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a, Features

Superman’s evolution in the fog of war

by Natalie Vineberg on

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Superheroes may be a fixture in all things Halloween, but their importance extends beyond their costumes and comic strip panels. In the face of constant turmoil in the world, superheroes enter the scene to encourage an attitude of hope amidst plaguing issues.

Superheroes created throughout history generally embody values of the culture that produced them. The character fights against everything that threatens such values. The archetype superhero comes in the form of Superman, in terms of both appearance and the pursuit of “good,” or, the dominant moral values of the current society.

The era between the late ’30s and late ’40s became known as the Golden Age of comic books, and Superman was the embodiment of the period. At this time, comic books became an accepted form of art, and superheroes began to play a central role in American culture—one marked by hope.

“Superman stands for everything good the human race can become,” said Edvard Nicolas, comic book aficionado. “[He has a] good moral, [a] deep sense of justice, [and] use of power only to help those in need and never kill another human being.”

Superman's creation set the tone for all superheroes to come, and his story is one that is still relevant today. His character provided the base for the superhero formula of a hidden identity, and the powers and vibrant costumes that went along with it. Captain America, who followed shortly after, had a similar structure. He also has a secret human alter ego as Steve Rogers, gained powers through a serum invented by the military, and wore a colourful uniform— even in the same colours as Superman.

According to long time editor of spider-man books at Marvel Comics, Danny Fingeroth’s Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Society, at the basis of a superhero is a protagonistic leading character. There are three levels of heroes: Real life heroes, fictional heroes, and superheroes.  A hero, such as a firefighter or a doctor, is essentially the ordinary realizing the extraordinary, like individuals who fight the odds, and sometimes, even beat them. The next step is a fictional hero, a character who is still human, like Sherlock Holmes or Indiana Jones. Finally, moving from labels of fictional hero to superhero, is the possession of supernatural powers, or at least the use of gadgets to reach superhuman ability.

Superheroes were made to give children ideals with which to battle a cruel adult world, which was on the verge of social, political, and military upheaval. They were tough and would rise above the law in the pursuit of good. The superheroes were determined figures with a simplistic ideology: To protect the world from evil. The reader didn't have to do anything other than sit back, suspend reality, and be entertained by their exciting adventures.

The superhero comic books of the Golden Age age were largely inspired by fantasy, such as Superman’s origin from another planet or Aquaman’s ability to breathe under water.

Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, wrote that the basis for Superman was the notion of mythology.

"[Superman is a] character like Samson, Hercules, and all the strong men I have ever heard [told about] rolled into one,” he said. “Only more so.”

Although Superman’s strength and powers were paramount, he couldn't be so unearthly that readers wouldn't find him relatable.

Illustration of Superman

Sarah Nafisa Shahid, U3 Arts and a member of the (unofficial) comic book club at McGill, noted that it can be hard to see Superman as relatable as as other superheroes, like the X-Men.

“Most of the characters were heavily flawed,” she said. “That [was] relatable to me as an ordinary person.”

Superman’s humanity was crucial, and although having a real world identity as Clark Kent helped, it wasn’t enough to just have a journalist alter-ego. Clark Kent had human feelings and the ability to empathize, with sincere sorrow for his parents’ natural deaths and his inability to prevent them. Sympathy played a key role in the depiction of his humanity.

PHOTO: Superman Secret Origin, him with his parents. Credit: Wikipedia.

“Superman is not relatable, he is a dream,” said Nicholas. “He’s super strong, but he is reluctant to use his force. He can rule over the world, but instead, helps every person he can. Clark Kent is relatable. He’s from a small town, he loves his job, his wife and his parents. Everyone can be Clark Kent, [and] everyone wishes to be Superman.”

While Superman may be invincible on Earth, he does have a critical weakness: Kryptonite. Thus, creators managed to find a balance in making Superman invincible to earthly dangers, while providing kryptonite as his mythical downfall. In this way, Superman becomes more mortal, and therefore, is not so alien to readers.

Given that superheroes embody societal values, society reinvents such ideals over time. There's been a Superman for every decade since the character was born, maintaining similar powers and ideals while fighting different evils. While Superman fought primarily against fictional villains throughout the evolution of his character, he has fought against real villains too. For example, The Adventures of Superman radio show in mid ’40s featured Superman fighting the Ku Klux Klan when legal action was lacking. The ’50s Cold War era version brought his villains into a more science fiction-related realm, representing the growing concerns over improper scientific development and nuclear power.

A uniting factor among most major superhero comics is that they were written by Jewish individuals towards the start of World War II. With peaking antisemitism during the interwar period both in the U.S. and abroad, most Jews could not get university degrees, and often were not allowed to work in advertising agencies. Since careers in publishing weren’t an option, aspiring Jewish writers and artists found jobs in comics.

Superman, Batman, Spiderman, the X-Men, Green Lantern, and The Avengers were all written in this context between the 1930s and 1960s. In the 1970s, while Jewish individuals took up three per cent of the general population, they were also 80 per cent of the best-paid writers and illustrators of comic books in the United States.

