Suzanna Graham, Arts and Entertainment Editor: Three years ago, I felt disconnected from McGill, Montreal, and my fellow students. In the last week of my first year, a friend of a friend suggested I write for a school paper. The second week of second year, I ran from class to[Read More…]
Articles by Suzanna Graham
2D or not 2D (animation)
In a streaming era saturated with live-action, CGI, and 3D animated films, lately, all I’ve wanted to do is curl up under a blanket and watch a 2D animated movie. The other day, while scrolling through Letterboxd lists, I stumbled upon a movie I had never heard of before: Wolfwalkers.[Read More…]
Black Theatre Workshop’s ‘Diggers’ is a tribute to essential workers
In a town, on a hill, within a graveyard, there are two gravediggers. Solomon (Christian Paul) and Abdul (Chance Jones) live, breathe, and work the graves, day in and day out, weathering torrential rains, pandemic, and death. They are overworked. They are tired. They continue to dig. Solomon and Abdul[Read More…]
To all the sports I’ve loved before: McGill athletes and sports fans share love letters to the sports they love most
Tillie Burlock, Managing Editor Dear baseball, My bat mitzvah was a week away. As my soft spoken tutor, Aaron, desperately tried to get me to focus on my D’var Torah, the speech I would be delivering before an audience of family members and bored preteens, Jose Bautista stepped up to[Read More…]
You Reddit here first: January winter wonderances
We’ve scrolled through the r/mcgill subreddit for you, McGillians, and here are the notable submissions. So sit back, relax, and guffaw at the silly (and occasionally sweet) text people post on our own little corner of the internet. where do ppl put their coats before class – u/Certain_Clothes_2480 It’s true—first-timers[Read More…]
Some like it hot: Chocolate
We’ve reached winter. It’s cold—we’re all familiar with the wind seeping through our fall-appropriate cargo pants and bunching our fists in the palm of our gloves. We need hot chocolate. If you’re wondering where to find the best cup in the city, I’ve got you. Look no further for an[Read More…]
You Reddit here first: No bad questions November
It’s a Friday—already the weekend for Desautels students—and you need to vent and gather reassurance that other students are having a worse finals season than you. You don’t exit your bedroom and talk to your roommates. Instead, you turn to r/mcgill, McGill’s online campus. The subreddit boasts over 57,000 members[Read More…]
Birds: My mortal enemies
I didn’t see a single bird during the U.S. government shutdown between Dec. 22, 2018, and Jan. 25, 2019. While the feathery fiends in British Columbia may have just been taking the month off from antagonizing my fellow high schoolers on the frosty coast of Vancouver Island, I choose to[Read More…]
Bewitching reads and frightening films
With the scariest day of the year approaching, the season of haunted houses, autumn treats, and ghostly costume parties is upon us. But with Halloween landing on Tuesday this year, how can you be expected to keep up with the holiday spirit(s) while still making it to your 8:30 a.m.[Read More…]
Bad guys with good vibes: Why I will always love the villain
In the Feature of the week: Arts & Entertainment editor Suzanna Graham explores the relationship between animated villainy and queer culture.
What we liked this reading break
With midterm season in full swing, this past fall reading week served as a much-needed reprieve from the academic grind—and the perfect chance to relax with a good book, movie, or album. From stellar British hip hop albums to the Fat Bears gracing your Twitter timelines and everything in between,[Read More…]
SSMU BoD vote to fill VP Finance position temporarily
The Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) gathered for their first meeting of the fall semester on Sept. 7. During the public session, they voted to elect Vice President (VP) External Liam Gaither to take over the VP Finance’s voting power. The responsibilities attached to the[Read More…]
The Tribune’s definitive list of guilty pleasures
Perfect Match There are no two ways to say it: I love reality TV. I’ve watched the American and British Love Island editions and all three versions of the Selling franchise (Selling Sunset, Selling Tampa, Selling the OC). I’ve seen love in every form: Blind, on an island, or at[Read More…]
Alternative drag: Screwing the patriarchy and feeding the children
When host Selma Gahd opens her show Coven, she invites her audience to take an oath where they promise to fuck with the patriarchy. From there, the cozy Diving Bell Social Club becomes a witching circle—an entrance into the wondrous world of alternative drag. Coven is a far cry from[Read More…]
QUIZ: Guess these eight movie and TV characters, out of context
Here’s a hint: Each character is a university student—just like us! The next time you and your new friends chill out by the Roddick Gates, make sure to act like this character and start accusing them of trying to murder you. It’s not her fault—she’s just trying to look out[Read More…]
‘Strange Bewildering Time’ is a time capsule of forgotten history
Forty years ago, author and poet Mark Abley went on a three-month journey that changed his outlook on life. Accompanied by his friend Clare, the two travelled through several countries during the last year of the Hippie trail, at a time when it seemed that travel within Asia was cheap,[Read More…]
McGill, it’s time to break up with Datamatch
While there’s nothing wrong with being single on Valentine’s Day, the Harvard-created site Datamatch promised that anyone wanting a date on Feb. 14 could be paired with a compatible option. Since 2019, Datamatch has expanded its services to the McGill community, matching single students on Valentine’s Day through a “very[Read More…]
Logan Paul’s genius strategies to make you rich!
