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McGill holds active shooter response workshops

by Tasmin Chu on

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On Sept. 18, McGill held one of three active shooter workshops scheduled for this year. The workshops, which McGill began facilitating five years ago, is designed to inform students and staff about how to stay safe during an active shooter situation. This scenario is defined in McGill’s security protocol as a situation in which an individual attempts to murder or injure others in a confined area.

The workshops cover statistics related to mass shooting incidents, early warning signs exhibited by a potential threat, and what to do in a real active shooter situation. The workshop ended with a viewing of McGill’s Active Shooter Training video, available online. Two Campus Public Safety staff members, Kevin Byers and Jeremme Doucette, facilitated the workshop.

“We really want to sensitize the community to the possible risk,” Byers said. “It’s unfortunate that it’s something happening in society, in the US, mainly. But we also have people [from] around the world who are part of our community, and we want to make sure [that] everybody has the same tools to deal with this unlikely incident.”

Doucette elaborated on the workshops’ aims to provide people with a plan of action when confronted with an active shooter. 

“In stressful situations, people refer to what they’ve been taught,” Doucette said. “I compare it to first aid training. You might panic on the way there, panic after the fact, but in the heat of the moment you tend to refer to what you know.”

Audience member Bria Blair, a Student Affairs Coordinator in McGill’s Biochemistry Department, spoke positively of the experience.

“I enjoyed hearing the statistics,” Blair said. “The video was a bit disturbing. Myself, I don’t know how I would react in that situation. It was good to see it, but hard to watch.”

Blair also expressed regret about the low student turnout; only one student, a McGill Tribune writer, attended the workshop. 

“It would be nice to see more […] students getting involved,” Blair said. “I don’t feel like enough people really think about the negative things in life. You never know what could happen.”

Byers acknowledged that the topic can be emotionally draining for some.

“As a citizen, as someone who watches TV and reads the newspaper, you see it so often,” Byers said. “If it happens on a weekend, it’s not necessarily a topic of conversation on Monday anymore. We just want to make sure that we don’t get complacent. [Mass shootings] have happened three times in [Montreal].”

In 1989, 25-year-old Marc Lépine murdered 14 women at École Polytechnique. Three years later, an associate professor at Concordia killed four colleagues in another mass shooting incident. The most recent incident occurred in 2006, when a 25-year-old man opened fire at Dawson College, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.

Both Byers and Doucette emphasized that students who prefer not to attend a live workshop could educate themselves in other ways.

“It might [involve] using the resources on our website,” Byers said. “It’s less intense.”

“Unfortunately, given the subject matter, it’s hard for us to make the [presentation] fluffy or fun,” Doucette said. “It’s an active shooter presentation, and it can be a difficult subject for people to talk about.”

Doucette emphasized the importance of finding ways to accommodate people more sensitive to this topic. 

“If there’s a student interested, but they’re really not interested in participating in a group because they find it troublesome […] we may have alternative ways of getting that information to you,” Doucette said. “Particularly if you [or your family] have been through that type of situation. We’re really not trying to shock or upset anybody.”

Out on the Town, Student Life

Americanos and Literature: An afternoon at Café Éclair

by Alyssa Bishop on

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Though it is easy to spend downtime in the McGill bubble, it is always good for students to discover new places in Montreal. Sure, the classic study spots can be soothing, but it is good for the soul to move out of the comfort zone. Case in point: Café Éclair.

This innovative spot, located just north of Fairmount street on Saint-Laurent, is a hybrid between a café and a bookstore. Quite frankly, there is nothing more perfect than sipping on a delicious flat white while perusing a thoughtfully curated book collection. 

Café Éclair opened in early July, a joint venture between owners Miranda Ko, Chantale Potié, and Daniel Alvarez. Alvarez and Ko have extensive histories in the coffee and bookstore industries. Alvarez is also the owner of Café Difference, located downtown.

