic productivity are ruining your brain

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

The grind never stops, they say

Hannah Tiongson Staff Writer A day in my life: wake up at 7 a.m. and grind. Some days, my “hustle” starts as early as 5 a.m. if I work a morning shift that particular day. Other days it’s 8 a.m. if I want to “sleep in.” I eat breakfast and start my day with planning and getting work done until I leave for work most afternoons. After work, I come home, do more assignments, work on different projects and repeat the whole “grind” the next day.

As the name implies, hustle culture is the social pressure to constantly be working harder, faster and stronger in every area of our lives. It’s the idolization of workaholism and the mindset that you should be overworking to the point of exhaustion.

This way of living is driven by capitalism, and big corporations and social media perpetuate it. Everywhere you look, people are constantly posting and sharing their “hustle” and “grind.” It’s not uncommon to hear things like, “sleep is for the weak” or “never stop hustling.” This has the potential to cause 2020 survey, Gen-Z adults, ages 18 to 23, repeople to feel pressured to overwork because ported the highest levels of stress comof this ingrained idea that excessive work pared to other generations. means success and the only way to surLast semester, I practiced this vive in this world. hustle culture religiously and compared other people’s achievements Successful entrepreneurs to my own. I struggled with balanclove to glamorize this toxic culing being a full-time student, workture. ing 20 hours a week, and keeping up with my side “hustles.” I believed that When asked by a Twitter user the only way to succeed was to constantabout the number of hours one needs ly work without taking breaks. to work each week to “change the world,” I started to feel guilty for Elon Musk, founder, CEO, CTO and chief de- resting; that’s when I knew I intersigner of SpaceX, replied that it could range nalized toxic productivity. from around 80 to over 100.

Toxic productivity is when Another example is Ross Simmonds, no matter how productive you founder and CEO of Foundation, a con- might have been, there is always tent marketing agency. He said, “The hustle a feeling of guilt for not having brings the dollar. The experience brings the done more. To me, this looks knowledge. The persistence brings success.” like developing unhealthy habits I can’t help but think that this culture is like skippings meals, not drinkdangerous for students, especially, and peo- ing enough water, and not sleepple like Musk and Simmonds are setting up ing enough. Anxiety attacks and such unrealistic and unhealthy standards for breakdowns were part of my daithe people who idolize them. ly routine.

A study published in Occupational The hustle culture is pervasive, and Medicine in 2017 suggests that longer work- it left me emotionally and physically drained, ing hours are associated with poorer mental and most importantly, disconnected from rehealth status, and increased anxiety and de- ality. pression symptoms. Long weekly working This philosophy is extremely harmful behours were also associated with reduced sleep cause it drives other students to burnout, too. time and increased sleep disturbance. These On an Instagram poll I created last week results confirm the importance of maintain- asking my followers whether they believe husing regular weekly working hours and avoid- tle culture is toxic for them, 51 people voted ing excessive overtime work in order to re- yes, and 13 people responded that they were duce the risk of anxiety, depression and sleep alright. disorders.

James Taylor, a first-year Economics We live in a society where overworking student at Concordia University, says that is praised, and it needs to change. he struggled with balancing his four classes, According to the American Psycholog- working 20 hours a week and his side business ical Association’s (APA) Stress in America of making prints.

“With the current world and technologies like Facebook and Instagram where people always seem to compare each other to one another, it’s forming an ‘I must hustle, or I’ll be eaten’ type of environment,” Taylor explained.

David Nguyen, a graduate student working on his Master of Business Administration at Laval University, also agreed and said that hustle culture can be avoided with the right mindset and approach.

“I think the key balance is finding a balance between hustle culture and straightout sloths. Both extremes are toxic,” Nguyen suggested. “Work at your own pace, but you’ve got to put in the work,” he added.

As Nguyen said, it is all about balance and taking care of yourself. Kiana Gomes, a first-year Journalism student who owns a newly-started bakeshop business, said that her hustle isn’t toxic. According to Gomes, it actually motivates her to work harder while making sure to rest.