By the end of the 1930s, the world desperately needed a superhero. Hitler and Stalin had gained full force and the American economy was in a poor state. Superheroes were created as a form of escape from the increase in conflict in the world and as a release from its accompanying stress.

“It is often suggested that Superman was originally created as a fantasy of social justice as a means of alleviating economic worries about effects of the Great Depression in the U.S.A.,” writes Cultural Studies Professor Sean Carney.

Coming from immigrant families who had small tailoring shops, Siegel and Shuster were undeniably affected by deteriorating economic conditions.

Perfectly timed with this era’s desperation was the release of /Action Comics no. 1,/ the first Superman comic book, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938, three years before the U.S.A. officially entered the war. The target of this comic was to set free the imaginations of U.S. citizens, providing a distraction from the war that seemed ever-approaching, through Superman. Such a character was reminiscent of cultural values of the time; morals were embodied through Superman’s actions and convictions, and served to remind citizens of their purpose in patriotism.

“[Superman] was handsome, intelligent, invincible, patriotic, almost flawless with an astounding morale,” said Shahid. “I always felt that his character portrayed a sense of superiority that America as a country was opting for [….] It was instrumental to the American propaganda that promoted consumerism and individualism and most importantly, the American patriotism.”

Siegel was strongly influenced by the anti-Semitism he experienced. He wrote about a hero who could battle the bullies, a protagonist who could surely beat the antagonists. In addition to Superman’s behaviour once an adult, the story of his arrival to Earth was one all too familiar at the time. As a refugee escaping to the United States from a world about to explode, Superman mirrored the lives of his creators, the Shusters and Siegels, and many other Jewish families fleed Europe before the Holocaust. Superman’s parents sent him to Earth in the hope that he would find a new beginning, which is essentially what Jewish families were doing at the time to try and save their children.

PHOTO 1: Action Comics #1, credit: Daily Mail

While Superman seemed to hold an endless stream of powers, there were limits that had to be imposed on him, particularly as American engagement in the war grew. During the war, the mythical world of Superman had to cross-cut issues of reality, which was not simple. Superman’s ability to easily win any war that didn’t involve kryptonite became an issue of morale when the United States officially joined the war in December of 1941. While adults were arguing about strategy and tactics and were worrying about their sons being drafted, adolescents had a simpler question: Where was Superman?

Readers were accustomed to Superman being able to fight off any fictional evil that came his way. When America was still neutral, Superman could effortlessly fight villains like Karl Wolff, the Dukalian leader, who bore significant resemblance to the Nazis. Once the United States joined the war however, it became their responsibility to fight the real Nazis. As cultural contexts translated into comics, this responsibility to fight Nazi’s theoretically became Superman’s as well. Other heroes, like Captain America, were fighting in the war, so many wondered why Superman, the archetypal American hero, was sitting out.

Explicitly incorporating Superman in the context of the war was complicated, because expectations were greater with Superman. Superman, in the context before the States entered the war, was fighting fictional villains to create a general ‘good vs. evil’ storyline where ‘good’ prevailed. As the war started for the States, the tragic reality of the war and the comic story line were brought together in a manner that hit too close to home. There was the risk that Superman, the once encouraging figure for soldiers, would become a disheartening one. Based on Superman's track record, he should be able to fix everything right away, and creators could not give people those kinds of expectations, yet they couldn't disappoint millions by having Superman fail to do his part.

Writers had to craft a solution that would give Superman an out, and that's exactly what they did. A February 1942 instalment of the “Superman” newspaper strip showed that Clark Kent tried to enlist in the army, but during his physical test, he accidentally read the eye chart in the next room with his X-ray vision. The examiner conceded that Kent was physically superb, but thought he was completely blind. Thus, the army did not want him, absolving him of his duty to fight.

PHOTO: Fighting Nazi tanks. Credit: Good Comics. PHOTO: Superman holding up Hitler and Japanese Emperor. Credit: Superman Homepage.

While writers could not explicitly place Superman in the context of World War II, they found a way to implicitly use Superman as a vehicle for hope amidst the war. In the summer of 1942 the intro to Superman on the radio was changed. The intro now described him as fighting a "Never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"

Superman had always fought for patriotic values, but it was only with the nation at war, and Americans thinking more than ever about why their country was worth fighting and dying for, that the idea of an “American way” of believing and acting took hold in the mind of the public, and in the myth of Superman.

PHOTO: Truth, Justice and the American Way. Credit: Comic Vine

Superman and the incessant hope he provides may be the foundation for humans looking to superheroes to fight for them, but he also gifts us with the possibility of something to have faith in that isn’t controversial. In a society where all too often, cynicism is equated with realism, and positivity with ignorance, having faith in a figure with irrevocable insistence on fighting the bad in service of the good seems as vital as ever. As long as there's evil in the world, superheroes will continue to fight it.

Despite an evolution across time and space for more than 70 years, Superman still manages to encapsulate popular morales today.

