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Montreal’s fine arts

by Noah Caldwell-Rafferty on

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Imagine strolling through campus on your way to the studio for CERA 335, Introduction to Ceramics, in a blissful jaunt that stirs your creativity with each step, making you wish you were already sitting at the pottery wheel.  You remark, “How wonderful it is that I can study fine art at such a good school!  In such a nice city!”  To experience this feeling, you’d have to be a student of Concordia University.  What’s a Redman to do, then, when he wants to step into a Bumblebee’s shoes?

 Concordia offers dozens of BFA programs, ranging from dance to film to computational arts to fibres (if rickety old textile mills stir your passions) to, yes, ceramics.  Our neighbour to the east, UQAM, similarly offers graphic arts and design majors.  In fact, Montreal’s arts culture seems to surround the McGill campus.  Five minutes down Sherbrooke to the west is the Musee des Beaux-Arts, a veritable hotbed of permanent and temporary art, ranging from Greek vases to pieces by Yoko Ono; for the modern art purveyor, the DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art lies just five minutes into the Old Port.

The vibrancy of the Montreal art scene outside of McGill is no accident.  Just look at the Quartier des Spectacles.  The city’s newest quarter sports opera halls, bars, cinemas, museums, and libraries, spanning more than ten blocks and three metro stations.  You can do anything from attend the largest jazz festival in the world, to sit on a park bench and watch denizens run through multicolored fountains on the new Place des Arts plaza.  While McGill keeps turning a blind eye to the creative arts, the city of Montreal is picking up the slack.  The magnitude of the $120 million Quartier even breaks the current international trend.  The U.S. National Endowment for the Arts barely gets $150 million per year for the whole country, and even Holland, once the most supportive arts society in the world, is now cutting its subsidies in half.

Most would be surprised to know that McGill had a Fine Arts program 60 years ago.  But true to McGill’s research focus, details of the Fine Arts program are scarce, like a ghost fleeing campus memory with haste. Tracing my way through a maze of obituaries online, one of the few places where records of McGill’s BFA still exist, I tracked down a graduate from as late as 1949. At long last, I found a Gazette article from 1965 in a tangled cobweb of cyber archives.  The pure BFA was terminated in 1952, and thereafter a revamped Art History department kept some studio courses. Even then, the aim wasn’t vocational training. Rather, for the students to judge and study creativity, they needed some understanding of what being creative entailed. If you can find the date of the final moratorium for the fated McGill studio arts, email me—it seems to have vanished into thin air.

Instead of being disappointed with McGill’s lack of Fine Arts courses, this seems the perfect reason for indulging in Montreal’s offerings.  Stay a while after graduating.  Take up mural painting (legally, of course).  Independent art schools are numerous in the city’s downtown. Montreal’s proclivity for enhancing the arts seems boundless, and you don’t have to worry about whether you’re a Redman or a Bumblebee to explore the finer sides of Montreal living. 

Opinion

The Tribune’s GA endorsements

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McGill Tribune

Resolution regarding democratic reform of the SSMU Board of Directors—YES  

The SSMU Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body at SSMU and must consist of only Canadian citizens or permanent residents. This motion would increase the Board of Directors from seven people to 16, and give more power to the legislative council, who are currently underrepresented on the board. Due to the intricacies of Quebec’s liquor laws, this would also allow the SSMU to retain its liquor license. The Tribune fully endorses this motion in favour of representation, so show up to the GA, vote, and get the job done.

Resolution regarding accessible education—YES, with reservations

The Quebec government has announced tuition increases of $325 annually over the next five years for Quebec residents, and will soon announce the increases for out of province students. SSMU is currently mandated to actively oppose all tuition hikes and actively promote accessible education. The Tribune endorses this motion and its long-term goals, but encourages  SSMU to investigate and support alternative funding models, including a more extensive financial aid fund for students most affected by the increased tuition. Although aiming for free post-secondary education is a noble cause, it might be unrealistic given the tuition trends across the province. The Tribune hopes that the aims of this motion are attainable in the long term, but recognizes that other solutions may be better for current students.