“Most of my [employment] history is with books,” Potié said. “So the inspiration to blend both industries came very naturally.” 

The blend is seamless. The decoration is minimalistic, with an impressive attention to detail. From the forest green velvet seating area to the sleek white bookshelves and marble countertop, the café is incredibly stylish. You feel as if you are at a friend’s apartment and a coffee shop at the same time. Furthermore, the staff are all warm and welcoming, further breaking down the barriers between barista and customer. Sitting on a stool at a long counter invokes the feeling of late-night chats at a friend’s home. 

“The goal of the space is to have customers feel like they were in somebody’s apartment, […] somebody’s kitchen,” Ko said. 

The actual coffee is the major test for students assessing whether the café will meet their needs. The coffee roasters Café Éclair sources produce quality blends: Bows and Arrows from Victoria, British Columbia, and The Barn, roasted in Berlin.  

“We chose these suppliers because the coffee is really good but also because their values align with ours and create close relationships with the farmers,” Ko said. 

Instead of carrying best-selling novels, Café Éclair offers themed collections of books.

“We come up with a theme and pick a certain number of books around that theme that we think apply,” Potié said.

In their latest collection they are offering about 12 different titles, all around the theme of ‘womb to tomb.’ This theme raises concerns surrounding work, money, and capitalism, and the books touch on those ideas in many different ways. From a book on working honeybees and their importance for our environment; to a children’s book on how a mother’s love is unchanging whether they’re a CEO or a sex worker; this collection is curated to appeal to all audiences. Their collection includes poetry, non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, zines, with a guarantee of both French and English options.  

Alvarez, Ko, and Potié have high hopes for Café Éclair. Along with the launch of the café, they started a non-profit foundation as a way to bring the books and the ethics of their place out of the space. Through this philanthropy, they work to benefit their neighborhood and the space they occupy. 

“It’s something that’s pretty important for us, not just being a commerce in this neighbourhood but trying to do more,” Potié said.

Campus Spotlight

Annual Pow Wow celebrates Indigenous students and cultures

by Sophia White on

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On Sept. 20, members of the McGill and Montreal community gathered on Lower Field to participate in the 19th Annual Pow Wow hosted by the First Peoples’ House (FPH). The Pow Wow was a day full of traditional dancing, singing, and performances with the purpose of bringing the McGill community together to celebrate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultures. The Pow Wow is part of Indigenous Awareness Weeks which was organized by the McGill Indigenous Education Program.

Amber Bedard, the Indigenous Student Advisor for the First Peoples’ House, noted the Pow Wow’s role in providing a unique, celebratory space for Indigenous students at McGill to showcase their culture and pride.

“[The Pow Wow is] a time for the community to come together and celebrate our culture,” Bedard said. “I think it’s really important, especially for Indigenous students on campus, to feel recognized within the institution. Often, there’s not really a space to learn and to feel welcomed in, and the Pow Wow provides that space and welcomes people from all backgrounds to come together.”

The Pow Wow served not only as a celebration of Indigenous cultures, but as an educational opportunity for those who may not have learned about Indigenous history in school.

“What’s really important for the Pow Wow at McGill is to showcase who we are to the community—to students, staff, and faculty, and also to celebrate that we’re still here on Turtle Island,” Allan Vicaire, Director of the FPH, said. “Often times, what happens is [that] through the K-12 history [curriculum], there’s an erasure of Indigenous peoples, and we always want to say that we’re still here, we’re still vibrant, we’re still surviving, [and] we’re still resilient. McGill is an international university, and for newcomers, it’s everyone’s responsibility to learn about the original peoples here.”

Friday’s Pow Wow featured a variety of artisan vendors, Indigenous organizations, and performances throughout the day. Following the opening words and grand entry were a series of intertribal dances and Inuit throat singing. Aneeka Anderson, an Inuk U2 Arts student, and her sister Abigail Carleton performed traditional Inuit throat songs together. Anderson was intially hesitant to perform in front of such a large group but ultimately felt empowered by the experience.