When asked how she managed to work 12 hours a day during the Christmas break making chocolate bombs and cakes, and delivering them, Gomes said, “I was obviously tired and a little anxious, but the rush I get from success is worth it.”

While some can manage the workload, the mentality is overall harmful. I think it’s important we understand that “hustling” is not effective but dangerous to our well-being.

Productivity is not bad; over-exhaustion is.

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Arts.

ARTS EDITORS Lorenza Mezzapelle / @lorenzamezzapelle arts@theconcordian.com

FILM

Malcolm & Marie: exploring fragility

and passion within a relationship A Hollywood couple brings the audience into an intense confrontation Ana Lucia Londono Flores Assistant Arts Editor Directed by Sam Levinson, the creator of the HBO series Euphoria, Malcolm & Marie is a black-and-white movie that tells the story of producer Malcolm Elliot (John David Washington) and his girlfriend Marie Jones (Zendaya) who spend a full night arguing, putting their relationship to the test.

Once you are 20 minutes into the movie, you already know what it will be about.

The story takes place in a Malibu house that the production company Malcolm works for has provided for him and Marie.

They come home after Malcolm’s movie premiere, which went very well for him.

He puts some music on, makes himself a drink and celebrates his accomplishment while dancing in the living room. Meanwhile, Marie is in the kitchen, preparing a late night snack for both of them. Malcolm is happy. Marie seems bothered by something.

While Malcolm is anticipating the reviews and expressing his excitement about the audience’s response to his film’s screen-

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ing, Marie lights up a cigarette, nodding at everything Malcolm says. Malcolm suddenly notices something is off in Marie’s energy. He asks her what’s bothering her.

Marie tries to avoid a quarrel since it is late at night. In vain, Marie decides to confront Malcolm and tell him that she is upset with him as he didn’t thank her at the movie premiere.

Marie tells Malcolm that his film, which is about a woman named Imani who struggles with drug addiction, was based on her past life when she was a drug addict when they met.

Malcolm denies Marie’s accusations, telling her the movie has nothing to do with Marie. Still, Marie stays convinced as she tells him that the movie wouldn’t have turned out the way it did if they weren’t together.

Then, Malcolm and Marie go through a series of arguments. In one scene, they scream at each other, letting go of all of their rage that was hidden inside of them.

Frankly, I thought there might be more to the story than seeing two people fighting on screen. The movie was exhausting at times since Malcolm and Marie end up arguing every time there was a tender moment between them. It is as though every hidden feeling or issue with one another was coming to light.

Malcolm & Marie is a romantic drama film, but it is very different compared to other romantic movies. It is not the typical story where both characters fall in

love and live happily ever after. On the contrary, viewers find themselves in the middle of a conflict between two people and it is hard to know whether their fight will lead to something good in the end.

There are times where the audience might feel uncomfortable, because let’s face it, there is nothing worse than witnessing a couple fighting.

As someone who doesn’t like conflict, it wasn’t very pleasant to see both characters in the middle of a fight. Malcolm and Marie said hurtful things to one another when they had a chance. Most of the time, it wasn’t necessary.

Although the movie is emotionally charged, Levinson did an incredible job at depicting a side of couples that tends to be seen less on television. People have issues and relationships aren’t perfect.

Malcolm and Marie love each other very much, but their love is dysfunctional.

While watching the movie, it may be hard to pick a character’s side as both of them have a right to being mad at each other.

At the beginning of the movie, Marie says “I promise you, nothing productive is going to be said tonight.” She was right as they tore each other apart in one night, later wondering if their relationship was worth it.

Malcolm & Marie is available to stream on Netflix.

FILM

Nomadland: A solemn tale of poverty in the United States

Chloé Zhao’s third feature film spans a year-long quest by a woman who has lost everything Louis Pavlakos Music Editor The United States is broken. With affordable housing being unwaveringly difficult to find in cities like San Francisco and New York, some people have settled on leading nomadic lifestyles. Nomadland, the third feature film from Chinese-born director Chloé Zhao, is a heart wrenching tale of searching for home after one loses everything.