“Superman is an interesting metaphor of our society,” said Julie Savaria, recent MBA graduate of McGill and comic book devotee. “He is struggling to reconcile who he is and who he can become [….] We live in a society where we are expected to be productive and just plain perfect at all times; but, like Superman and Clark Kent, we are vulnerable. It is this vulnerability that makes us human.”

 

a, Science & Technology

Where is artificial intelligence headed?

by Natasha Michaeloff on

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In Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the protagonist, astronaut Dr. David Bowman, has a standoff with his spacecraft’s artificial intelligence (AI) system, HAL. After discussing plans with a fellow astronaut onboard to deactivate HAL, Bowman attempts to re-enter the spacecraft from an external rescue mission. However, he is prevented from doing so by HAL, who calmly tells him that it will not allow him back inside because if he were to turn off the system, it would jeopardize their mission. 

This act of defiance by a computer makes it only fitting that a screening of this particular movie would follow a presentation on AI given by Dr. Jeremy Cooperstock, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Cooperstock’s  presentation, titled “Is humanity smart enough for AI?” took place last Friday in Redpath Museum as part of the “Freaky Friday” lecture series. He addressed contemporary concerns about the nature of AI—concerns that are, according to him, not exactly irrational.

 “The bottom line, I think, is that we need to be afraid,” Cooperstock said. “We need to consider the consequences [of AI].” 

Cooperstock quoted Eliezer Yudkowsky, co-founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), to underscore his point: “By far, the greatest danger of AI is that people conclude too early that they understand it.”

Indeed, one would think that those in charge of designing and developing the technology in question would have to, at the very least, understand how it operates. Incredibly, this is not always the case. Cooperstock recalled a story told by Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, involving the U.S. army, which had hired a group of researchers to pioneer a detection system capable of identifying camouflaged enemy tanks. 

The researchers set out to take hundreds of photographs of camouflaged tanks, hidden in the trees at the forest line, as well as photographs of the forest line in its natural state. This data was used to develop a ‘neural network’ for the recognition system; however, the researchers had failed to account for the weather on the days when the photographs were done; the photographs of the camouflaged tanks were taken on sunny days whereas the photographs of the forest line were taken on overcast days. This seemingly insignificant variation led to the system being a better gauge of the weather than of the presence of camouflaged enemy tanks.

Though this error proved to be relatively benign, other more disastrous  cases of AI gone wrong have been documented. In 1985, China Airlines Flight 006 almost crashed because the autopilot system had blocked the pilots from regaining control of the aircraft—until well after the plane had gone into a steep dive. 

Worse still, claimed Cooperstock, is the idea of automated military weapons, which have been ‘perfected’ to the point of not requiring physical human operation. In the past, computer hackers have been able to bring down military drones because the software is accessible and easy to replicate, and has no human checkpoint. 

Ultimately, Cooperstock noted that society’s greatest defence against what some might jokingly refer to as the robot uprising is spreading the word about the drawbacks of AI. 

“We need to ask very careful questions and have this discussion as a society about the potential implications of these tools that we’re building,” Cooperstock explained. “Most importantly, “ […] We have to be cautious and aware of the potential for things running amok.”

a, Football, Sports

Behind the Bench: Why the NFL won’t let you have your pink and wear it too

by Genevieve Citron on

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Every October, the NFL engages in a variety of activities to promote breast cancer awareness—also known as Pink October. While at face value, the league’s efforts may appear altruistic, further inquiry casts a shadow of doubt upon its intentions. 

It’s no secret that the NFL has undergone significant media scrutiny in recent years. The news that 87 deceased NFL players have tested positive for concussion-induced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a terrible backdrop to Ray Rice and Greg Hardy’s domestic violence incidents, as well as Adrian Peterson’s recent child abuse scandal. In contrast to these horrific events, Breast Cancer Awareness Month offers a more family-friendly cause that everyone can get behind and support. It’s a chance for the NFL to gain praise for their philanthropic and altruistic efforts to support people who struggle against cancer every day. 

Over the past few years, commentators have questioned the distribution of proceeds raised during Pink October. From last year’s total, a mere 12.5 per cent of profit went towards breast cancer research. The remaining profits were split between the NFL and merchandise wholesalers—many of which are also owned by the NFL. 

While the NFL’s profit distribution leaves a stale taste in the mouths of many fans, it seems as if the league can at least be given credit for raising awareness for the cause. One of the ways it does this is through supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which encourages many people to get tested for breast cancer and lends a vital hand in ending the stigma around the disease through positivity and support to cancer patients and survivors. This may prove to be particularly important for people in lower socioeconomic strata who, lacking resources and support, may not have considered getting tested before. 

This season, however, the NFL has made a series of insensitive decisions that suggests the motives behind Pink October are not entirely selfless. Players who have attempted to put in their own work to fight cancer have been discouraged, and in some cases, even fined by the NFL. The NFL’s behaviour, when put under scrutiny, seems to be more focused on gaining positive recognition for the league than offering support to those afflicted with cancer. 