Resolution regarding the Sustainability Assessment—YES

This motion mandates that SSMU update the Sustainability Assessment annually. The assessment will include, among other things, an overview of green student groups’ projects, evaluation of the year’s progress, and recommendations for the following year. This assessment was performed in 2008, but has not been updated since then. The Tribune endorses this motion and sees it as a vehicle for transparency between students and sustainability efforts on campus. Turnover is inherent in a campus community, and an annual sustainability assessment which provides reports on past projects and future goals will undoubtedly prove useful for future McGillians.

Resolution regarding reappointments—YES

This motions argues that students should be represented on the consultation committee for reappointments of the provost, deputy provost, and vice principle, and that SSMU should employ all measures at their disposable to change McGill’s policy on the reappointment committee. As it stands, student representatives are only involved in the initial appointment of these members. Students are represented in the appointment and reappointment of faculty deans, and for good reason—all of the above positions affect student life. Therefore, students should be consulted in the case that a member may  not warrant reappointment. For the love of student-consultation, the Tribune fully endorses this motion.

Resolution regarding labour disputes—YES, with reservations

This motion would mandate SSMU to extend and modify its current policy of standing in solidarity with  workers on campus. The updated policy would require SSMU to collect varied perspectives on campus union strikes, disseminate this information to the student body, and support workers in their strike. The Tribune endorses the SSMU’s support of campus unions and its collection and dissemination of much-needed information regarding disputes. It is in the best interests of students to be well informed of campus workers’ disputes. While the SSMU may counter information brought forth by the administration—as was the case at the start of the   MUNACA strike—students deserve an unbiased account of these disputes. The Tribune is concerned that SSMU’s blanket statement on all future labour disputes could cause conflict. Although many students support the MUNACA strike, this may not be so in the case in future disputes.

The Tribune is glad to see that students have put forth motions more serious than installing a stripper pole in Gerts or holding a bake sale to rescue AUS from its debts.

The SSMU General Assembly will be held at 4:30 on Monday, Sept. 26 in the Shatner Ballroom (third floor, SSMU building).

Opinion

Pay no attention

by Ricky Kreitner on

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It was the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw who first compared writing a column to standing under a windmill: as soon as you’ve dodged one blade, another is rounding the bend and heading straight for you.

As a writer, I find the comparison apt. As a reader, however, you should be alarmed, and perhaps ask the following question: “Is it really just the pressure of deadlines that prompts you to pen these screeds, these columns you invest with all the rhetorical force of a man, in good faith, setting forth to solve the world’s problems? And you expect that I’ll be guilted into reading them? Are you really so conniving and cruel?”

The short answer is yes. I didn’t want to write this column. I spent the last two days scratching my head, etching notes in class and crossing them out, struggling to think of something to say. This is what I’ve come up with: about 650 words that, if nothing else, fill up the Tribune.

Like every other, this newspaper, the one in your hands, is filled cover to cover with pieces like this, even if they don’t come out and admit it: the makeshift byproducts of  prejudice, haste, and contingency. The ambitions and needs of writers are cloaked in the vesture of authoritative voice and semi-official proclamation from the land of hard, certain truth. The paper waits on the stands, instills guilt in your heart, and bids you to read it or risk being ill-informed.

Both as opinion editor for the Tribune last year and as a writer for a fairly well-read online magazine this past summer, I have closely observed how articles are pulled out of the ether. When I feel positively about the whole writing enterprise, it feels like a miracle. This didn’t exist before, and now it does. With my name on it. When I have my eyes open, though, and am not blinded by my own journalistic aspirations, it’s plain trickery.

