Another edition of the Summer Olympic Games has wrapped up, and with it, the greatest athletes in the world return to their home countries. Some are proudly weighed down with gold, silver or bronze medals around their necks and hard-earned international recognition.
Graphic by Florence Yee
The sacrifice, perseverance and motivation required to qualify for any international competition cannot be underscored. A lifetime of training and conditioning goes into qualifying for races that only last the time it takes to blink three times. At such high levels of competition, an athlete’s physical capabilities are typically bragged about: extreme strength, agility and power.
However, another athletic quality that is just as important, yet not fairly mentioned, is the artistry. Although arts and sports might seem like polar opposites, they do go hand in hand to some degree. In sports such as swimming, what distinguishes a first-place finish from the second spot on the podium can come down to technique.
In gymnastics, synchronized swimming and even rowing, the performance becomes something akin to an art form. Rowers must be in perfect synchronicity with each other in order to be efficient. Gymnasts must wow the judges with the precision of their performances, but also with the creative aspect of them. Synchronized swimmers must deliver a spectacular performance—while submerged and holding their breaths.
These athletes have made something excruciatingly difficult and physically demanding seem easy, just as ballet and theatre do. No one would contest the artistically physical aspect of a ballerina. Therefore, sports should be recognized for their physical artistry as well.
Thousands gather at Otakuthon to celebrate everything Japanese
A Pokémon trainer faces off against a team rocket duo while an eager crowd snaps some pictures. Pyramid Head stands near the far wall, holding a very confused baby while parents look on amusedly. Three Deadpools form a line and dance a jig while moving through the audience.
Welcome to Otakuthon, the largest anime convention in Quebec and the second largest in Canada. According to their website, this year, over 21,000 people attended the three-day convention, held at le Palais des Congrès from Aug. 5 to 7.
Otakuthon’s focus is on Japanese culture, both modern and traditional. With a full schedule of events, there’s something for everyone to enjoy, from the hard-core anime fan to the casual enthusiast. With live panels, video game demos, film screenings and special guests, it’s impossible to do everything. The events are as diverse as they are numerous. On the Saturday of the convention alone, convention attendees could sit in on panels about Japan tourism, the evolution of the Pokémon games, fanfiction, bento art and sushi modelling, to name a few.
“There’s a comforting sameness to these conventions,” said Chris Cason, voice actor and guest panelist. “The accents might be slightly different, but once you walk through the door you go ‘oh there’s a Goku, there’s a Naruto,’ it feels the same in a kind of unifying way that I really like.”
Montreal’s Otakuthon featured hundreds of cosplayers. Photo by Tiffany Lafleur.
It’s also a chance for fans to meet special guests, including those behind some of the most iconic character voices, such as Cason, who played Mr. Popo in DragonBall Z and Gluttony in Fullmetal Alchemist, or Eric Stuart, who played Brock and James in the original Pokémon series, and Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh!
“It’s pretty amazing to feel like I am part of pop culture history. You can ask a six year old what a Pokémon is and you can ask your grandparents and they will know,” said Stuart, who gives panel discussions on voice acting as well as on direction and adaptation. “I’ve been told numerous times by the fans, ‘you’re the voice of my childhood,’ which to me is very humbling and very flattering, and I definitely don’t take that for granted.”
One of the special events on Saturday was a concert by L’Orchestre des Jeux Vidéo, a Montreal-based orchestra dedicated to playing video game soundtracks. During their 90-minute concert, the orchestra paid homage to some of the most iconic franchises. The soundtracks from Sailor Moon, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the Pokémon theme songs, both from the anime and the Gameboy games were just some of the scores played by the symphony. As conductor Jonathan Dagenais very accurately pointed out: while music in video games is mostly invisible, it serves to guide you through the emotional journey, reminding you to feel happy, sad, or maybe hint that a boss is in the room.
Over 21,000 people attended Otakuthon this year. Photo by Tiffany Lafleur.
The most remarkable aspect of the convention was the time and meticulous effort some attendees put into their cosplay outfits. Cosplaying, which is the practice of dressing up as a video game, movie or book character, is part of the integral fabric of anime conventions such as Otakuthon.
Face and body paint, prosthetics, and LED lights were just some of the products cosplayers used to recreate beloved characters, either truthful to the original design or with a creative twist. A particularly impressive group of cosplayers dressed as mechanic versions of Pikachu, Blastoise, Venusaur and Charizard from Pokémon. The costumes, which were painted and designed to look like metal plating (think something out of Transformers) included LED lights and voice boxes, so that when they spoke their voice was amplified above the din of the gathering crowd.
For the fans, Otakuthon is a way to express their love of a particular anime or character. For the special guests, it’s a way to see that their work is indeed appreciated.