For example, Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward was recently fined $5,787 for wearing customized eye black honouring his late father Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, who passed away from a brain tumour. Heyward’s eye black prints “iron” on one strip and “head” on the other. He plans to sell the eye black to benefit cancer research at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation. 

Additionally, the NFL denied Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams’ request to wear pink accessories all season long in an attempt to pay tribute to his mother and aunts who died of breast cancer because it conflicted with the league’s uniform policy. When the NFL refused this request, Williams opted to cover mammogram costs for 53 women.

With regards to Williams’ previous team, the Carolina Panthers, the NFL’s position against Williams is particularly poignant. In previous years, the league had Williams’ now deceased mother, Sandra Hill, appear in pregame ceremonies to advocate for breast cancer awareness. As a breast cancer patient, Hill’s contribution to Pink October was vital as it added a necessary element of legitimacy to the NFL’s campaign. 

The NFL’s refusal to support cancer victims outside of Pink October demonstrates an exploitative side to the month. It appears as if the league is cashing in on its players’ negative experiences with cancer in order to position the NFL in a positive light. It communicates to the public that the NFL’s business in breast cancer awareness is not to offer positivity to cancer fighters or to help the healing process of its survivors, but rather a tactic to manage its image as tightly as possible. 

Fans are now left with the question: Are the NFL’s breast cancer awareness policies morally permissible? It may seem callous to criticize the league for its work, but it’s hard not to question the NFL’s motives. Breast cancer doesn’t stop after the month of October, and Williams’ and Heyward's efforts shouldn’t have to either.

Art Cuba
a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

The colours of Cuba

by Luka Ciklovan on

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Cuba has received a lot of international attention recently due to the improvement in its relationship with the United States. Though prospects seem better now, the Cuban population has had to endure much hardship after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. The economic sanctions imposed by the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1962,  coupled with the communist regime’s own economic impotence, resulted in poor living conditions during the ’70s that still haunt the country today.

Cuban artists in particular—alongside homosexuals, counter-revolutionary political activists, and other state-branded deviants—suffered immensely at the hands of the regime, facing brutal imprisonment and oftentimes compulsory military service within the ‘Military Units to Aid Production.’ Art Cuba, the latest group exhibition at Galerie Aura, stands as the first exhibition of Cuban art in Canada since the recent rapprochement, and brings the unique historic-cultural struggles inherent to the country to the forefront.

The gallery provides a glimpse into some of the complex dualities that pervade the Cuban psyche: The ocean is at once a symbol of limitless freedom and a body of entrapment. The communist regime promises progress yet delivers backwardness. The very distinctively Cuban identity fused with Afro-Cuban culture are all concepts explored by various artists hailing from Cuba’s artistic elite.

Immediately upon entering the gallery, the colourful chaos of Carlos Quintana’s “Intriga en el solar” sets the tone of the exhibition. Described as an artist whose work stems from “phantasmagoric hallucination” and seem to reflect a stream of consciousness art style, Quintana’s work explores a vision of the supernatural rooted in Afro-Cuban culture. He accomplishes this through an intricate blending of bright red floral patterns into human figures, the zoomorphism exhibited on said human figures, and finally their colour contrasted with a jet black spiritual figure in the foreground. Manuel Mendive’s untitled acrylic on canvas taps into this same Afro-Cuban culture, focusing on the Yoruba religion in particular. In an attempt to map the Yoruba concept that there is one universal soul from which all life stems from, Mendive depicts various human figures literally fused with animal and plant life and engaged in a process of perpetual rebirth.

In contrast to these often bright, supernatural depictions, Alexis Leyva Machado, known as Kcho, portrays the grim reality facing illegal Cuban emigration. His simple, yet powerful, image of an oar, symbolizing the perilous journey awaiting illegal immigrants, that gradually melds into a human femur is quite a succinct snapshot of the grave decision made by thousands of Cubans. 

Liudmila Velasco and Nelson Ramirez’s collaborative work “El Viaje” further sheds light on the ocean’s place in the Cuban psyche. By depicting a woman cramped within a suitcase in the fetal position upon the high seas, Velasco and Ramirez situate the ocean as both a place of birth, offering new lives to successful escapees, and of extreme confinement, as potential emigrants remain totally eclipsed by water on all sides.

The piece that stood out most was Alfredo Sarabia’s “Entramado,” which in Spanish means both ‘a confining framework,’ but also a ‘schematic’ or means for structuring and operating something. “Entramado” depicts a common scene in Cuba: That of an open ended, sprawling mass of power cables connected to publicly accessible transformers. As a result of the harsh economic conditions that define Cuban reality, society is one that is constantly drawn to improvisation in order to meet basic standards of living. Consequently, such an impromptu arrangement of wires and transformers is one that is simultaneously limiting and empowering by necessity. The union between the Cuban and USSR flags in the background, surrounded by wires, furthers this sense of imposed limitation. The piece itself, riddled with functioning power outlets, invites viewers to participate in this improvisatory nature, as each outlet is actually functional and thus mirrors the transformers depicted.