Editorials are whipped together not quite so that the editorial board can make its opinions known, really move things and perhaps shake them, too, but because editorials just have to be written; that’s how newspapers work. In the online world, mania for page views overrides care for content. Publications exist for themselves, not for us. Even if writers don’t have anything necessarily pressing to say, the whole structure of media as an industry forces them to write anyway.

What results is not just profits, not just subservience from the masses who foolishly consider the media the place to go to find out what’s really going on, but a whole sphere of base gossip and purposeful propaganda that masquerades as intelligent discourse.

This is the most amusing lie: that by reading about Michele Bachmann’s hair instead of Kim Kardashian’s sex life, you are being “serious.” In truth, though, it’s really the same base human instincts being appealed to, and I rather respect someone who reads People more than someone who reads the New York Times, because the tabloid reader has the guts to come out and declare themselves as base and crude and small, whereas the “news follower” tries pitifully to hide that they are all those things.

Let’s reclaim that great line, and finally heed it this time: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” When we do pay attention to the Wizard of Oz, we find that attention is exactly what he needs. He is lonely, forlorn, and homesick. His needs are, in a way, just as great as the needs of his guests, Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion, and Toto.

The same goes for the media. Its needs are great, and we suffer. I propose a boycott: withdraw your consent, and let the system reform itself. Let it conform itself to our needs. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

a, Opinion

A letter from MUNACA

by Kevin Whittaker on

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McGill Tribune

To fellow members of the McGill commnity,

We are McGill employees, each of us working in a different capacity at the university. Between us we have given almost 100 years of service to McGill. We work hard and we take pride in the work that we do. Like you, we are members of the McGill community.

We are also MUNACA’s Executive, elected by our coworkers. As you are no doubt aware we have been on strike since Thursday, September 1, along with approximately 1,700 of our co­workers. We are not pleased about being on strike, and it is not a decision that we have taken lightly. But we feel that McGill administration has given us no choice.

Over the last several years we have watched as our terms and conditions of employment have deteriorated: the implementation of a two-tier pension plan; cuts to retirees; cuts to our benefits.

So-called “advisory” or “consultative” meetings with the University to “discuss” these matters, where we are told that we need to agree to such reductions or else expect worse.

The fact of the matter is that these unilateral changes are not happening at other major universities in this city. They are not happening because other universities such as the University of Montreal and the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) have agreed to protections for their employees’ plans. We believe the same can and should happen here.

Recently Provost Masi has taken to negotiating via the media and via communications to the broader McGill community by outlining in detail his interpretation of our initial proposals, made to the university in negotiations in February of this year. We should expect better from senior administrators at the university. Clearly the university’s intent is to divide McGill staff. But with respect to pension and benefits, to be clear, we have told the university that we are prepared to discuss joint committees for both our pensions and benefits, committees with representatives from all staff associations on campus, so that we as staff might have some control over what happens to our benefits and our pensions. To date, McGill has said no. We all pay millions into these plans; we deserve to have a say in what happens to them.

It is true that we are in dispute with respect to wages. We seek a proper wage scale, like those in place at other universities. Indeed, McGill has taken recently to referring in its communications to settlements that the provincial government has arrived at with its employees. Unionized provincial employees that do the same work as MUNACA members have proper wage scales. We do not. Instead we have to work at McGill for 37 years before we earn a full salary. The annual salary of Principal Monroe-Blum is greater than that of the Prime Minister of Canada. Millions are spent on renovating her office. Provost Masi is one of the highest paid University administrators in the province. And yet we are told that we cannot have a proper wage scale like other schools.

This, unfortunately, is consistent with what we have seen at McGill in recent years. Needs of staff are at the bottom of the administration’s priority list, if we make the list at all.

