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a, Student Life

Valentine’s Day: a celebration over history, in its different iterations

by Elisa Muyl on

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Chocolates, flowers, heart-shaped cards, and cheesy compilation movies with too many famous actors and too few lines—all these things signal the rapid approach of Valentine’s Day. But beyond all of these cliches lies an old, sugar-free legacy.

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred early in the first millennium. The most famous of these was Valentine who performed marriages for Christians—under threat of persecution—when the practice was banned for all Romans. He was thrown in jail, where he is rumoured to have wooed the jailer’s blind daughter and given her back her sight. The night before his execution, Valentine sent a note to his once-blind love. He signed it “From your Valentine,” and the rest, as they say, was history.

Well, not quite. Valentine’s Day wasn’t included in the Catholic calendar until around 500 A.D., when Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 a day in honour of the martyr(s). According to many, the celebration was intended to co-opt the existing celebration of Lupercalia, a pagan fertility rite. Lupercalia had persisted into the early rise of Christianity, but only lasted until the fifth century, when it was declared ‘un-Christian.’

Classically, it was associated, as most Saints’ days are, with religiosity and fervor. The first known commemoration of Valentine’s Day with love was made by Gregory Chaucer, in the 15th century:

“For this was on seynt Volantynys day/ Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make” —The Parlement of Foules.

The first documented written Valentine was sent by the Duke D’Orleans—from prison—to his wife in the 15th century. The practice gained traction in 1797, when the Young Man’s Valentine Writer featured generic verses for those unable to write their own. A drop in the price of postage rates, as well as the ability to mail cards anonymously, facilitated the rise of mailed Valentines. Before long, premade cards began to be assembled in English factories. These were exported to the United States in 1847 by Esther Howland. The Greeting Card Association has been giving out the ‘Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary’ every year since 2001.

Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Feb. 14 in various denominations. It was booted from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, and left up to local or national calendars “since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14,” reads that year’s decree of the Vatican Council.

In South Korea and Japan, the holiday’s practices has been lost in translation. On Feb. 14, working women in Japan are expected to give chocolate to the men in their offices. The amount of chocolate is contingent upon how much the woman likes her coworkers—the bare minimum is called ‘obligation chocolate.’

In other countries, the celebration is seen as a highly controversial  Western import. In India, the holiday has been the object of postcolonial criticism as a practice that heightens income inequality and aids in the creation of a falsely-Westernized middle class.  For Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, the holiday is opposed or banned for its Christian roots. A similar celebration of love has emerged in other countries, such as Israel’s Tu B’Av and Iran’s Sepandarmazgan, but are unrelated to Valentine’s Day.

In the U.S., Valentine’s Day has become a suitable rallying point for the civil rights movement in favour of same-sex marriage. In 2012, same-sex couples were married atop the Empire State Building first the first time in history, following New York’s passage of the Marriage Equality Act. In Illinois, same-sex marriage legislation is expected to come to a senate floor vote this Thursday, Feb. 14.

In fact, the holiday takes on a broader meaning than just chocolates, flowers, and soaring Hallmark profits. Beyond a crowded Lola Rosa, Valentine’s Day at McGill will feature a ‘break-up’ with the Fossil Fuel industry by Divest McGill; V-Day McGill’s annual production of the Vagina Monologues, and other events that strive to raise awareness, money, and spirits in the fight against gender-based violence. So this Thursday, ignore the chocolate  and romantic implications and make Valentine’s Day whatever you want it to be.

Valentine’s Day Stats (courtesy of Statistics Canada)

16,084,490 — The total number of persons living in a couple (including married spouses and common-law partners) aged 15 and over in Canada, 2011.

$3.2 billion — The value of jewellery and watches sold at retailers in Canada. 2011.

$2.4 billion — The value of cosmetics and fragrances sold at retailers in Canada, 2011.

$2.9 billion — The value of stationery, office supplies, cards, gift wrap and party supplies sold at retailers in Canada, 2011.

470.0 million litres — The volume of wine sold at wineries, liquor stores and agencies in Canada, 2010-2011

$110 million — The value of sales of chocolate and confectionaries manufactured from cocao beans in Canada, February 2012.

10.5 million — The number of stems of roses produced in Canada, 2011

a, Opinion

University Governance: Students and Stakeholders

by Abraham Moussako on

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McGill University, like all universities, has an administrative superstructure and an academic structure overlaid one on the other. As with many universities, this superstructure is generally ignored by much of the student body. The spate of recent controversies over the administration and student input, from the recent course cuts to the Provisional Protocol regarding Demonstrations makes this a good time as ever to talk about how our university should be run.