Ultimately, Galerie Aura’s Art Cuba exhibition powerfully sheds light on the Cuban story, and projects high hopes for the future of Cuban art in the wake of rapprochement. 

Art Cuba is located at Galerie Aura (2050 Rue Crescent) and is running from from Oct. 14 to Dec. 15. Admission is free.

a, Fact or Fiction, Science & Technology

Are monsters real?

by Daniel Galef on

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Science has a reputation for refutation. But this is not always the case, and some researchers have found that monsters and ghosts might actually exist; however, maybe not in the way that people expect. 

Zombies

The concept of zombies originates from Haitian folklore, in which Vodou priests called bokors were reportedly able to turn normal people into the undead using a magical powder introduced to the bloodstream. In 1982, Wade Davis, Harvard anthropologist and ethnobotanist, travelled to a number of Haitian villages in search of genuine bokor priests. In The Serpent and the Rainbow, a book Davis wrote about his experiences in Haiti, Davis described his encounter with  Clairvius Narcisse, a Haitian man who was widely believed to have been dead for 18 years before being ‘cured.’ While undead, Narcisse reportedly had no personal identity and existed in a permanent trance-like state. 

Davis’s controversial explanation for these symptoms was based in chemistry and pharmacology. According to Davis, priests would imbue individuals with tetrodotoxin—a powerful neurotoxin found in pufferfish—as well as various deliriant drugs. However, these effects remain unproven, and are not entirely consistent with other instances of tetrodotoxin poisoning. 

Many scientists, including Pace University neurologist Terence Hines and Tavistock Institute psychologist R. D. Laing, dismiss these claims. Instead, they push a social or behavioral model similar to the nocebo (reverse placebo) effect. This effect is seen in several culture-specific ‘folk illnesses’ such as First Nations wendigo psychosis—a type of canabilism—or Aboriginal Australian bone-pointing—an omen of death—where the staunch belief in a ritual or ailment psychosomatically produces  symptoms. The study of these purported medical conditions remains on the fringe of anthropology, and even the idea that they exist as medical as opposed to social issues is controversial.

Vampires

Vampires have experienced a massive resurgence in popularity over the last few decades, and with this, an influx of rationalizations for a scientific cause behind vampirism.The most common modern suggestions are diseases such as rabies and porphyria, which are both highly communicable. Their symptoms include aggression, sleep pattern disruption, sensitivity to light and the taste of garlic, as well as psychosis.

Today’s modern pop culture conception of vampirism is very far removed from the original lore, which, for example, gave the creatures a ‘purplish’ skin tone, due to blood consumption,  and an obsession with counting, today called arithmomania.

Ghosts

Ghosts have historically been harder to pin down. It seems intuitively unlikely that any sort of disease could turn a living human being into an incorporeal and semitransparent spectre. What’s more, the underlying folklore is vague and found in some shape or form in every world culture, as opposed to the more regional and specific legends of vampires or zombies. However, scientists have been using infrasound, especially subsonic frequencies of around 19 hertz—just below the range of human hearing—to offer a more rational explanation to ghost stories. 

A 2003 study conducted by National Physical Laboratory acoustical scientist Richard Lord and University of Hertfordshire psychologist Richard Wiseman showed that infrasound caused feelings of dissociation, unease, and paranoia. At certain ranges of frequencies, which have since been conclusively detected in several houses reported to be haunted, infrasound can establish sympathetic vibrations in the vitreous humour of the eye, leading to ghost-like hallucinations and fleeting, darting motion indistinctly seen in peripheral vision, as shown in a NASA study.

The theorized evolutionary purpose of the visceral human reaction to certain frequencies of infrasound is that it is produced by volcanoes, earthquakes, growling tigers, and other natural sources of danger that understandably became hardwired into humans’ innate fear reactions. In the modern world, however, it’s more likely to encounter infrasound as the result of a noisy fan or faulty plumbing than a hungry tiger—and these can often lead to reports of hauntings in houses that really just need a good renovation.

a, Editorial, Opinion

Student innovation key to Montreal’s future

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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McGill is often portrayed as an institution that operates alongside Montreal rather than within it. While its quota system requires approximately 50 per cent of the student body to be made up of students from Quebec, most of the international and out-of-province student body decide to leave upon graduation. Given recent economic reports that detail the numbers of lost jobs and shrunken industries in Montreal, the decision to leave is not unreasonable; however, allowing a large number of students to slip through its fingers upon graduation is not in the best interest of the city.

Creativity has the opportunity to thrive at McGill. Universities in Montreal have numerous opportunities for student entrepreneurship and innovation. Initiatives such as the Quartier de l’Innovation (QI), the Dobson Cup, and Seeds of Change are opportunities for students across faculties to experiment and expand their professional horizons. But these incubators for creativity and innovation on campus have not yet been translated into opportunities in the Montreal community on a large scale.

