Vol. 55 Issue 9

INSIDE: HIPSTER SCUM • 5 // THE FACES OF IRAN • 8 // GETTING POSITIVELY SEXY • 10 // THE WORLD’S MOST OVERPLAYED SONGS • 14

the STRAND FRANK MCKINNEY

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY`S STUDENT NEWSPAPER vOL. 55 iSSUE 9 • Feb 4 2013 • WWW.THESTRAND.CA

THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE SARAH CRAWLEY ART EDITOR On a freezing Feb 1 – another dramatic shift in the weather this past week – the University of Toronto Environmental Action (UTEA) led a rally of around 30 students and environmental activists for climate justice to Queen’s Park, starting February on an active note. The group marched from Convocation Hall to the Legislative Assembly to present an open letter to federal and provincial politicians, urging them to commit to concrete goals for reducing CO2 emis-

sions in Canada.

UTEA was founded last year, with organizers citing the need for increased action after Canada pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement adopted in 1997 between industrialized countries to reduce carbon emissions.

Canada originally agreed to reduce average emissions by 5.2% between 20082012. While many countries agreed to a second round of commitments for 2013-2020 at a climate change talk last year, Canada withdrew from the agreement, being unable to meet the target.

Environmental issues have been hidden in enormous federal omnibus bills,

largely ignored in most parliamentary discussions, and scaled back in terms of policy.

Meanwhile, the continued rising of carbon emissions is still setting off and maintaining feedback cycles, where the release of emissions sets off processes that result in further carbon release, such as that of the thawing of permafrost. When permafrost (frozen organic matter) thaws, that organic matter, or old carbon, is exposed. This makes it possible for it to be released into the atmosphere. There are several other such processes that further continuing the release of carbon into our atmosphere.

But as UTEA’s communication director Tom McCarthy argues in UTEA’s open letter to government, inaction is what young people are not going to accept, as we cannot afford to ignore climate change issues of such dangerous prominence. For politicians to do so is a matter of “intergenerational climate justice,” as well as an injustice to those who will be affected by dramatic climate change the most: “our homeless, agricultural workers, the aboriginal and the working poor.” In this light, UTEA’s open letter demands a clear indication of concrete, committed action.

SEE ‘RALLY’ ON PAGE 3

An opportunity for interfaith dialogue Emmanuel College introduces new Muslim prayer space and program WENDELLE SO ASSOCIATE EDITOR Emmanuel College is now offering a new Muslim prayer room and ablutions facility, a full-time Muslim chaplaincy, and a new Master’s Program in Muslim Studies. The two facilities were launched on Jan 22 in EM 115, with a lecture by Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Chair of Islamic Studies in Huron College, on “Rooting A Canadian Muslim Identity.”

UofT’s theological college is continuing its Muslim-focused initiatives in the hopes of enriching multi-faith dialogue both on and off campus.

The prayer space and ablutions facility are located at EM 004 and EM 006 respectively, and are accessible to all.

The $25,000 cost of the prayer space was covered by various Islamic organizations, including the Canadian Jaffari Muslim Foundation, the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, the Islamic Institute of Toronto, the Muslim Chaplaincy, and the Muslim Students Association of the University of Toronto.

Meanwhile, the $75,000 cost of the ablutions facility was shared by Em-

manuel and Victoria College. Dr. Mark Toulouse, Principal of Emmanuel College, spoke of Victoria Colllege`s contributions to the project: “Victoria University has helped to provide funding to undergird the development of the program...[Although] this has been a project associated with the graduate theological college, Emmanuel Col-

“[Muslim students] need to have a place where the importance of prayer within their lives is recognized, welcomed, and affirmed“ lege, more than with Victoria College, President Paul Gooch has contributed to the program’s overall objectives and Bursar Ray D’Souza has supported the project with property funds to help us create the ablutions facility and the prayer space. David Prediger, Director of Physical Plant, has contributed significant time in helping us design both spaces.”

Reaction to the new prayer space has been positive, from both UofT community members and the attending public in general. “As the only prayer space on the east side of the campus, I think it’s really convenient for Muslim students, who would not have to walk all the way from the western side,” said Filzah Mohamad Hilmi, a third-year Egyptology and Russian Literature student.

“In order for Muslims to have a good experience as students, they need to have a place where the importance of prayer within their lives is recognized, welcomed, and affirmed,” says Principal Toulouse of the motivation for the prayer space`s founding. “We wanted to help meet this need.”

“Emmanuel has just launched a Muslim studies track as part of its Master of Pastoral Studies this year,” said Katherine Bullock, coordinator of a separate Certificate program offered by the college. “As a degree program, the courses are taught by Emmanuel faculty, and are for credit. There are also prerequisites.”

“The program aims to prepare graduates for vocations in chaplaincy, in settings like hospitals, prisons, univer-

sities and colleges, and the military, as well as work for non-profit,” said Principal Toulouse. “Courses include topics on the Quran, the life of Muhammad, the history of Islamic thought, Islamic Law and Ethics, and spirituality in Islam.”

The master’s program would also require participation in a work setting within the city. “For example, one of our Muslim students is working in a clinical pastoral education setting in a local hospital as part of her program at Emmanuel; another is working at the University of Toronto Multi-Faith Centre.”

“A small number of undergraduate students can be enrolled for these courses,” said Dr. Toulouse. Interested undergraduates would have to ask the permission of their department or college registrar to count the course as a credit or breadth requirement and then communicate this permission to Wanda Chin, Emmanuel College registrar.

The courses are listed at www.emmanuel.utoronto.ca/students/Courses.htm under the ‘Theological’ link.

SEE “EMMANUEL” ON PAGE 3

NEWS O

n Jan 22, a politically-minded crowd convened in the Revival, a cozy bar in Little Italy, to discuss whether or notToronto’s political leadership has failed the city. The event was organized by Direct Engagement, and hosted by George Smitherman, Mayor Ford’s chief opponent in the last election.

The speakers spanned a variety of positions and ideological backgrounds, and included a professor, a small business owner, an editor for The Globe and Mail, and two city councillors. According to Smitherman, the aim of the show was to “bring people from quite different perspectives who can all take a stab at the question of the day.”

The discussion focused little on Mayor Ford’s recent public antics, though the spectre of his recent appeal underlay complaints about City Hall’s “sabrerattling” and “hijinks.” Councillor Karen Stintz did make a carefully-phrased defense of Ford, saying, “in some respects, the mayor has shown real leadership” although she admitted that “there have been some noisy issues that have detracted from the agenda.”

One point of contention throughout the evening was City Hall’s perceived slight to small businesses, articulated by Doc von Lichtenberg (small business owner) and Sean Stanleigh (Globe Editor). Von Lichtenberg, a colourful character who wore a Harley jacket to the meeting, heaped scorn on City Council’s regulations, saying that they stifled small businesses.

“There’s plenty of things to be proud of, but there’s also things that city councillors have to do to help the small businessperson. They have to listen!” His complaints centered on the “overzealous enforcement of by-laws” to levy fines against entrepreneurs.

Professor Mitchell Kosny focused on leadership in

the abstract and found City Hall lacking. His common refrain was that “we have good political management [but] that’s very different from leadership.” He didn’t focus on specific issues, but on the perceived lack of leadership presence in the city as a whole.

HAS TORONTO’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FAILED THE CITY? EMILY POLLOCK EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Councillors Gord Perks and Karen Stintz talked about what City Hall accomplishes, while exhibiting a clear-eyed admission of its faults. They didn’t agree on the issue of the mayor’s leadership, with Councillor Perks stating outright, “I don’t think [Ford is] doing very well for the city.” They both agreed that the impact City Hall has is generally good, and Councillor

Perks also said, “There is a vicious belief in the English-speaking world that government is not a force for good in people’s lives, and the hijinks at City Hall is the endpoint of this belief.”

The discussion focused on the trials of small businesspeople and the continuing problem of transit, with Stanleigh badgering the rest of the panel about which of them would run to replace Mayor Rob Ford if Ford lost his appeal (Smitherman rigorously denied his own eligibility).

During the question period, one of the attendees pointed out important issues that had gone unmentioned—poverty and accessibility concerns, and the question of why the city’s leadership is not addressing these issues. Councillor Perks agreed that “we still have enormous problems with wealth distribution and access to good services for people living in Toronto”. Von Lichtenberg was less acquiescent, saying that “this is the easiest city in the world for people who are marginalized, who are living on the edge, who are poor.” When he told leftists to “grow up a little and get over your whiny, crybaby, socialist nastiness,” there was audible booing from the crowd. Apart from that, the discussion was largely civil, living up to the event’s promise as a meeting of minds from across the political aisle.

This event was just the first in a series of discussions slated to happen at the Revival each third Tuesday of the month. The next, “Place Your Bets on Casino Toronto” will address whether allowing for the creation of a casino at the old Ontario Place would benefit the city. The matter of Mayor Ford’s appeal may be settled, but political debate about City Hall rages on.

