For the second year in a row, the Demonstration Against Racism drew around 3,000 protestors on Oct. 7. The protest was co-organized by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), Montreal Antifasciste (ANTIFA), Food Against Fascism, Solidarity Across Borders, and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Protesters moved into the streets around 3 p.m., gathering at the moving truck provided by ANTIFA, which was filled to the brim with speakers. It blasted out three main speeches, touching on the normalization of racism, colonialism, and disappointment in the recent Quebec elections.
Despite not being the official reason the march was called, the newly-elected CAQ was the main target of the protest. Shouts of ”Francois Legault has got to go” rose through the air as the masses of people snaked through downtown.
The CAQ has proposed several changes to Quebec’s immigration policies, including a ‘Quebec values test,’ which Legault has stated will test whether or not immigrants agree with Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and will guage their grasp of conversational French. It is still unclear what would happen to those who fail the tests, as the CAQ has stated that it is, ultimately, Ottawa’s responsibility to deal with unsuccessful attempts.
Bénédicte Santoire, a protester and Université de Montréal (UDeM) Master’s student, said that she had known about the protest before the election, but Legault’s victory spurred her to come out.
“I just don’t like their position on the [Quebec values test], on immigration,” Santoire said. “[The CAQ is] a right-wing party. I disagree with their core beliefs.”
The protest was an opportunity to raise awareness for many causes to be heard. Nicholas Gibbs was a black NDG resident shot on Aug. 21 in a police altercation.During the demonstration, his nephew called the Montreal Police (SVPM) the “biggest gang in the city,” stating that the police had unfairly profiled his uncle due to his previous convictions and that they were lying about his uncle being armed the night he was killed.
The protest followed ANTIFA’s truck down Boul. René Lévesque, mostly broadcasting chants like “so-so-so-solidarité” and “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here” while intermittently relaying speeches from members of the community. In front of Complexe Des Jardins, a large banner read “JUSTICE POUR NICHOLAS GIBBS: another racist murder by SVPM.”
“When we separate, when we show hate, we hate on each other. They love that because we’re divided,” Gibbs’ nephew said. “They’re the biggest gang in the city, they’re the biggest gang and when we’re like this, when we’re together like this, I can guarantee you on my life, none of us will get profiled. We need more of this.”
The nephew claimed that the city’s police intend to divide residents, revealing the need to stand in solidarity. This speech was followed by chants such as “tout le mode déteste la police” (“everybody hates the police”) directed at the police officers blocking off the roads for the protest.
The demonstration ended with speeches from members of the community and leaders of the co-organizing groups sharing messages against racism, Islamophobia, capitalism, colonialism, and fascism. Graham Bélanger, a first year fashion design student at LaSalle College, captured the crowd’s mood.
“It’s really important [that] citizens engage,” Belanger said. “Democracy can be very corrupt sometimes, and this is our last chance as people to gather and push it in the right direction.”
Incoming university students are susceptible to gain weight, due to the change in lifestyle that university precipitates, such as diet modification, lack of exercise, stress, and alcohol consumption. But, the infamous ‘Freshman 15’ are more of a playful alliteration than a representation of reality. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, only 50 per cent of students gain weight during their first years, and even then, they only gain about 2.7 lbs on average. Nevertheless, the myth persists within contemporary culture and has many tangible consequences on first-year students.
The idea of the Freshman 15 is so entrenched in popular culture that most students have heard of the phenomenon far before they’ve even begun to think about university. In movies and TV shows, first-year weight gain is a recurring gag. For example, on the hit television show Gilmore Girls, as the protagonist Rory Gilmore prepares to leave for university at Yale, her family jokes about her possible weight gain.
Catherine Dillman, U1 Arts, notes that the idea of weight gain isn’t always threatening until students begin to receive personal warnings about it. When friends and family offered her advice about life at university, many cautioned her to be wary of weight gain, and others even deemed it unavoidable.