Our union is ready and willing to negotiate, and there are serious issues that need to be addressed in this round of negotiations. The sooner that the administration demonstrates a willingness to address these issues the sooner we can all get back to work and get back to serving the McGill community.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we’d like to thank the hundreds, if not thousands, of members of the McGill community for the outpouring of solidarity and support shown for our struggle to make McGill a better place to work. It is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the strike, visit one of our picket captains on the picket lines, or contact us at [email protected].

a, Opinion

My CSIS and desist

by Marri Lynn Knadle on

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 My dad keeps emailing me a link to apply to be an Intelligence Officer in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Since moving 4,000 kilometres away from my home town and leaving frequent face-time with him behind, what was once a playful career pitch over martinis has now become a quasi-regular feature of my Hotmail inbox. I look forward to these recruitment emails like a vegetarian looks forward to St-Hubert chicken discount flyers.

You may sensibly wonder what astounding qualities and qualifications provoke his endorsement. My eyes are so myopic that glasses, stylish or not, are a legal requirement if I’m behind the wheel. Despite being almost 25, I am also still not licensed to even be behind that wheel in the first place. And I still cannot speak Canada’s other official language outside of bars. To add to that overwhelming curriculum vitae of acquired skills, I have the reflexes of a toddler on a horse’s dose of Benadryl, and my ability to recognize and remember faces is almost an impairment when I sit down to play a game of Guess Who.

Despite knowing all these things about me, still, every other month or so, there is the email titled something unassuming like “hi” or “miss you,” and there inside is the link to the CSIS application site and some encouraging words. Something along these lines: “You could do this if you want to.” Now that’s parental confidence. Or well-intentioned delusion. I really can’t decide.

Can you imagine an intelligence agent using the bus in a car chase? Can you imagine her glasses fogging up as it begins to drizzle in the middle of pursuing a suspicious suspect? One pause to spritz n’ shammy so she doesn’t trip over a trash can, and the suspect is gone. And how would the Anglophone in as an incognito observer in a small Francophone village that may or may not be unknowingly harbouring an international criminal?

None of those situations end well for our heroine, and I have a niggling feeling that while a Hollywood director might pay someone to enact such a farce, the Canadian government is less interested in funding such comedic reality entertainment at the expense of the security of its citizens. (I also have a feeling those aren’t really the things CSIS agents do, but I refuse to believe my dad could be so enthusiastic about advocating for a career in desk-sitting and paper-pushing.)

When these recruitment sessions were over dinners, they were usually accompanied by a vivid verbal depiction of the typical workday I could look forward to: it starts with a plainclothes informant (who incidentally happens to fit my father’s description) reading a newspaper at a café, and ends with the successful arrest of the quarry by an up-and-coming agent (that’s me). Apparently the background music is provided by David Holmes, the guy who did the Ocean’s 11 soundtrack.

I should start sending my dad links to apply for those by-correspondence blockbuster screenwriter programs; then the  push for vicarious  wish-fulfillment can go both  ways. With his experience, he’d also do well as a CSIS  recruitment officer. CSIS: where casual Fridays mean you’re deep undercover.

The next time a parent heckles  you to pursue a career as a  superspy, a transatlantic balloonist, an Alaskan crab  fisherman, or as the next pilot for the Snowbirds, try to derive a feel-good, comforting, universal principle of limitless opportunity from my dad’s  warm-hearted persistence, and apply it to your own circumstance.

In a way, he is right. I can  still get my driver’s license,  and there’s always Lasik. As for  the rest, we’ll see.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Montreal Fashion Week

by Brittany Rappaport on

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Sam Reynolds
Sam Reynolds

From Sept. 6 to 9, our cultural metropolis captivated the industry and the public alike at the 21st edition of Montreal Fashion Week. Bonsecours Market, in the hub of the Old Port, was the place to be seen and heard by buyers, bloggers, journalists, fashionistas, and fans, as all gathered to witness the Spring/Summer 2012 collections of both new and veteran local designers. With fashion shows, cocktail receptions, and off-site events, it was a jam-packed week of things to do and people to see. Although much of Fashion Week is about buying and selling, the events have recently come to attract more attention worldwide, as Montreal creeps up the fashion ladder and becomes more visible to competitor fashion cities. Surrounded by fashion-loving attendees and Spring/Summer 2012 looks, Montreal presented a variety of fun and fresh styles to look forward to after the dreaded winter months.