After the town of Empire, Nevada is shut down due to the closure of the U.S. Gypsum plant, Fern, played by the ever-astounding Frances McDormand, sets off to live in her van, effectively abandoning the notion of living a stable life in a quiet town.

(ART)CHIVES

Mathematics & spirituality: decoding Hilma af Klint’s work A brief overview of the Swedish artist’s esoteric paintings

Nomadland follows Fern for a full calendar year as she searches for various temporary jobs and shelters that will let her park her van for the night. The movie is plot-lite.

There are no action sequences or moments that leave you wanting more. Zhao’s main goal here is to let the viewer examine and analyze the state of poverty in a country as rich and grand as the United States.

The American Dream will have you believe that it is easy to find a spouse and build a nuclear family as industrial jobs sprout left and right. In seconds, however, all of that can dissipate. Fern lost her job and her husband in such a short time that her life came crumbling down and forced her to recreate how she lives.

Lorenza Mezzapelle Arts Editor You may recognize Hilma af Klint’s works from their abstract shapes in bold tones of purple, yellow, orange and blue.

Combining distinct floral and geometric elements, the Swedish artist’s paintings were greatly inspired by the stages of life.

Born in Stockholm in 1862, af Klint went on to study at Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Meanwhile, she began to immerse herself in spiritualism and Theosophy, a religious movement established in the late 19th century.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a key characteristic of Theosophy is the belief that there is a “deeper spiritual reality and that direct contact with that reality can be established through intuition, meditation, revelation, or some other state transcending normal human consciousness.”

Af Klint’s inclination towards this system of beliefs greatly led her to founding “The Five.” The group consisted of women artists who gathered on Fridays for spiri-

Fern’s year-long adventure isn’t as solemn as the plot describes, though it does come close. Her travels are tied together by several other nomads living in near-identical situations to Fern’s. Though some of these people are played by tried-and-true actors like David Strathairn, who plays David, whose name is the sole characteristic shared between the actor and character. Other actors, however, are simply playing fictionalized versions of themselves like Swankie and Linda May. It wouldn’t even be a stretch to call those playing themselves non-actors.

They are simply people who lived their truths in a deeply personal fictional tale.

Fern’s quest for a home turns less into a search for a place, but a search for people who make her feel like she’s at home.

Fern’s relationship with David is never romantic on-screen, but the quiet passion between the two lead us to believe that in another stable life, they could have found peace together.

Nomadland never wallows in its sadness and morose themes, but instead acts as a 100-minute recapitulation of a woman whose life has been shattered into a million pieces, but can’t be put together like it used to be.

Chloé Zhao’s latest opus shares very similar styles to her 2017 western The Rider. Both tell the tales of midwestern/western people whose lives change in a sudden dramatic way.

Each character has, in their brief moments, layers of depth that make them feel less like side pieces in Fern’s tale and more like real people who are just trying to make it.

Nomadland is a movie about poverty and finding home and life after everything is taken from you. It’s harrowing but never overly depressing. It’s sentimental but never melodramatic.

Chloé Zhao crafted an intimate film about a small group of people and made it feel so grand and important — a feat that won’t be forgotten.

tual meetings, wherein they would pray, meditate, and conduct séances, which included the practice of automatic writing and mediumistic drawing exercises.

During one of her meetings with The Five, “an otherworldly ‘guide’ instructed af Klint to design a temple connected by a spiral path, and commissioned her to make paintings for this temple,” according to the Guggenheim. This would subsequently lead af Klint to create 193 works, known collectively today as The Paintings for the Temple.

Created between 1906 and 1915, the series of works is recognized today as one of the first examples of western abstract art.

In 1907, af Klint painted a series of 10 works titled The Ten Largest, which demonstrate her interpretations of the messages she believed to have been receiving.

The works display connection to the universe through recognizable shapes and patterns such as flowers, cells, eggs, and orbs.

The paintings, which resemble both diagrams and art, draw from science, botany, geome-

try, and colour theory, offering a glimpse at the way in which everything is connected.

Af Klint’s contrasting use of holistic and scientific symbols display the artist’s methodical, yet almost “radical” and abstract approach to artmaking.