“[I was told to] beware of the Freshman 15,” Dillman said. “‘Make sure you exercise, make sure you eat well’, but I would also [hear] that it’s inevitable, there’s nothing you can do about it. The food the [cafeteria] offers isn’t very healthy, but because we’re aware of it, you always want to try to eat healthier, [especially with] the […] pressure of everyone talking about the Freshman 15.”
While trying to stay healthy is wise, weight is an unreliable indicator of overall health. Research suggests that half of ‘overweight’ people are actually metabolically healthy, while a quarter of those considered ‘slim’ have two or more cardiovascular risk factors. However, for many students like Dillman, weight is often the only quantifiable measure of health that they have access to, and its importance, in turn, is overstated. Consequently, weight gain is concerning for many students because so much of self-esteem can come from body image.
Fortunately for some, the Freshman 15 puts a healthy amount of pressure on them to pay attention to their nutrition. Adin Chan, U0 Arts, explained that, while his family did express concerns for him to eat healthily, he was not worried about weight gain. He views gaining weight as inconsequential, rather than shameful.
“My family was just worried that I wouldn’t eat vegetables, not so much gaining weight, [and personally] I would not be concerned.” Chan said.
The opposite is true for many femme-identifying first-years, who express far more concern for their weight. For them, ‘getting fat’ is emblematic of straying from an ideal body type. Lena Kozarov, U0 Science, and her friends discussed their fears of gaining weight before leaving for university, a fear which she attributes to social media. Kozarov views the constant digital onslaught of perfectly-edited images as partially responsible for female insecurities because they set standards that are impossible for university-aged students to attain.
“Me and my friends from high school would […] be like, ‘Oh, Freshman 15, you gotta be careful, you gotta watch out,’” Kozarov said. “No matter how healthy you eat, no matter how much you work out, that comparison [to those on social media] is always in the back of your head, like, ‘I could be doing better.’”
First year is hard for everyone, and the constant fear of weight gain, whether placed upon students by well-meaning family members or gleaned from popular culture, only makes the transition to university harder. The Freshman 15, though grossly overstated, is not in itself a bad thing—it is reflective of the problematic stigma of weight gain. Though it can help to encourage healthier eating habits, more often than not it leads to feelings of inadequacy and shame and could even push students to develop unhealthy relationships with their bodies. The most stressful thing about first year should be midterms and exams, not worrying about a number on a scale.
The Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council meeting on Oct. 3 focused on Council feedback and student federations.. The meeting began with an introduction by Krista Houser, a representative of the Office of Sustainability, about the Sustainability Projects Fund. External Affairs officer Hocine Slimani later presented his annual observation report about the PGSS’ potential involvement with a student federation. Maria Tippler, Academic Affairs officer, also reminded attendees of an essential skills training taking place on Oct. 15 for all Post Graduate Student Association (PGSA) executives.
After the conclusion of new business the council went on to review and approve the reports of the executive officers and other council members. In their reports, Environment Commissioner Isabella Boushey and Tippler called attention to f upcoming events including a community garden event taking place on Oct. 12 and a thesis information session on Oct. 17.
Addressing concerns regarding council conduct
Secretary General Helena Zakrzewski addressed concerns about the conduct of the prior council meeting and advised councillors on delivering effective feedback.
“I very much want everyone to take something positive from the council experience throughout the upcoming year,” Zakrzewki said. “If someone has a concern, the best way of addressing that concern with respect to providing feedback is to be specific [….Also] consider whether council is the best forum. You are here to represent your PGSA and not to vent your own frustrations.”
To this end, Zakrzewski vocalized the importance of building a safe space in PGSS.
“The only way to have a positive dialogue where you can effectively represent your PGSA and the concerns of your membership is to ensure a safe space whereby every single person feels safe and comfortable standing up,” Zakrzewski said.