Resources such as the Career Planning Service (CaPS) are essential to assisting students in professional development. Yet, even through services such as their mentorship program, there more of an individual focus than a community one. Those who are intensely interested in a certain field will seek out the appropriate assistance, and so there is a certain amount of required individual agency; but even with interest, there is an information mismatch. The potential for a student community of innovation is there, but it has yet to be tapped into. Opportunities abound, but awareness of those opportunities is limited by the fragmented dissemination of information. Streamlining student access to information pertaining to opportunities for entrepreneurship would solidify a culture of innovation within campus.

 

Incubators for creativity and innovation on campus have not yet been translated into opportunities in the Montreal community on a large scale.

There are the obvious barriers to students remaining in Montreal post-graduation—corruption, the language barrier for many students, and a lack of business infrastructure since the 1970s are just a few. But a significant portion of the McGill community is from Quebec or Montreal, and will stay after graduation. The expansion of opportunities for innovation and entrepreneruship in Montreal post graduation will compel more students to remain in the city while improving the opportunities available to locals.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are not easy anywhere, but succeeding in Montreal is particularly difficult. Montreal pales next to economic hubs such as Toronto, New York City, and London in terms of innovation. While it is strong in film and technology—especially as the city’s concerted effort to attract digital companies beginning in the 1990s—Montreal is still considered the worst large city in Canada to develop a business. Progress in these barriers is a long-term commitment, but perhaps the impetus need not come from above. A cohesive effort to develop programs within McGill would empower students to contribute to innovation in Montreal.

Nevertheless, McGill students have not been absent from the scene of entrepreneurship. Dispatch Coffee, the caffeine dispensary operating in the McConnell Engineering building was started by McGill alumni, as well as Heart City Apparel, a charitable organization that promotes the work of small artists in Montreal. Were McGill students given further tools to enter the Montreal private sector, it could pave the way to lowering the existing barriers and transplanting these initiatives into Montreal as long-term businesses. Improvements in corruption, infrastructure, and interest in Montreal as a hub for innovation do not need to be the first step; instead, bottom-up development from the grassroots level could assist Montreal in prioritizing such improvements. A McGill education can be applied to our immediate environment—arguably, most who start a project while at university would prefer to not relocate. It is a matter of adjusting the taboo held by international and out-of-province students, as well as providing the tools to all students. As McGill works on cultivating student interest in preparing for the realworld and exploring various avenues, it ought to focus on how students can contribute to innovation within the Montreal community.

 

 

The Rolling Stones
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Cocksucker Blues travels from Super 8 to the Silver Screen

by Evelyn Goessling on

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It’s rare for a band like The Rolling Stones to be embarrassed or even scandalized by anything, but the footage in Robert Frank’s documentary Cocksucker Blues was evidently too much for the band to reveal to their public. Despite the liberal atmosphere of the early ‘70s, which saw the explosion of classic rock—and the hedonism that came with it—Cocksucker Blues was deemed inappropriate for public audiences. The issue was taken to court, and it was finally decided in 1977 that the film could not legally be shown until 1979, and then only four times per year, and only with director Robert Frank present at each showing. 

Cocksucker Blues was exhibited in Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma on October 16, the first official screening of the film since the Museum of Modern Art screened it at The Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Film exhibition in 2012. Montreal was one of the places Frank first illegally showed the film.

It’s safe to assume that the majority of those attending the screening arrived with a basic background on the Rolling Stones as a seminal cultural phenomenon and a wild caricature of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Whether most of the audience was there to bask in the heyday of classic rock hedonism, or scoff at the very same thing, it required real grit to sit through the raw, often-humourless footage of their 1972 Exile on Main St tour.   

The film was shot in a cinéma vérité style, which contributed to its disjointed nature. Cinéma vérité is a rather broad genre of documentary film, conducted in this case by providing several cameras for band members, groupies, and sound engineers alike to record what they saw on tour. The result—compiled in the editing  room by Frank to lend some semblance of story—is a shaky, often random, and even cringe-inducing record of The Rolling Stones’ lifestyle. The film failed to reveal the glamour of life on the road with the Stones and the excitement of cultural revolution that comes with many rock documentaries (see The Last Waltz or Monterey Pop). Instead, the film’s unflinching lens casts a pall over the orgies, injections, lines, and parties. While some interviewees are gregarious and giddy from drug use, their words have little more consequence than the stoned musings of the average person. 

There are moments of joy that break through the dizzying close-ups of naked girls and heroin users. The longer concert scenes showcase the band at their best: In a haze of glitter, velvet, smoke machines, and screaming riffs to go along with Keith Richards’ mad guitar solos. Other innocent scenes remind the audience of the Stones’ humanity, such as when Mick Jagger goes through a painstaking process to order a bowl of strawberries and blueberries to his room in a middle-of-nowhere hotel. 

Ultimately, Cocksucker Blues succeeds in that it is not a glamourization of debauchery but an honest look at it. The film exhibits an unedited view of the Stones in all their hedonist glory, and that includes many moments of vulnerability and some of dazzling invincibility. 

a, McGill, News, SSMU

AMUSE addresses floor fellow negotiations in open letter to Fortier

by Sara Cullen on

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On Oct. 15, an open letter directed to McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier was published by the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE). The letter addressed grievances that arose during floor fellow unionization, and the way in which McGill University is interacting with floor fellows during collective agreement bargaining processes, which began in October 2014 and are still ongoing. The letter states that the university refuses to respect the floor fellows’ values, namely anti-oppression and harm-reduction, and is violating Quebec labour law by refusing to pay floor fellows a wage.