“It took me a while to be in that space where I knew I could do it,” Anderson said. “I think, as Indigenous peoples, a real struggle is ‘are we Indigenous enough?’ But, for me to stand there in my regalia throat singing, having invited lots of people and encouraged them to experience this with me, allows me to feel like they know Inuit are here, and [that] they know [that] Inuit retain culture, have culture, [and] love our culture [….] Sometimes I believe I’m not Inuk enough, but, in this moment, I am.”

The FPH is dedicated to providing cultural, academic, and campus-wide resources to Indigenous students at McGill, and the Pow Wow is just one of many events they hold throughout the year. The FPH also offers weekly cultural events, such as drumming, beadings, and traditional dance sessions. They also offer Finding Your Voice sessions and monthly workshops geared towards academic success. Their next upcoming event is a workshop called “Decolonizing Consent: Reclaiming Land and Body” on Sept. 23, hosted in parternship with the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (OSVRSE). The focus of the event will be decolonizing trauma work and healing practices after assault, and looking at the connection between land and body for Indigenous peoples.

McGill, News

AUS Legislative Assembly discusses climate strike vote

by Margaret Askey on

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On Sept. 18, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council convened to discuss the McGill Senate’s failure to pass a motion to cancel classes on Sept. 27.

AUS General Assembly is called after to senate ruling on Climate Strike

Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) Arts Senator Henrique Mecabó presented the Senate’s report to the council, which included insights into the administration’s view on the choice of individual students to participate in climate activism .

“We had a Senate meeting here this afternoon where the only motion moved was by student senators regarding the Climate Strike […] on Sept. 27,” Mecabó said. “McGill […] will not be requiring classes to be cancelled. The administration believes it is an individual choice that each student join or not join the march, and that students who do want to go to class should not be penalized.”

Without the Senate’s support, any motion to strike on Sept. 27 must be handled at the departmental level. Student societies, such as the AUS, would have to vote to strike independently from McGill’s administration.

AUS President Jamal Tarrabain shared that he had been contacted by Climate Justice Action McGill (C-JAM), a student group that lobbies the McGill administration and Canadian government for climate justice. C-JAM presented Tarrabain with a petition calling for a general assembly to vote for an AUS student strike, which may only be convened if more than 200 signatures from arts students are collected.

As the petition met its quota, the AUS will be holding a general assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 6:00 pm in Leacock 132. Five hundred AUS members must appear at the general assembly to successfully pass the motion to strike. Tarrabain said that the AUS should demonstrate the importance of climate action by standing in solidarity.

“If AUS can come together as a faculty […] and vote for this motion to strike, I think it would send a powerful message to the administration,” Tarrabain said.

AUS council votes to exempt stipulated campus media organizations from recording ban

Tarrabain moved to exempt certain campus media from the audio and visual recording ban, which was put in place after members of the AUS expressed worry that recording would create a hostile environment for councillors. The ban was initially passed in Feb. 2019, in light of the debates over the summer exchange course POLI 339 in Israel.

Brent Jamsa, Vice President External of the Canadian Studies Association of Undergraduate Students (CSAUS) queried as to whether this amendment infringed on students’ individual rights.

“My concern with [this standing rule] is that Quebec is a one party recording [province],” Jamsa said. “I don’t know if it would particularly apply to [Legislative] council, but you only need one party to consent to a recording. There are other free speech implications on that. Was any sort of outside legal counsel or McGill legal counsel consulted when this amendment was added last year?”

Tarrabain confirmed that legal counsel was not consulted when the amendment was drafted and passed, which complicates this debate with issues of individual rights and freedoms within Quebec. Tarrabain motioned to exempt the following campus media from Article 10 of the AUS Standing Rules: The McGill Tribune, The Daily, Le Délit, and the Bull and Bear. The motion passed successfully. 

The Legislative Assembly will reconvene on Oct. 2, 2019.