PGSS Involvement in the QSU or AVEQ
Following a brief overview of his annual observation report, External Affairs Officer Slimani asked the Council whether or not they believed belonging to a student federation is important for PGSS’ advocacy abilities at the provincial level. A lengthy debate followed about the value of the Quebec Student Union (QSU), Slimani’s recommended federation, versus the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ). A motion mandating was presented that the executive committee draft a referendum question regarding QSU involvement by Jan. 15. The floor was then opened up for debate.
Bradley Por, a graduate student in the Faculty of Law, spoke in opposition to the QSU.
“My successors have presented it as if the Quebec Student Union is the only viable option,” Por said. “I just don’t think AVEQ has been given a fair shake.”
Por also noted that AVEQ has never been invited to speak before the PGSS despite requests from multiple students at last year’s annual general meeting.
Por’s criticism launched a discussion on whether or not more research on both federations was necessary. Slimani argued against this, saying that resuming research would simply delay progress towards what he believes is a major step forward for the PGSS.
“When this body decides on something, it’s bigger than us,” Slimani said. “When a motion passes, it is bigger than us.”
After further discussion, the motion was amended to include the requirement that an unaffiliated party conduct research on student federations by prior to the executive committee drafting the referendum question, and the motion passed.
Halfway through Bottle It In, Kurt Vile’s newest album, he covers country veteran Charlie Rich’s “Rollin With The Flow.”
“Guys my age are raising kids,” Vile sings.
Vile is raising kids too. Not only that but, at 38, he’s on his eighth album: By that age, many of Vile’s well-documented influences—Neil Young and Stephen Malkmus among them— were already several years past their prime. Yet, Bottle It Inis Vile’s best work to date by a significant margin.
Vile’s songs rely on repetitive, acoustic-picking grooves laid under dense instrumentals. It’s the same formula that produced his biggest hit, 2015’s “Pretty Pimpin’,” but, on Bottle It In, the arrangements are more diverse and sophisticated.
The album’s title track features the harp, played by classically trained musician Mary Lattimore, contrasting with Vile’s curious and wandering country drawl. Although the album spotlights Vile’s best lead guitar to date (“Check Baby,” for one), the strongest instrumentals occur when Vile’s backing band, the Violators, relax into a groove for a while. On “Bassackwards,” backward guitars guide strains of organs through ten minutes of what feels like staring out a car window on a gorgeous country drive. It also features some of the album’s most incisive writing: Vile loops through surreal rhymes, repeats them, forgets some, sets up expectations, defies them, and then follows them again.
The album’s opener, “Loading Zones,” showcases Vile’s wit: It is a song about parking a car, but it is also about loving a city and elusive moments of freedom. Throughout the album, Vile juggles cerebral instrumentals, guitar heroics, and sing-along hooks.“One Trick Ponies,” likely the album’s best song, manages all three at once with ease.
Vile has a strong sense for musical history; he has used his expertise to inform an album that is both inventive and engrossing. Bottle It In is an accomplishment not just in its own right, but also as the extension of a larger body of work: As the patient listener will find, Vile’s effortless growth as a writer and guitarist are just as magnificent.
Popular media offers a vivid portrayal of modern corporate culture, but I didn’t expect it to translate so literally to my experience at my first tech internship this previous summer. It was nothing short of jarring to recognize so many phrases I had previously only heard from the mouth of Jared on HBO’s Silicon Valley. Still, my introduction to corporate culture was positive, if bizarre.
The office I worked in implemented an ‘Agile’ methodology. Agile, a term coined in the unironically-titled Manifesto for Agile Software Development, is an approach to software development that emphasizes individual interaction over processes and tools. In practice, this meant that every morning at 9:30 a.m. my coworkers and I engaged in ‘Scrum,’ a meeting for team updates that takes place in front of a Scrum board—a visual organization of all of a team’s tasks to track their progress. The Scrum board my office used was nearly identical to the one featured in Silicon Valley. As I moved my completed ‘stories’ from the ‘in progress’ column to ‘peer review,’ I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was participating in some religious ritual. I felt as though those around me, who seemingly found the entire affair completely normal, were brainwashed by some Agile god whose influence I had somehow escaped. The whole experience was made even more peculiar by the requisite card game that followed. I quite enjoyed this part, though, I almost always won the little plastic giraffe offered as a prize.