“Roughly 100 floor fellows who have worked in the past two years have filed cases for backpay with the Commission des Normes du Travail (CNT), requesting that they be paid for the hours they performed while on the job,” AMUSE wrote. “Cases filed in 2013 have already been reviewed by the CNT, which ruled in floor fellows’ favour, yet McGill refuses to pay floor fellows and has appealed the ruling.”

Sadie McInnes, Vice-President (VP) Floor Fellow at AMUSE, noted that McGill continues to be unwilling in remuneration negotiations despite the cases filed with the CNT.

“We […] have repeatedly come to the bargaining table with extensive calculations and testimonies to back up our requests, and it doesn’t seem to be significant to McGill that the CNT has ruled in favour of floor fellows being paid [for] a certain number of hours, or that our [wage] calculations are rooted in averages pulled from people on the ground doing the job,” said McInnes “It’s really hard to know where the figures [McGill presents] to us are coming from.”

Another portion of the open letter addressed changes that have been made to the Residence Life Manager (RLM) role. These changes include non-compensation for overtime hours and a shift in responsibilities from floor fellows to RLMs. Tasks such as taking a student to the hospital, which was the responsibility of floor fellows in the past, are now the responsibility of the RLM. AMUSE stated in their letter that such changes negatively impact both floor fellows and students.  

“McGill has unilaterally made major changes to the working conditions of RLMs that have directly and negatively impacted floor fellows’ capacity to rely on them at all,” AMUSE wrote in the open letter. “RLMs have been told that they will not be compensated for overtime hours performed this year, when last year hundreds of these hours were required per RLM in order to adequately perform the job.”

Mathieu Laperle, senior director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services, said that McGill sees nothing wrong with the current RLM model.

“Our students are getting more support and more appropriate support in their transition to university life, especially during periods of crisis,” Laperle said. “This does not take away from the important work floor fellows do, but is an overall improvement in our delivery of services to students in residence.”

McInnes stressed the importance of incorporating floor fellows’ values into the agreement, but noted that McGill has not demonstrated willingness to include the values system in the collective agreement.

“Our biggest difficulty has of course been getting our values entrenched in a meaningful way in the agreement, which McGill has proven really resistant to,” McInnes said. “Pretty much the only thing that has gone off without a hitch has been agreeing over really basic definitions, which is the first step in the process in order to be clear about the language being used throughout the agreement. Other than that, I would say we have faced a lot of difficulty with McGill and most of the process has been really challenging and draining.”

Bargaining will resume in early November. McInnes stated that she hopes to see a change in the general attitude of the administration.

“I hope that McGill will stop disrespecting us with the suggestions they make at the bargaining table and will come forward with suggestions that demonstrate to floor fellows that they recognize the amount of work we do and that our work is valued,” McInnes said. “I would like to see McGill pay its employees fairly, not to mention within the law. I would also like to see McGill stop paying lip service to our values while refusing to institutionalize them.”

In a reply to AMUSE’s open letter, McGill Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance), Michael Di Grappa, addressed the complexity of bargaining procedures and said that an agreement would not be reached in the near future.

“Collective bargaining and the establishment of a first collective agreement are complex and lengthy processes,” Di Grappa wrote in his reply. “Normally, a first collective agreement for an employee group in a commonly understood role can take a year or two. As […] noted in [AMUSE’s] letters and through other channels, the floor fellow role at McGill is a special one. There are not too many other roles at the university to which we could compare it. Therefore, it will take time and extra effort to structure and define an agreement.”

a, Off the Board, Opinion

Off the board: Political critique without personal criticism

by Hailey MacKinnon on

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Topics dealing with race, sex, and gender are inherently politically and personally charged issues. Critiques based on these issues are bound to one’s own experience and identity; when these issues are raised, the discussion can quickly become emotionally-charged. These conversations are crucial in order to highlight and dismantle oppressive structures and ideas within an academic setting, such as in course conferences. At the same time, the way the conversations are being conducted may be more harmful than helpful due to the creation of an “us versus them mentality” which reduces the willingness to engage in constructive conversations.

When students begin to explore these topics, there is a tendency for those who are more informed about anti-oppressive terminology and measures to respond with criticism rather than feedback. According to Psychology Today, criticism focuses on one’s personality, implies blame, devalues an opinion, and assumes the worst. Feedback focuses on the future, respects autonomy, encourages, and focuses on behaviour rather than personality. It is a confusion between these two forms of communication that fuels negativity and resentment regarding politicized conversations on campus. For example, responding to a comment that one may deem offensive, often follows with, “You are inconsiderate,” or “You are racist,” rather than, “That sentence is insensitive because….It would be better to use this terminology instead” or, “This terminology is racist due to […]”

Using criticism rather than feedback engenders a hostile atmosphere. A misuse of terminology deems the user one of ‘them’—the misogynists, the racists, the homophobes.