Aside from af Klint’s revelatory works, what is remarkable about her practice is how contemporary it feels. The works merge spirituality and science in a way that is seamless, aesthetically pleasing, and that manages to feel relevant today.

As stated by artist R.H. Quaytman in the Hilma af Klint catalogue published by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, “If you . . . didn’t know anything, you’d think these paintings were made ten or twenty years ago. You would not know how old they were. And what’s so thrilling about her work, I find, is how contemporary it feels.”

It is outstanding that works created over a century ago are still pertinent in our age. Perhaps af Klint’s revelations offered her a glimpse into the future.

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Music.

MUSIC EDITOR Louis Pavlakos / @louispavlakos music@theconcordian.com

INTERVIEW

Qi Yama finds beauty in all aspects of the process

The elusive Montreal artist sat down with us to discuss his impressive debut LP, and the road that led to it Wesley McLean Assistant Music Editor Normally when one sees a rose wilting, they see nothing more than a once-beautiful flower decaying, watching its petals drop as it slowly loses life. In Qi Yama’s eyes, there’s much more beauty to it than meets the eye.

“People might look at it like, ‘that’s sad,’ but is it sad? Or is it beautiful?” he questions, with a hint of optimism. “The process is beautiful whatever the process is.”

That’s what wilting represents for Qi Yama, and why he’s chosen wilt as the title of his recently released and excellent debut.

It’s about recognizing the beauty in all aspects of the process, no matter what they are, and that realization has been an integral part of creating his debut project. It’s also what he’s proudest of — not the release, the reception or the impressive streaming numbers — but the journey that it took to get there.

“To be honest, I’m just proud that I’ve been on this journey and that I stuck to it, that I’m at a place where I feel like I’m finally figuring things out, not on a success scale, but on a personal scale, a human scale.” He adds humbly, “I’m finally figuring myself out and understanding myself.

That’s my greatest accomplishment.”

It’s an admirable and understandable feeling for him to have, as this was a long journey. The mysterious Montreal musician has spent years cultivating a completely unique sound that blends lo-fi hip hop, atmospheric R&B and hazy bedroom pop — a craft he’s been perfecting for years leading up to wilt’s release.

In fact, a handful of tracks on the project were released for a short window of time several years ago, before being quickly removed from streaming services. This wasn’t due to the songs being unfinished — though they’ve since been touched up — it was a personal decision for Qi Yama.

“I needed to grow up a little bit, mature a little bit, see what this industry shit was all about,” he reflects, adding that it “needed to happen for me to actually be ready to

12

truly put this out in the world and be like, okay, this could stay out there forever.”

It’s during this time that the ideas for this album were put on a grander scale, becoming a multi-dimensional multi-media experience. The album’s rollout now includes a mysterious world built around the artist’s mystique and music, through Instagram posts and music videos, all being brought together to tell one cohesive story.

“Cohesiveness is the pinnacle of storytell-

if he puts his all into, he gets it back.

“It’s almost like a journal — and not in the way of, I’m writing down my life here, here is my story,” he explains. “It’s like as I’m living life, I’m taking these experiences and ideas and stories, and I’m putting them into this album and it’s kind of like, as I work on the album, it works back on me.”

He hopes this is something that translates in his music, something that can be heard by the listener. Not only that, but he hopes the music can help them in their search for what they’re looking for as well.

“I just hope the listeners find whatever it is they’re looking for,” he says, adding that he hopes “it means something to them, really. I hope when they hear the stories, it reminds them of something in their life, because that’s what I think music is all about.”

His approach to music is to make it as personal to the listener as it is to him. His enigmatic nature and cryptic songwriting lends itself to listeners creating their own unique interpretations of his message.

“I’ve met people who, the music hit them so deeply, and they really wanted the story to be the way they interpreted it and I’m like, it is the way you interpret it.”

Interpretation is a concept that rests at the ing to me, you know?” Qi Yama explains. core of Qi Yama’s art. It’s his perception of the “If you’re gonna tell a really good story, it process, and the beauty in all of its aspects. has to fit. Everything has to fit perfectly.” It’s his emphasis on having an elusive presHe places a lot of importance on storytelling, ence and leaving his music open for listenboth in his life and in music. In his eyes, it’s ers to interpret his art how they desire and an integral tool used to bring people together. create their own personal connections to it.