Private

Experts convene for conference on intersection between religion and climate activism

by Dylan Kurzer-Ogul on

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Montreal’s Council for Research on Religion (CREOR-M) hosted its first Colloquium on Religion and Climate Change in the Birks building. The event, held on Sept. 20, aimed to bring together McGill scholars from different fields to discuss how understanding faith can recontextualize the movement for climate justice. 

According to Claire Grenier,  U2 Joint Honours Western Religions and Political Science and speaker at the colloquium, religious people have a vital role to play in the fight for climate justice. Claire hoped the colloquium would allow participants to understand the intersection between religion and environmental activism. 

“The potential of this conference is to expose a lot of different people to different viewpoints, especially in different religions,” Grenier said. “There are religious people that see a social responsibility and a tenant of hospitality that extends not just to people that share their views, but to people around the world.”

Religious Studies Professor Lei Kuan Lai spoke on religion in activism in their talk, “A Buddhist Environmental Ethics?” as well as how religion can be used as a tool against climate action; Lai explained that scholarship using Buddhist doctrine to claim that Buddhism and environmentalism are perfectly compatible oversimplifies Buddhist thought. As an example, Lai explained that Pure Land, an ideal space where enlightenment is easily achieved, is only an ideal of Buddhism when it is presented as being contained within an urban setting. 

“[Pure Land] looks more like Mont Royal Park than the wilderness,” Lai said. “One would be hard pressed to say Buddhism is inherently environmental.”

Lai went on to address the approach to Buddhist environmentalism in which scholars attempt to derive environmental principles by applying Buddhist thought. Lai explained that such scholarship emphasizes individual and symbolic action by focusing on mindfulness and reflection. Much of the activism cited in this approach highlights imagery of peaceful Buddhists meditating, reinforcing a tradition of representing Buddhists as soft and passive. This outlook prioritizes activism on the individual level, rather than as a collective; this also promotes passivity, which Lai argues works against creating meaningful change. Additionally, Lai argued that Buddhism must embrace science, in addition to tenants of faith, to take a radical response to a radical problem.

“Romanticizing a nature-loving Eastern tradition has to stop, because it’s impeding a meaningful Buddhist response to the current crisis,” Lai said. “Happiness and mindfulness Buddhism will not stop rising sea levels.”

Religious Studies Professor David Goodin, presenter of “The Abrahamic Religions and Climate Change,” also sees value in incorporating religion in environmental activism. Goodin spoke of the potential for religion to add a uniquely effective moral weight activism. 

“The Abrahamic idea of hospitality and care, that is the essence of the religious identity, and [it] can inform [you] of who is your neighbor and how [you should] provide for them,” Goodin said. “I do think it can be a powerful moral force [….] not because of rational self-interest, [though] that’s there too, but because [the climate crisis is an] injustice and it [should] make us angry. And so injustice invites a religious response to say [that] this is wrong.”

The colloquium left participants wondering how to motivate collective action to address climate change. Vienna d’Mato Hall, U3 Arts, expressed their cynicism around the emphasis on student movements, which they believe do nothing to promote activism outside of university. Like Goodin, they were deeply interested in the potential of religion to motivate action against larger societal forces.

“What I care about is activism happening in reality, not just with people that are cushioned by those orchestrating the problem,” d’Mato Hall said. “The reason I came here today is I almost feel like we need a new religion, to unite humanity [so that we can] stay [on earth], and if we want to be here we have to do these things, all of us.” 

religion, climate
McGill, News

Experts discuss the intersection of religion and climate activism

by Dylan Kurzer-Ogul on

More in McGill:

Montreal’s Council for Research on Religion (CREOR-M) hosted its first Colloquium on Religion and Climate Change in the Birks building. The event, held on Sept. 20, aimed to bring together McGill scholars from different fields to discuss how understanding faith can recontextualize the movement for climate justice. 