Scrum has been proven effective by countless performance metrics, so, undoubtedly, my secret theory that it was all some tedious exercise meant only to please the powers that be was misguided. This was, however, hard to keep in mind as I sat through my umteenth ‘Q4 Fun-times’ celebration. My tenure overlapped with the fourth fiscal quarter, so, every Friday, we would sign out 15 minutes early and go down to the concert hall, a magnificent old stage complete with crown mouldings and intricately-crafted pillars, to celebrate the week’s sales of abstract corporate research. The powerpoint presentation that followed was almost always painfully boring for a young software-developer intern such as myself. But, in keeping with the company’s emphasis on competition, it was followed by a thoroughly entertaining game invented weekly by the ‘Committee of Fun.’
As I became more comfortable at my internship, Scrum actually became my favourite part of the day. As embarrassing as it was to mumble “I’m still working on the failing tests” fourteen mornings in a row in front of coworkers I admired, by July or so we had developed a rapport. Eventually, I even looked forward to miming the phrase ‘Hannah Montana’ for my puzzled superiors to try and guess—by this point, we had graduated from simple cards to ‘Heads Up.’
One of the strangest parts of working in a company like this was that no one ever acknowledged how peculiar the environment really was. When you’ve never heard the phrase ‘backlog grooming’ before, it can be easy to assume everyone around you is brainwashed and chalk the vernacular up to doublespeak. But, eventually, I realized that my coworkers weren’t brainwashed: They were just adults going to work every day. Scrum didn’t exist at my company to impose arbitrary rituals—it existed because it works. And, as peculiar as the mandatory company ‘Fun Day’ still felt to me in the final weeks of my internship, it did serve its purpose. The softball tournament was a fun and welcome break from the day-to-day monotony, even if it was at the expense of half of the IT department’s ability to walk for the next week.
The Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) announced on Oct. 9 that the Department of Political Science had unanimously ratified a set of guidelines regarding relationships between instructors and students at McGill, becoming the first department at McGill to do so.
McGill’s Policy Against Sexual Violence suggests that professor-student relationships constitute an abuse of authority, although the administration also released a memorandum in May which outlines how intimate relationships between staff and students should be conducted. For its part, the Department of Political Science’s new guidelines take a strong stance against intimate relationships between instructors and their students.
“The department regards intimate friendships as well as sexual and romantic relationships between instructors and students as generally incompatible with educators’ professional responsibility,” the guidelines read.
The guidelines define ‘instructors’ as professors, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and teaching assistants. The document also offers a list of recommended practices for teaching staff, including advice on appropriate office hours, social media conduct, and respecting students’ privacy.
In an interview with The McGill Tribune, PSSA President Bella Harvey stressed the importance of having these guidelines formally and explicitly written out.
“I think some things, even if they’re understood, [need to be formalized],” Harvey said. “I think [the guidelines are] an accountability mechanism for students to have and for the department to have.”
Harvey also expressed her belief that these guidelines will set an example for other departments and even inspire them to pursue similar guidelines.
“I know [the Department of History] is working on [similar regulations] now, too, and I’ve had [the Institute of] Islamic Studies [ask about them as well],” Harvey said. “I think a lot of students and professors in various departments would like to establish these on a departmental level. I think they’re a good template for other departments and students to use, as well.”
However, Harvey emphasized that these guidelines are part of a greater change.
“Hopefully these issues will stop in their tracks,” Harvey said. “But I also realize that a piece of paper isn’t necessarily going to do that […] I at least think it is a step in the right direction.”