“Storytelling is beautiful to me,” he It’s his own interpretations of success in the states passionately. “It’s what connects industry, and what it means to make it big. people. It’s the way in which we learn about “Being a famous artist could be a huge ourselves and others, the way in which we part of my journey, but life is definitely reflect our histories and our experiences.” way bigger than that to me,” he explains.

It’s in this process of writing and creat- “Especially if I’m happy with my art. If ing music, and sharing these experi- I’m okay with my art and I have peers I ences, that Qi Yama finds true peace. It’s respect who are okay with my art, then I’ll a process that he loves, that he knows be completely okay with wherever I go.”

is, well, sort of impossible.

We can see every track and its respective length, so if a concluding track runs over seven minutes and the song stops three minutes in, it’s a safe bet to assume there’s more coming.

That element of surprise from the CD and vinyl era is gone. The art of listening to an album has become the same across the board. We know exactly what we’re getting, how much we’re getting, and if there is some sort of bombshell revelation about a new album, you can bet it’ll be spoiled within an hour of the album dropping. Thanks, Twitter.

Even old albums that had a hidden track can’t contain that secret. Ginuwine’s classic album Ginuwine...

The Bachelor technically ended with “G Thang,” but on streaming services there is not one, not two, not even three, but five (!!) different “Silent Interlude” tracks that lead into the (not-so-well) hidden track, “550 What?”

Though it’s probably for the best that these tracks have come to the surface and become widely accessible, the loss of hidden tracks in the streaming service hurts. We know everything about an album when it drops. Track lengths? We know them all. Features? Unless you’re Travis Scott releasing Astroworld, we know those too. Production credits? Maybe a bit harder to come by, but they’re there in the credits (which reminds me, pour out another one for the booklets inside CDs).

The streaming era killed the brilliant physical media marketing and tricks an artist could pull to entice the listeners into wanting more. Sure, this probably seems like an “old man yells at cloud” take, but one can only hope that artists find new ways to surprise us when we already know way too much.

The hidden track: a lost art gone too soon

Now that we know everything about an album before it drops, hidden tracks are a thing of the past Louis Pavlakos Music Editor It’s time to pour one out for one of the streaming era’s most cataclysmic casualties: the hidden track. This sneaky little song would usually appear off the coattails of an album’s “final” cut, usually letting it finish out and breathe for a few seconds in complete silence before a bonus track would start playing.

Most of the time, these tracks would start unbeknownst to the listener, who would just assume the album had ended and would either eject the CD or remove the vinyl record from the player. But if they’d kept listening, they might hear a bonus cut that didn’t make the official tracklist. Major artists like The Beatles, Aerosmith and even Frank Ocean opted

Quickspins

TYRON SLOWTHAI RATING: 8/10 TRIAL TRACK: FEEL AWAY

to use a hidden track in at least one project.

On the streaming version of Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE, the album ends with the aptly titled “End” which serves as a lo-fi closer to an otherwise pretty straightforward album. On the CD version (an archaic device), the track sits in a couple minutes of silence. Then a beat started playing which turned into a full song, “Golden Girl.”

The song has since not appeared on major streaming platforms and exists as a loosie track on YouTube where a casual listener might not know it existed as a bonus on the album. “Golden Girl” may have been the last time we saw a hidden track too.

As the state of music continues to move away from physical media and to digital streaming platforms, having a hidden track

He also does not back down from trying new things when it comes to the production. As usual, he likes to hop on some grimey and slightly disturbing rap beats, and this record makes no exceptions of

U.K. rapper slowthai’s sophomore album takes it a step further on TYRON, proving he is unquestionably talented.

Guillaume Laberge Staff Writer slowthai is by far one of the most unique and recognizable voices in hip hop with his thick British accent and his eccentric and electrifying vocals.

On TYRON, he even takes it a step further by experimenting with his voice.