An example of this is the frequent use and accompanying tone of the expression “check your privilege.” What once began as an insightful way for people to reconsider their point of views based on the privileges they hold and the ones that other people may not have, has been ironically transformed into one that drips condescension and denotes “your views are invalid.” “Check your privilege” has become enveloped in patronization, targeting others for their seemingly intentional inconsideration; this either shuts down conversation, or makes one conclusion acceptable—any other perspective is a product of privileged bias and should be deplored. The tone and overuse of the phrase has been subject to backlash, and has generally been reduced to a joke: It is used to mock what should be an important and genuine way to highlight and dismantle oppressive structures.

The result of using criticism rather than feedback engenders a hostile atmosphere. A misuse of terminology deems the user one of ‘them’—the misogynists, the racists, the homophobes. Calling out mistakes by means of shaming and ridicule is especially common in introductory-level classes where new terminology is only being introduced and mistakes are common. These tactics only deter students—who may not have been trying to be offensive in the first place—from participating in and contributing to the discussion, and may in fact polarize views instead. People will be more likely to discard inappropriate terminology if they are brought to understand why it is deemed so, which cannot occur through condescension and attack.

As stated by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, two writers who have extensively covered anti-oppressive measures on campus for Atlantic Magazine, “When the ideas, values, and speech of the other side are seen not just as wrong but as wilfully aggressive toward innocent victims, it is hard to imagine the kind of mutual respect, negotiation, and compromise that are needed to make politics a positive-sum game.” Using feedback rather than attack is more likely to lead to productive discussions, rather than the polarization of views and feelings.

While it is true that not all opinions are equally deserving of respect or attention, an effective way to strip the power of views deemed offensive is to dismantle them through rational discussion and understanding—which means they must be allowed to be discussed in the first place. Progress and education are achieved through the free flow of diverse opinions and ideas in a constructive manner. In order for this to happen, students must feel comfortable to share their thoughts without fear of personal attack. Students who find themselves on the receiving end of critiques must also do more to acknowledge the bias they may hold in order to understand where a peer is coming from. It is not the content of conversation that generally needs to be altered. It is the way the conversation is being conducted on campus that may be driving students to reject and resent the anti-oppressive discussion that takes place on campus. A middleground must be struck where all students can consciously, respectfully, and productively debate such conversations.

 

 

a, Science & Technology

Evaluating postpartum depression in men

by Wanlin Song on

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The birth of a child is typically considered to be a joyful experience; however, it can also be a stressful and difficult time in parents’ lives. Sometimes this stress can lead to conditions like antenatal depression or postpartum depression (PPD), which occur during and after pregnancy, respectively. In the past decade, research on antenatal depression and PPD has mainly focused on women. Recently, scientists from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) closely tracked the depression symptoms of expectant fathers during their partner’s pregnancy and found strong correlation between the men’s depression, sleep quality, social support, their relationships with their partners, and financial strain.

Although earlier studies have shown evidence of PPD in men, its association with antenatal depression had not been examined closely. In the present study, lead researcher, Dr. Deborah Da Costa, focused on the prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-time fathers in late pregnancy, as they are strong predictors of PPD.

To conduct the research, online questionnaires were distributed to couples, in which they were asked to report their mood, sleep quality, and distress in partner relationship. Their mental states and the stress factors were carefully measured by specific and well-validated assessments, such as the Edinburgh Depression Scale, which screens for symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The data collected from the research shows that older age, unemployment, and the lack of sleep accounted significantly for antenatal depression in men. Psychosocial variables such as lower social support and financial stress, also played a key role in causing depressed moods. Additionally, elevated depressive symptoms experienced by women during third trimester of their pregnancy negatively affected the mental states of their partners.

 Based on these findings, Da Costa emphasized the need to give expectant fathers more emotional support.

“Men tend to close themselves off […] while women are much more expressive, which is why people are unaware of the depression in men,” she explained. “[But] men and women share the same symptoms—sadness, loss of hope, not enjoying life—they just express [that] differently.”

Da Costa also recommended prenatal classes and online resources as a recourse of information for men who need help with managing their stress.  

“Unlike women, who tend to express their emotions, men are less likely to go to consultations of mental health because they feel the stigma associated with it,” she said. “In this case, internet might be a useful tool to offer help.”

Other ways to help first-time fathers include screening for sleep problems, addressing sleeping problems during transition to parenthood, more social support, and shifting marital strategies to reduce stress in a couple’s relationship. 

A new baby puts stress on both partners—not just new moms. As traditional gender roles change and evolve, issues like men’s mental health are getting the attention they need and deserve.

“[Studies on men] are necessary because good mental health is important to [everyone’s] life,” explained Da Costa. “When men feel depressed, they tend to engage in unhealthy behaviour such as drinking, [and], it can also bring negative effects [to] the relationship between the couples […] and affect the development of the child.” 

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