According to Claire Grenier,  U2 Joint Honours Western Religions and Political Science and speaker at the colloquium, religious people have a vital role to play in the fight for climate justice. Claire hoped the colloquium would allow participants to understand the intersection between religion and environmental activism. 

“The potential of this conference is to expose a lot of different people to different viewpoints, especially in different religions,” Grenier said. “There are religious people that see a social responsibility and a tenant of hospitality that extends not just to people that share their views, but to people around the world.”

Religious Studies Professor Lei Kuan Lai spoke on religion in activism in their talk, “A Buddhist Environmental Ethics?” as well as how religion can be used as a tool against climate action; Lai explained that scholarship using Buddhist doctrine to claim that Buddhism and environmentalism are perfectly compatible oversimplifies Buddhist thought. As an example, Lai explained that Pure Land, an ideal space where enlightenment is easily achieved, is only an ideal of Buddhism when it is presented as being contained within an urban setting. 

“[Pure Land] looks more like Mont Royal Park than the wilderness,” Lai said. “One would be hard pressed to say Buddhism is inherently environmental.”

Lai went on to address the approach to Buddhist environmentalism in which scholars attempt to derive environmental principles by applying Buddhist thought. Lai explained that such scholarship emphasizes individual and symbolic action by focusing on mindfulness and reflection. Much of the activism cited in this approach highlights imagery of peaceful Buddhists meditating, reinforcing a tradition of representing Buddhists as soft and passive. This outlook prioritizes activism on the individual level, rather than as a collective; this also promotes passivity, which Lai argues works against creating meaningful change. Additionally, Lai argued that Buddhism must embrace science, in addition to tenants of faith, to take a radical response to a radical problem.

“Romanticizing a nature-loving Eastern tradition has to stop, because it’s impeding a meaningful Buddhist response to the current crisis,” Lai said. “Happiness and mindfulness Buddhism will not stop rising sea levels.”

Religious Studies Professor David Goodin, the presenter of “The Abrahamic Religions and Climate Change,” also sees value in incorporating religion in environmental activism. Goodin spoke of the potential for religion to add a uniquely effective moral weight to activism. 

“The Abrahamic idea of hospitality and care, that is the essence of the religious identity, and [it] can inform [you] of who is your neighbor and how [you should] provide for them,” Goodin said. “I do think it can be a powerful moral force [….] not because of rational self-interest, [though] that’s there too, but because [the climate crisis is an] injustice and it [should] make us angry. And so injustice invites a religious response to say [that] this is wrong.”

The colloquium left participants wondering how to motivate collective action to address climate change. Vienna d’Mato Hall, U3 Arts, expressed their cynicism around the emphasis on student movements, which they believe do nothing to promote activism outside of university. Like Goodin, they were deeply interested in the potential of religion to motivate action against larger societal forces.

“What I care about is activism happening in reality, not just with people that are cushioned by those orchestrating the problem,” d’Mato Hall said. “The reason I came here today is I almost feel like we need a new religion, to unite humanity [so that we can] stay [on earth], and if we want to be here we have to do these things, all of us.” 

Arts & Entertainment

MMFA’s Egyptian Mummies exhibit explores six lives from ancient times

by Vanessa Barron on

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Ancient Egypt has long been a subject of fascination and imitation in Western culture. Particularly, the mummy is best known as a horror movie icon and easy Halloween costume. But seeing an actual mummy is a stark contrast to seeing your friend wrapped in toilet paper. Mummies represent both a sacred burial practice and serve as long-lasting records of life in a past society. Beginning on Sept. 14, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), in collaboration with the British Museum, is presenting Egyptian Mummies: Ancient Lives, an exhibition featuring six mummies from ancient Egypt, who lived and died between 900 BC and 180 AD. By examining each mummy with non-invasive technology, the exhibit provides a glimpse into Egyptian life and death.