Before we talk about how McGill‘s governance, the most basic question to ask is: what is McGill’s purpose? At its most fundamental level, the answer is to deliver a post-secondary education and award certificates certifying completion of such an education, but even that is an incomplete description. Different post-secondary institutions have radically different aims; a small liberal arts school may not share priorities with a vocational school, and as such, they need to be governed in different ways.

Indeed, a chief purpose for McGill is to be a global research university. Whether this should be the case is a separate question—­one that probably is inextricably tied with the bundle of factors that influenced our individual decisions to attend this institution. That said, we return to the question of student involvement in campus issues. The size and scale of this institution—over 22,000 full-time undergraduates and over 6,500 full-time graduate students, not to mention the faculty, buildings, or monetary holdings and investments—make it large enough to justify having a rank of dedicated administrators.

How these administrators should relate to the student body is another question. Transparency is critical; while the university should not be obligated to follow the demands of any group of students, it should at least make available information on its activities. In that respect, the university’s recent attempts to exempt itself from Access to Information requests filed by a variety of students is problematic.

The two realms of decision-making where student input should be taken most seriously are those relating to teaching and pedagogy, and those relating to student life (e.g. residences, clubs, etc.). Here, the university should not only clearly explain policies and solicit feedback, but actually mould policies based on student input, especially on issues where a representative sample of students would have an opinion. A case in point would be the recently announced course cuts to the Faculty of Arts; administrators should not only consult with students—as they have to a limited extent—but should be willing to make substantive policy changes based on student concerns. However, they are not obligated to do so.

This approach would be more appropriate on issues such as university finances and investments. The most recent example of this is the campaign to divest McGill’s finances from various fossil fuel companies, a movement I have commented on previously. The administration recently received petitions from Divest McGill, with a promise of a review process. Whatever the result of the review process, the university will have fulfilled its obligation to the students, in the sense that it provided an avenue of dialogue, and reviewed the substance of student claims.

The basic point here, obvious as it may seem, is that university administrations, especially those that manage large research institutions like McGill, should receive and listen to student input, but not be obligated to actually tailor their actions to the substance of these demands. Full student management is certainly feasible, and probably desirable—in a small liberal arts university, where it would not be unwieldy to have the student body involved in day-to-day decision-making beyond a consultative role. However, the main point we must remember when talking about university governance is that a university is not a nation, but an institution that can easily be opted out of. As such, the social contract that the administration enters into with students (and vice versa) carries fundamentally different standards of obligation.

a, Editorial

Bringing the issues back to student politics

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According to Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand, municipal voters show far more interest in local issues—such as bike lanes and urban farming plans—than in selecting their representatives in local government. A recent proposal put forward by Rotrand would follow this logic, and seek to increase voter turnout by putting referendum questions on municipal election ballots. A look at the landscape of McGill’s student politics shows the opposite problem; voter turnout is markedly lower on Fall referendum ballots—which do not include student elections—than for their Winter counterparts. This issue that our campus political system faces derives from the nature of student government and a culture that has emerged of putting personality before substance.

A major obstacle that both our student electoral and referendum system face seems to be inherent to the particular nature of student politics, and will not be resolved by means such as electoral reform. Due to the limited period of time that we spend at McGill, students have much less invested in the political process than they might otherwise. While a Montrealer can be highly motivated to go out and vote for a long-term environmental initiative, students of McGill often have less than four years remaining before they are no longer influenced by what occurs on their campus.

[pullquote]There is no incentive for candidates to differentiate themselves from opponents on the actual issues—nor is it often clear what these issues even are.”[/pullquote]

A similar mindset can be seen in our student representatives once they are elected. The transience of a one-year term leaves little room for a focus on specific initiatives and substantive projects. Seeing this to be the case year after year, students lose faith in the potential outcomes of student politics. What this means for elections is that there seems to be less at stake, and interest predictably dwindles.

While these are problems that stem from the nature of our system, they also have a grounding in the established political culture, and now seem to be accepted as the norm. Student candidates regularly run on platforms of vague ideals, neglecting to focus on specific goals or tangible deliverables. Rather than outlining what can be done and what they hope to accomplish during their time in office, candidates’ election campaigns revolve around notions such as ‘openness’ and ‘accountability.’ While these are noble concepts, they lose value when everybody is espousing them, and there is no incentive for candidates to differentiate themselves from opponents on the actual issues—nor is it often clear what these issues even are. When such differentiation is not made, elections ultimately boil down to a popularity contest.

As a result, we have seen a marked lack of progress once our representatives do take office. Our elected leaders appear tentative to undertake larger projects and follow them through, satisfying themselves with a focus on regular day-to-day business. All of the energy and enthusiasm that is put into promoting the Winter elections disappears by the time the Fall referenda roll around. Students, having elected their representatives, don’t feel any particular connection to their student government or its operations, and disengage.