PSSA Vice President (VP) External Jennifer Chan echoed these sentiments and further clarified that these guidelines are the result of the previous work of many students.
“I think it’s important to remember that this is just one step forward and that the step forward could only happen with the labour put in by people, student groups, [and] individuals last year,” Chan said. “It’s not the first time people have been talking about student-teacher relations. And this kind of labour is disproportionately taken on by women, women of colour, black or Indigenous folks, trans folks.”
According to Chan, SSMU’s April 2018 Open Letter Regarding Complaints Against Professors helped mobilize the Department of Political Science to pass their guidelines. The letter, which asserted that the Office of the Dean of Arts had failed to seriously address complaints of sexual violence, called for a third-party investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts on the handling of formal and informal complaints.
Chan and Harvey both emphasized that the good nature of the relationship between the PSSA and the Political Science Department was essential in getting these guidelines ratified. According to Harvey, had it not been for the support of the department, it would not have been possible to pass these guidelines.
“We are very privileged and lucky as a student association to have the relationship that we do with our department.” Harvey said. “I know other groups have a harder time, but it’s still important that they try.”
Two storied franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, are set to face off in the 2018 World Series. With the first pitch set for Tuesday night, Oct. 23, The McGill Tribune previews the Fall Classic.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are one of the most well-rounded teams in baseball history. They set a franchise record with 108 wins during the regular season and have maintained their blistering pace into the playoffs. On their path to the World Series, they have beaten the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, both of whom also won at least 100 games this season. Outfielders J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, both American League MVP candidates, have paved the way to the postseason: In their incredible regular-season play, they hit 43 and 32 home runs, respectively. The Red Sox also have one of the best pitching rotations in the MLB, led by Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale.
After a tight seven-game series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series for the second year in a row. The last team to win back-to-back pennants was the 2014-2015 Kansas City Royals, who won it all in the second go-around.
With the powerhouse Red Sox in the opposing dugout, the Dodgers’ chances look slim this year. Still, they currently have the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, whom manager Dave Roberts has used as both a starter and reliever this postseason in unorthodox fashion. Kershaw will, obviously, play a significant role in the series, as will fellow starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler, and Rich Hill. The Dodgers well of pitchers is deep; they can use their bullpen, led by All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, to mix and match to the opposing hitter.
Los Angeles also has one of the most powerful offences in the National League. First baseman Max Muncy has soared this year, driving in 35 home runs in the regular season. Additionally, the bats of Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, and trade-deadline-acquisition Manny Machado have been hitting home runs throughout the season, leading the Dodgers all the way to the Fall Classic.
Still, if the Dodgers offence is swinging and missing, they will struggle to stay in the game against Boston. If the Red Sox can earn early leads against the Dodgers’ pitching staff, Los Angeles’ chances at claiming their first World Series trophy since 1988 will be scant.
Prediction
Boston will win in six games. The Red Sox have a stronger, deeper, and more versatile starting nine. Fans can expect an exciting, hard-fought series to be won with offence, meaning that JD Martinez will be the MVP.
McGill homecoming has come and gone, unappreciated and hardly attended. Many students lament this apparent lack of pride and the absence of support for athletics at McGill, while most are simply apathetic. But, university homecomings are not really about pride in athletics: They’re about partying. When McGill students decry our lack of school spirit, they’re usually referring to the absence of a Queen’s-style street party or mass hysterics in a sea of red. Perhaps such manifestations of pride aren’t something we should really be aspiring to.
Rather than representing a unified student culture, outbursts of ‘school pride’ at other schools’ homecomings are more indicative of an overly homogenized campus. If you go to a university like Queen’s or Western, conformity to the party mob is an inescapable requisite to participation in campus life. For mass-debauchery enthusiasts, McGill is well covered with Carnival, Faculty Olympics, and Science Games, to name a few. To our credit, McGill doesn’t conflate its parties with its identity in the same way some other schools seem to.