 

Barila

Barila’s collection had a peaceful, real-life feel. Antique floral prints with exposed shoulders, frocks, and shirts and dresses alike came alive in pastel blue with tan accessories to boot. Barila is often able to weave femininity into her collections while using edgy and relaxed designs.

Spring into fashion with … a classic, ‘all-American’ shirt dress with Barila distinction.

 

Melissa Nepton

Melissa Nepton’s collection improved with each piece that walked down the runway and those drawn to black and white will be impressed. But the focus was on a new style of drapery, a recurrent black and white tribal print shown in different formats, on oversized cowl necks and hoods in a beautiful balance of fitted and swathed; and amidst the black and white, spots of tan, olive, and pale orange.  

Spring into fashion with … a beige open-neck, long-sleeved, boyfriend-fit onesie with orange waist bow tie.

 

Martin Lim

Martin Lim used soft materials to express his Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Neutrals, as well as delicate pinks, greys, and browns, complemented his ensemble. Many of his pieces had a ‘60s mod spin to them, but Lim still managed to keep it modern with flowing accents. Horizontal and vertical stripes also made their way into his collection, but without the typical nautical look due to his color palette and piece design. He kept his collection both calm and upbeat by including simple yet striking ensembles.  

Spring into fashion with … a loose bubblegum pink and black spaghetti strap dress with ivory folds in the detail.

 

Second

Second has thoroughly expanded from their original denim line toward a wonderful collection of youthful and chic women’s wear, complementing a variety of styles in their design. They had a light yet structured feel to their collection, with very real-looking flowers in dresses, shirts, and even sash belts. Light denim colour made another appearance in dresses, skirts, pants, and coats as they mixed fresh whites, pale pinks, and corals for a very wearable and playful collection. With flowing tops, whimsical summer dresses, colourful shirt and skirt pairings, Second pleased yet again.

Spring into fashion with … a Gardenia printed strapless gown.

 

Travis Taddeo

Many of Taddeo’s pieces followed the expected Spring/Summer template, but then came the feathers, combined with a lovely use of blush tones and peachy-tan-pink colours that set his work apart from the floral inspiration for this season. The inclusion of lightweight and pale denim in anything other than pant format was well done, but the acid wash and paint splatter weren’t as successful. His western-style cloth poncho and subsequent two-piece were intriguing, and provided a different look for spring and summer. It was also nice to see how he balanced his leather pieces with flowing, light-coloured materials. Except for a couple of pieces, Travis Taddeo’s overall collection was strong.  

Spring into fashion with … a cocktail-length feather appliqué dress.

 

Denis Gagnon

It was great to see Gagnon use more colour than usual at this year’s Fashion Week. Mini floral patterns were intertwined with fiercer black leather, as well as champagne satin and shimmering highlights. Gagnon does not cease to amaze with his intricate detailing in every collection. There was a nice combination of tuxedo suiting as well as flirty and fun materials in rompers, dresses, and gowns as Gagnon mixed feminine and masculine borders.

Spring into fashion with … a black chiffon, white-bibbed shirt with pleated collar and cuffs over a pair of white shorts.

 

Anomal Couture

Daring bodysuits were the ultimate show-stopper for designer Sonia Leclair. Shimmering caramel, black, gold, and midnight blue were in the works for her Spring/Summer 2012 collection in both fierce and elegant ensembles. Leather, satin, and eclectic patterns were eye-catchers along with kimono-inspired detailing.

Spring into fashion with … a sequined gold and black draped kimono.