However, these issues of electoral participation, representatives’ motivation to effect change, and student engagement in the process during the year are all correlated. There are a number of ways to address them. At Queen’s University, teams of executives seeking different positions run as a slate, identifying common ideals and goals upon which to construct their campaign; once the candidates are forced to think about these matters, so will the students electing them. There are other advantages that accompany this: running as a team means that the group of people going into office together know each other, are well-suited to work as a team, and share a common agenda. They will be more motivated and equipped to enact their vision. There are downsides to this approach, however, as it leaves no room for a multiplicity of perspectives nor beliefs to be represented at once.

While this approach may not be the right one for McGill, we need an increased focus on policy in our upcoming elections. Though change could be brought about through reform, our leaders and candidates ultimately need to buy into it, and be the ones to set the precedent. This Winter, as potential candidates for the upcoming SSMU elections consider tossing in their hats, we urge them to have a vision. The popularity contest aspect of the elections may be inevitable, but if they want to have an impact, they must present clear policies, implementation plans, and priorities. It is up to them to decide what kind of McGill they want to see, and work to help get us there. With this vision, and a clear set of goals, our representatives will be well equipped to leave behind a tangible legacy at McGill.

a, Opinion

Forgetting facts

by Joshua Freedman on

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Perhaps the most important factor in considering a university education is that it equips one with a set of facts and knowledge that would otherwise be hard to come by. Indeed, we enter class expecting to be bombarded by a wealth of ideas, and we expect that the information we retain will later prove useful, and remain current. However, Samuel Arbesman, a professor of Mathematics at Harvard, has recently coined a term for a set of facts that slowly change over time, with deep implications for our education.

Arbesman categorizes facts into three categories. One kind of facts are those  likely to be unchanged in our lifetime, such as the fact that Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Other facts are incredibly transient, such as the closing prices on the stock market, they change every day. The third and most interesting category of facts are what Arbesman calls ‘mesofacts,’ facts that will change over time.

Academically at least, this means that we cannot rest on our laurels after graduation. Our fields are constantly changing, with new ideas and theories likely to quickly replace what we have learned in school. Arbesman points out that articles printed in physics journals become cited half as often after every 10 years. Facts that we learn about diseases are also typically found to be overturnedovert after a generation or two. We see new scientific studies every single day, purporting to say that a food or vitamin is essential to our health, only to have a different study say the opposite a few years later. The social sciences are also littered with information that we may accept as fact at the time, then obliviously continue to believe, even once it shown to be untrue.

Last year was especially politically volatile, as the US election took place. I heard dozens of conversations where the two sides responded to one another with facts that were simply outdated. This naturally complicates productive debate, as stalemate becomes inevitable if both sides are not up to date with the most relevant information.

Reflecting upon this idea, I have started to see that mesofacts fittingly apply to campus debate as well, whether the discussions are about the outside world, or are strictly campus focused. When it comes to campus issues, students are prone to apathy, and form opinions predicated by old facts about disputes going on between the student body and the administration. To their great credit, campus newspapers and activists are usually up to date about all the latest happenings—the recent changes in the administration’s onerous restrictions on demonstrations being a current example. This willingness to battle against old facts is imperative; because if students recall only mistreatment at the hands of the administration, and potentially ignore new and better developments, student-administration negotiations will continue to remain at an impasse.

Arbesman suggests some ideas to get around the problem of mesofacts. Students should be taught that what they learn is not absolute, and they should expect education to continue throughout their life. Given this, we should be humble about our ideas when engaging in debate with others, as we can never be sure whether our facts are up to date. Additionally, it would also seem to make sense to engage with classic works. If an academic or cultural work has withstood the test of time, it is likely that learning about this phenomenon will not prove to be trivial in the near future.

While none of these things alone can stop the slow decay of the ‘half-life’ of facts, it is important to realize that many of the things we learn will not remain etched in stone, and we must always be vigilant about maintaining our educational standards.

a, Opinion

Stand Up to Climate Change, Stand Up for Our Future

by Christopher Bangs on

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400-foot tall sheets of ice falling into the ocean, a glacier taller than skyscrapers and wider than islands collapsing in minutes, spikes pushed 600 feet into the air just as quickly as they fall again: the real-life, real-time calving of a glacier was caught on camera by some act of chance. Its fall reminds us that climate change is here, and that warming is accelerating across the globe.

As students at 234 universities across North America launch campaigns calling on their schools to divest from fossil fuels, the question is not, “Will they divest?” but instead, “Who will go first?” and, “What happens if we do not take action?” Unity College and Hampshire College, two small liberal arts colleges in the U.S., have taken the step. Now it is McGill’s turn.