McGill’s lack of uniform pride is a symptom of its cultural diversity. Queen’s and Western follow the American model of school pride, synonymous with fraternities and game-day tailgates. However, McGill isn’t suited to this sort of monocultural assertion. Unlike Kingston or London, Montreal is an international hub, and its sociolinguistic diversity is reflected within McGill’s 30-per-cent-international student body. For many international students—except maybe our 2413 American peers—this model of school spirit is not part of their cultural lexicon. McGill subcultures engage with a broader and more variable community than can be found in smaller cities.
Even if this model were compatible with McGill’s culture, a conventional homecoming is a logistical impossibility. McGill doesn’t have a student neighbourhood coherent enough to facilitate a big homecoming event. The 80 percent majority of the Milton Park neighbourhood that is not McGill students—not to mention the Montreal police—would never tolerate that kind of party. Queen’s students are able to disregard the annoyance of Kingston locals largely because the university’s presence is so powerful in such a relatively small city. Similarly, at Western, where an unauthorized homecoming event incurred an estimated $100,000 in damage, students command a sufficient presence to make the event practically unstoppable. In fact, when the university tried to diminish the scale of the celebration by moving it to a weekend during the midterm season, Western students continued hosting the event on the same weekend, cutting the event’s affiliation with the university’s homecoming weekend. The party is now called #FOCO, or ‘fake homecoming.’ McGill students do not command the same necessary presence in Montreal to initiate such an event.
However, we shouldn’t want to. Perhaps to the detriment of our athletic culture, McGill doesn’t conform to what is, ultimately, a fallacy of group identity, one that is non-inclusive and that discourages independent subculture. McGill defines itself through its many outlets for communal engagement. Whether they are a part of Carnival, Model UN, or varsity football, McGill students all participate in an egalitarian conception of communal identity—one that resists the homogenizing spectacle of homecoming.
The 2018 Campus Freedom Index (CFI) bestowed the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) an F grade for its lack of free speech protections and a C for its political practices in 2018. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom (JCCF) sponsors the CFI, an annual assessment of the successes and failures of campus free speech in Canada. But, the CFI is by no means impartial and leans to the right. Its criticism of SSMU merely emphasizes conservatives’ refusal to acknowledge that free speech protects progressives and right-wingers equally.
The CFI points to SSMU’s Equity Policy as its biggest flaw, citing its support for safe spaces and disapproval of microaggressions. These things, the CFI says, hinder free speech. However, while a right to free speech is not explicitly entrenched in SSMU’s constitution, Article 3.2 of the Equity Policy states that the policy shouldn’t detract from students’ right to engage in open discussion of controversial opinions. Safe spaces actually help marginalized people share their stories and opinions, promoting equitable free speech.
Beyond the Equity Policy, the CFI points to SSMU’s politics as another vehicle for suppressing free speech. Taking political stances allegedly diminishes the university’s freedom of expression. SSMU represents the entire student body, but it is an elected body and, therefore, inherently political. The society has a long history of political expression and has explicitly taken an anti-oppressive mandate since 1989. It announced its support for Black Lives Matter in 2016, participated in anti-austerity protests in 2015, and called out McGill’s response to sexual assault reports this past April. All of these political stances actively defend the free speech rights of marginalized people.
Former SSMU vice president External Marina Cupido’s Facebook post about the newly elected Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government was accused of infringing on campus free speech. Cupido faced considerable backlash for calling the CAQ ‘racist’ and ‘xenophobic,’ and for alleging that the party has connections to white supremacists. Regardless of their failure to cite their sources or confer with fellow executives, Cupido had a right to take a stance, even on the official SSMU External Affairs Facebook page. The post may have been ill-advised, but they were elected to a political executive office by a majority of voters. Students who did not feel represented by Cupido’s statement should at least respect the result of the democratic process.