Decisions, DECISIONS

Ford, Ford, Ford

Mayor Rob Ford won his appeal on Jan 25 by what could be called a “technical jurisdiction.“ The appeal court found that City Council has no authority to request Ford to pay back the money—the only sanctions they can impose are reprimands or suspensions of pay for up to 90 days. The plaintiffs’s lawyer, Clayton Ruby, wants to take the matter all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, but few believe that the case will be heard.

A WynneWin

Kathleen Wynne was elected the new Liberal Party leader, and as such, the premier of Ontario.

She is not only the first woman to hold the post, but also the first married gay person. After obtaining two Master’s degrees from UofT (linguistics) and OISE (education), she served as one of Toronto’s MPPs. She will be officially sworn in on Feb 11, and legislature will open a week later.

Jan 28 marked 25 years since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on R v. Morgentaler and found the law making abortion illegal violated women’s s.7 Charter right to security of person. Abortion was made legal, as it remains today, although the battle between “pro-life” and “pro-choice” factions continues. The week saw events across Canada, including at UofT, that celebrated and ruminated on the decision.

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25 Years for Abortion

VICTORIA CHUEN

Emmanuel College hopes to offer new haven for Muslim education “EMMANUEL” FROM PAGE 1 The Certificate in Muslim Studies Program, launched in 2010, is also undergoing major changes this year.

Unlike the Master’s Program, the Certificate requires no specific academic background, is skills-based, and is aimed at those who want to learn more about Canadian society and Canadian-Muslim identity.

“Core courses include Religious Pluralism in Canada, Religion and Public Policy in Canada, An Introduction to Canadian Law and Islamic Law in Canada, Understanding Diversity in Qur’anic Interpretation in

the Canadian Context,” Bullock explained. Meanwhile, elective courses feature Constitutional Faith: Charter Rights & Religion in Canada, Spiritual Care in Individual/Family Contexts, Fiqh of Muslim Minorities in Canada, and other explorations of religious and spiritual involvement in everyday society. Four core courses and four elective courses are required to complete the certificate, which is open to the general public.

The Certificate program is especially attractive due to its focus on specific skills, its instruction on the workings of Canadian institutions, and its partnership with diverse Canadian Muslim groups and societies

that promise hands-on involvement for students. “We are striving to reach out to the diveristy of Muslim communities in the GTA, so are co-sponsoring a course with the Noor centre, and a synagogue, Temple EmmanuEl, on Religion and the Canadian Charter. On the more conservative side, we are co-sponsoring a course on the jurisprudence of Muslim minorities with the Islamic Institute of Toronto.” Other courses will also introduce the program’s participants to the processes of the Canadian political system, religious history, and spiritual care.

“The program evolved out of conversations connected initially with a

Scriptural Reasoning seminar held at Victoria University,” said Principal Toulouse. “There is a need for Muslims in Toronto to have a place providing educational opportunities where the experience of Muslim faith could be taken seriously. Further, the program provides opportunity for Muslims and Christians to grow in their understanding of one another.”

“The public needs to know that the program is conceived in the spirit of interfaith dialogue,” said Dr. Bullock. “It is about recognizing that different faith traditions can enrich each other through the experiences of personal encounter and dialogue.”

UTEA delivers open letter to government Michael Meade, a member of UTEA, noted, a face-to-face assembly of students, however small, is extremely powerful—something that must be remembered as we consider the apparent apathy of students and the wider public, despite strong interest exhibited through social media.

It all depend upon the expression of that interest. As McCarthy emphasizes, “all of our hopes and plans are contingent on students getting involved.” There has been a tremendous amount of research done regarding our environmental crisis, and we know that we must take steps to mitigate and adapt to these oncoming changes. A promised 5.2% decrease in emissions is extremely

significant.

For McCarthy, it is entirely up to us to drive politicians to take the necessary steps and give up on international blame games regarding emission responsibility, changes that can be endicted through student groups and supporting organizations such as the University of Toronto’s Environmental Resource Network. “You can expect a lot more creative and effective action from UTEA as we continue to build a coalition of like-minded students and work towards a more sustainable future.”

UTEA meets every Tuesday from 4-6 PM in Earth Sciences, room 1042. New members, support, and input is always welcome.

News • 4 Feb. 2013 • news@thestrand.ca

These emissions, says McCarthy, are what truly matter. “The challenge is to communicate the real emotional costs,” he noted, for it is essential to come to terms with the dramatic changes that our generation will face if nothing is done. “It’s about being able to live on a planet that at least closely resembles what we know now.” This indeed was the focus of the following speeches by City Councillor and UofT professor Gord Perks, Greenpeace campaigner Keith Stewart, and student and First Nations representative Sarah Nanibush.

Indeed, the emotional connection was strong amongst the protestors.

Joanna Dowdell grew up surrounded by natural, open spaces throughout her childhood. “I can’t imagine not having woods to run through, and streams to discover,” she said, reminiscing further about the changing landscape around her, both in terms of housing development and environmental change. “We need to make sure the government is actually protecting it.”

With banners held firmly and voices chanting in unison, rallying students presented a certain hope for the future of environmental protection. Although no government officials made an appearance, the exchanges between students and the speakers seemed to be a success. As

FRANK MCKINNEY

“RALLY” FROM PAGE 1

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OPINIONS

The post-neoconservative age Repackaging the Bush Doctrine in the age of Obama JUSTIN P’NG

After the neoconservative movement was discredited by the Bush administration’s implosions in Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign policy elitists have tried to rebrand Pax Americana on the world stage. According to official campaign statements, the Obama Doctrine was meant to be realist, multilateral, and reconciliatory. Instead of antiwar realism, however, the post-neoconservative age has been defined by continued war under increasingly hazy rhetoric.

While some Bush-era policies have fallen out of public favour, others have been embraced by the Obama administration under new justifications. The trajectory of Barack Obama’s foreign policy doctrine, beginning with his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on the necessity of just war, is emphasized pseudo-liberalism. The result of this has been the use of neoconservative means to achieve liberal ends. With the death of “War on Terror” demagoguery, there is now a war of silence, fought away from judicial and public purview.

Central to this approach are the drone wars being waged in the Middle East, no-

tably in Yemen and Pakistan. As the loud wars of Afghanistan and Iraq have wound down, a surge of unmanned aerial vehicles have taken the bloodshed to the skies.

Due to administrative obstructionism, researchers are only able to ballpark the casualty figures in the low thousands, and civilian deaths somewhere in the low hundreds. This detached warfare is predicated

etons of war by making them “classified.”

Executive privilege of course allows for limited confidentiality, but this benevolent censorship has been distorted by the doubletalk of strategic administration leaks used to buffer Obama’s image. Such cognitive dissonance is apparent when officials quoted in the New York Times dismissed the application of the 1973

It has served to define Obama as a kind of rare intellectual, a philosopher general who has mastered the moral art of being an ivory tower sniper. on a “disposition matrix”; a bureaucratic flowchart designed to streamline the procedure of extralegal execution. As a military operation it represents an inverted war, depersonalized and unacknowledged.

While Bush openly aired his dirty laundry through the filters of jingoistic patriotism, Obama has hidden his skel-

War Powers Resolution, since the use of drones does not “involve the presence of US ground troops, US casualties or a serious threat thereof.” Nevermind that it involves US armament for warlike purposes.

Indeed, administration’s public defenders have stressed the ethicality of this virtual war through its alleged humaneness:

discretionary killing that minimizes collateral damage. These implicit endorsements imply that “surgical strikes” constitute clinical warfare: a moral surgery to eradicate the tumour of terrorism. The emotional sanitization of these invisible wars with programmatic definitions lends them an academic subtext, righteous in theory and practise. It has served to define Obama as a kind of rare intellectual, a philosopher general who has mastered the moral art of being an ivory tower sniper.

The institutionalization of this doctrine sets the United States on an increasingly darker path. While Bush justified war as defensive counterterrorism, Obama has deployed instruments of warfare in the name of law enforcement. His successor will inherit a presidency that values a judge-juryand-executioner-in-chief without respect for due process. Case in point was the tragically ironic re-election endorsement of Obama by Colin Powell, a man whose war canon emphasized definite objectives and a defined exit strategy. As Powell was ousted from power by the neoconservative Bush, so too has his spirit has been exiled by the post-neoconservative Obama.

Our great success hides our greater failure UofT’s lack of genuine non-academic ambition hinders its quality of potential ASSOCIATE EDITOR Time spent in university is obviously subjective, but when it comes to UofT, there are a few factors we can all agree on. First, while somewhat difficult and often impersonal, the classes are top-notch. Second, Toronto is an idyllic city to live in for four years. And third, this can be an isolating place.

It’s an issue that everyone talks about. There is no identifiable cause; rather an abundance of contributing factors. Complaints include the large population (almost 66,000 undergraduates), a significant commuter population, and crushing workloads. The campus also happens to be the size of roughly 200 football fields (that’s an actual estimate), so running into friendly faces is atypical.