“When you’re recording, you might as well be doing it in a closet,” said Cason. “Then you come here and it’s the theater aspect to it. It’s really a humbling and rewarding experience.”
La Voce tells the surreal story of a pig butcher who falls in love with his favourite stripper.
At the Phi Centre, Not Short on Talent gives Canadian film a place to shine
Short films often present relatable characters, interesting plots and engaging stories that aim to hook the viewer and ignite their interest. Except that, unlike features, shorts have only a fraction of the time to do it. Every second of every shot counts.
La Voce tells the surreal story of a pig butcher who falls in love with his favourite stripper.
At the Phi Centre, Not Short on Talent brings together 10 successful short films produced by Canadian talent from across the country and exhibits them on a loop for all to see.
“You have to look at the big picture,” said Danny Lennon, film curator at the Phi Centre and programmer at Prends ça court!. “It’s a year-round screening event, so 10 films per month. And it’s just another excuse to show brilliant work that’s being made in Canada right now that, even if the Internet exists, and even if festivals exist, lots of people don’t get to see.”
The films are varied in their genres, themes and visual styles, and yet the one common aspect across all films is their powerful message. This month’s selection happens to highlight multiple works from Quebec artists.
“We’re showing the films, but it’s also an initiative with Téléfilm Canada,” said Lennon. “It’s also the people behind the film that we want to showcase. The directors, the director of photography, the editor, everything. It’s not only the film as a whole, it’s the people behind it.”
La Voce by David Uloth is a story of a pig butcher who falls in love with his favourite stripper. It is a film that subtly edges over the line of surrealism, weaving a realistic story of lost love and hopelessness with abstract themes of slowly losing one’s identity. A must-see for the cinephile that enjoys stylized works and reading between the lines.
La Voce tells the surreal story of a pig butcher who falls in love with his favourite stripper.
On the other hand, Maurice, by François Jaros, crashes the viewer back to reality. When Maurice is given only a few months to live, he must continue living the time he has left while embracing his own impending death. He opts to choose a day to end his life so that he doesn’t become a burden for his children. Jaros was the winner of the Best Fiction Short Film award at the Gala du cinéma québécois 2016.
Maurice follows a man who must live his life with the knowledge that he only has a few months to live.
In She Stoops to Conquer by Zack Russell, a struggling actress dons a mask for a talent show, and keeps it to go clubbing. There, she meets her doppelganger, and engages in a strange dance. Her identity begins meshing with the character she portrays, and the audience is left wondering who is really calling the shots. Russell won for Best Live Action Short Drama at the Canadian Screen Awards 2016.
Lennon believes it is important to highlight local talent, because it remains obscure to many.
“The short films, there’s so much content right now in the world that it gets lost. So we’re bringing that content to one place, there’s not a zillion films, there’s 10 films,” said Lennon.
The films are being shown from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the exhibition is free.
David Dworkind and Matthew Hood capture Nepal and India, the people, the culture and more. Photos by Hood Visuals.
Previously exhibited at the MainLine Theater, Nepal & India documented a 10-week journey across both countries
In Nepal & India, photographers David Dworkind and Matthew Hood transport the viewer to India and Nepal through vivid pictures that act as windows, peeking into two distinct and culturally rich countries. Their works present a wide spectrum of different tableaus, from a blanket of stars lighting up a silent and dark hillside to a wide-eyed little girl, fascinated by the camera lens pointing at her.
David Dworkind and Matthew Hood capture Nepal and India, the people, the culture and more. Photos by Hood Visuals.
Dworkind and Hood’s exhibition, which was presented at the MainLine Theater from March 30 to April 3, featured over two dozen photographs captured during their 10-week trek and marked the anniversary of the start of their trip in April 2015.
“We hoped people would get a sense of the diversity of people and landscapes that are found in both of these countries, as well as a feeling of the daily life seen through a collection of candid moments,” said Hood.
David Dworkind and Matthew Hood capture Nepal and India, the people, the culture and more. Photos by Hood Visuals.
The photos on display were split between intimate, striking portraits of people and sweeping countrysides. Both genres gave the audience a sense of Nepalese and Indian life and culture, as well as the natural and urban geography of both countries. Mountains jut over clouds, contrasting with deep valleys and ridges. A woman in an orange sari, bathed in misty morning light, balances on a railroad track stretching as far as the eye can see. The composition of each piece offers a visually pleasing mix of vivid colours, contrast and intriguing depth of field that grabs and pulls the eye in to analyze each piece, learning a little bit more about Nepal and India in the process.
Reminiscing about the trip, Dworkind noted how in India “all senses are at 110 per cent.” The sights, sounds and bustling activity happening everywhere at once gave ample opportunity to capture snapshots of daily life.