 

Dimitri Chris

Chris’ collections are always cute and preppy, and his male models oh-so-well-coiffed and put together. His work just makes you want to have a good old-fashioned, clean-cut boy to take home. Chris made great use of the nautical/sailor look that’s been seen time and time again, but what makes him Fashion Week-worthy is his tidy and fresh take on it. The little boat print was not as wearable in the suiting department, but was definitely a cute touch as a muscle tee. Chris showed that short-shorts can never really be too short, and looked classic with a blazer and relaxed sleeveless shirt to pair.  

Spring into fashion with … a boat-print sleeveless top with white fitted blazer and navy shorts. Classic and unbeatable. 

 

UNTTLD

UNTTLD wasn’t shy about making a strong statement on the runway at their debut at Fashion Week. Their fierce attitude paid off, with a unique combination of pieces demonstrating an outside-the-box mentality.

The collection is p
rimarily black and white but fear not fashionistas, UNTTLD balanced the simple colouring with a wide variety of textures, including leather, chiffon, mesh, and crochet. They also used a diverse cast of models to display their collection, connecting with Montrealers’ wide variety of lifestyles.

Spring into fashion with … a high neck, backless, black crochet, sleeveless top with black full-length skirt … silver chunk accessories more than welcome.

 

Dinh Ba Design

Dinh Ba showed an extensive collection for Spring/Summer 2012, but perhaps most exciting was the prospect of seeing tribal prints integrated into next year’s collection. The use of both bright colours and blacks in the collection was a nice change as we often see designers using solely monochromatic palettes or bright colours alone. There were a number of floral details used, including both petal and flower appliqué and pattern to the designs. While there wasn’t as much continuity between each piece as with other designers, Dinh Ba did a fine job bringing together many different styles and looks.

Spring into fashion with … a sleeveless, brighter-than-bright-blue, fitted dress with rose appliqué detail in the bottom half, worn with tone-on-tone blue tights. 

 

Soia & Kyo

You can always count on Soia & Kyo’s Ilan Elfassy to keep a youthful yet classic vibe to his jacket and coat designs for both men and women. This upcoming Spring/Summer collection creates room for some new, fun styles but doesn’t foresake attention to detail. Black, tan, ivory, and some splashes of colour make way for a glamorous array of fits as well as a great selection of unique looks for every individual style. Leather fitted jackets and bombers, trench coats, and sporty apparel too—Soia & Kyo’s focus is unforgettable, as is their ability to style head-to-toe.

Spring into fashion with … a shiny burgundy red bomber jacket.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Neon Indian: Era Extraña

by Chris Liu on

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Nowadays, music genres rise and fall in popularity on a yearly, if not monthly, basis. There was a time when Texas’ Neon Indian was the vanguard of “chillwave,” named for its dreamy synthwork layered around deliciously nebulous vocals. The group’s debut Psychic Chasms—which did much to establish the movement—was applauded by hipsters and critics alike.

But two years can be a long time. While contemporaries like Washed Out and Toro y Moi sharpened and expanded their sounds to dizzying effects, Neon Indian’s sophomore effort Era Extraña seems more like a reactionary response. It’s murkier and less lucid, though not without moments of nostalgic brilliance. Standout “Polish Girl” features a simple but irresistible riff looping over flaring synth lines. “Future Sick” puts Palermo’s whispy vocals on top of lurching, glittering arrangements. The titular “Era Extraña” cuts through the synth haze of previous tracks with a spacious and  grandiose delivery.  

Yet these few tracks all share a mere comparability with Neon Indian’s brilliant debut disc. The rest of Era Extraña either embodies directionless blips and beeps (“Suns Irrupt”) or overdoses on fuzzy din (“The Blindside Kiss”). Much of the disc is schizophrenic rather than psychedelic.  

This shouldn’t set Neon Indian back indefinitely, but for a band that was at the pinnacle of experimental sound, Era Extraña lacks the artistic vigour to hurdle the sophomore slump, let alone revolutionize a genre as they had done before.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Red Hot Chili Peppers: I’m With You

by Kelly Malfara on

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I’m With You, the tenth record from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the first after a five-year hiatus, takes the signature Pepper funk sound in a different direction.

