In Flux

It's been and will be a crazy several days - clearing & cleaning out an apartment, watching friends' defenses, saying many goodbyes, a conference, and finally a flight. Ah, transitions. Be back soon with the Montreal version.

On being in your 20s

I wish I could get all my favourite people to move to the same damn city!

Oh, also, I am now a Master of the Arts! The defense went well. Onward ho!

Almost D Day

Keep your fingers crossed for me, k?

FROM: (Grad Director)
TO: (Graduate Students)
Master's Essay Oral

Lesley Trites will present her 598 Master’s Essay ("Queering the
Corporate Body: Identity and Postfeminisms in Larissa Lai's Salt Fish
Girl") on the following date and time:

Thursday, April 20
12:00 noon

The presence and support of an audience is always appreciated, and
questions from the floor are allowed/encouraged. Attending an oral
examination also provides good experience in preparation for your own.
So please do come.

Weekend Surfing Roundup

There's a connection between sex and Spring cleaning, the CBC has announced the picks for Canada Reads 2006, Douglas Coupland has a new book that sounds like fun if a little, uh, overly selfreferential (I'm skeptical but will probably read it anyway), and Jan Wong becomes a maid for a month, à la Barbara Ehrenreich.

The Beat that My Heart Skipped

I have an article on The Beat that My Heart Skipped up on PopMatters.

Identity-making & Digital Communities

Today I came across a scholar, Danah Boyd, who's doing some interesting work on identity-making in digital communities. I was especially interested in the way the metaphor of the body reoccurs in her work:

Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace:
"The dynamics of identity production play out visibly on MySpace. Profiles are digital bodies, public displays of identity where people can explore impression management. Because the digital world requires people to write themselves into being, profiles provide an opportunity to craft the intended expression through language, imagery and media. Explicit reactions to their online presence offers valuable feedback. The goal is to look cool and receive peer validation. Of course, because imagery can be staged, it is often difficult to tell if photos are a representation of behaviors or a re-presentation of them."

Broken Metaphors: Blogging as Liminal Practice (PDF)
"In essense, these blogs are digital bodies, complete with fashion markers intended to convey cultural subcultural signals that only have meaning to those with shared values."
"Of course, just as with any virtual corporeality, the act of having to type oneself into being results in gaps that that trouble any clean reading of digital bodies."

Another interesting one: G/localization: When Global Information and Local Interaction Collide.
I find this idea of "familiar strangers" - that "two people who take the same bus every day for years may never interact, but if they were to run into each other in a different environment across town, they would say hello and talk about the bus" - and the way this translates online very compelling.

How do you create a viable digital community?

Spring Soundtrack

It's a busy time of year, but somehow I've still managed to get out to hear some good music lately.

The New Pornographers and Belle & Sebastian played the Paramount theatre in Seattle on March 26. Neko Case's voice is so distinctive that, for me, without her the New Pornographers sounded like just another indie rock band. But I got over my disappointment at not seeing Neko and realized they're still a good band - A.C. Newman has admirably stepped up to the plate as frontman, and Twin Cinema is a fun record.

There's something about Belle & Sebastian that brings out the adoring fangirl in me. Maybe it's because my appreciation of their music has survived otherwise drastic in taste over the years. They put in a great show, always ready to interact with their audience. I love bands who have this ability to convince every audience that this particular show is special (or, ya know, maybe it's just the shows I go to). "I feel like we fit in this place like a hand in a glove or something," said Stuart Murdoch.

Stuart was as charming as the last time I'd seen them play (on my birthday in Toronto a few years ago), but this time I was increasingly impressed (ok, it's possible that "enamored" might be a better word) with Stevie Jackson, the suit-wearing, robot-dancing, melodica (or impromtu spaceship)-touting other frontman.

When they played “Jonathan David,” a really sweet song about a love triangle, they brought up a cute girl in a vintage dress from the audience to act out the song. She played the part well, dancing with both Stuart and Stevie and mimicking a beating heart with her hands. I grinned like an idiot, as I did when they played "Boy with the Arab Strap," one of my favourite songs. Thanks to the persistence of a couple of friends (because I would never have pulled off this kind of thing on my own), we ended up meeting the band after the show. I tried to avoid turning into a puddle of gushing fangirl, but did tell Stevie that I enjoyed his dancing.