David Dworkind and Matthew Hood capture Nepal and India, the people, the culture and more. Photos by Hood Visuals.
“Life happens in the street. Everywhere you look is picturesque,” said Dworkind.
In addition to bringing a small taste of Nepal and India back home, Hood and Dworkind donated 10 per cent of the proceeds from print sales to Nepal Communitere, a non-profit organization that was founded in response to the devastating 7.8M earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. Their approach focuses on providing the resources and tools required to empower local communities to take active roles in the renewal of their own community. They give the means and resources needed to spearhead innovative solutions and become self-reliant. Having been in Nepal during the earthquake last year, Hood and Dworking were able to feel the ground shake despite being 400 km away from the epicenter.
The strongest pieces in the exhibition are the various portraits that are displayed, featuring women, men and children of all ages and backgrounds. Some look straight into the camera through to the viewer, while others were caught in the middle of an act or gesture, such as throwing a fishing net into water or taking a morning dip in the Ganges River. The works in Nepal & India are reminiscent of a World Press exhibition, with each piece telling the story of a location or individual through photography.
Peter Walken doesn’t just walk the walk—he walks the talk
Take a stroll along a serene nature trail. Feel the gentle breeze on your cheek, hear the mosquitoes buzz around your head. Inhale and savour the splendid scents of wildflowers, grass, growth and thawing droppings. Let yourself be transported to this magical place, without setting foot outside.
Graphic by Florence Yee.
Montreal-based artist Peter Walken from the Aris Pollof Stride Foundation will be launching his mind-bending and perception-stretching, fully immersive virtual reality installation this summer.
“I am interested in how people take walks. I like walks, they calm me,” said Walken, who spent three years painstakingly collecting only the best sound and video with his iPhone 3S, his camera of choice. “Because I like walks so much, I wanted to bring the best walk ever to the people of Montreal. Because walks are great.”
Walken’s installation, called A Walk, looks like a simple public toilet haphazardly spray-painted black from the outside. But once you step in, wonderful technological abilities will transport you to a relaxing paradise. The installation does this through effective use of the newest developments in immersive technologies. It is nature, without the hassle of being nature.
Once you enter the installation, you have but a few simple steps between you and the start of your journey. First, you are strapped into a Virtuix Omni, an active virtual reality platform, so you can control where you walk on your walk. A step in real life is a step taken in your virtual walk. After you are strapped in, all that you need to do is put on the virtual reality headset provided and match it to your exact eye strength, in order to best observe the delicate shapes of leaves and twigs around you. Once that is complete, you set the sound to your preferred levels and set the fan to how much airflow you want to experience, with levels ranging from ‘gentle breeze’ to ‘caressing wind’ and ‘my eyes are stinging.’
And then, you go. Each user is allowed up to five minutes of walking time in order to let everyone have a turn, which costs $9.99 plus tax.
Walken took extreme measures in order to make the walk as close to reality as possible. He even included plastic twigs that slap you across the face and synthetic flies to buzz around your head and land on your arms to simulate a lived experience.
“I realized while on a walk that not many people had ever really enjoyed a walk in nature. So I really wanted to make the walk as real as possible,” said Walken. “These state-of-the-art immersive technologies will create the closest thing to walking in reality that there is.”
A Walk will be exposed from June 25 to August 18. The installation will travel across different areas in Montreal, in order to allow the most people to try the installation. Walken has already identified 10 parks and green spaces where he wants his installation to appear, in order to give residents a “real-world” experience of being in a park.
Full details and schedule of Walken’s amazing travelling installation will be released on April 1.
In Reanimator, playful sculptures explore a future in which nature claims us back
It’s not often that an exhibition compels you to ponder the conflicted relationship between humanity and nature, especially in a space dedicated to collecting some of the richest and most important historical objects of civilization.
Photo by William Fox.
But that’s exactly what Jude Griebel accomplished with his whimsical exhibition Reanimator, currently on exhibit at the Redpath Museum. His sculptures evoke the fragile and ephemeral nature of humanity, coyly reminding us that society toes a very fine line between cohabitation with, and surrender to, nature. Griebel achieves this dichotomy through incredibly political and poignant sculptures.
It’s no coincidence that Griebel’s work is being displayed in a museum which celebrates natural history. The setting offers the perfect arena to embrace and digest the message he is trying to convey. His works are scattered throughout the natural history collection. As you walk around in search of his next sculpture, you get to observe pieces from the permanent collection: dinosaur bones, animals frozen in time, a dried and stretched polar bear skin. In this setting, each sculpture could easily be interpreted as being native to the museum.