The new route is undoubtedly due to the departure of long time guitarist John Frusciante, the band’s musical compass, and his subsequent replacement by Josh Klinghoffer.

It is evident that Frusciante’s exit has triggered a streak of self-reflectiveness among the remaining members, given the succinct length of the record and the wistful, intuitive nature of the lyrics. Anthony Kiedis’  voice is steady and poised as always. His classic speak-sing technique doesn’t have the same range as other front men, but he projects confidence in the power and depth of his vocals. Flea’s funky bass lines and Chad Smith’s pounding, cathartic beats are quick and excellent as always. Klinghoffer is searching for his footing with the band, however he does an admirable job finding his place with three men who have been playing together since the ‘80s.

Standout tracks include “Meet Me at the Corner,” a melodic, soulful number, and the cool funk of the album’s first single, “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.”

It’s a solid and enjoyable album, but not fully up to Chili Pepper standards. Far from needing to prove themselves as musicians, a few tracks give a bit of a waning edge and could have been snipped for an even more concise, clipped gem.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Don’t put this conscious comic in a corner

by Sam Hunter on

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sophiek.com

If comedians were meals, Hari Kondabolu would be the delicious, home-cooked variety. Other stand-up comics are frequently almost equally tasty, but often, I find myself enjoying a routine only to feel nauseous looking back at what I’ve tacitly endorsed with my laughter—exactly how I feel after eating McDonald’s. Following a Kondabolu set, I feel good.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to make the guy sound boring—he is laugh-until-you-hurt funny. What’s special is that Kondabolu’s brand of socially conscious stand-up manages to be utterly hilarious while also utterly avoiding the racist, sexist, and homophobic jokes that have made such easy fodder for others. Sitting in the audience, I laughed hard at everything, without glancing around guiltily to see if other members of the audience were the butt of the joke.

Kondabolu got into comedy at an early age, starting to write at age 16,  influenced by the likes of Margaret Cho, Stewart Lee, and Paul Mooney. At Bowdoin College he started to move away from some of the easy, sometimes stereotypical jokes of his youth and towards political humour, and particularly, the politics of race.

In 2006 Kondabolu made a short movie, Manoj, where he portrays both an Indian comic named Manoj who uses stereotypical portrayals of Indians for easy laughs—”A lot of times people come up to me and say, ‘Manoj, why do Indian people eat monkey brains all the time?'” Manoj says in the film. “That is simply not true. If you knew anything about monkey brains you’d know monkey brains are very, very expensive. You can’t just eat them all the time. If I had a dime for every time someone came up to me and asked, I could actually afford to eat monkey brains!”—and himself, an Indian comic disgusted by Manoj’s material. The film was a hit, airing at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival .

Kondabolu didn’t take a normal road to comedy, if there is such a thing. After graduating from Bowdoin College he moved to Seattle to work as an immigrant rights organizer, focusing on “detention and deportation issues,” while continuing to do stand-up at night. There, he found a supportive community of comedians and other artists and was able to make new strides with his material. Eventually, he applied to a human rights masters program at the London School of Economics.  

Everything happened at once for Kondabolu: he was discovered by the HBO comedy festival, he got a set on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and he got into LSE, all in the same week.

“I didn’t know what the fuck to do because comedy wasn’t the plan. I just really liked doing it and you’ve seen what I do, I just didn’t assume this would work in more than Seattle, San Francisco, now Montreal, … there’s [only] a handful of places I could play, so it was kind of weird I was getting mainstream national recognition,” Kondabolu said.

He decided to take a year off from comedy to get his masters, but came right back afterwards. For the past three years he’s travelled and performed, played a part in a Sandra Bullock movie, and built his reputation.

“I don’t want to be niche to be perfectly honest. I don’t think the issues I’m talking about are niche. Racism should not be fucking niche. This should be mainstream and my goal is to be mainstream.”