On Feb. 1, Divest McGill formally submitted its request to the Board of Governors (BoG) of McGill. With over 760 signatures from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and with our fully-argued social injury briefs, we have put combating climate change on the agenda of this school.

Secretary-General Steven Strople was extremely gracious and received our petition in person, and indeed, Divest McGill has found strong allies so far in the University. Many sectors of the administration seem genuinely excited about the prospect of divestment, and we are grateful for all of the support we have received.

Divestment alone will not solve climate change, but it can, and will precipitate larger action. As Canada accelerates the exploitation of the tar sands of Northern Alberta, and as the U.S. continues practices of hydraulic fracturing and mountain top removal, constituent power and citizen action is the only way forward.

McGill is a moral beacon for Canada, and its successes and mistakes garner national interest because Canadians hold the institution in the highest regard. When McGill chooses to divest, when it holds its investment policy to the same environmental standards to which it holds the rest of its practices, it will create shockwaves in the energy sector and should shake us out of our addiction to fossil fuels. Vision 2020 summarized the feelings of the McGill community in this way, writing:

“Our decisions and actions reflect our role as part of nature and our duty to current and future generals and the planet…. At McGill, we strive to be one of the best universities in the world by doing our best for the world.” Let’s live up to that commitment. Divest McGill is still accepting signatures on its petitions, and we will do our best to make sure your interests and convictions are carried forward.

In the meantime, the conversation around divestment opens up tremendous creative possibilities. Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), which fully endorses divestment, is considering an Alternative Investment Case Competition, where students can use their know-how to plan what SSMU could do with its investment fund to better promote the interests of students. That could mean a Green Revolving Fund, where money is invested in efficiency improvements, and the savings are carried forward, or it could mean investing in affordable housing, or even creating a venture capital fund to promote student entrepreneurialism. That’s up to students.

Another conversation brought forward by divestment centres around alternatives: we all know that the tar sands will employ many McGill alumni, especially in the sciences and engineering, and Divest McGill certainly does not want to make it harder for graduates to find a job, but why not expand connections with companies in renewable engineering, green transportation, or sustainable construction? Let’s have green job fairs in addition to the existing relationships with employers, so that graduating students truly have opportunities and the freedom to pursue whatever sort of career they want. Too often, engineering and science students enter university wanting to make a difference in the world, but end up working for fossil fuel companies because the alternatives are not very clear. We can do better than that.

This is the chance of a lifetime, literally. We are reaching the point of no return, after which runaway climate change is a certainty. Here at Divest McGill, we know that action is needed, and divestment is one tool in a broader struggle. But it is an important one, an exciting one, and with the help of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and, yes, administrators, McGill can lead the way to a carbon-neutral Canada. Let’s stand up to climate change and stand up for our future. Let’s divest.

Christopher Bangs is a spokesperson for Divest McGill.

McGill’s Edible Campus has furnished the campus walls with exhuberant greenery.
a, Features

The Nature of Things: the quest for a greener campus

by Sara Espinal Henao on

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Throughout the past academic year, McGill students have certainly shown their green thumb: they cultivated 15,721 kg of food to provide fresh and organic produce to local communities; educated 21,000 people about sustainability through presentations, workshops, exhibits, and fairs; created 100 sustainability-related student jobs; and saved the environment from 26,636 plastic water bottles through the setting up of water fountains on campus. This year, hundreds of McGillians have risen to the occasion, reaching for a higher standard of sustainability on campus. The food we eat, the energy we consume, and the research we undertake have all been influenced by these outstanding individuals. Nonetheless, they have not been alone in their ventures. For every ecological solution, there is a vision; and for every vision, there is now a sustainability group sponsored by the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF).

The Sustainability Projects Fund was established in 2009, when McGill’s three student societies formed a partnership with the administration to create a program that would subsidize sustainability projects on campus. The proposal was submitted to a referendum in November 2009 and, in near-record numbers, 5,300 students turned up to oppose or endorse the creation of the fund. 79 per cent of voters at the downtown campus and 88 per cent at the Macdonald campus voted in favour of the non-opt-out-able student fee of $0.50 per credit to finance the SPF’s existence. Endorsing this support, McGill’s administration rose to the occasion and matched dollar for dollar the funds raised by the fee. This combined effort has provided the Fund with approximately $840,000 annually over the past three years. Now in its third year of operation, the Fund’s continued existence will be submitted to a referendum on March of this year.

According to SPF administrator Lilith Wyatt, “When we ask students about their biggest limitation [to engage in sustainability projects], we usually get two main answers: one is, ‘I have an idea, but no one to help me with it.’ The other one is, ‘I don’t have an idea, but I want to help someone with theirs.’ So I think that connecting those two kinds of people, and expanding the niche of those involved is our main effort.”