One of the most notable features of the exhibit is the display of advanced technology that assists in the study of the mummification process. Rather than unwrapping and damaging the bodies permanently, the museum provides footage of three-dimensional CT scans that show cross-sections of the mummies on display. The digital recreations showed amulets hidden inside the mummies’ wrapping and filler materials that replaced the organs. Even though they are computer-generated, the 3D images allow the viewer to see beyond the outside layer casing the mummy. 

Each room of the exhibit is organized similarly to the way that the mummies would be buried, with the bodies in the middle of the room and their possessions around the perimeter. The mummies sit next to their ornately decorated coffins that depict stories from their lives, interactions with deities, and symbols like the Eye of Horus. The coffins are one of the most visually stunning parts of the exhibit, showcasing both artistic talent and the sheer amount of effort that went into a single burial. The gilded masks of a priest named Irthorru and a statue of an unnamed young child are just as stunning today as they were when they were originally made. 

The rooms corresponds to a topic relevant to the findings from the mummy ranging from religion to health and family life. Artefacts such as cosmetic tools, board games, and musical instruments serve as reminders that some elements of human life have changed little throughout history—ancient Egyptians enjoyed beauty and entertainment just as modern audience does.

While the exhibition never explicitly mentions how the British Museum obtained these mummies, ethical questions arise when burial grounds are disrupted and corpses are displayed for the sake of profit. Egyptian Mummies: Ancient Lives does capture the feeling that the mummification practices and beliefs were sacred to the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, audiences are left with the impression that the mummies have certainly not reached their final resting place. Some of the objects and coffins have small serial numbers written on them—a small, yet poignant reminder that even after death, the mummies have had a tumultuous history of their own as archaeological findings catalogued for the exhibition.

Nestawedjet, Tamut, and Irthorru might have only lived for around 40 years as humans, but as mummies, they contribute to our cultural knowledge thousands of years later. By preserving their bodies for the afterlife, the ancient Egyptians effectively preserved their history and culture as well. The mummies are as close to immortal as a human can get.

“We are honoured to host these extraordinary witnesses of our common ancestry, so that they may share with us their cultures and trades, their beliefs and sufferings… in a word, their lives,” Nathalie Bondil, chief curator, said in a press release. 

Science & Technology

Space trash: Pollution in outer space

by Katherine Dulong on

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Humans litter everywhere, even in outer space. As people leave behind weather satellites, rockets, and gear from the International Space Station (ISS), space trash, or space debris, is quickly becoming a major issue for governments and space organizations.

Space debris include both natural and human-made objects. However, since natural particles such as comets and asteroids, which are made of rock, dust, and gas, tend to orbit around the sun, they are rarely problematic for humans. While 100 tonnes of tiny meteors bombard Earth every day, these space rocks generally burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere and rarely survive to hit the surface.

Human-made particles, however, usually orbit around Earth instead and can damage shuttles, endanger astronauts, and interfere with satellites. This type of human-made space trash encompasses any non-functional parts remaining from satellite launches, spacecrafts, and rocket stages, and can also include radioactive material and residual fuel. Some pieces are huge, spanning the length of a football field, while others are the size of a marble. 

Since humans have been launching objects into space since the 1960s, there is now an astronomical quantity of debris in space. According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of space junk orbit Earth. This number only accounts for the pieces that are tracked, some of which are travelling at 28,000 kilometres per hour—30 times faster than a typical commercial airplane.

“You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand that if you put something 100 kilometres in orbit, it will stay there forever,” Ram Jakhu, the associate director of McGill’s Centre for Research of Air and Space Law, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. 

Furthermore, rockets are at risk of colliding with space debris, creating an obstacle for the exploration and colonization of outer space. 

“[Space debris] are more dangerous than the bullets of a gun,” Jakhu said.

Calling space debris dangerous might seem trivial, as humans often view space as an empty void. However, most of these objects are located very close to the Earth, and some of them cannot be tracked. 

These untracked pieces have a high chance of colliding with other objects. The Kessler syndrome describes a scenario in which collisions between debris in close orbit around Earth cause more collisions and debris in the future, thus impeding on satellite communications and space exploration. 