Whether it be with the distorted and pitched down vocals on the choruses of “VEX” and “DEAD,” the baby voice on the end of the opener “45 SMOKE,” or the weird effect on the chorus of “nhs,” which sounds like something hip hop collective BROCKHAMPTON would do, slowthai is not afraid of trying new things vocally.

this. However, TYRON also sees slowthai rapping over some melodies that we are not used to seeing him rap over, especially in the second half of the record.

Instrumentals on songs like “push,” featuring a gorgeous performance

by Deb Never, the boom bap beat on

“i tried,” or even the repeated piano chords on “feel away,” really stand out among these aggressive and loud beats.

This album is separated into two sides, each of them containing seven songs.

On the first side, slowthai sounds as aggressive as ever, dropping banger after banger on some abrasive and ominous beats. Songs like “WOT,” “MAZZA” and “CANCELLED” really pack a punch and put slowthai’s ability to kill a beat on display.

On the second side of the record, slowthai switches things up by going towards a more introspective route. The rapper is as hard hitting as on the first side but he focuses more on the impact of his words. He really raps from a heartfelt place. Whether it be by rapping about a broken relationship on “feel away,” featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie, or on the powerful closer “adhd” where he raps about substance abuse and being at a low point, these songs help to establish slowthai as a gifted lyricist. slowthai’s sophomore LP TYRON, is a thoughtful concept album that sees the rapper improve on all fronts.

13

Sports.

SPORTS EDITOR Alec Brideau / @alecbrideau sports@theconcordian.com

SPORTS

Major sports leagues’ power rankings Looking at the most dominant teams in all major sports leagues Daniel Scheer Contributor While it’s been a tough year for sports with COVID-19, we’ve been lucky enough to witness a championship in all four major sports. With two of the four major sports leagues already into their seasons, one having recently concluded and one on the verge of starting, let’s take a look at the top five teams in their respective sport.

National Basketball Association (NBA) 1. Utah Jazz (27-8) No one would have expected the Utah Jazz to be sitting comfortably in first in the NBA standings. Led by all-stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, this team has been firing on all cylinders, winning 23 of their past 27 games. The Jazz are out for vengeance after losing seven games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of last season’s postseason.

2. Brooklyn Nets (23-13) Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have been on fire lately, averaging 121 points per game. On the other hand, their defence has been a different story. However, it’s been improving every game. It’s championship or bust for this superteam.

3. Los Angeles Clippers (24-11) The Clippers have been almost unbeatable when both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are in the lineup. The problem is actually to have them both dressed up at the same time, as they have had multiple injuries.

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

he score 50 goals in a shortened season?

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (14-4-1) The reigning Stanley Cup champions came out of the gate hot. Even with some injuries, the core of this team looks as good as ever. Winger Nikita Kucherov is also inching closer to a return. Watch out.

3. Florida Panthers (13-4-4) The Panthers might have the most underrated offensive duo in the NHL with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau.

Chris Driedger has also been a revelation in goal, while starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has been underwhelming.

4. Vegas Golden Knights (13-4-1) The Golden Knights have been getting consistent offence throughout their lineup.

However, the main reason for their success has been Marc-Andre Fleury. He’s leading the league in almost every goaltending category.

5. Boston Bruins (12-5-2) The Bruins always seem to be near the top. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak are playing like the best line in hockey and are wreaking havoc in the loaded East division. Not to mention their great goalie tandem.

4. Atlanta Braves Last season, The Braves were one game away from the World Series without their superstar Mike Soroka. A healthy rotation mixed in with a dominant offence led by Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. is going to be a joy to watch.

5. Chicago White Sox The White Sox are going to be one of the most exciting young teams to follow. Their roster is as deep as anyone, and the acquisition of Lance Lynn may be the most underrated move of the offseason.

National Football League (NFL) 1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers As reigning Super Bowl champions, the number one spot is theirs to lose. Back-toback championships are entirely possible.

2. Kansas City Chiefs The core will be returning, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going to be hungrier than ever. The Chiefs will be the odds-on favourite to win it all next season.