As a result, the SPF’s ultimate goal is to ensure that those with outstanding ideas have the tools to succeed, and allow those with the will to help find venues to contribute. That said, financial support has been granted to numerous staff and student initiatives with the potential to generate change.

“There’s been a huge wealth of people who are rising to the challenge, going above and beyond to change how McGill works, and to work together as a community to improve it,”  said Wyatt. “Since the Fund started allocating money in 2010, we’ve funded 93 projects, which amount to about 2.3 million dollars.”

The array of initiatives that has received the Fund’s support is endlessly diverse, ranging from bike racks, waste management, and energy consumption optimization, to curriculum development, research, and symposia.

In an effort to better understand the objective and inspiration behind these enterprises, the Tribune spoke with the organizers of two notable sustainability initiatives on campus. Though dramatically different in their objectives, both projects have one thing in common: their commitment to the creation of a culture of sustainability within the McGill community.

The Famer’s Market provides McGill students the opportunity to purchase fresh, organic and locally cultivated produce during the months of September and October.
The Famer’s Market provides McGill students the opportunity to purchase fresh, organic and locally cultivated produce during the months of September and October.

When sustainability meets gastronomy: McGill’s Farmers’ Market

Founded in 2008, McGill’s Farmers’ Market is perhaps one of the most visible student-run sustainability initiatives on campus. Some students drop by to fill their fridges with a week’s worth of fresh vegetables, while others are simply looking for a healthy snack to munch on between lectures. In either case, the market’s colourful stands invite all to get a taste of fresh and organic products. This eight-week-long event brings seasonal produce cultivated by local farmers and artisans to downtown McGill during the warm months of September and October, bringing an atmosphere of freshness and abundance to Rue McTavish.

To Selina Liu, one of the Market’s organizers, the Market is more than a place of exchange. It is an educational outlet that promotes healthy living.

“We don’t only provide sustainably cultivated produce to the community, we try to promote a culture of sustainability among students on campus, and encourage them to choose a healthy lifestyle,” Liu said.

One of this project’s greatest successes has been its ability to engage in partnerships with other student groups working on sustainability initiatives. One of its providers is the Macdonald Student-Run Ecological Gardens (MSEG), a McGill farming initiative that brings forth ecological and sustainable agriculture by cultivating 1¼ acres of organic vegetables.

Now in its fifth year of operation, the Farmers’ Market has experienced significant growth, and has big plans for the future.

“Our goal is to become financially self-sufficient, and increase our campus presence by having the market work all year long, not just for eight weeks out of the year,” Liu said.

McGill’s food-lovers would certainly not object to that idea.

The Bellair’s Recycling Program contributes to builiding a culture of sustainability by encouraging greener habits.
The Bellair’s Recycling Program contributes to builiding a culture of sustainability by encouraging greener habits.

Bringing sustainability to the classrooms: the Chemical Laboratory Curriculum Development initiative

This staff-coordinated initiative aims at integrating sustainability considerations to the everyday life of chemistry students at McGill. It aims to make laboratory work match the administration’s commitment to create more sustainable and energy efficient chemistry and science departments.

“The Otto Mass building has been completely renovated. It used to be that [it] used 12.5 per cent of all the energy on campus; now it’s down to 5.7 per cent,” said Professor Jean-Phillip Lumb, co-organizer of the Curriculum Development Initiative. “We’ve just received all this money to make the infrastructure of the building better. But what we need to do is reform the curriculum itself. We need to actually see whether or not we can improve sustainability by thinking about the projects that we’re having students work on.”

It was then that professor Lumb turned his attention to undergraduate chemistry labs.

“Especially in the context of [these] labs, there is an enormous opportunity that is currently not being exploited. Our goal is to provide the undergraduate labs with another way of doing research,” he said.

With the SPF’s support, professor Lumb initiated a pilot project that involved six undergraduate summer researchers with the expressed purpose of developing new labs that would address sustainability issues.

“The restrictions that we put on the project were that the [participants] would have to use starting material from a renewable resource [in their experiments],” he said. “The second one was that [the participants] would do several steps in their synthesis, and each one of those steps would have to factor in waste [and] efficiency, so that the process of making the end target would be more sustainable than the experiments that were currently being run [by the department].”

The end objective was to use these new and improved sustainability-conscious laboratories to substitute less environmentally-friendly ones. The project’s success was immediate. Following its pilot experiments, three modules were incorporated into the next academic year’s curriculum for the course CHEM 392.

“We’re 100 per cent certain that the experiments that we’re putting into the labs are more sustainable. They are more efficient,” he said.