*****

Kondabolu performed to a standing-room-only crowd at the centre culturel Georges-Vanier this past Thursday Sept. 8, at an event co-hosted by CKUT, Rad Frosh 2011, and QPIRG Concordia and McGill.

The organizers led the set with the 15-minute film Manoj, which got big laughs, even though more than a few of those were for the simple jokes that Manoj was satirizing. Regardless, the audience was ready when Kondabolu took the stage.

It’s difficult to imagine an audience and a performer more perfect for each other than the crowd there and Hari Kondabolu. Educated young people who are politically aware seem to be the target market, and the Montreal crowd couldn’t get enough of the jokes or the worldview. He received a semi-standing ovation, which he later mocked in his Q&A.

Later he tweeted, “Fun show in Montreal. Had poutine after. Feel bad I need to leave this city so quickly.”

So does Montreal.

Visit harikondabolu.com for more information.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Kung fu film an action-packed epic

by Morgane Ciot on

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It’s 690 B.C. in ancient China, on the eve of a coronation that will vest a woman with the power of emperor for the first time in China’s history. Looming in the background is a titanic Buddha, under construction as a tribute to the empress’ power and the witness of several spontaneous human combustions. This is the mystery that the empress  calls Detective Dee back from prison to solve—the mystery of the phantom flame, a phenomenon that has felled several important personages surrounding the empress and the construction of the Buddha.  

Dee, played by leading talent Andy Lau, is a sagacious, kung fu-fighting sleuth who commits his all to solving the case despite a history of fomenting rebellion against the empress. In the process, he discovers a cloak-and-dagger subplot involving contending factions vying for the crown à la Game of Thrones. While Dee steers clear of external pressures and incentives, he becomes pseudo-romantically involved with the empress’ loyal protector, Jing’er, a feisty and limber sidekick with her own branch of rope-whipping kung fu (the movie approaches a sex scene but disappointingly fails to deliver).  

While the plot is certainly convoluted enough to engross most people for two hours, the real magnum-ness of the opus is the visual eye-feast. Each scene is lush with magical floating petals, lambent gold lighting, majestic talking deer, purple skies, or subterranean Dante-esque rivers populated by airborne automatons. The kung fu scenes amplify the imagery and make the action scenes resemble a prolonged minuet danced underwater. It is elaborate and entertaining. The choreography, engineered by Jackie Chan’s masterful mentor Sammo Hung, is drum-tight and applicable anywhere in the movie, from fighting deer to one-on-one battles suspended in mid-air by ropes. The rapid-fire kung fu movements parallel the battery of plot twists, and both work to keep the viewer attentive.  

Like any movie that employs fantasy elements and details a complicated story, Detective Dee toes the line of melodrama. This is compounded by the sometimes artificial graphics, such as the immolating victims of the phantom flame or city-wide shots that end up not being on-par with the rest of the movie’s visual splendor. Bouts of humor manage to mitigate this, allowing the artificiality to fit with the style of the movie—a tad over-the-top, like many wuxia films, but by no means kitsch or pretentious.  

Certain melodramatic instances are also infused with greater meaning considering contemporary China’s repressive atmosphere. The movie ends with the compelling message that right and wrong should not be confused when in office, and that there is a right time to turn power over to others. Echoing Henry David Thoreau, a blind man warns Dee as he is released from incarceration that one might be ultimately freer “inside” (of prison) than “outside,” where the empress’s dissenter-crushing stratagems have engendered fear and dissent. Her adage “to achieve greatness, everyone is expendable,” has motivated her to employ ruthless schemes against the people and inevitably brings to mind the current Chinese authorities’ reactions to the tragic train crash this past summer. Dee, in the end, gently reminds her that it’s torture that alienates the people from the empire. The film thus shies away from a typically Manichean good-bad dichotomy and, despite its sweeping imagery, offers some important messages.

In theatres Sept. 16.

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