Missing from the discussion is the institution’s failure of ambition. Certainly, we’re the top research university in Canada with some incredibly successful alumni, as the administration loves to remind us. A great institution, however, does not rise solely on the backs of studious graduate students, and as much as I’d love to claim that I attend the “Harvard of the North,” this moniker does not apply. My friends who actually attend Harvard were not selected for their math marks (though they are also high-performing students); one is a talented actor, and the other is a prolific stage manager and model parliamentarian.

At Harvard, ambition is facilitated and developed. Through the connections the university maintains in the Cambridge arts community, my friend interns part-time with a musical production that’s set to hit Broadway next year. They regularly attend intimate lectures with successful Hollywood actors, Fortune 500 CEOs, and other public intellectuals, and spend their time in choirs, intramurals, and working on literary reviews—all well-funded and encouraged by university administrators. In turn, this creates a much more well-rounded, cosmopolitan, and successful student body. It’s a self-perpetuating culture of ambitious involvement.

UofT has failed to build such a culture, and students have been

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complaining about it for years. The University, for the most part, gives plenty of lip service about “engaging the student community,” but very little has changed. Some commuter centres have been set up, along with other small initiatives—but to what end? The cold academic machine marches on, leaving the Varsity rugby squads, for example—facing proposed demotion from CIS to intramural status, along with several other Varsity teams—in the dust. The lack of any real aspiration for change is stunning, and the larger university social fabric remains frayed.

Now, the university is not a uniformly oppressive monolith (though Robarts tries its hardest to fill that role). For Arts & Science students, the collegiate system offers opportunities for development. Vic, for example, offers “Ideas for the World,” a weekly seminar series covering a variety of topics including economics, the environment, and contemporary culture. The classes are intimate and many bring in well-known and knowledgeable guest speakers. While it’s a good first step, it simply does not meet the student needs; Vic is the exception, not the rule.

Ultimately, the culture at the top remains the same: invest in the areas which promise short term gains (graduate research and new infrastructure) at the expense of those which offer a longer return (undergraduate extracurriculars and internships).

The university will have to take a leap of faith if it genuinely wants to be great—and that means trusting that international researchers and professors will still want to come here by virtue of our existing reputation, size, and location.

All options should be fully teased out if UofT wants to play with the big kids.

The non-academic student experience may seem trivial, however, fixing the crisis of isolation and indifference at an institutional level would do more for this university’s reputation than any ad banner or research statistic could hope to achieve.

SARAH CRAWLEY

JONAH LETOVSKY

EMILY POLLOCK

Drop the headdresses, hipsters Why cultural appropriation is not okay OPINIONS EDITOR This past Saturday, at the Rhino Bar in Parkdale, around 20 partygoers attended a “Cowboys and Indians” birthday party.

Women wore short “buckskin” dresses, men re-enacted scalpings and threw fake hatchets at one another, and all wore face paint, feathers and “Native headdresses”.

The result was an outpouring of protest on Twitter and other social media sites, and an eventual flash protest of about 30 people at the bar. The protest showed both an increased vigour in the fight for Native rights, partially as a result of the Idle No More movement, and the power of the social justice community on the internet.

My problem does not necessarily lie with the bar itself, which issued a lengthy public apology following the event, but with the shockingly racist attitudes in our society which allow many to remain apathetic about the appropriation of Native culture. Several newspapers reported on this event in the following days, all describing it as “racist” and “demeaning,” but always with quotation marks— as if to imply that this is contested information. This should not, and cannot, be contested. The appropriation of Native culture is racist. It is demeaning. It places Native peoples in the historic past, implying that they do not exist anymore.

And it is very, very harmful.

First of all, the very theme of “Cowboys and Indians” is highly racialized and violent. Professor Daniel Heath Justice, the chair of First Nations studies at the University of British Columbia, commented that “No one would play Jews and Nazis...the narrative of Cowboys and Indians is of cowboys killing Indians.” Absolutely no one would be allowed to reenact any other act of genocide or attempted genocide in history— why is it considered all in good fun to reenact the slaughter of Native peoples by colonizers?

The danger of dressing up as an ‘Indian’ is a real one. It is the equivalent of donning blackface. It melds all Native cultures into one, as if there is one nation of First Peoples, called simply “Natives” or “Native Americans” across the entirety of North America, when in reality there are hundreds of distinct nations each with their own cultural traditions and ways of dress. For example, a Native “headdress” (actually called a warbonnet) is not applicable to all First Nations, as seems to be the popular consensus. Rather, the warbonnet is distinct to several Plains Nations.

The appropriation of Native dress also leads to the cheapening of spiritually significant items. The warbonnet and eagle feathers are deeply spiritual symbols. To receive an eagle feather is a great honour and signifies respect. The feathers in a warbonnet are

Professor Daniel Heath Justice, the chair of First Nations studies at UBC, commented that “no one would play Jews and Nazis...the narrative of Cowboys and Indians is of cowboys killing Indians.” earned one by one, and are meant to be worn only by highly respected men, not drunk white girls at Coachella. Just as you would never dream of running around in the Pope’s hat, or a Sikh turban, you should never dream of wearing a warbonnet undeservingly. It is the equivalent of wearing a fake military medal, or possessing a fake bachelor’s degree certificate.

The oversexualization of Native women via cultural appropriation is also a danger. In donning short, lowcut dresses, the depressingly-prominant image of the sexualized Native woman continues to circulate. This objectifies Native women and gives would-be assailants a justification. According to Statistics Canada, this has tangible results.

Self-reported violent victimization is three times higher among Native wom-

en than among non-Native women. The majority of these violent acts are nonspousal. Half of violent crimes against Native peoples go unprosecuted, compared with a quarter against the nonNative population. And finally, over 600 Aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered in the last two decades.

The next time you, or someone you know, considers dressing up as an “Indian,” smarten the fuck up. It’s not ironic, cute, or a hipster fashion statement, and it’s definitely not “honouring” Native culture. The appropriation of Native culture is not a phenomenon to be shrugged off. It is racist, degrading, and has disturbing effects felt keenly across the many distinct First Nations in North America and beyond.

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Opinions • 4 Feb 2013 • opinions@thestrand.ca

SARA DERIS

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EDITORIAL OUR MASTHEAD Editors-in-Chief Pauline Holdsworth Muna Mire Patrick Mujunen News Associate

Sabina Freiman Wendelle So

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Editorial Assistants Amanda Aziz, Emily Pollock, Grace Quinsey Copy Staff Allie Townshend, Claire Wilkins Contributors Justin P’ng, Frank McKinney, Ilse De Mucha Herrera, Arash Ghiassi, Erini Andriopoulos Cover Photo Frank McKinney Special Thanks Sarah Crawley, Jade Bryan

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JADE BRYAN

...WELCOME TO “THE FUTURE,” OUR SPRING MAGAZINE ISSUE. DO YOU HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD? WHAT U OF T WILL LOOK LIKE IN 50 YEARS? WE’RE LOOKING FOR LONGFORM ARTICLES ON YOUR VIEW OF THE FUTURE. SEND YOUR PITCHES TO THESTRANDMAG@GMAIL.COM

Unemployed and unentitled EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Our generation frequently gets called an entitled generation, but it’s really our parents who by and large were far more entitled, growing up (if they did in the 50s-80s, as mine did) during the single longest sustained period of economic growth of the last century.

When my grandparents immigrated to Toronto from Finland in the 60s, job opportunities were both more plentiful and more secure. My grandfather was able to support a family of six on a painter’s income while his wife stayed at home, and my dad did basically the same thing (at least until his recent midlife crisis and subsequent career change). If he or my grandfather had decided to get a university degree, their job prospects would have been even better. At the time, having a B.A. was a virtual guarantee of a job, unlike the punchline it’s become to millions of un- and underemployed university graduates today.

Our generation has been told that attending college is the only way to get a job, has taken out a tremendous debt load doing so, found that there aren’t any damn jobs, and then was told to get even more education to be super qualified for jobs that aren’t there and may not ever be. A family friend of mine has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Columbia and a year of teaching experience, and can’t find any jobs. She’s been in school and been successful at it for six years, but nobody will pay her to do work she’s overqualified for—every employer wants a applicant with a graduate degree plus three years of experience, and wants to pay employees like they have a high school diploma. People want her to take unpaid in-

“When every job that pays a decent wage requires multiple years of relevant experience, it’s no wonder that nobody under 25 can find a job.” ternships, which have recently become the new norm in a wide range of fields: pay to go to school, and then work for free for years in hopes that an employer will notice your “pluckiness” or whatever and, you know, actually give you a job. And, sickeningly, employers can do this because there are no jobs, so eventually they’ll get someone to be that sucker. When every job that pays a decent wage requires multiple years of relevant experience, it’s no wonder that nobody under 25 can find a job.