Not only were the experiments executed sustainably, but they also reduced waste by generating material for future experiments.

Click to see the full feature!
Click to see the full feature!

“What the undergraduates [makes] at the end of the day ought to be material that we could use for graduate level research, so that not only [do] you improve the sustainability of the synthesis, but at the end of the day, you make material that gets used at the graduate level,” professor Lumb said. “That generates a perfect cycle. It reduces the amounts of reagents that are purchased by the graduate level researchers, and it allows us to capitalize upon the efforts of undergraduates. You save money. You save time. You save energy.”

Professor Lumb has big plans for this project.

“We started this with a small lab. Our dream is to get this to the big chemistry labs. We have some labs where there are at least 1500 students per day going through those labs, and if you think about that, there’s potential to make a massive impact,” he said.

Like many others, these existing initiatives, though different in their approach and mission, are both open invitation for student engagement, and empowerment.  As Professor Lumb rightly asserted, “The most important thing for students to realize is that the Sustainability Fund allows them to get involved in projects that ultimately benefit their own university. The campus will only go as far as their involvement.”

Photos courtesy of The Sustainability Projects Fund

Roman Coppola’s latest opens Friday. (www.lejournaldelaphotographie.com)
a, Arts & Entertainment

A legendary film dynasty unveils its prince

by Chris Liu on

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Charlie Sheen is clutching a bottle of vodka in one hand, and $800 worth of caviar in the other. The two alternate in entering his mouth. These are comfort foods—the taxi driver was unable to supply the “coke” and “grass” that Sheen initially requested.

No, this isn’t TMZ’s latest update. Rather, it’s a scene from Charlie Sheen’s blazing return to film.

In A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, written and directed by Roman Coppola, Sheen plays the titular role of a graphic designer who’s stuck in a rut. His midlife crisis is catalyzed when his girlfriend Ivana (Canadian actor Katheryn Winnick), fed up with Swan’s womanizing ways, leaves him for greener pastures. The cast is rounded out by Bill Murray (whose deadpan is as deadly as ever) and Jason Schwartzman (with a ‘fro that has to be seen to be believed).

The similarities between Charles Swan and Charlie Sheen—the name, the shenanigans, the alcohol consumption—are all too apparent. But Coppola insists that the role went to Sheen for other reasons.

“I didn’t cast Charlie because of all that public stuff, I cast him because he’s a great actor,” Coppola tells the Tribune. “He’s charming, he’s funny … he’s got rebel charisma, and incredible depth and acting chops.”

Coppola’s relationship with Sheen can be traced back to his time on the set of his father Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), when Coppola was just 11 years old. Universally regarded as one of the most influential and powerful war films ever made—it makes an appearance on venerated critic Roger Ebert’s top ten list—Apocalypse Now stars Charlie Sheen’s father, Martin Sheen. The children of these two greats hit it off, and have kept in touch ever since.

“A friendship made at that age is very enduring,” Coppola says.

Charlie Sheen isn’t the only big name with whom Coppola is close. In addition to directing Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola brought The Godfather Trilogy to screen, forever cementing his reputation as one of the greatest American filmmakers. Roman Coppola’s sister, Sofia Coppola, has directed a string of hits, including Lost in Translation (2003), for which she won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Though one can only imagine what it’s like to have such cinematic giants around the dinner table every night, Roman Coppola is clear-minded and down-to-earth.

“You know, people are very curious about [my family],” he says, chuckling. “I always want to give a good answer to enlighten or something, but the answer isn’t quite as satisfying.”

He continues: “My sister, my dad—these are just people in my family. All the unusual experiences that I’ve had … you just take it all in and it just becomes your life and who you are.”

Coppola is also on track to follow in his sister’s footsteps, having just been nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing Moonrise Kingdom with the darling of American indie film, Wes Anderson,  a friend with whom he is “in sync with creatively.” Coppola’s involvement with the film was, as he describes it, rather fortuitous:

“It was something [Anderson] was thinking about, but he couldn’t quite find its form,” Coppola says. “It was all kind of there, gestating; all the raw materials were in his mind, but he couldn’t find how it all went together.”

“I was asking as a friend, ‘Hey, what do you have?’ He played some music, read me a few early scenes, and when he did that, it became very clear in my mind: ‘Oh, okay. I totally get it.’” The result is a wildly imaginative feature that, for Coppola, was also “a lot of fun and a great experience.”

So what’s next for Coppola?

“I don’t really know,” he replies, as modest and level-headed as he has been the entire interview. “I’ll allow myself just a little moment to let things occur to me.”

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III opens Feb. 15 at the Cineplex Forum (2313 Ste-Catherine West).