The exhibition also serves as a reflective exercise. Will our time one day be reduced to simply another epoch in the great history of the world, with the only traces remaining in museums?
Griebel purposefully and meticulously arranged his works this way in order to reverse the typical power roles of humans over the environment.
He uses the very aesthetic employed in museums to get his point across, saying: “We often take the institutional display of nature for granted, as a formal understanding, when it is quite unnatural. By subverting this type of display through my fictional narratives, I am questioning what we often consider to be fact, as well as our attitudes towards other species.”
Photo by William Fox.
Reanimator reflects Griebel’s interest in testing what models and dioramas portray as the truth. His work is instead imbued with alternative psychological perceptions of the body and nature.
“These works explore the dichotomous tendencies of human desire to romanticize and meld with, yet remain autonomous from the natural world,” said Griebel.
A Concordia alumnus, Griebel graduated with a MFA in sculpture and ceramics in 2014.
His work addresses these very heavy themes of human demise in a playful fashion. His intricate and detailed sculptures include hands extending out of the Earth, cradling grasshoppers and butterflies, snails and mice coupling. The hands symbolize humanity, in the face of a nature that is sincerely believed to be tameable. The copulating animals are a symbol of the natural world proliferating over humanity.
“The works all have human anatomical elements present. I am interested in how, as a species, we often see ourselves as independent from the natural world. Collectively, the works represent a sort of metaphorical graveyard where bodies have been reconnected to the ground,” said Griebel.
Two of Reanimator’s strongest pieces are in the lobby of the Redpath, right as you walk in. In “Boneyard,” two jackrabbits couple over a grave. In “Stumped,” a log is stuffed in a pair of jeans stands with two branches as legs, connecting it to the ground. An axe is firmly embedded in the top of the log while a bird rests on the handle.
On the second floor of the museum, “Fertile” and Griebel’s other pieces featuring hands and insects are peppered among the permanent collection. “Fertile” in particular presents a very political statement for such a playfully constructed sculpture. A robin picks at worms coming out from a small, human-like creature constructed of mud and clay, with flowers for eyes. Worms are exiting from the creature’s body, providing the robin with food. In this work, not only has nature claimed us back, but we have become its lunch.
The overall significance for the exhibition is clear: nature will assert its dominance over civilization and right the wrongs humanity committed by taking advantage of the natural world around us. In Reanimator, the tables have turned, and the dominant relationship humanity has had over nature is no longer true.
Griebel’s work demonstrates an incredible amount of meticulous detail, from whiskers on rabbits, tufts of grass, realistic shading of mushrooms, insects, rocks and tree bark. Analyzing his work makes the viewer contemplate their current role in the world while whimsically mulling over the possibility of nature claiming us back, where humans are no longer the apex predator, and where wildlife is dancing over our graves. Reanimator will be on display at the Redpath Museum until May 26. The museum is open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The suggested amount to donate to the museum for adults is $10.
Lee’s documentary Tiger Spirit tells the story of a nation torn apart by war through the voices of those divided by it.
The filmmaker’s contributions to society will be recognized by Cinema Politica
“I actually do believe documentary can make concrete social change. And the reason I am so committed to working in documentary is because I think that on many levels, documentaries can impact real social change,” said activist and documentary filmmaker Min Sook Lee in a talk with Cinema Politica in October of 2015 in Toronto. “They’re really strong bridges and storytelling vehicles, but I also believe documentaries can provide some opportunities for inspiring other people.”
Lee has tackled an array of social issues through her groundbreaking and critically acclaimed films. In the course of her career, Lee has given voice to immigrant and migrant farm workers in Canada, citizens of both South and North Korea, as well as homosexual police officers in Toronto, among others.
Her films traveled to festivals across North America, Europe and Asia and have been broadcast nationally on stations such as CBC, Global, TVO and History Television.
Lee’s efforts to give voice to the voiceless have been rewarded by Cinema Politica, a nonprofit based at Concordia committed to supporting political films that explore issues and stories of oppression excluded from the mainstream media.
On March 30, at Concordia, Lee will be awarded the second Alanis Obomsawin Award for Commitment to Community and Resistance.
According to Ezra Winton, co-founder and director of programming at Cinema Politica, it is Lee’s long-term commitment to the communities featured in her documentaries that made her application stand out from the rest.
Specifically, said Winton, it’s “the ways in which [Lee’s] films privilege the voices of those communities instead of privileging the voices of so-called experts, bureaucrats, academics. She really facilitates a platform for the voices and perspectives of those who are actually disenfranchized and marginalized by way of their status.”