4. Los Angeles Lakers (24-12) The Lakers will always be near the top of the NBA standings as long as LeBron James is healthy. However, they have looked a bit lost recently; losing four of seven Anthony Davis went down with a calf injury. The good news: it’s not supposed to be long-term. A healthy Lakers team in the playoffs is the team to beat.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

3. Buffalo Bills It’s finally time for everyone to respect the Bills. With a dynamic young quarterback in Josh Allen, talented receivers and a top 10 defence, this team’s future is bright.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers Who’s going to stop the Dodgers? Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, David Price and newly acquired Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer. All of this with the best batting in baseball. Good luck to everyone else.

4. Green Bay Packers Could Aaron Rodgers force a trade to end his tenure with the Packers if they don’t fulfill his needs in the offseason? Time will tell, but the clock is ticking on the Packers’ championship window.

5. Philadelphia 76ers (23-12) Team leader Joel Embiid has been a pleasure to watch this season and has been playing like a MVP candidate. Could a deep playoff run finally be in store for a 76ers team with so much to offer? Only time will tell.

2. San Diego Padres The Padres conquered the offseason, signing Fernando Tatis Jr. to the longest deal in baseball history while also trading for Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. The Padres may be on their way to dominating baseball for years.

5. Los Angeles Rams The Rams boast an elite defence with Aaron Donald leading the pack. They just needed an upgrade on offence to really emerge as Super Bowl contenders. Getting Matthew Stafford was perhaps the answer.

National Hockey League (NHL)

3. New York Yankees It’s going to be interesting early on for Yankee fans. This team looks dominant on paper, as they finally have a healthy Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. If Gerrit Cole performs as usual and Corey Kluber shows glimpses of his 2017 self, it’s game on.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs (17-4-2) The Maple Leafs have been the hottest team in the NHL recently, with Auston Matthews leading the way. The superstar is leading the NHL in goals with 20 in 18 games. Can

14

NBA

LeBron James reaches another career milestone

LeBron James scored his 35,000th career point on Feb. 18 Liam Sharp Assistant Sports Editor Graphic by @the.beta.lab

On Feb. 18, LeBron James became the third player ever to reach 35,000 points in the National Basketball Association (NBA), joining Karl Malone and fellow Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James reached the milestone in a 109-98 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

“For me to be linked with some of the greatest to have played this game is an honour,” James told reporters after the game.

Joining the league as a teenager in the 2003–04 season, James took the NBA by storm with his superb athleticism. Nearly two decades later, he continues to dominate the sport by consistently adding to his already elite game. The Lakers, led by James, are the third seed in the Western conference, trailing only their California rival Los Angeles Clippers and the rising Utah Jazz.

Over the course of his career, The Lakers’ superstar has epitomized longevity. This season, James has yet to miss a game, logging 1148 minutes in his 33 games played. At 36-years-old, he was selected by fans, current players, and media analysts to start in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.

James’ 17 All-Star selections only trail Kobe Bryant (18) and Abdul-Jabbar (19) for the most in the NBA’s history.

Since entering the league, James has charted 49,699 total regular season minutes to go

along with his 10,811 minutes in the playoffs, the latter of which roughly equates to three additional full seasons played.

Despite having an illustrious career that has thus far not been jeopardized by injury, history has shown that Father Time is undefeated when it comes to sports.

In the 2012–13 NBA season, a 34-yearold Bryant led his injury-ravaged and floundering Lakers squad to a winning season, showing no signs of his old age before his body suddenly broke down on him when he tore his Achilles tendon.

Eight years later, the Lakers find themselves in a similar situation with James. And yet, the generational superstar has pushed back on the notion of resting while he is healthy and available to play.

“I’m resting now, sitting here talking to you guys,” James said during his postgame Zoom conference with reporters. “I’m resting when I get in my car and head home. I’m resting when I get home. I’m going to rest tomorrow.”

The Lakers have lost four straight games and five of their previous six since Anthony Davis’ lower-leg injury. Since James’ arrival in Los Angeles in the 2018 offseason, the team has struggled in producing quality offence when he sits, including when Da-

vis is in the starting lineup and healthy. With Davis expected to be out at least until the All-Star break, the team needs their leader in James to overcome this rough stretch in the season.