Even the purity of snow isn’t enough to cover the bloodshed—Grant Swanby as the Magistrate and Chuma Sopotela as the Girl. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
a, Arts & Entertainment

A History of Violence

by Chris Liu on

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“Empire does not require love, only loyalty.”

With this, the stage is set. Waiting for the Barbarians is decidedly anti-love, presenting instead a steel-cold latticework of power relations and authoritarian abuse. For Empire imprisons all semblance of humanity, then throws away the key. Treading a thin line between provoking masochism and empty misanthropy, the Segal Centre’s latest is an unrelenting look at the violence of colonialism as it echoes throughout the ages.

(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)

A co-production with Mopo Cultural Trust, and adapted from the novel by South African Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians centres on the spectacular fall from grace of an unnamed Magistrate, who begins to question the Empire that he serves. This personal awakening parallels the Empire’s increasingly paranoid war efforts, led by the sadistically efficient Colonel Joll. The storyline bears a thematic fraternity with Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s masterful critique of authoritarianism. Both treat sex as less an act of love and more a vehicle for political agency, and in both, the protagonist’s swan song is wrenching, painful—a testament to the anguish and despair that countless millions have felt at the hands of an empire’s inhumanity.

As Colonel Joll, Nicholas Pauling delivers his lines with nuanced tones, a combination of enunciated venom and smooth seduction that invokes a bone-shattering chill. Joll speaks of torturing prisoners as one would speak about biting into a juicy piece of tenderloin—Pauling’s portrayal leaves the impression that, for Joll, the two are not dissimilar. The sunglasses he wears are a simple but effective touch; whether this is an element in the script or a result of Craig Leo’s intelligent costume design is unclear, but the resulting juxtaposition between Joll’s jovial airs and the terrifying evil lurking behind the lenses is immensely powerful.

Grant Swanby’s Magistrate is enduring and sympathetic, tackling an often-wordy script with amiable effort. Chuma Sopotela, whose character is simply named ‘Girl,’ radiates strength, grace, and courage. A significant virtue of the story is its refusal to allow the Girl to be objectified by various tropes of ‘barbarian’ nations, and Sopotela brings dignity to the role.

(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)

Of the many laudable aspects of this production, the most praiseworthy is its resistance to historicization. All too often colonialism is dismissed as a particularly hideous artifact of the past. In keeping the Empire nameless, Coetzee reminds audiences to be aware of the ways in which past imperialist violence continues to affect the present world, as well as the ways in which syndromes of racism have evolved to remain active in contemporary society. This focus on relevancy is evident in all aspects of the production, but particularly its technical elements. Leo’s costume design suits the roles while remaining beyond national identification, while his set—a stylish tessellation of glass and wood—serves extremely well at resisting historicism with its post-modern aesthetic.

At the same time, the production avoids heavy-handed political commentary. Philip Glass, who adapted an opera from the novel, pointed out how the Iraq War bears striking similarities to the events in the story. There are also fertile sources to draw upon in political theory, which has seen renewed interest in the concept of ‘Empire’ in the past decade. Indeed, it would have been all too easy for director Alexandre Marine, who also adapted the novel, to make explicit parallels between this production and American conquests, expansion of global capitalism, or any other number of contemporary events. That he does not is perhaps the correct choice; the audience has enough to endure with the suffocating levels of violence on stage. However, one hopes that viewers will be able to connect the pain portrayed with pain in the present world, without overt indicators that this is so.

Despite these successes, certain elements of the production warrant amelioration. While understanding that the story winds to a fever pitch in the second act, this critic maintains that the ratio of shouting to speaking in certain moments is decidedly less than optimal. The Magistrate’s narration is written in chilling, penetrating, but also florid prose—one better suited to the armchair reflections of a student of philosophy than a man clutching at the shattered remnants of his worldview. It takes finesse to steer a bleak tale away from the black hole of nihilism.

Still, Waiting for the Barbarians weaves a nightmarish web of hierarchy and violence. The voyeuristic position of the audience vis-à-vis the Magistrate makes it next to impossible to leave the performance without reflecting on the pedestal of pain upon which Western civilization is founded. ‘Anyone can be a barbarian’ and ‘everyone is a barbarian’ are two different claims, and the production doesn’t quite succeed in making this distinction. But one supposes that getting people to reflect on such concepts at all is a triumph in itself.

Waiting for the Barbarians is running until Feb. 17 at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts (5170 Cote-Ste-Catherine). Student tickets $24.