Legendary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin will be at the ceremony herself and will present Lee with the award. Obomsawin has directed documentaries for the National Film Board for nearly four decades. Over the course of her own career, she has made more than 30 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples of Canada. Her most successful feature-length film, Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), documented the Mohawk uprising in Oka and Kanehsatake and won 18 international awards.
“I think having these two powerhouse Canadian filmmakers and activists in one room is a rare opportunity for Montrealers and Concordia students and I hope they seize [the opportunity],” said Winton.
Several segments of Lee’s documentaries will be screened, such as Tiger Spirit, Hogtown and Badge of Pride. Segments from her newest film, Migrant Dreams, will be screened as well.
Migrant Dreams explores the hardships and opportunities migrant women from Mexico, Thailand and Jamaica face when they come to Canada in search of work to support their families back home. The documentary looks at these women from all around the world and their common work environments, which demand incredible amounts of effort for very little reward.
The award presentation and screening will take place in the Hall building, room H-110 at 8 p.m. on March 30. The event is by donation. Amounts of $5 or $10 are suggested.
Here are three of Lee’s films which can be viewed online:
Lee’s documentary Tiger Spirit tells the story of a nation torn apart by war through the voices of those divided by it.
Documentary title: Tiger Spirit
Year: 2008
Length: 73 minutes
Synopsis: Along the border separating communist North Korea from capitalist South Korea, Lee, who is South Korean herself, tells the story of a nation torn apart by war through the voices of those divided by it. Weaving in longing, hope and heartbreak, Tiger Spirit paints a broader picture of a divided nation.
This film can be watched at www.nfb.ca.
El Contrato investigated farmwork and migrant workers in Ontario.
Documentary title: El Contrato
Year: 2003
Lenght: 51 minutes
Synopsis: For eight months a year in Ontario, 4,000 migrant workers pick tomatoes, toiling for compensation that no local would deem acceptable, under conditions which no local would agree to. Through the eyes of a poverty-stricken father from central Mexico, Lee explores how and why they make this annual migration up north.
This film can be watched at www.nfb.ca.
Hogtown is a six-month exposé of the politics, dirty tactics and bad behaviour of police in Toronto in February 2004.
Documentary title: Hogtown
Year: 2005
Length: 96 minutes
Synopsis: It started with the police wanting more money. Then it became the story of sweeping gun crime, a dysfunctional board and media storm as a series of corruption scandals made headlines. This six-month exposé of the politics, dirty tactics and bad behaviour of police in Toronto in February 2004 shows how things quickly spiraled out of control when the police attempt to police themselves.
Department of Communications Studies to host memorial service for Allor, who passed away on Feb. 26.
The Communications Department mourns the loss of a great figure in the community. Martin Allor passed suddenly over reading week, with his death shaking the department down to its core, from students to fellow teachers.
“I’m sad that he will no longer be able to critique my work, push me to be better, ground me, help me narrow down my huge ideas or say ‘hi’ to me in the hallways,” said Amrita Kalsi, a student in his Video II class. “Everything I create from now on will always reflect what he taught me. I hope I can make him proud.”
Allor was involved with the Communications Department for over 30 years. He was instrumental in charting the course of communication and cultural studies in Canada, and taught thousands of students throughout his long career at the university. In addition to his illuminating contributions to cultural studies, he is fondly remembered for his mentorship of graduate and PhD students, having graduated 35 MA and 22 PhD students.
For Communications Department professor Elizabeth Miller, the change of ritual is the hardest to cope with. She and Allor taught intermediate video production together every Tuesday and Thursday for 11 and a half years. They had become ‘work spouses:’ that person at your workplace with whom you share so many rituals that they become a significant other.
“After each class, we swapped ideas, shared resources, planned the week ahead. It will never be the same in our CJ hallway—but I will remember his open door policy, as a reminder of his spirit, his brilliance and his generosity” said Miller.
The whole department has come together through this difficult time, with students and faculty reaching out to one another in support.
Allor left this world too soon, but he will never be forgotten. The imprints he’s left on the hearts and minds of those he encountered will shine on.
The Department of Communications is hosting a memorial service to celebrate the life and work of Martin Allor on March 18, at 12:30 p.m. at the Loyola Chapel. All are invited to join.
Andreas Rutkauskas reflects on the Canadian-American border using photography. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.
See the world through three different lenses at the FOFA Gallery
Explore the ephemeral yet ominous nature of borders, the myriad conventions of female representation and the fragile tension between wildlife and human devastation. Take a step back and view the world through the perception and perspective of another at the Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery where intricate and exciting exhibitions from the Concordia community are on display.
Marisa Portolese has photographed women for this project since 2002. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.
Canada and the United States are two very distinct countries with their own ideologies, currency and even measurement systems. And yet the only real, tangible thing keeping both nations separate is the 8,891 kilometers of border, the longest shared land boundary in the world.