Things are fucked now— and they’re fucked in a way they haven’t been for a long time. Unemployment in Canada is officially over 7%, but it’s actually way higher since the figure doesn’t take into account people who have been unable to find work and have given up looking, people who are looking for a job but can only secure part-time work, and people working jobs far removed from their educational background (think PhDs driving cabs). The staggering unemployment figures for 15-24 year olds (currently 14.3%, down slightly from a high of 16% in 2009) show little sign of recovery. Youth underemployment is even higher though employment rates among older

workers have nearly returned to pre-recession levels. Youth underemployment is not low because kids are holding out, thinking they should get whatever they want: we’re not looking for some fancy film job or anything, we want to work retail or basic manual labor. We want the job that our parents could take for granted when they were our age.

Contrary to what older generations frequently complain about (that we feel “entitled”, that we demand “instant gratification”, or that we have an “attitude problem”), our generation largely recognizes the conditions and demands of our situation. In fact, we’ve recognized this for a while, and we’ve lowered our expectations, but we can’t lower them any more without working for free. When our generation graduated from high school, our parents and their generation were the ones who told us to go to university because they never had to think about it. Jobs were always there for them and university was a good decision that didn’t cost much.

At this point, with job prospects looking bad and not getting better, most people are just looking for a job that pays enough money so that they can pay for rent and food, and also start to pay off crippling college loans. That’s what we want. We’re not making salary demands or even looking for a specifically nice work environment— we just want a job that gets paid.

Basically, we want to be able to work and have a modicum of self-sufficiency. We’re not entitled. That’s a reasonable fucking demand. We want to put in hours doing a thing and get paid something for it without getting harassed by an older generation that had advantages that won’t be seen again for a very long time.

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Editorial • 4 Feb. 2013 • editor@thestrand.ca

PATRICK MUJUNEN

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FEATURES

The faceless MiddleEasterner

A critical lo k at fan responses to the Humans of New York

by Arash Ghiassi

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randon Stanton is a Chicagoan history major and photographer who moved to New York in 2010 and started taking portraits of random strangers on the street.

Initially, the idea was to create a photographic census of New Yorkers by taking 10,000 photos and putting them on a map. However, it eventually evolved into a photoblogging enterprise called Humans Of New York (www. humansofnewyork.com), dedicated to celebrating the individuality captured in each portrait. Currently, HONY has a big following on Tumblr and enjoys 513k likes on Facebook—it also has a spinoff in almost every city you can think of.

Here’s a twist in the plotline: Brandon recently traveled to Iran for the two weeks roughly coinciding with our examination period (Dec 8th22nd), and took photos of the people living there to post online. The subjects ranged from an adorable little girl in Angry Bird stockings to old la-

artwork by Jade Bryan

dies laughing at a joke, lovers reciting poetry, and a shepherd posing with his herd.

The reaction from HONY’s fans was overwhelmingly positive. Each picture averaged thousands of likes on Facebook and hundreds of reblogs on Tumblr. Brandon’s work was hailed as providing a much-needed “true” image of Iranians, as opposed to the stereotyped negativity presented in mainstream media outlets. The Facebook page’s international fans stated that Brandon had provided a face for the Iranian people in the West, a face they had previously lacked. While that is an overstatement of HONY’s reach, the pictures did represent surprising discoveries for their audience. One comment read: “To summarize some of your findings so far: We know that Iranians are humans; we know they look normal; they have iPads (and presumably other gadgets) and read Business Week; some look like models from a fashion magazine; others—like

Moses or Zeus; high schoolers are as goofy as American kids; modesty is charming; their toddlers lose their bravery in the presence of huge guys with cameras; Christmas trees are (gasp, gasp!) allowed; traffic is crazier than that in NY; and…many non-Iranians find much of the above shocking!”

One is shaken by learning that the humanity of Iranian people could be such a recent discovery— or that anyone finds the existence of humanity shocking. Yet this shouldn’t be surprising, given the dehumanizing portrayal of Iranians in the mainstream media. Iranians have seldom been portrayed as more than an angry mob storming embassies or testing nuclear bombs and hating Americans. All of this becomes much scarier once one considers the possible consequences to a nation thus effaced and reduced to an incomprehensible crowd.

the real people that make up a nation. It is an unwitting nod to Orientalism, which according to Edward Said provides “a series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression.”

Others objected to an indiscriminate show of surprise and appreciation for the pictures, arguing that one ought to stay critical about the reality of life in the Middle East: “This is reversed orientalism. Before, white people used to document the Middle East and bring it back to the West, and talk about how uncivilized people there were. Now it’s the same process, except white people act shocked to find out Iranians walk on two legs and eat with [their] mouths. They still frame it into a zoological study of the Other, except the white man’s burden has been flipped on its head. Now they have white guilt, and automatically assume whatever is non-western is mysterious, interesting and exotic. They suspend any form of political scrutiny and take on a morally relativist position about political issues…”

While this comment rightly criticizes the problematic nature of moral relativism, it seems misplaced given the volume of comments pointing out the political problems faced by the Iranian society. Tolerance and appreciation of diversity should not lead to turning a blind eye to issues like patriarchy, homophobia, and religious intolerance. But while looking at beautiful photos of a society can paint an overly-sunny picture of it, this is hardly a risk when it comes to Iran. Much of the dirty laundry is already in the open, as evidenced by the readiness with which HONY followers presented them.

However, there is a major risk in defining

North American consciousness has not spared Iranians. The possibility of an armed conflict in the near future involving Iran on the one hand and the United States, Israel, and perhaps Canada on the other seems to be the result. This is why Brandon’s photos, revealing the well-kept secret that Iranians are real individuals, were celebrated by many HONY Facebook fans as messengers of understanding and peace.

Yet some refused to believe the pictures.

“The majority of Iranians are not this welldressed,” someone commented on a picture.

“I’d like to see pics of the way the majority of Iran lives.” But this comment fails to recognize the artificial nature of a fictitious “majority” that presumably lives and dresses the same way.

It betrays a desire to ignore the individuality of

an entire (other) population in terms of these political issues. If non-Iranians look at a picture of an Iranian mother and don’t let themselves see anything but an oppressed woman, as some HONY viewers demonstrated in their comments, they miss the countless emotions, complexities, and potentials that define that person—some of which may contradict the initial lazy judgment and offhand dismissal. They throw away a wealth of things they could have learnt from a stranger. In the meantime, the stereotyped Iranian mother might risk paternalistic Western “solutions” to her overly simplified predicaments—one needs to look no further than Iran’s two neighbours, Iraq and Afghanistan, to see the costs of such endeavors.

Laziness, stereotyping, and condescension

should be avoided when dealing with the Other. And yes, regarding foreigners as Others is the proper way of looking at them. By “Other” I don’t mean alien, inhuman, or essentially different. Defining somebody as merely a set of characteristics that are in opposition to one’s own is often the first step towards justifying an oppressive relationship with them. However, constructing a relationship based on an imagined sameness can also be problematic—it robs the Other of his/her voice.

If I assume you (as an Other) are basically the same as me, I take myself to be an adequate representative of your interests and demands.

This can lead to paternalistic decisions that you would not consent to, because in reality there are countless characteristics and choices that distinguish you from me. By not taking that into account, I fail to respect your individuality.

As Emmanuel Levinas—a French existentialist philosopher—puts it, “the mode of thinking which reduces Otherness to sameness is simply incapable of encompassing Others.”

Furthermore, the fact that the assumed sameness at the base of cross-culture relationships is only imaginary makes the relationship contingent and fragile. It breaks down with the realization of cultural and personal differences. In the case of HONY pictures, the ability to connect with Middle Easterners only because they use iPads or wear Angry Bird stockings like Westerners is too limited. This kind of sympathy fades away if conformity with Western culture is absent. For instance, a nomadic woman wearing traditional clothes receives less sympathy than an urbanite boy holding a big SpongeBob plush toy (comparing Facebook “like” numbers confirms this prediction). But people should be able to demand our sympathy regardless of their likeness to us. Humanity should not be equated with Western culture (or what amounts to the same thing, i.e. looking “normal”—the quality mentioned in the first comment in the same breath as being human).

Levinas provides a useful account of ethics when encountering the Other. By “Other” he means any other human being, but the concept also applies to strangers living overseas. According to Levinas, Others are never fully disclosed to us. They possess a secret inwardness which stays “forever inexpressible,” but is at the same time the defining aspect of their personhood. The Other is always more complicated than one’s categories and concepts. This places the Other above one’s comprehension and thus distinct from everything one knows and identifies with. In the same way, everyone except for me is an Other for me, too large to be contained in concepts I recognize.

Levinas thinks that there is always a responsibility to and for the Other. We have to acknowledge that this person is beyond one’s world and cannot be reduced to stereotypical concepts. This is the ethically correct way of looking at Middle Easterners—and everybody else. People like Brandon can provide non-Iranians with glimpses into the lives of individual Iranians, and non-Iranians should look at these pictures as messengers of multiple inner worlds that cannot be fully expressed. This is the only way that pervasive stereotypes can be defeated.