Daniel Carter as Hosanna. (Emily Murphy / Courtesy of TNC)
a, Arts & Entertainment

Hosanna: flaunting convention one dress at a time

by Alanna Sokic on

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The ’70s were a time of societal progress; Quebec’s Quiet Revolution irrevocably altered the political and civil landscape, giving members of the LGBTQ community a foothold in metropolitan life which they had previously been denied. It is at this time of great socio-political upheaval that the title character in Michel Tremblay’s Hosanna reaches the height of her tumultuous journey of self-discovery.

McGill’s Tuesday Night Café (TNC) Theatre’s production of Hosanna, directed by Scott Leydon, is an admirable telling of one of Tremblay’s most famous pieces. The script, controversial at the time of its conception, incorporates mature themes and language without giving way to cheap vulgarity. Although Tremblay’s style is monologue-heavy and driven by indirect action, a method most famously employed by Anton Chekhov, it refuses to become too wordy and has the ability to keep the audience hooked.

The intricate tale explores gender and sexual identity, centring on Hosanna, a drag queen ardently devoted to Elizabeth Taylor, and Hosanna’s relationship with her husband Cuirette. The story, bitingly humourous at times yet also intensely thought-provoking, coupled with Leydon’s courageous choices as a director, make for a unique night at the theatre.

The role of Hosanna presents a challenge to any actor, amateur, or professional. Daniel Carter skillfully navigates the multi-faceted character, enabling the audience to truly sympathize with the person hiding behind the makeup and gaudy dresses. Gaining momentum in the second act, the most impressive aspect of Carter’s performance is his use of his body; the seductive swaying of his hips as he walks, and the way in which he holds his head high during moments of profound vulnerability reveal his commitment to the role. There were a few instances in which he could have slowed down his speech or held specific moments slightly longer to maximize the impact of Tremblay’s words, but Carter redeems himself with his noticeable investment in a role many actors would shy away from.

Rounding out the small cast is Cameron Oram, who plays Cuirette, Hosanna’s cigarette-smoking, motorcycle-riding husband. Oram’s commanding stage presence, paired with his characterization of Cuirette’s nostalgic biker, makes for a performance loaded with range and depth. The two leads play off each other beautifully, maintaining eye contact in critical moments and allowing each other the theatrical space to execute their personal dramaturgical choices. Oram’s ability to play up the contrast between his brusque character and Carter’s delicate Hosanna is just one of the nuances of this meritorious production.

The technical elements of this production also play an important role in recounting Tremblay’s tale of self-discovery. Chloe Bernert’s set design is reminiscent of a time capsule; Hosanna’s apartment is chock-full of ’70s furniture, right down to the animal print throw blanket and beaded curtain. The apartment is also representative of Hosanna herself: chintzy, yet undeniably warm. Jackson Humphrey’s lighting appropriately reflects the mood of each scene without overpowering the quaint theatre. A standout moment occurs during Hosanna’s monologue about Elizabeth Taylor, when the intensity and direction of Humphrey’s design effectively help to bring about the desired intimacy.

One of the most pleasing aspects of Tremblay’s story is its ability to transcend time and to continue to be relevant today. Leydon’s ability to make this unconventional story so accessible to audience members, including a cheeky reference to the recent flood, is highly commendable. The bold choices made by both the actors, as well as the technical team, boil down to a triumph for student theatre.

Hosanna runs until Feb. 16 at the Tuesday Night Café Theatre (Morrice Hall, 3485 rue McTavish). Student admission $6.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Hilotrons: At Least There’s Commotion

by Max Berger on

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Hilotrons come storming back from a five-year album break with a furiously charged, eclectic new release. At Least There’s Commotion’s 11 tracks weave through various genres, tempos, and themes, undergoing a metamorphosis every time listeners think they have the album figured out.

While At Least There’s Commotion begins with the funky, percussion-driven “Venus at My Backdoor,” it quickly shifts towards a traditional rock ‘n’ roll sound infused with some electric modernity. “Runaway Heart,” the album’s first single, is a soulful lament about a lost woman who ran away to the city and “will never be a small town girl.” It is followed by “Not There Tonight,” a simple, mellow tune about an absent lover.

Lead singer Michael John Dubue has a voice eerily reminiscent of Tom Petty, and sometimes, when he sings in lower registers, Bruce Springsteen. It gives the rock songs a traditional authenticity, despite the presence of more experimental sounds. Yet, when the musical content drifts away from the standard rock schema, Dubue takes on an identity that is all his own. This erratic quality is on full display on “Uncontrollable Me/Uncontrollable You,” one of several songs where he belts about strange, modern relationship difficulties.

Fans of Genesis, Vampire Weekend, and fellow Canadians Arcade Fire, will certainly want to give At Least There’s Commotion a listen. The album stays true to its title by avoiding static moments at all costs, always keeping you guessing about which musical direction it will head in next.

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