But what does it actually consist of? Andreas Rutkauskas explores this impossibly long stretch of land in Borderline, in which he photographs the six-metre-wide cleared path winding through forests and over 5,500 obelisk monuments peppering the terrain. Rutkauskas’ work explores the subtle surveillance technologies that have been put in place in a post 9/11 world, discouraging people from lingering in these vast, empty areas. His documentary-style photographs of improvised barriers, gates and X-Ray scanners show that a border doesn’t necessarily mean simply putting up a wall to block access, and that the concept of a border might be more powerful than the physical representation of one. His subject is the border itself, regardless of what form it has taken in a defined space. This can be a border crossing, a cleared patch of land through a forest, or any number of monuments, small or large. What’s also interesting is the way that Rutkauskas approaches his subject, delving into the history of the border and examining the trials and tribulations of choosing where exactly one country ends and where another begins.
Mandi Morgan crafted this touching animation about wildlife. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.
In a different exhibition, the intricately designed and well-constructed stop-motion animation Boreal, Mandi Morgan explores, through delicate paper cutouts, the vulnerability that wildlife faces when confronted with human engineering and expansion. Morgan’s animation explores different ecosystems complete with forests, deer, birds and butterflies, and how human development sweeps nature away in order to replace it with machinery, altering the environment in the process. The landscape, background and animals are all brightly coloured with intricate and detailed bodies. Knot work, parallel lines, vivid colours and markings of all types weave together to bring about a light-hearted representation of woodland creatures, which contrasts with the seriousness of the theme at play.
The soundtrack of the piece pulls the viewer in with its playful and melancholy harmony, which downplays the sadness of the destruction and instead replaces it with nostalgia for things as they once were.
Morgan uses an interesting way to conceptualize the animals losing their territories. Red and black balloons descend upon the earth to air-lift the wildlife out of the area, replacing them with pipes belching toxic fumes into the once-pristine air.
Andreas Rutkauskas reflects on the Canadian-American border using photography. Photo by Marie-Pierre Savard.
The airlifting out of the area is fitting, because it highlights the animals’ roles as unwilling bystanders left powerless to try and avoid the situation they’ve been forced into. This helplessness, vulnerability and lack of understanding are further highlighted when a woodland creature tries to offer a mechanical petrol machine the last fruit of the last tree. The horse-like creature picks the fruit and places it on the ground, nudging it closer and closer to the black machine, which is oblivious both to the animal and to its peace offering. Finally, the animal is airlifted as well, and brought out of frame. The strength of this piece stems from the very real problems of deforestation, habitat loss and natural resource depletion the world is currently struggling with.
The codes and conventions of female depiction are thoroughly explored in Belle de Jour III: Dialogues with Notman’s Portraits of Women, the third installment of Marisa Portolese’s photography series. An associate professor in the photography program at Concordia, Portolese creates art that blends portraiture and autobiography in her representation of the women she photographed for this project, which has been going on since 2002.
Inspired by the work of 19th-century Canadian photographer William Notman, the project brings past and present together, as Portolese’s depictions of contemporary women are framed side by side with Notman’s, showing the same fierceness, vulnerability and strength through the ages. Through this juxtaposition, new and old merge through the passage of time and express womanhood in a wide spectrum, each subject posing in her own personal way for the camera.
Borderline, Boreal and Belle Du Jour III are on display at the FOFA Gallery now until April 8. Make sure to go by and explore how these different artists have approached their subjects, be they creative depictions of wildlife, an investigative look at female representation or even using an invisible border as a subject. Admission to the gallery is free.
We often forget the difference sound and music make to a film
Imagine watching Jaws without the ominous two-tone tune announcing the shark’s next attack. Or 2001: A Space Odyssey without the concerto of thrumming, uplifting operatic voices. Think of Star Wars without the pew pew of the lasers or blips and bleeps of R2D2.
Graphic by Florence Yee.
Cinematography, colour, contrast and composition are visual techniques filmmakers use to keep audiences engaged with the film. But there is also a lot to be said for sound and music, and how soundtracks and scores work in tandem with the visual components of a movie.
It comes as no surprise to learn music and sound have a direct impact on humans. Physiologically, sound affects our hormone secretions, breathing and heart rate according to a Ted Talk by Julian Treasure. Psychologically, sound can impact our emotional state. Listening to sad music? You’re likely to feel sad as well. Sound also impacts our behaviour: listening to a jackhammer is likely to make you feel uncomfortable or anxious.
It’s clear that music and sound have a profound effect on us. But how does sound affect our perspective of movies?