Logan Paul is not the scam king that the media has falsely painted him to be. I, for one, am an avid supporter of the hotter Paul brother and have personally spent thousands of dollars on NFTs, which I don’t regret at all. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are the genius[Read More…]
The McGill Tribune presents: THE BEST AND WORST OF 2022
BEST OF Albums Mitski, Laurel Hell – Ella Buckingham Japanese-American singer-songwriter Mitski’s sixth studio album, Laurel Hell, comes off the back of her three-year hiatus and is an artful collection of head-bopping pop numbers and slow, narrative ballads. Though veering more toward the mainstream than her previous albums, throughout this[Read More…]
Write a novel in 30 days: Time starts now
While a 2,000-word paper may be a daunting task for some students, others take on a greater and even more creatively stimulating challenge—writing 50,000 words to draft an entire novel over the course of November. Besides being known as the month when exams start to loom, it also hosts National[Read More…]
Another day, another vampire slay
Imagine if a teenaged Wattpad author wrote the classic 1897 novel Dracula. Now, imagine that this sexy retelling is actually funny. This is the concept behind the Segal Centre’s newest play, Dracula: a Comedy of Terrors. Co-written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, the play features five brilliant actors who[Read More…]
‘Scenes from the Underground’ centres queer rave culture around the world
McGill alumnus Gabriel Cholette (MA ‘17) started his writing career by publishing true vignette-style stories about queer sex and party culture on an anonymous Instagram account for his friends. The vignettes range in length from a single sentence to a three-page whirlwind, with settings from Montreal to Berlin, but all[Read More…]
‘Dancing with the Stars’ premiere shimmies into the spotlight
Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) is the perfect mix of fact and fiction. Fact: I’m very confident that the majority of viewers that judge DWTS on Twitter could not tell the difference between a Paso Doble and a Jive. Fiction: The promise that all the contestants put the “star” in[Read More…]
Spit-takes: Harry Styles vs. Chris Pine?
To spit or not to spit? That is the question. After months of alleged drama amongst the cast and crew of Olivia Wilde’s new film Don’t Worry Darling, it’s only fitting that press for the premiere centred around gossip rather than the mediocre-at-best movie. The moment in question happened just[Read More…]
Artist Spotlight: Lucas Fournier
Montreal’s status as a must-stop city for popular artists and bands is partially due to its vibrant independent music scene, which thrives amidst a culture of diverse genres and styles. Singer-songwriter Lucas Fournier, U2 Arts, was attracted to the city for similar reasons and chose to come to McGill in[Read More…]
Finding self-love as an exiled love poet
For Ancient Romans, “following your heart” rarely resulted in finding true love—more often than not, it ended in untimely death, being transformed into a tree, or thousands of years of exile. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the 2022 edition of the McGill Classics Play, love is to blame for the many[Read More…]
Disney’s support for ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill contradicts their alleged values
Considering that Disney owns a theme park that they call the “happiest place on Earth,” it is disappointing that the company currently supports several legislators who want to silence 2SLGBTQIA+ people and make Florida the most heterosexual place on Earth. Disney made headlines after the Orlando Sentinel and other news[Read More…]
The young adult dystopian genre is too close for comfort
When many think of the young adult (YA) dystopian genre, both in literature and in film, The Hunger Games immediately comes to mind as one of the defining trilogies of the category. The Hunger Games hit the big screen 10 years ago and made nearly $700 million in worldwide sales.[Read More…]
What we liked this reading break
As another reading week comes and goes, McGill students once again return to the textbooks. Even so, the fleeting time away from school has served as a great opportunity to devour new content and re-discover some hidden gems. Here are The McGill Tribune’s favourites from Winter 2022 Reading Week. The[Read More…]
Wordle’s popularity is no puzzle
Sick of time-consuming crossword puzzles, or endless online games with thousands of repetitive levels? Wordle, the latest internet craze boasting roughly 3,000,000 daily players, might be your jam. The premise is simple: Try to guess a random five-letter word in six or fewer tries. Once users guess a word, the[Read More…]
McGill professor examines elitism and pastoralism in 16th century Venetian art
On Feb. 3, Chriscinda Henry, one of McGill’s associate professors of art history, delivered a lecture for The Courtauld Gallery’s online speaker series on Concert Champêtre, a famous painting by Venetian Renaissance painter Titian. Henry exposed how Concert Champêtre, the title of which translates to “pastoral concert,” offers a window[Read More…]
Remembering André Leon Talley’s and Thierry Mugler’s iconic fashion legacies
