On Jan. 12, the Diving Bell Social Club and drag queen collective BabyDrag celebrated a decade of Lady Gaga’s career in 10 Years of Gaga, a show featuring a host of queens as talented and visually provocative as Gaga herself. Each performer took to the stage lip-syncing along to Gaga’s[Read More…]
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
The best and worst of 2018
Best Albums: 1. Be the Cowboy, Mitski Sad indie kids have traded their beanies for cowboy hats, wallowing in perhaps the most beautiful auditory manifestation of sadness to ever have graced the radio waves. Hive Mind, The Internet 2. Hive Mind, The Internet This summer, the Internet brought the[Read More…]
‘Hyper Real’ thoughtfully reflects race relations
Hyper Real, which showed at Concordia University’s student art gallery, VAV (Visual Arts Visuels,) until Nov. 30, showcased the work of nine black artists, juxtaposing themes like masculinity and femininity and isolation and connection, in a series of video art works, graphic prints and eerily arranged baby-doll sculptures. The exhibition functioned as a mirror, reflecting the identities and personal narratives of the artists, but also provided viewers with a space to examine their own perceptions of black identity and race relations. While the works varied in form, each deconstructed stereotypical beliefs in an exhibition that was at once introspective and expressive.
Yvette Nolan’s ‘The Birds’ places indigeneity in the spotlight
Yvette Nolan’s adaptation of Aristophanes’s classic Greek comedy The Birds, which ran Nov. 21-23 and 28-30 at Moyse Hall Theatre, focuses on the history of colonization, and the future of truth and reconciliation for indigenous peoples in Canada. Produced as a part of the English department’s Drama & Theatre Program, The[Read More…]
Aladdin remake returns to disappointing tropes
In the wake of widespread excitement for a live-action version of Lion King, Disney has been teasing the release of Guy Ritchie’s remake of Aladdin throughout the fall. Set to be released in May 2019, the film will bring to life the world of Agrabah, a faraway land of childhood dreams. As a child, the animated version of Aladdin (1992) was my first glimpse at cartoon characters that looked something like me and my family. At the time, I was overwhelmed to see a movie that depicted an Arab story, not yet aware of the movie’s many historical and cultural inaccuracies.
Grimes said “We Appreciate Power,” so now we appreciate power
The rise of artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has been decried by the likes of many — after all, there are few things more terrifying than that. Not exactly so: According to Grimes’ newest track, “We Appreciate Power,” this dystopia could actually be pretty cool. The Canadian pop princess declared the A.I. invasion to be good, therefore, it is gospel.
Arcadia delves into discussions of science, sexuality, and existentialism
Past and present overlap in playwright Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, a curious exploration of sex and love, mathematics and nature, and the pursuit of knowledge. Presented by Player’s Theatre and directed by Steven Greenwood (PhD candidate in English), Arcadia portrays the curiosity and determination of young scholars in this brilliant rendition of Stoppard’s 1993[Read More…]
Album Review: ‘Music Inspired by Illumination and Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch EP’ by Tyler, the Creator
Following the critical and commercial acclaim of 2017’s Flower Boy, Tyler, the Creator—the now reformed enfant-terrible of the softboi hip-hop world—opened a world of artistic possibilities for himself. Given his disregard for public opinion, it isn’t entirely surprising that his next artistic endeavour would be a new rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the recent remake of the children’s classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and an accompanying EP inspired by the green man himself.
‘Island of the Hungry Ghosts’ exposes the inhumanity of immigration detention centres
When filmmaker Gabrielle Brady went to Christmas Island, a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean, she was expecting to just relax by the beach. Beyond observing the mass migration of forty million red crabs which scuttle from the depths of the jungle toward the coastline[Read More…]
‘The Tashme Project’ combines personal discovery and public atrocity
The internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War was a shameful moment in history and one high school curricula often sideline. The Tashme Project: The Living Archives, which showed at the Centaur Nov. 15-24, brought the history of internment to the forefront. Created and performed by Julie Tamiko[Read More…]