The greatest player of all-time is a heavily debated subject among basketball fans.

While it has no definitive conclusion, it commonly narrows down to James, Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan.

As it currently stands, James has won four NBA championships to go along with four Finals MVP awards and four regular-season MVP awards. He also ranks remarkably in almost every statistical category in the sport.

Perhaps most notably, by riding out seemingly inconsequential regular season games, James inches his way closer to surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record set at 38,387 total points. James is currently 3,101 points shy of the record that was once deemed unbreakable and has expressed a desire to sit atop the list when his career is all said and done.

On his pursuit of a fifth championship ring, James has chosen to lead his teammates by example amid a rough patch in the season, while paving his unique path towards individual greatness along the way.

COLOUR COMMENTARY

Stingers to watch next season

Concordia Stingers athletes to keep an eye on once varsity sports are back

Alec Brideau Sports Editor While we haven’t been able to enjoy varsity sports in Quebec this year, we’re still hopeful for things to resume next fall. With that said, there are some Concordia Stingers athletes we should keep an eye on when sports are back.

Sami Jahan is probably the men’s basketball team’s most promising player. In his rookie season last year, he finished 10th in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec’s (RSEQ) points per game ranking with 13.4. Jahan showed that he can be a reliable player offensively every

game, and fans should be excited to see him at work in his second campaign.

The women’s hockey team has everything they need to be a RSEQ championship team. Two players to watch for next year are second-season player Emmy Fecteau and third-season player Rosalie Bégin-Cyr. Fecteau joined the team last year and immediately made an impact. She’s a talented offensive player who can score important goals late in a game. Fecteau finished eighth for points scored in her first season with the Stingers. For Bégin-Cyr, she concluded last season first for goals and points scored among all

RSEQ players.

In football, Jeremy Murphy is someone you might want to look at when the next season starts. In his rookie season last year, Murphy scored four touchdowns in eight games, and finished fourth in receptions per game.

What’s sure is that all Stingers athletes will be ready to show us their best when things get back to some kind of normality.

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

15

Editorial:

What can we do this March break?

March break is officially underway, and while it looks quite different from other years, there’s a lot we can still do to make the most of our well-deserved, mid-semester vacay.

Keeping up with changing health guidelines can be confusing, so we created a list of what we can and cannot do to have fun this week in Montreal!

Outdoor sports Winter activities such as skating, skiing, tobogganing, and tubing are permitted.

Lessons are allowed for up to eight people from more than one household (while socially distancing), along with private training sessions — say hello to learning how to ski! In outdoor parks with controlled access, it may be good to check out the website, because you might have to book in advance. In areas with open access, the rules are more lax: visitor capacity and public health guidelines will be indicated (usually on a sign), so if the park is full, usually they put a notice in the entrance. Facilities where you can put on skates or skis also remain open with restricted capacity, but no locker room access is allowed. Equipment may be rented at a limited capacity, and must be disinfected after each use.

Indoor sports Last week, indoor sports arenas with pools and skating rinks were permitted to reopen, and you may skate alongside people from your household, in pairs, or go solo.

Social distancing and restricted capacity are enforced, so check if you have to book in advance with the club or sports arena you’re interested in. Again, equipment may be rented at a limited capacity, and is disinfected after each use.

to wear a mask. No food sales are allowed, so no popcorn and drinks, but you can bring your own snacks! Although if we’re being honest, that’s what we all did anyways.

Malls Stores and malls are open at a reduced capacity.

Places of worship Open for 10 people at a time.

More info Note: locker rooms are only permitted for If you would like more information, you can those using the pool. find it here.

Museums, zoos, aquariums, etc.

Open with restricted capacity with health guidelines enforced (you know the drill).

This includes biodomes, planetariums, insectariums, botanical gardens, aquariums, zoos and walkthroughs.

Libraries Open for pick-up!

Hair and beauty salons Both have reopened with reduced capacity, reminder to book ASAP to secure your spot!

Cinemas A maximum of 250 people are allowed in each screening room at a time, and you have

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VOLUME 38 ISSUE 11 DATE MARCH 2 2021

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