In 1940, renowned composer Aaron Copland wrote an essay called “Film Music,” in which he outlined five ways music can impact film. Sound can be used to create a more convincing atmosphere of time and place or to underline psychological clarifications. It can also serve as a kind of neutral background filler, build a sense of continuity and give the theatrical build-up of a scene a sense of finality.
Essentially, sound impacts the overall mood and emotion of the piece. “Sound awakens our sense to be able to perceive the details of a place. You can see something, but it doesn’t really come alive until you hear it,” said Elizabeth Miller, a professor in the Communications department at Concordia University and an independent documentary filmmaker. “When sound is good, people don’t notice. When it’s bad, people turn it off.”
The importance of sound in film is recognized at the highest standard in the industry. At the 88th Academy Awards last Sunday, there were four categories of awards in relation to sound.
Mad Max: Fury Road brought home two Oscars for sound alone, winning in the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories. The movie, which features high-speed car chases, screeching metal and explosions of all sorts, was able to tell the story of an apocalyptic, chaotic world where no rules apply anymore, through masterful sound composition. Mad Max: Fury Road was a movie not only to be seen, but heard.
Another notable winner was the legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who was awarded his first Oscar in the Original Score category for his work on The Hateful Eight. Morricone is no stranger to Western films, as he is credited with composing the twangy and whistly theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. His masterful score for The Hateful Eight captured the essence of the Tarantino movie, imbuing the soundtrack with sinister undertones that hint to the violence and vengeance to come.
When a character gets punched on-screen, you hear the sound of the fist connecting with jaw, but in real life, the actors never touched one another. This is because vision and sound are interconnected, and each sense influences the way you perceive the other. Sounds also influence how the audience reacts to a piece. Infrasound, a frequency below the range of the human ear, is commonly used to induce fear in audiences and causes anxiety, heart palpitations and even shivering.
This immersive aspect of sound, which pulls you into the production, will continue to garner even more importance as 3D and virtual reality works continue to be produced and made available to the general public.
“Immersion is guided by sound. When you’re in an immersive environment, the author has to tip you off to the environment, and that’s done through sound. You might hear something behind you and that would trigger you to turn around,” said Miller.
The visual components of film may guide you through the story, but sound is what carries you.
Gods of Egypt is another failed attempt at reappropriating history.
If you like history or Egyptian mythology, Gods of Egypt will make you weep
The best historical films go to great efforts to accurately depict the era represented in their story. Gods of Egypt is not one of these. It tries so hard to impress, through dizzying and nauseating fight scenes between giant gods that transform into metallic animal-human hybrids and increasingly over-the-top special effects, that it entirely misses the cornerstone of any good, let alone great, film: having a good story and relatable characters.
Gods of Egypt is another failed attempt at reappropriating history.
Tall, powerful and with gold running through their veins, gods walk among their creations on Earth. Earth here means ancient Egypt, which makes for one huge thorn of a problem: the ‘Egyptians’ are mostly white and British. The three main characters—Butler, Coster-Waldau and Rush—are all white. In the context of this film, it’s not just whitewashing, but humanwashing—if you know Egyptian mythology, you know gods shouldn’t have human heads in the first place.
Only a handful of secondary characters are minorities. For a movie set in ancient Egypt, that’s not OK. Director Alex Proyas has since apologized for overlooking the obvious flaws in his casting.
Taken in the context of this one embarrassingly bad movie, a whitewashed cast could be viewed as just a misguided casting decision. But unfortunately, this points to a bigger problem in the movie and entertainment industry as a whole and joins the ranks of other films such as Exodus, The Last Airbender and Prince of Persia that were criticised for their choice of actors. It’s a problem that Chris Rock humorously and bluntly addressed during his opening Oscars monologue: there just aren’t as many opportunities for minorities to have leading roles.
The film tells the tale of Set (Gerard Butler), god of darkness, who usurps the throne by murdering his brother Osiris (Bryan Brown) and blinding his nephew Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a mortal, teams up with Horus to defeat Set, who is unhappy that his father, Ra (Geoffrey Rush) chose Osiris to rule instead of him.
The film’s plot trudges along like a mediocre video game where the characters must go from location to location in order to eventually reach their main goal of defeating Set and restoring peace to Egypt. Interestingly enough, none of these little side-quests actually seem difficult, revealing gaping plot holes and unrealistic scenarios—even for a movie where gods walk among men and monsters are real. A lot of ground is covered in the film, yet very little happens.
The movie features characters that transition from stiff and predictable heroes to hollow spectres of personality at best, with some of the worst and most unconvincing death scenes ever seen. The attempt at romance fails miserably through the lack of chemistry, foreseeable conflicts and ensuing reconciliation. The dialogue was a heap of one-liners and cheap, lazy rebuttals—it could have been cut entirely and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the story.