Thierry Mugler, the iconic French designer, and André Leon Talley, the former creative director of Vogue, both passed away at the age of 73 last month. Both renowned for their work in the fashion industry, the loss of such great talents was tremendously felt by all those who knew them[Read More…]
Literary theorist Jeff Dolven pays a virtual visit to the English department
On Jan. 19, the McGill English Department held its 2022 Spector Lecture, an annual event that highlights contemporary work in the literary field. This year, the department welcomed Jeff Dolven, a poet, literary critic, and Princeton professor of English. Later, students and faculty had a chance to hear several of[Read More…]
‘Anxious People’ is underwhelming as a TV series
Content warning: Mentions of suicide, drug addiction, and violence Being a bank robber isn’t easy. From attempting to rob a cashless bank, to accidentally taking eight lovable yet bizarre people hostage at an open house, Anxious People’s anti-hero has found himself in a no-win situation. However, as police storm the[Read More…]
The McGill Tribune Presents: THE BEST AND WORST OF 2021
ALBUMS Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift 2012 was a simpler time: As conspiracy-theorists announced the approach of the world’s end, Taylor Swift was easing into pop music with catchy breakup songs. Nine years later, she has re-recorded her chart-topping album Red, adding 10 new songs (from the vault) that[Read More…]
Tuesday Night Café Theatre production ‘The Elephant’ is a powerful musical about surviving abuse
Content Warning: discussion of sexual assault Tuesday Night Café Theatre (TNC)’s newest production The Elephant is a powerful story of survival and perseverance. Written and directed by Troy Lebane, U3 Music Education, this musical portrays characters in the aftermath of an abuser’s arrest in his former workplace and offers a[Read More…]
Capitalizing on fanbases is a win-win for artists and companies
Celebrity fanbases such as BTS’s “ARMY,” Beyoncé’s “Beyhive,” and Taylor Swift’s “Swifties” all have one thing in common—they are incredibly loyal. From buying front-row concert tickets to investigating every detail of social media posts, these fans follow their idol’s every move. Such devout admirers make for perfect marketing targets for[Read More…]
‘God of Carnage’ marks Players’ Theatre’s return to in-person theatre
One hundred years after starting the company, and three years after closing their stage for renovations and COVID-19, Players’ Theatre finally returned to in-person shows with Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage. Despite the play having only four characters and being produced in a small black-box theatre, the show was full[Read More…]
Comedic, joyful, and sombre: ‘The Best Canadian Poetry of 2021’
Canadian poets, consistently overshadowed by American writers, rarely get the recognition their talents deserve. is A collection of 50 poems by Canadian poets, the Best Canadian Poetry 2021 anthology is curated by its guest editor Souvankham Thammavongsa, who has author of five books, including How to Pronounce Knife, and received[Read More…]
The multifaceted stories of ‘Personal Attention Roleplay’
Montreal-based writer and fiction editor Helen Chau Bradley is set to release their debut story collection Personal Attention Roleplay on Nov. 23 under Metonymy Press. The McGill Tribune reviews the stories ahead of this upcoming release. “Only The Lonely,” Ian Clements “Only The Lonely” follows the relationships of an unemployed[Read More…]
‘Human Weighted Blanket’ experiment aims to smother anxiety through platonic touch
After months of strict isolation and social distancing regulations, many are missing the comfort of a good hug. Self-proclaimed “Artivist” Red Jay, a.k.a. Joshua Oliver, has created a remedy for the loneliness the pandemic has fostered. On World Mental Health Day, October 10, Red Jay presented a two-part exhibit called[Read More…]
Film trailers with spoilers rob us of the joy of surprise
In an era of empty movie theatres and increasingly popular streaming services, movie marketers are desperate to entice viewers back to cinemas. According to the Motion Pictures Association’s annual theme report, the United States and Canada’s box office market decreased by 81 per cent between 2019 and 2020. At the[Read More…]
‘Come from Away’ finds solace in community amid tragedy
Twenty years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Apple TV+ has released a film rendition of the 2017 Broadway musical Come from Away. During the aftermath of the attacks, the U.S. closed its airspace, diverting 238 planes to Canadian airports. 38 of those diverted flights arrived in the small town of[Read More…]
What we liked this summer
A return to schoolwork entails an adjustment to our levels of consumption. In the spirit of endings, new beginnings and transitions, the Tribune weighs in on their favourite pieces of content from this summer. There’s plenty of time left until midterms for a few binges. Book: The Authenticity Project Suzanna[Read More…]
‘Only Murders in the Building’ refreshingly reinvents the classic murder-mystery story
In a city filled with self-absorbed, isolated, and irritating people, it seems reasonable that New Yorkers rarely interact with their neighbours. Yet Hulu’s newest show Only Murders in the Building proves that boredom is a strong motivator for some to investigate the most despised person in their apartment complex. Created[Read More…]