The narrative that only leftist voices inhibit freedom of speech is tired and biased. Beyond McGill, conservatives have long bemoaned the plight of free speech on college campuses. One such conservative is Rick Mehta, former professor in Acadia University’s Department of Psychology. In March, Mehta prompted controversy after defending Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak’s right to post racist remarks on her government website. Beyak shared arguments from Canadians criticizing indigenous communities for receiving government aid and asking for reparations for injustices like the residential school system. Statements like hers perpetuate harmful stereotypes, and Sen. Beyak was rightfully removed from the Conservative caucus for platforming them. But, Mehta saw himself as a counterbalance to liberal bias on campus, and so, he stood up for Beyak.
While Mehta said that he does not support racist comments, he attacked the Conservative Party for impeding her right to free speech. But, even if he does not believe in the far-right sentiments that he defends, Mehta was magnifying them. Amplifying hyper-conservative and racist voices does nothing to diversify mainstream conversations—it only reinforces historically-entrenched traditions and beliefs.
Mehta’s story challenges the dominance of conservative ideology in the free speech arena. If right-wing ideologies perpetuate traditional ways of thinking, which have historically excluded marginalized people from public debate, then they stand to hinder free speech equally as much as left-wing ideologies.
The right to free speech does not guarantee freedom from criticism. Conservatives like Mehta and the JCCF need to stop conflating valid criticism of right-wing belief systems with the infringement of fundamental human rights. As much reason as there is to criticize SSMU, claiming that the organization hinders free speech by promoting marginalized voices and leftist politics is absurd. Students should challenge these arguments, which are made in bad faith and without a comprehensive understanding of free speech, to create a productive space for discourse that includes minority voices.
The 47th edition of Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC) ran Oct. 3-14, gracing Montreal’s silver screens with an eclectic program of films ranging from festival-circuit fare to micro-budget Québecois features. The McGill Tribune team was there in full force.
Thunder Road—Jim Cummings
Gabe Nisker, Sports Editor
Based on his 2016 short film and one-man-show of the same name, with Thunder Road, writer-director-star Jim Cummings has managed to upstage even his own source material. Thunder Roadtells the story of police officer Jimmy Arnaud, played by Jim Cummings, and his difficulty with coping in the immediate aftermath of his mother’s death. Citing Alfonso Cuaron’s Children Of Men as an influence, Cummings allows his scenes to develop over time; he favours long takes and his writing relies largely on monologues. Cummings surrounds his lead performance with a wonderful ensemble cast, and, together, they beautifully transform the one-man-show into so much more.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night—Bi Gan
Dylan Adamson, Features Editor
As someone who craves structure and instructions, I wasn’t going to miss Bi Gan’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Halfway through the movie, I had read, viewers are told to don the 3D glasses that they were given upon entering. How would they tell us? Would the movie pause? Would a Cineplex employee stride out with instructions? Would they be in English or French? The cue was implicit, to my disappointment, but the film’s remaining hour-long, 3D single take was more than enough to compensate. Bi’s neo-noir odyssey is thematically dense and visually brilliant. There’s no telling how, if, or when this will reach North American cinemas, but if it ever does, it is not to be missed.
If Beale Street Could Talk—Barry Jenkins
Gabe Nisker
Barry Jenkins makes good movies. If Moonlight’s Academy Award for Best Picturewasn’t enough to prove that, then Beale Street should suffice. Based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name, the film could very well win Jenkins a second Academy Award. It’s a gorgeous period piece tracking two timelines—the initial romance between Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), and their present-day tragedy that occurs when Fonny is wrongfully imprisoned for rape. Nicholas Britell adds a suave, jazzy score to complement James Laxton’s beautiful cinematography. If everyone saw faces the way Jenkins and Laxton do, the world would be a better place.