Since launching objects in space is extraordinarily expensive, most objects belong to governments, with a few coming from corporations, such as SpaceX’s satellite constellation Starlink. Legal liability becomes a concern as countries become legally responsible if their space debris hits the functional equipment of another nation. Such was the case in 2009 when two communications satellites—one American, and one Russian—collided, spewing debris everywhere. 

The legal picture is complicated, though, because state sovereignty means removing another country’s space trash is not an option. Each country must be responsible for its own contribution to the problem.

“You cannot take away other people’s [space] debris,” Jakhu said. 

Concerted international action will be necessary if humans are to ever tackle the problem of space trash. After all, the future of humanity might just lie in outer space. Space exploration will be limited if too much debris obstruct the way. Jakhu believes that intentionally creating space debris should legally be considered a crime against humanity. This is difficult, however, because space law exists only in the international sphere; it is not concerned with the domestic laws of individual states.

“[Space trash] is a common problem that needs common solutions [such as international removal efforts] as soon as possible,” Jakhu said. 

While the United Nations (UN) Committee on Peaceful Uses of Space (UNCOPUOS) has established a set of guidelines to slow the creation of space trash, more regulations are needed to deal with the debris that already exist. Thus, the work of other UN bodies, research organizations such as the Centre for Research of Air and Space Law, and national governments will be vital.

Arts & Entertainment, Books

Drawn & Quarterly sparks local interest with ‘Mile End Portraits’

by Jonathan Giammaria on

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When La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly opened its doors to celebrate the release of Mile End Portraits on Sept. 20, the normally quiet children’s bookstore quickly found itself packed with residents looking to honour their neighbourhood. Mile End Memories, a local community center dedicated to preserving the area’s cultural identity, collaborated with local creatives and volunteers on their book, which sought to celebrate the neighbourhood’s history and highlight the diverse occupants that liven up its streets. 

Mile End, which likely owes its name to the London suburb of the same name, developed in the 19th century as an industrial hub supplying construction material for Montreal’s residents. Over the latter half of the 19th and better part of the 20th century, it assumed a more residential identity when immigration to the area boomed with Canada’s transcontinental railway system. Following this development, electric tram systems were implemented which increased mobility to and from the neighbourhood. Today, most know the neighbourhood for its artistic establishments and by the various cultural groups it hosts — Greek, Italian, Portuguese, and Hassidic Jewish communities share the space. Yves Desjardins, a member of Mile End Memories, expressed how the book aimed  to explore Mile End’s ever-changing identity and commented on the intercommunal solidarity that continues to flourish within its streets. 

“[Mile End Portraits] is a collaborative project,” Desjardins said. “We’re all volunteers. We love our neighbourhood, we love its history, and we want to share our passion for Mile End’s heritage.”

Sharing in that collaborative spirit were cartoonists Michel Hellman and Pascal Girard, who attended the event to sign autographs and speak with enthusiastic locals. Both reside in Mile End and have regularly featured the borough in their work. Along with the book’s historical excerpts and photographs, the two illustrators peppered in hand drawn vignettes of daily life. Both artists forego realism in favour of quick sketches with sparse and clean linework that depicts flat environments populated by unassuming caricatures, which gives their work a feel lighthearted and casual feel. The pair recreated photos documenting Mile End’s history while also capturing mundane scenes and interactions within the neighbourhood, where characters appear sarcastic or snarky, giving the cartoons a humorous tone. 

Hellman, who has previously published a graphic novel titled Mile End, re-imagines himself in his cartoons as an anthropomorphic bear to offer satirized accounts of his experiences. Though Hellman’s stories can appear introspective, his work also broaches his own interests in anthropology and architecture, and his exploration of space and how it affects our quotidian life suits the book’s purpose of documenting Mile End’s spirit as a community. In Mile End Portraits, he offers a water-colour portrait of the Rialto Theatre, which he depicts as a daunting and imposing building, lighting up a nightscape with a red glow emanating from its rows of windows.