Features • 4 Feb. 2013 • features@thestrand.ca

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n a recent online article in The Guardian (“Newtown kids v Yemenis and Pakistanis”), columnist Glen Greenwald takes on this problem in a different setting. In the wake of the recent heart-wrenching tragedy in Connecticut and the widespread emotional response to it, he looks for an explanation for the relative lack of empathy for young victims of drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. As of Jan 27 2013, more than 203 children have been killed by American drones in those two countries in strikes aimed at suspected terrorists, and yet there has been widespread silence on the issue. The deaths of scores of children by drone strikes are perceived as insignificant, not worthy of Presidential tears like those shed for the innocent lives lost in Newtown. In fact, it is by Obama’s orders that the drones keep striking. Greenwald finds an explanation for this inconsistency: the predominantly Muslim inhabitants of the Middle East are dehumanized.

Greenwald argues that for any war to be tolerated by the population “the humanity of [its] victims must be hidden and denied.” This is precisely what the American media does when it conceals the identities of the Pakistani victims. We don’t get their names, their photos, or interviews with their family members. They are seldom even mentioned. Moreover, our mental image of the average Middle Easterner is degraded and caricaturized as a result of their singular representation as violent jihadists. Before all military-age men in a drone strike zone can be considered militants (as is the case now), they have to be lumped together as terrorists in our perception; violently rid of their individuality and made into one crowd.

This unfortunate loss of individuality within

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ARTS & CULTURE Sexy Sex: I came, I SAW, I talked about it.

AMANDA AZIZ EDITORIAL ASSISTANT I never knew that a three-letter word could generate so much controversy for students on campus. Talking about, hearing, seeing, and even doing it, may make you cringe, cry, shout, blush, scoff, laugh, or smile. It’s sex, and it’s personal—but it doesn’t have to be shameful or taboo.

I was able to get a hold of a peer suppor volunteer from the University of Toronto’s Sexual Education Centre and have a discussion with her (nonchalantly) about SEC, and sex positivity on campus [Emily Milton, a fourth year student at University College who is studying Sexual Diversity Studies and Women and Gender Studies]. Yes, sex may cause controversy, but it’s also liberating.

The Strand: So what do you do at SEC? Emily Milton: I’ve been in SEC for about 2 years, and I’m a peer support volunteer. So during my shift, I’m available on-call, and I handle phone calls too. We don’t usually get a lot of phone calls, but when we do, people usually ask questions regarding sexual health, sexual identity, and questions involving resources that are outside campus. Students also know us more for what we hand out: we give out free condoms, lube, gloves, so on. With a funding of 25 cents from each student’s fees per semester, we always have supplies to give. That’s my role at SEC, but apart from those main things listed, we do a lot of outreach. I’m not personally involved with that aspect, but a lot of our volunteers go across campus to do presentations, seminars, and interactive talks about a range of different topics—like, it could be about BDSM, butt-play, STIs… really, just a wide range of different things that we try our best to cover. Specifically, sexual awareness among students is what we aim for.

TS: Can we touch topic about the Sexual Awareness Week that you guys had? I mean, publicity from the sex club event had everyone talking. I knew some people who were interested in going, and others who claimed to not be that “type” of person.

EM: Yeah, we were actually prepared to get phone calls from people who were outraged, and we did. Some people wanted their 25 cents back. I mean, many people were calling it a sex orgy when it was actually a sex club— a free environment for people. And for being that “type” of person, really, a lot

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who attended didn’t have sex, but just came to hang out and have a good time. The funny thing was, we had been having this event for years, but only this year gained so much attention. We also had other events – like “Porn and Cookies”, and “Hentai and Sushi” – for people to relax and have fun.

TS: As a first year student – and this is typical to say – sex doesn’t come up a lot as a topic within my peer group. Even when talking about sex, there’s still some hesitancy, so something big like the sex club was surprising for a lot of my peers.

It’s also exciting, because in first year, you get to see people transition and change their comfort zones when talking about sex too.

EM: Even though the majority of students who come in and drop by at SEC are in the middle of their undergraduate years, like mainly third years and fourth years, but we get first years too. And it’s not just first years, but people in general; we see that [transition] happen all the time. We do get a lot of walk-ins at SEC with people who are like: “Oh ha ha, you guys are the ‘condom’ place, right?” and it’s just like… yes, you have sex, I have sex, it’s nothing to be ashamed about.

TS: Yeah, and it’s a normal part of human nature too. What makes me worried is how to approach the taboo that’s surrounded around both talking about and having sex, because it’s so looked down upon… depending on who you hang out with and all.

EM: And with that attitude some people have—there’s no correct way to deal with that, because we aren’t going to judge them if they are shy about talking about sex, or laugh at them.

TS: Or allow them to make fun of sex, or those who are open about it as well.

EM: Exactly, we aren’t going to laugh with them if they’re being disrespectful. I mean, we try to be as inviting as possible. We promise we won’t pressure anyone to feel a certain way about their sexuality.

TS: It’s difficult because those personal feelings can also be

negative towards others, so how do you guys deal with that?

EM: Well, yes, how a person feels about sex is their own opinion, and that’s fine, but all we ask is for people to respect other opinions as well. If someone is uncomfortable about sex, we can’t push them to talk about it. That’s not what sex positivity is all about. Yet if someone sees people talk about sex nonchalantly, we are asking them not to look down upon that either.

TS: Actually, I went to the Q21 chat [takes place on 21 Sussex Drive, rm. 421, every Thursday from 3:00-4:30 pm] with a friend of mine, and it was just… refreshing to be in a room filled with people who would freely talk about sex, you know?

EM: Yeah, with sex positive discussions like [Q21], that’s what we want: a safe place for people to feel welcome to talk about sex with no judgement. Like, no matter how comfortable you are about the topic, or opinions you have about it too, you’re always welcome to take part or just listen in the discussion.

TS: It’s funny, because some people assume that being sex positive means that you have a wild sex life, which is not always the case.

EM: Sex positivity is also shared and fostered by people who don't engage in sex, who choose to remain abstinent, or are uncomfortable with engaging in certain sex acts in their own personal lives. Sex positivity is about erasing the act of shaming others for their sexual preferences and choices. It tackles issues like slut shaming, the stigmatization of sex workers and the pathologization of folk who are into kink or BDSM, to name a few. [Sex positivity is] a point of view that can be shared by anyone, and it is a misconception that everyone who engages in sex positivity (for example, by wanting to attend the Oasis sex club event), are simultaneously engaging in sex acts themselves, or a type of sex that falls outside of what is deemed "appropriate".

The University of Toronto Sexual Education and Peer Counselling Centre is a 100% not-for-profit, volunteer-run student service/ student group at the University of Toronto, St. George campus.

You can find more information online at www.sec.sa.utoronto.ca

Gallery

Andy Kittmer: individualism in an encroaching society

ASSOCIATE EDITOR On Jan 31, artist Andy Kittmer opened an exhibition of his most recent works at #Hashtag Gallery in Toronto. The exhibit, titled “Bad Blood”, will continue until Feb 17.

There are around 50 pieces; the prices range from 200 to 800 dollars for a painting.

Initially from St. Mary’s, Ontario, Kittmer has been influenced by graffiti and comic design. His paintings emphasize the neurotic individual; he attempts to capture emotions that are otherwise transient with the use of natural symbolism. He makes a statement about stifling urbanization and our need to abandon a pretentious and collective thought that denies us inndividual freedom. Most of his works feature one person’s face and upper body, embellished with striking colors, triangles, eyes, and elements from the natural world.

For instance, in one panting, entitled “Edge of Town”, Kittmer reveals a man’s seemingly-passive face. His eyes are obscured by his glasses, which reflect the crum-

“Bad Blood” will be on display for several more weeks., giving those who haven’t seen it yet the chance to support an talented and independant painter, and the alternative #Hashtag Gallery.

Ghosts of the past ILSE DE MUCHA HERRERA Igor Drljaca’s movie Krivina tells the story of Miro (Goran Slakovic), a Bosnian immigrant returning to his home country from Toronto in order to find his friend Dado, who has been accused of war crimes.

Miro has not seen Dado in 20 years, and he soon finds that the answers he looks for will not be easily obtained. The film is an eerie portrayal of a man’s search for answers, concerned with issues of war, politics and psychology in a reserved and discrete manner.

Krivina is an art film to its very

core, delighting and confounding their viewer with austere performances and images. Slavkovic dominates every frame, his quiet prestence giving the film an emotional center. His acting fleshes out a man who has become dislocated from the world around him, a man not at home in his own skin.

The contemplative nature of the film gives the viewer little grasp of the situations portrayed in it, making it difficult to find explanations for the conflicts depicted. The viewer, like Miro, is deprived of a sense of closure. Because of this, the movie is presented as a mystery

story, but one where there are no easy answers.

The cinematography of Krivina stands out, as the camera flits across images and landscapes, dwelling on its chracters in shots and sequences. The sense of impermanence is compounded by the film’s brief, sparse dialogue, which hides more than it reveals.