The only silver lining of the estimated $140 million budget is the creativity of the special effects, which feature a chariot pulled by giant scarabs or the intricate temples and landscapes. Also, Ra’s sun ship in the sky is pretty cool.
If you want to see how silly white actors can look when parachuted into a culture that is obviously not their own, wait until you can see Gods of Egypt for free, and see how useless and misguided it all is.
Sit and relax in the Phi Centre while you travel the world through technology. Photo by George Fok.
Virtual reality is quickly changing the way we tell stories and understand our world
At the Phi Centre, you don’t merely watch the story unfold. You are dropped in the middle of the action, becoming part of the narrative as current social issues from around the world are revealed through inventive accounts.
Sit and relax in the Phi Centre while you travel the world through technology. Photo by George Fok.
Wander amongst the survivors of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Follow 12-year-old Sidra through a refugee camp in Jordan. Sit across a desk from former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
Following the success of Sensory Stories, an immersive storytelling experience which featured 16 works from artists from around the world, the Phi Centre has continued shattering the conventional notion of how we tell stories by opening their Virtual Reality Garden.
Using cutting-edge technology, the Virtual Reality Garden features four outstanding works that push the limits of conventional storytelling to address unique points of view on current socio-political issues using creative narrative approaches.
With virtual reality, you are not looking through the window as an observer—you have walked through the window and become a participant.
Commissioned by the United Nations, Clouds Over Sidra by Chris Milk and Gabo Arora tells the story of Sidra, a young Syrian refugee, as she guides the viewer through a typical day at the Zaatari refugee Camp in Jordan, home to 84,000 Syrian refugees.
In Nomads: Maasai by Felix and Paul Studios, you are witness to the Maasai’s incredible heritage in the village of Enkutoto, from beadwork to dancing to singing. This piece has no narrator; you are an outsider dropped in the middle of an unfamiliar situation and act as observer, trying to make sense of the sights and sounds happening around you.
After the success of Sensory Stories, Phi Centre opened the Virtual Reality Garden. Photo by George Fok.
You may follow Ebola survivor Decontee Davis in Waves of Grace, by Milk and Arora. Set in Ebola-torn Liberia, the work recounts how Davis uses her immunity from the disease that nearly killed her to visit Ebola patients in the hospital, helping them on their road to recovery.
Or you may travel to East Africa to see with your own eyes how members of the Clinton Global Initiative have helped local communities, be it by teaching them how to use solar power or by giving hearing-impaired children hearing aids. In Inside Impact: East Africa by Felix & Paul Studios and M SS NG P ECES for Matter Unlimited, former U.S President Bill Clinton articulates the difference his initiative has made.
The Virtual Reality Garden raises interesting questions regarding virtual reality and how it can be used to report on distant issues that are hard to grasp. Humans understand issues through storytelling. The troubles and sacrifices of a world across an ocean mean nothing unless we have a character to associate them with. With characters, we understand the consequences.
The Virtual Reality Garden gives us just these characters, to walk us through the issues and help us understand large and complex phenomena, such as the lives of Syrian refugees, a little better. These 21st century problems are being understood through 21st century technology.
The Columbia Journalism Review is already hailing virtual reality as the next journalism frontier, encouraging newsrooms to start dabbling in the technology if they haven’t already, especially considering how consumer adoption of virtual reality is on the horizon. Through virtual reality, audiences can follow journalists to remote places which they normally would never have been granted access.
Despite its space-altering qualities, it’s not perfect. The headsets can be heavy and clunky, tilting forward if not adjusted properly. Glasses do not go well with the experience either, as they’re pushed up to the bridge of your nose. However, the physical discomforts do not negate the upsides of the technology.
In a Ted Talk from March 2015, director of both Clouds Over Sidra and Waves of Grace Chris Milk explained how virtual reality films can be used to leave a lasting impact on users, changing minds with the stories they tell. Milk asserts that virtual reality has a powerful effect on people, drawing on emotions and inducing empathy in the viewer.
In collaboration with the United Nations, Milk has been showing his works to those who have the power to change his subjects’ lives. Documentaries exploring pollution in India, disaster relief in Nepal and climate change in China and the Amazon are scheduled for release at a later date.
Milk believes that virtual reality is more than just a machine—it’s a way to be more human. “It’s not a video game peripheral,” he said in his Ted Talk. “It connects humans to other humans in a profound way that I’ve never seen before in any other form of media. And it can change people’s perception of each other. And that’s how I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world.”
To see these space-altering works for yourself, head over to the Virtual Reality Garden at the Phi Center, open now through March 31. Admission is free.