Meanwhile, Girard draws with a distinctly shaky style, with squiggly lines that do not always connect, and imbues his cartoons with a sense of frenetic movement, despite the frequently relaxed postures and mild expressions that his characters adopt. In Mile End Portraits, his pictures feel intimate, the viewer feels almost intrusive bearing witness to the scenes depicted in the book. Girard draws intimate spaces like cafés or tight apartments, with characters who look around or converse with each other completely unbothered and blasé.

Though the two artists heavily focus on ordinary life in the area, the ease with which their characters move throughout the book’s pages and the chance interactions they commonly experience allude to the carefree, yet vibrant way of life that Mile End offers. 

Mile End Portraits, though brief , sets up a charming snapshot of the quarter’s growth and reputation with respect to the entirety of Montreal. With an authentic voice achieved through community participation, Mile End Portraits expresses gratitude to its neighbourhood, positioned as one of Montreal’s premiere sites for creativity and diversity. 

*Quotation was translated from its original French

 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘Undone’ is a poignant yet comedic look at mental illness

by Joey Caplan on

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Undone, Amazon Prime Video’s new eight episode animated series is a wildly entertaining and emotionally complicated triumph. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, the team behind Bojack Horseman, each of the series’ brief, 20-odd minute-long episodes packs in a wealth of depth and wit.

Undone begins with Alma (Rosa Salazar), a woman in her late twenties leading a passionless, meandering life until a severe car accident leaves her hospitalized and comatose for weeks. Following the accident, she begins to see the ghost of her late father, Jacob (Bob Odenkirk), who informs her that not only does she have the ability to travel through time, she must use her newfound ability to go back and save him on the night he was murdered. Though the setup sounds like a typical sci-fi mystery, Undone uses this simple structure to explore Alma’s character and her fracturing psyche, and how her strange and often worrying behaviour is affecting her family. 

Undone’s visual style allows the show to stand out within the cartoon genre. Rotoscoping, a process in which live action scenes are shot and then traced over by animators and, in the case of Undone, combined with original background paintings, makes the series’ aesthetic as unsettling as it is beautiful. This kind of animation allows the show’s creators to orchestrate spectacular, trippy scenes, while also keeping most of the footage grounded in reality. 

While Bojack Horseman juxtaposes its focus on depression with a deceptively wacky cast of characters and visual humour, Undone allows its distinctive art style to complement its unspoken concern with schizophrenia. The issue may not be explicitly addressed until much later, but it lingers just behind every frame: Is it all in Alma’s head? Has she genuinely discovered her purpose in the universe, or is she suffering from a mental illness that has caused her to distance herself from her family while becoming increasingly connected to her imagined father? Alma’s mental wellbeing is the most crucial and fascinating theme of Undone, and touches on issues that are seldom confronted in such a nuanced fashion. 

Regardless of whether she can truly traverse time or not, Alma’s work and social life suffer as her father urges her to escape her normal life and focus all of her attention on him and his death. Her growing disdain for the mundane is mirrored in the art style; the exciting time travel moments flourish with vibrant colours and thrilling mystery, while the scenes where she discusses marital plans with her sister are drab, the only signs of life coming from the characters’ remarkably detailed and emotive faces. 

None of this depth would be possible without Rosa Salazar’s performance. The rotoscoping causes every facial expression to be exaggerated, and Salazar takes full advantage of a style that some actors would surely despise having to work with. Bob Odenkirk, despite his talent, appeared not to have grasped the style as well as his costar; his character often falls flat. It can be difficult for actors to transition from working exclusively in live action to acting with motion capture or voice work, and this transition is more apparent in Odenkirk’s performance. 

Undone’s strange animation and narrative profundity combine to create one of the best television shows of 2019, and its ambiguous ending will surely have people talking long after the credits roll.

 

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