Frog Eyes and the Pink Mountaintops played at Sugar in Victoria last Friday night, April 7th. A favourite of the local indie scene, Frog Eyes is a ubiquitous opening band in Victoria. Though they definitely had me tapping my toes and wiggling my shoulders, there's something aggressive about the lead vocals that I find a little off-putting.

I think Sugar uses especially potent gin or something, because it tasted a little funny, and by the time I'd had a double G&T and the Mountaintops got on stage, I couldn't not enjoy them. I especially love their song "Tourist in my Town," written about (where else?) Victoria. It's pretty fitting that I saw these two bands near the end of my tenure in Victoria, actually, because they played the first show I saw in Victoria in September 2004.

Last night Sarah Harmer played the Alix Goolden Hall, a gorgeous church and concert venue. There's something to be said for a show where you can sit down -- it was very calming, and cozy. Ms. Harper looked quite fetching in her pretty skirt and black heels (which she removed by the end of the show, dancing in her bare feet). I'm a sucker for large string instruments (in this case, the upright bass) and was quite impressed with the clarinetist. I used to be a clarinetist, so I really appreciate it when the clarinet is incorporated into any type of alternative music. Basically, I like it when bands deviate from the standard guitar, bass and drum combo.

Sarah Harmer had a nice chemistry with the audience that made for a great show. She played an good range of songs and several covers, including an especially gorgeous one by the Weakerthans, one by Luther Wright, one by Dolly Parton (she received a fax from Dolly on Valentine's Day about this song), and something bluesy from the 40s. I liked the stories that introduced many of the songs -- before the Luther Wright cover she talked about how, one of the first time she played in Victoria, Luther Wright got so into it he accidentally caught her just above her left eyebrow with his guitar. She still has the scar. Then there her introduction to "Escarpment Blues," lamenting that some company wants to turn parts of the Niagara escarpment, including the wetlands in her parents' backyard in Burlington, into a giant rock pile.

the g&m talks poetic experimentation

The avantest of the avant-garde: The Globe reviews three new poetry collections from Coach House - a. raw's wide slumber for lepidopterists, John Paul Fiorentino's The Theory of the Loser Class and Sina Queyras' Lemon Hound.

It's been a little while since I've picked up a new book of poetry, and I can't wait to get to my new address so I can participate in CH's Sping poetry committment.

Take the Lead

I recently joined PopMatters as a film/TV/DVD writer. My first review, of Take the Lead, has been published here.

Goodbye Victoria, Bonjour Montréal

Things are slowly falling into place. My master's defense has been scheduled for April 20th, someone has been lined up to take my apartment, and some furniture has been sold. I have a summer sublet awaiting me in Montreal and a plane ticket booked for May 1st. Then begins the post-school job hunt (not to mention celebratory martinis on springtime terraces)!

Growing up C.R.A.Z.Y. in Montreal

Sincere but not sappy, and without the cynicism of other Quebec film darlings like The Barbarian Invasions, C.R.A.Z.Y. interweaves two themes not uncommon in Quebecois film and literature: sexuality and religion. Evoking a very convincing sense of time and place, the film centers on Zac, the fourth of five brothers growing up in 1970s Montreal. C.R.A.Z.Y. is an acronym for the names of the five brothers: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary, and Yvan. With a penchant for David Bowie and a special gift from the Virgin Mary, Zac isn’t like the other brothers.

With a nostalgic atmosphere fuelled by music like Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” C.R.A.Z.Y. is delicate in its portrayal Zac’s sexual confusion. The film doesn’t belabor the focus on Zac’s possible homosexuality, however, but centers on his complicated relationship with his father. Zac’s father, played by Michel Côté, is less than accepting of his son’s “deviant” expressions of gender and sexuality.