Drljaca’s first feature film is not a film created for the average moviegoer. The movie is a surreal gem, a disturbing and evocative story of the refugee experience. Though Krivina could have benefitted from a tighter focus, it’s a confirmation of Drljaca’s potential as an artist, establishing him as a writer and director to look out for.

The viewer, like Miro, is deprived of a sense of closure. Because of this, the movie is presented as a mystery story, but one where there are no easy answers.

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Arts & Culture • 4 Feb. 2013 • artsandculture@thestrand.ca

DOMINIQUE BÉCHARD

bling buildings of a city skyline.

Tree branches sprout from the man’s beard. These images seem to represent the impending doom of urbanization, and the necessity of a natural rebirth.

Another painting, titled “Best Dress”, shows a young woman’s face, eyes covered by flowers, corners of her mouth slightly turned up in a complacent, “Mona Lisa” smile. This image designates a broken and unnatural concepy of beauty. Whereas the title mentions a classic norm of a suffocating society (the “dress”), the girl in the painting is not evidently wearing anything. She is blinded by the flowers; she would not be able to see and judge the worthiness of any dress. In this sense, she is free from the conventions and restrictions of a society that Kittmer challenges.

On entering the gallery, the description of the show reads: “This series of works depicts how society stigmatizes individuals due to their beliefs, looks, addictions, opinions, and how we all have a story to tell. How some of our most powerful memories are of something heartfelt or bad.”

Although this description was likely Kittmer’s focus and intention while painting his pieces, it ”The Shore” by Andy Kittmer is difficult to ascertain whether he has succeeded in his depiction alism in art, since verything “creof individualism. Working from ative” is the arbitrary result of a popular influences such as graffiti previous idea. and skate culture, Kittmer is simThe Andy Kittmer art exhibiply regurgitating what has already tion is nonetheless worth seeing, been said by his predecessors. It is as the artist is able to coax origidifficult to determine whether it is nal and charming expression from even possible to portray individuwell-wron ideas. Kittmer’s show

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FILM & MUSIC

A dangerous prescription Pills and thrills in Side Effects, Steven Soderbergh’s (supposedly) last movie

At first appearing to be a simple story about a woman overtaken by the side effects of her antidepressants, Side Effects unexpectedly turns into an absorbing, thrilling story of psychiatric malpractice and the demanding nature of the patientpsychiatrist relationship.

The film opens with a series of bloodsplattered images before backtracking three months, immediately establishing a grim mood. The story begins by following Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a New Yorker in her late 20s awaiting the release of her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum), who has just finished a four-year prison sentence for insider trading. After feeling an initial happiness at Martin’s return, Emily’s long-standing depression begins to resurface. She starts seeing Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), who meets with her previous doctor (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to discuss her medical history so that he can properly diagnose her.

He prescribes an experimental drug, Ablixa, which at first acts just like the pill Emily was looking for. However, her behavior soon takes an unexpected turn for the worse. Terrible side effects begin

to kick in and affect not only Emily’s life, but Dr. Banks’s.

The focus then shifts to Banks, who is now facing blame and pressure from both the press and his medical partners as a result of Emily’s rare reaction. Is Banks guilty for prescribing the medication? Should he have taken more precautions? Is a medical disclaimer always justified? The film has many twists and turns, keeping the audience engaged throughout the two-hour running time.

In what director Steven Soderbergh is calling his final theatrical release, the cinematography is much like that of his past films (most recently, Magic Mike); showcasing an almost unnerving focus on the main characters dominated by dialogue, quick cuts, and close ups.

Mara remains soft-spoken, emptyeyed, and perfectly in character throughout the movie. While playing a remarkably different role than that of Lisbeth Salander in the American Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, Mara is able to again exhibit depth and talent, making Emily’s downward spiral all the more poignant and realistic. When the focus of the film shifts to Law, he too shines as a distraught man in the midst of his own moral bat-

tles.

The plot may seem a little farfetched at times, but with sharp and twisty dialogue by Scott Z. Burns, a chilling score by Thomas Newman, and excellent performances by the lead actors, viewers will be entertained and impelled to find out more.

A story that at first seems to exploit the dangers of pill-popping and the money-hungry pharmaceutical industry turns into a dark thriller and modern-day morality play. What could have devolved into an episode of Law and Order avoided such a fate through the merit of its excellent casting. If this is indeed Soderbergh’s final directorial release, it is enjoyable and leaves us wanting more. Side Effects is not completely groundbreaking, but it’s an absolutely clever and exciting experience that psychological thriller fans will enjoy.

Side Effects will be released in theatres Feb 8.

SARAH CRAWLEY

ERINI ANDRIOPOULOS

Something rotten in Denmark Period piece from Denmark stars Mads Mikkelsen as Enlightenment badass BLAIRE TOWNSHEND Copenhagen native Nikolaj Arcel, screenwriter of the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has returned to the international silver screen as director of the Danish historical drama A Royal Affair. Arcel’s work is acceptable and even enjoyable, but while there are certainly elements of charm hidden throughout the film, many aspects fall regrettably flat—especially in comparison to the snappy and fast-paced precedent set by Dragon Tattoo. It would be inappropriate for a movie exploring the political machinations of 18th century Denmark to have a similar pace—but some discernible sense of progression would have been much appreciated.

A Royal Affair follows the story of an English princess turned Danish queen, her acclimation to a foreign country and her marriage to mentally disturbed King Christian VII, and finally to a changing political landscape swirling around her. Enlightenment axioms and authors are scattered throughout the screenplay in an act of assiduous name-dropping, but eventually come to the forefront in a more legitimate

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MONGREL MEDIA

COPY EDITOR

way as the principal characters attempt to refashion the governance of feudal Denmark.

The movie showcases an interesting romantic pairing in the developing attraction and eventual affair between Queen Caroline and court physician Johann Struensee. Caroline, played by 24-year-old Alicia Vikander of recent Anna Karenina fame, shows a delicacy and luminosity on screen equal to that of her portrayal of Kitty as Joe Wright’s leading lady. Yet it becomes hard to sympathize with her as she exhibits a remarkable ability to say the

wrong thing at the worst possible times (though whether this is the fault of bad writing or of bad acting is difficult to pinpoint).

Vikander is featured alongside go-to Dane Mads Mikkelsen. At 47 years old and still perennially voted “sexiest man in Denmark,” Mikkelsen is known for his tendency to play one-eyed characters and for showcasing consummate bad-assery with a rapier. However, though my love for Mikkelsen has a long and storied history beginning with an unspeakably sexy portrayal of Tristan in King Arthur (2004), I found

his Dr. Struensee sadly disappointing.

It wasn’t that his acting was bad, but more that his actions never seemed to stem from any deeper intent or moral impetus, something integral to a role of this intellectual reputation.

While it is refreshing to find a depiction of an affair sparked by intellect rather than lust alone (the two fall in love over Rousseau and discussions of national health reform), the emotional connection between the two leads seems merely sweet in its best moments, and histrionically passionate in its worst.

In terms of aesthetics, I was at first pleased to note a sort of patina best described as Wright’s Pride and Prejudice meets Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. However, this effect soon wore off, to be replaced by a washed-out, lifeless facsimile. Though I may run the risk of being too harsh on Arcel, I feel that this aptly represents the overall progression of A Royal Affair—exhibiting a strong start that lags and limps its way to the finish line.

A Royal Affair is screening now at The Varsity.

“Let’s write some motherfuckin’ memes!”

The Strand sits down with the creators of Memewriter ALEX GRIFFITH

Kieron Higgs as Kurt Kenzie, to the left of half a porns-mobile meme doned by his wife (Mani Eustis).

Filmed over four weekends in August, Memewriter is hyper-stylized and occasionally hyper-experimental.

Stephenson’s camera zooms and tilts in exaggerated closeups as his characters fight, swear, and shotgun Monster energy drinks against a cut-throat corporate backdrop—the CBC offices on Front street standing in for a highstakes internet company.

“It takes the tropes of filmmaking and plays with them,” said Stephenson, a fourth-year student at Victoria College who has both a child’s enthusiasm

BAHAR BANAEI & ALEX GRIFFITH MUSIC & FILM EDITORS The Strand sat down with Toronto band The Capitol Beat at the Sazerac Lounge to ask them about the local funk and Motown scene.

The Strand: You’ve been together for two years?

The Capitol Beat: Two and a half, but we’ve all known each other as friends.

We all went to the same high school.

We’ve been playing with each other in different bands on top [of] this for, seven years?

What’s it like going from high school to university and moving forward?

What has the evolution of the band been like?

Actually, we were in a band in high school, [just] not the eight of us. Different groups of us were in different bands. And Liam kind of brought us all together.

Have you always been playing jazz, funk, and neo-soul? How did you choose to get into this kind of music?

Well, most of us were in a Motown band in high school. It was like a school

The Capitol Beat

run Motown cover band. So you could be in a jazz band, a big band, anything like that but you could also be in a sort of elite 12-man band. Now we’ve been working on a different kind of music.