Shoplifters —Hirozaku Kore-eda
Dylan Adamson
When audiences are first introduced to Osamu (Lily Franky) and his son Shota (Jyo Kairi) in the grocery store, stuffing backpacks with stolen non-perishables, it’s clear that Kore-Eda is not going to shy away from the difficult questions concerning family relationships. In the opening scene alone, Kore-Eda questions Shota’s wide-eyed reverence for Osamu, Osamu’s involvement of Shota in the family business, how the need for sustenance has become a father-son bonding ritual—as in the rest of the film, Kore-eda weaves the tapestry of a family unit bound by necessity and love—in that order. As we meet the other family members, we see how hard they all must work to keep their musty, cobbled-together house of cards standing. Shoplifters has little narrative information to disclose, but as the truth eventually finds its way to the surface, it is shattering.
The Sisters Brothers—Jacques Audiard
Gabe Nisker
The Western genre provides countless opportunities for incredible cinematography, and The Sisters Brothers is no exception. Director Jacques Audiard’s English-language debut is a sight to behold. Based on Patrick deWitt’s 2011 novel, The Sisters Brothers also features an impressive ensemble cast. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix star as the titular Sisters brothers—Reilly proves his dramatic chops with a nuanced performance and Phoenix follows Reilly’s lead on comedy, providing relief from the otherwise tense script. When Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal reunite on screen as Hermann Kermit Warm and John Morris, the chemistry is undeniable. This movie is the epitome of calm and collected, even when its characters are not.
Climax—Gaspar Noé
Dylan Adamson
Gaspar Noé is the enfant terrible of indie cinema. He’s all about disruption. Narrative structure means nothing to him. His movies are hard to watch. Sometimes he’ll show a pregnant woman getting beat up because he doesn’t care what you think, loser. Despite this generally obnoxious, extreme approach, Noé is newly self-reflexive in Climax, a film squarely focused on the youthful drive to live in and make the most of each individual moment. When someone spikes the punch with LSD at a modern dance troupe’s year-end party, fun, kinetic dance-offs give way to a nightmarish soiree of hedonistic violence and cruelty. It’s the best execution of Noé’s bad-boy approach to filmmaking yet, largely because of its focused, 90-minute runtime, the entirety of which may be spent alternatingly gasping and clapping.
Roma—Alfonso Cuaron
Gabe Nisker
Seeing Roma is an experience, one that is difficult to shake. Scheduled for release on Netflix by mid-December, Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film is best seen on the big-screen. It is an ode to Cuaron’s childhood in 1970s Mexico, and, specifically, to the caretaker central to his complicated family. The film features deep shots, rich with detail, and a lead performance from soon-to-be-star Yalitza Aparicio, who brings strong emotion to the role of Cleo. Sadly, what might be lost in the translation from the big to the small screen is the sound design. For viewers at home: It’s worth investing in a good speaker. Roma is most definitely not to be missed, regardless of the platform on which you watch.
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead—Ben Wheatley
Sophie Brzozowski, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Writer and director Ben Wheatley’s latest film, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead is, in a word, boring. The story follows the Burstead family, all piled into an ostentatious and gaudy rental mansion over the course of one long, dreary New Year’s Eve. The micro-dramas that ensue are predictable and clichéd, as are the characters themselves. The shaky, handheld camera work and pithy dialogue provide the tense, uneasy atmosphere necessary for a successful family dramedy to unfold, but the humour falls short of resolving said tension, contributing instead to the overall phoniness of the whole production.
Burning—Lee Chang-dong
Dylan Adamson
Filmmaker Lee Chang-dong and novelist Haruki Murakami share fascinations common to many auteur-type artists—isolation, and futility. What distinguishes them from their similarly-minded peers, however, is their insistent doubling back. Characters in Murakami’s novels will spend multiple chapters trapped in wells by their own volition. The murky isolation is frightening and disorienting, but, when the sun hits the right spot in the sky, the climactic moment of warmth and light is impossible to match. Burning, Lee’s masterful adaptation of Murakami’s short story, Barn Burning, plays out with a simmering, disorienting ambiguity punctuated by these same moments of startling beauty.