Wearing a white construction hat, the young Zac watches his father pull out of the driveway before ditching the hat for his mother’s robe and jewellery. Unfortunately, Zac’s father returns unexpectedly and catches Zac in the act. Even at this young age, Zac knows that he is doing something wrong in the eyes of his father and 1970s Catholic Quebec society with its conservative gender roles. Blessed with the misfortune of a December 25 birthday, the young Zac receives a succession of gifts meant to encourage his masculine side, rather than what he really wants: a baby carriage.

Superstition, and its relationship to religion, also plays a role in the film. Thrilled to learn that her son has “le don,” a gift of healing from the Virgin Mary, Zac’s mother (Danielle Proulx) receives a barrage of telephone calls from friends and relatives asking for Zac’s thoughts and magical powers of healing. Zac’s mother clings to this belief as the reason for Zac’s “difference” and increased sensitivity. As he grows up, Zac isn’t sure if he believes in God, but continues to pray for God to make him a normal boy. He throws himself into reckless situations to test his faith: if he can just make it through this red light, or through this blizzard, he’ll be “normal.”

Zac’s relationship with his mother provides some of the most tender moments of the film, which somehow manage to avoid being overly-sentimental, perhaps due to their quirkiness—this is a mother, after all, who irons toast for her eldest son. Perhaps the weakest moment in the film is an unnecessary tangent when Zac escapes to Jerusalem, seemingly to live out his mother’s religious dreams but more likely to check out the local gay scene.

Marc-André Grodin gives a convincing and nuanced performance as the teenaged Zac. Grodin has been referred to by some as the "Canadian Gael García Bernal," and indeed there’s a similarity between the two actors that goes beyond their good looks: Bernal, known for his role in Spanish-language films such as Y Tu Mamá También, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Bad Education, often stars in coming-of-age films similarly centered on sexuality and/or religion. Grodin’s role as Zac may propel him to imminent Québec stardom.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée originally thought he would have to translate the film into English for it to be a commercial success. Luckily, actor Michel Côté convinced him that this particular film needed to be made in Québec. Its distinctive French Canadianness is a large part of its appeal, and Québec audiences have reacted accordingly. C.R.A.Z.Y. ranked third in Quebec box offices in 2005, coming behind only Harry Potter and Star Wars – quite a feat for an independent local production. The film also recently swept Canada’s Genie awards, winning 10 of the 12 categories including best film and best director for Vallée. Michel Côté won best leading actor and Danielle Proulx best supporting actress for their roles as Zac’s parents.

Vallée has likened the film to a big mix tape. A self-professed music maniac, Vallée wanted to add his personal signature to the film through its soundtrack. The main character connects spiritually to music more so than to prayer—a point driven home by a surreal scene where Zac rises above the Church congregation to the tune of a rock anthem. With C.R.A.Z.Y., Vallée has finally been able to make the film he’s always wanted to make. Gorgeously shot in and around Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood, this quirky and heart-warming Canadian gem of a film is well worth seeing.

Mad Hot Ballroom

Another in a succession of recent documentaries about children (including Spellbound, Boys of Baraka, Born into Brothels, and Être et Avoir),
Mad Hot Ballroom follows grade five children learning ballroom dancing in New York area schools. They learn merengue, rumba, swing, foxtrot, and tango - these kids can swing their hips better than I can.

Although it doesn't have much in the way of narrative drive, the documentary retains its flow through rhythm and music. Also, unlike most of the documentaries I've seen about kids, Mad Hot Ballroom portrays these children as intelligent (and very articulate) more so than cute. It also explores the gender politics of 11-year-olds, although dividing the interviewees according to gender only seems to heighten the strict gender roles they're learning on the dance floor.

The documentary puts a very positive spin on inner-city education; although allusions are made to bad home situations, we don't see much of the children outside of school with their families (unlike Boys of Baraka or Spellbound, which allow for more character development). It (perhaps overly idealistically) champions the positive influence dancing has on children's self esteem and character: they're learning to be "ladies and gentlemen." It also, however, in a very compelling scene, acknowledges the importance of learning to lose.