We haven’t had the means [of] releasing any of it yet. We’re still working on releasing our first EP, which is mostly soulful.

What drives you to continue with soul and Motown? It’s not the kind of indie music you expect from people in Toronto and especially at Vic. But it’s got its own niche and seems to have its own scene as well. We’re curious to know what keeps you going with that.

It’s a huge list. Stevie Wonder is huge.

A lot of hip-hop too; The Roots has been a big thing.

Is there a good scene for the music you’re doing right now? Is there a jazz, funk, neo-soul scene in Toronto?

There is kind of a unique group of people, bands like Thunder Monks, The Flow, Down By Riverside. So there’s a bit of a thing, [...]it’s not [...] coordinated, but there are definitely groups and collectives and people that are doing the same things together. I feel like

it only becomes a “scene” when it’s recognized by other people, not just the people in that scene, so I wouldn’t call it that.

I’m sure there are clubs and venues that would be good to check out if you’re interested in similar genres of music.

It’s hard to say, but there are places where you would consistently find bands like these, like the Garrison, The Supermarket, [at] the odd time maybe Lee’s Palace.

I wouldn’t say it’s kept us going, because we’re changing. We’re really just trying to open our horizons and open our minds. We want to write any genre that’s based off of any of our influences. Like, we’re all listening to a lot of different things now. Ryan, our drummer, puts it very nicely. He says, even with the change in genre now I think we would still be classified as soul because the music comes from the same place. It’s very soulful in its own way.

It’s very honest music, I think.

What are your biggest influences?

Who are the “soul giants” you turn to?

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Film & Music • 4 Feb. 2013 • filmandmusic@thestrand.ca

An interview with

for making movies and a reflective consideration of his artistic decisions.

To be sure, despite all the financial limitations—and a schedule dictated by the rhythms of the academic year— student filmmaking offers plenty of opportunities to try new things in a low-risk environment, to play dialogue by ear and improvise. “We’re students and we’re experimenting.”

Zachary Gardham, a high school friend of Stephenson’s and currently a film student at York, plays Ted Memer, a profit-driven CEO (is there any other kind?) obsessed with the bottom line.

ALEJANDRO CAIRNCROSS

When I last interviewed Scott Stephenson, he had wrapped up shooting Beer Wizards—a project that, a year later, is still hanging in post-production limbo because of accidentally-deleted footage. To me this illustrates the frustrations of filmmaking, especially student filmmaking: hours and hours of work to turn your original vision into a realized product, accompaied by the fear and anxiety of not having anything to show for it.

Now there’s a sense of satisfaction in Stephenson’s voice when he explains the drive to finish his new movie, Kurt Kenzie: Professional Memewriter, produced by second-year Vic student Alex McCalla. “With Memewriter there was huge pressure to do something, to get something out, something tangible,” said Stephenson, who wrote and directed the quirky dark comedy about the rise and fall of the talented and self-destructive Mr. Kenzie—played by fourth-year Kieron Higgs—a veteran of the Bob. Over the course of the film, Kenzie is betrayed by his partner (Owen Gorman), out-performed by his intern (Max Cohen), and aban-

LUCKY TUPPENCE PRODUCTIONS

FILM EDITOR

“I sort of drew on Christian Bale from American Psycho—except Memer doesn’t kill anyone—he has that kind of crazy business wackiness. He just wants to get the views.”

“I think there’s a lot more to [the film] than the surface level,” added Gardham, “I think it has a lot to do with internet culture.” The film’s best technique, in my opinion, was to turn the meme itself into a narrative device: words appear over freeze frames to reveal a character’s state of mind or the irony of a character’s predicament.

There is no art form quite as cooperative as filmmaking. Memewriter’s premier at the Isabel Bader Theatre on Jan 25 was a night of student entertainment: live comedy by the cast and a 40-minute set by nine-member neosoul band The Capitol Beat (see below for their first Strand interview). The Capitol Beat, made up of Ottawa natives and Vic students, composed the funky synth-laden soundtrack. Kaan Gunesberg, one of the Beat’s main songwriters, contributed moody keyboard tracks that punctuate Kenzie’s hubristic journey.

If you missed the premier, not to worry. Memewriter can be watched on YouTube.

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“YOU KILLED THAT SONG!”

Jamie Shilton shares a list of songs overused by other forms of media

HOT CHOCOLATE: “YOU SEXY THING” Used in/by: Ads for Burger King and Swiffer, Dude Where’s My Car, Grown Ups

“You Sexy Thing” is basically perfect—the strings, the vocals, the guitar. Everything. Errol Brown sings like he’s holding something that’s on fire (use your imagination), with the lyrics suggesting a sexual confidence that he can barely

keep bottled up. It is a joyous invitation to sexual congress on the order of “Let’s Get it On”.

That the song has been presented as parody by so many bad white comedians suggests immaturity and aversion to sex at best,

and at worst, an inability to come to terms with black male sexuality. What I’m saying is that Deuce Bigalo: Male Gigolo is implicated in every horror of human history.

CITY EATING

Worst: Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

LEONARD COHEN: “HALLELUJAH” Used in/by: Scrubs, Shrek, The West Wing, The L Word, House, Watchmen

“Hallelujah” is the perfect soundtrack for every single sad moment, or in the case of Watchmen, truly hilarious sex scenes that are intended to make us think about like life and death and eroticism and stuff.

The most egregious misuses of “Hallelujah” were committed by the people behind The O.C., who played it over the endings of the first

and third season finales. The first usage can be forgiven; using the song is an easy way to give emotional weight to something that’s generally vacuous. However, the second usage has to be one of the most cynical moves in recent soundtrack history. It’s not like no one was going to remember! I cannot fathom how much they must have hated their audience.

SIGUR RÓS: “HOPPíPOLLA” Used in/by: Planet Earth, all British TV producers looking for interstitial music, the trailers for Children of Men and Slumdog Millionaire Worst: The trailer for We Bought a Zoo The people who do soundtracks love Sigur Rós because their songs are free of intelligible lyrics, meaning that these lovely soundscapes can be employed in virtually any context to communicate emotions ranging from “reveals the true meaning of existence” to “shows the mighty for-

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titude of the human spirit.”

“Hoppípolla” is an unusually short, poppy song with a big climax, making it perfect for those who want their catharsis without all that nasty tension.

Its usage in the trailer for We Bought a Zoo is completely absurd, the song rising to its rapturous finale as

someone tells Matt Damon to get his shit together or else “WE AND ALL THE ANIMALS HERE ARE GONE!” The banality of the scene overwhelms the euphony of the music, and all I can think about is how much funnier the trailer would be with Herb Alpert’s “Spanish Flea” subbed in.

VIMEO

Film & Music • 4 Feb. 2013 • filmandmusic@thestrand.ca

“Hallelujah” is a gorgeous song that is rich with literary and religious allusions that might be the greatest song written by a Canadian in the last thirty years that was used to make the audience feel sad when the ogres were mad at each other in Shrek.

Something weird happened around the end of the 1990s that made every Hollywood music director think that

CALGODOT

Worst: Not even joking, it was used in the finales of two different seasons of The O.C.

STRANDED

I can’t believe it’s not better!

Humorous fun time story joke WILL PETTIGREW “HUMOURIST” A Strand editor, an elevator mechanic, and a reptilian walk into a bar. The air is thick with the raucous commotion of two dozen people finally getting out for a Friday night. The three shuffle and slink silently to the back where they find the lone empty table in the sea of highs and heartaches that surround them like the tempestuous torrents of a tide torn between two moons. They wait quietly for service as they look around and digest their surroundings; it is not the first time they’ve been here together (and far from the last), they all think, as they make sense of the jabbering across the aisle and make maps with the lines in the jovial smiles on the faces of the contented and those particularly gifted at fooling themselves.

Finally, a waitress spots the unlikely trio sitting parched at the back table.

“Anything to drink tonight, fellas?” she asks. Her voice carries the unexpected soothing qualities of all three of their respective mothers and thus the Strand editor pipes up in a flimsy monotonous yelp: “I’ll get a pint of the house, please.”

“Okay, pint of the house, and you?” the waitress coyly asks the elevator mechanic who, with his matted hair and sunken eyes, responds pertly, “Same for me, please.”

The waitress then turns to the reptilian. Only the slightest fraction of a fleeting moment longer does

she wait to ask him for his order, but all four live one and one thousand eternities in that tense instant.

“And how about you? The usual?”

The reptilian nods slowly and deliberately and blinks once in a similar fashion.

“Thanks guys, I’ll be back in a flash.”

The waitress turns quickly and sashays between the hordes of inebriated youth of the downtown west side like a lead in some grotesque ballet. The three friends at the table, without speaking, come to the resolution that she’s hard-working, street smart, tough-as-nails and probably likes to sing and this attracts them to her, but due to their own insecurities and awareness of said insecurities, the three would never dare to impart any more than their order in fear of offending her and they resign themselves to not being in the league of “cool bartenders.”

The Strand editor makes a feeble attempt to break the silence. “I’ve always liked the music at this place; they always play good music here.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty wicked,” the elevator mechanic replies with a nod of approval.

“I can dig it,” says the reptilian, staring off down the bar, taking in the scene of another weekend night at one of the most popular bars in the neighbourhood. He likes just to get out, just to “brush shoulders with the world,” as he always puts it. The reptilian more often than not finds himself having to nag and coerce his friends into going out, often with promises of grandeur and memories to last a lifetime. This is rarely the outcome, as he and his

friends well know, but every now and again the cabin fever—the inevitable stir-craziness of spending too many nights smoking pot, drinking Cutty Sark, and listening to Moving Pictures on vinyl over and over again until “Limelight” brings him to tears —makes the reptilian thirst for social activity and a chance to break the monotony and perpetual ennui of being young and directionless in the inner city in the postmodern age, so much so that he occasionally offers to foot the bill for the night to lubricate the proposition for easy acceptance by his only two friends.

“I’ve got a problem with run-on sentences,” says the Strand editor. The other two mumble token responses but it’s impossible to hear over the clatter as they both stare vacantly across the room. “I always go on and on, but it starts to become extremely difficult to follow. I mean, I don’t give a fuck but I feel bad for whoever has to or chooses to read my shit, you know? It makes me look bad but like, I forget about it pretty quickly too, so like, I dunno...”

As the editor trails off, the waitress arrives with the three libations clasped in her hands in a triangle formation. Hving reached her maximum carrying capacity, she hurriedly sets the glasses down to ease the pain from the full extension of her slender and yellowed fingers.

“Here you go fellas, two pints of the house and an old fashioned.”

SEE “HUMOUROUS FUN TIME” ON PAGE 16

Distractions

Across 3. Derrida said this 5. Bloor ________ 6. In any case 8. Groucho, Karl 9. Second Last 10. r/toronto 11. Heyyyyyy sexy lady 15. Rouge, in French 17. Rob Ford 20. Vegan meat 21. $1 levy increase 22. Rose

Down 1. Think clowns 2. Da Bulls 4. Her? Really?

6. LCB_ 7. Postmodernism 12. Your overlords 13. Large mouse 14. Oscar grab 16. Just in case 17. Small dog 18. Easy 19. Howdy

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STRANDED Funs & Game

“Thank you,” they croak in a dissonant cascade of awkwardness.

“Should I just run a tab for you guys?”

“Please,” answers the reptilian, making eye contact with the waitress for the first time.

“I’m Audrey, just lemme know if you need anything else.”

“Of course, thank you,” the reptilian sheepishly quips. If his outermost dermal layer were not coarse scales that he regularly molts and replenishes biannually, his friends would notice him blushing. If it weren’t for this slight genetic difference, they would be able to tell that the reptilian is attracted to their host, but instead they just assume so and begin to tease, knowing full well he had not the courage to court the fair lady. It brings them a twisted satisfaction to attack another for the same insecurities they themselves suffer from, in an immature holdover from their elementary school days.

“Yo, you should totally ask for her number, man!” roars the elevator mechanic in a confusing tone that straddled sarcasm and desperation.

“Shut up,” is all the reptilian retorts.

They begin drinking. Each have a few before they leave but none are properly intoxicated. In somber unison the two brews and the old fashioned steadily disapear. The beer is crisp and surprisingly cold, much to the enjoyment of the Strand editor and elevator mechanic. The reptilian can’t decide on his old fashioned; he’s torn between whether a muddled orange slice made the drink or not (this bar did not muddle any orange slices into their old fashioneds). He drinks it anyways without protest; it is strong and served as a bittersweet metaphor for the period of his life right now, something he does not going to share with his friends for fear of being labelled pretentious.

“So how’s work?” the reptilian asks the elevator mechanic. They all detest small talk, but as the liquor sets in, it’s becoming easier and their inhibitions of conduct loosen, like an organic tendril slithering through the vast expanse of the mystery of life.

“Oh well, you know, it’s the elevator industry: it fluctuates with the global economy in a myriad of complex ways that I can only begin to understand,” he says in between thirsty gulps of the perspiring lager.

“You know, I swear you were gonna say—” the editor interjects, but the mechanic cuts him off before he can finish his thought.

“Yeah, I know what you swear I was gonna say, but I didn’t say it, okay? Fuck, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that joke.”

“What’s the joke?” asks the reptilian.

“Don’t worry about it,” says the mechanic.

“Yeah, it’s not very funny,” says the editor.

“But I don’t know it, what is it, I want to know it!” begs the reptilian.

“Really, just forget about it,” says the mechanic as he sucks back the dregs of his pint. “Well, I could go for another, you guys?”

“Yeah, fuck it, let’s get wasted,” puts in the editor and their night of borderline alcoholism starts into full swing.

Round after round they drink, paying no heed to the long term health effects of binge drinking.

They all loosen up as the drink gets to their heads.

They laugh, they boast, they regale each other with stories old and new. They fight over politics, art, women; they discussed travel, books, and grocery stores. What would have been another bust of a Friday night listening to 80’s prog rock records and going to bed early after eating an entire box of Kraft Dinner turns into a triumph of social pleasures

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EMILY POLLOCK

“HUMOROUS FUN TIME” FROM PAGE 15

and, all in all, a good night, all thanks to the dive bar ambience and the joys of a good drink among cherished friends.

Finally last call rolls around and the trio ordered one more round.

“You gotta go for the waitress man; I see the way you two are looking at each other. I know it’s a long shot and I know it’s nerve-racking, but as your friend, I say you got nothing to lose just by asking.

You never know, she might be cool with it. Everything might go exceptionally well. She’s about our age, she’s smart, funny, cute, and if she is the one picking the music, she’s got really wicked taste. Just do it man, you’re gonna hate yourself on the walk home if you don’t.” The editor slurrs all this to the reptilian in such complete sincerity it would have made Derrida cry.

“Do it! Do it!” shouts the elevator mechanic, clearly drunk.

“Okay, okay. Fuck it. Fuck it! I’m gonna do it.

When she comes back with the bill I’m gonna say ‘You know, I don’t normally do this, but I think you’re really cool, and here’s my number. Gimme a text or a call sometime or it’s totally cool if you don’t, I just know if I don’t give it to you I’ll regret it the rest of my life.’ Or something like that. What’d you guys think?”

“Fuck it man, it’s golden. She probably gets shit like that all the time but you had her laughing and stuff, like, you got your shit together, you know?

Fuck, I dunno.” And so the mechanic begins the thousand yard stare into the bottom of his empty pint glass and these words become his swan song for the night as the stupor set in.

The waitress returns with the change tray and the bill. The editor slides it over to the reptilian who had offered to pay, the very reason they all went out in the first place.

“Don’t you forget, you’re paying, chico. What’s the damage?”

“80 bucks,” the reptilian replies. He had rounded it up from $76.84 for ease of tip calculation.

The reptilian reaches for his wallet tucked into the back pocket of his pants. As his fingers near his tender buttocks he freezes in terror. “Fuck” was all he could say as his clawed fingers graze against his scaly gluteal muscles. “I’m not wearing any pants.”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not wearing

any pants?!” the editor shrieks, the mechanic still struggling to hold his head up, caught in between.

“I mean I’m not wearing any pants. Reptilians don’t wear pants. Everyone knows that.”

The editor sits dumbfounded and the reptilian stares blankly into his eyes. “And besides, even if I was wearing pants and had my wallet, the money means nothing, as I am a member of a supreme alien race that clandestinely controls this planet by manipulating world politics and economies by infiltrating your petty hierarchies with disguises forged from technologies you couldn’t ever imagine. All of the wealth of the human race is merely a placebo put into place to sedate and occupy you while we continue on our quest for universal dominance. This bill is irrelevant because this is all an elaborate illusion that exists merely to enslave you to further the noble reptilian cause.”

The mechanic raises his head and the editor sits in silence, jaw agape. “Fuck, guess I’m paying again seeing as I’m the only one here with a fucking job!

Good luck picking up that waitress, asshole.” The mechanic throws down some money totalling the bill and an appropriate tip and the three stumble out into the street to catch the blue night home. The reptilian stops at the door and turns around to take in the scene one more time. It’s only him and the waitress he so desired left inside. She’s clearing tables and the bartender has stepped out for a muchneeded cigarette. The reptilian’s heart races and he struggles with the greatest conflict yet experienced since he was first set with conquering the Earth and extracting from it every resource possible without tipping off the earthling population of the presence of their reptilian overlords. He bites his lip and rushes out the door. He has to jog a bit to catch up with his friends.

“I don’t know what it is guys, but I just can’t seem to talk to girls,” the reptilian sighs as they wait for the streetcar. It will be another twenty-five minutes till the next streetcar and the reptilian has just quit smoking. He looks up at the illuminated towers that stood like sentinels in the night air and gentle flakes of snow start to fall around them. “Just another one of those nights, I guess.”