The lights dim and the screen brightens to reveal Tatiana Maslany, expertly portraying a paranoid Alison Hendrix ill-prepared for the neighbourhood pot luck dinner, opposite Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning, who must now take Hendrix’s place at the party after interrogating her husband. Sound strange? Then you have missed out on the critically acclaimed, unabashedly Canadian…
Little Red Fish: Iranian Revolution as Told by Fish
The Little Red Fish #2 James Moffitt (Author) Bizhan Khodabandeh (Artist) Sink/Swim Press December 2015 On the surface is danger. The fish who dare to live too close to the break between water and air are likely to be snapped up by the great bird, a heron, who resides on land. The school moves farther…
A Rabbit, A Kitten, and a House Party: Profile of Rachael Smith
In 2014, Rachael Smith funded her graphic novel House Party through Kickstarter in only four days. The speed of funding suggests she has more than a fan or two who believes in her talent as a comics creator.
Get On With Ron: Ronald Wimberly, Cartoonist in Profile
You may have heard of Ronald Wimberly. Perhaps you discovered him through The Nib when they published “Lighten Up,” in which he discusses being told by an X-Men editor to lighten a character’s skin, and then elaborates on the complexity of skin tone, race, ethnicity, and mainstream comics’ narrow view on the subject. Maybe you’re a…
TIFF Reviews: Parisienne & A Tale of 3 Cities
I didn’t go to as many screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and because I wouldn’t be seeing that many, I decided to narrow it down to a theme. I decided to go for films that were: outside of Canada & the United States of America starred woman (or women) of colour AND/OR is directed…
Family and Survival at the Ottawa International Animation Festival
From September 16-20 I had the opportunity to attend the screenings for the four competing feature length animated films at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. At first glance the films could not have been more different from one another. There was The Magic Mountain, a Romanian/Polish/French film about a Polish refugee fighting the Russians in…
Review: March: Book Two – A Bigger, Longer Walk
If you have recently heard Congressman John Lewis speak, than his voice will probably play in your head while reading this: confident, with the pacing of someone trained in the clergy, weathered with experience. If you haven’t heard him speak, his intonation will still ring out as you read through his speech from the 1963 March on Washington,…
Dissecting the Asian Drama: Societal Reflections in Gender Perception and Performance (Part 2)
The male characters’ reluctance to accept their attraction to their female leads plays into another concept that Judith Butler explores in her piece “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” She talks of the strict repercussions Western cultures, especially in the United States, force onto people who stray outside their…
Dissecting the Asian Drama: Gender Boundaries, Perception, and Performance in You’re Beautiful and Hana Kimi (Part 1)
Should you ever find yourself perusing Netflix, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll come across “foreign” TV shows. They’re usually shorter than the average American TV series—ten or eleven episodes in length and rarely more than one season long—and more often than not, they are romantic comedies with Asian characters and settings.
Tangerine: A Comedy Where I Wasn’t The Punchline
Tangerine Directed by Sean S. Baker Starring Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, James Ransone, Mickey O’Hagan, Karren Karagulian Screenplay by Sean S. Baker, Chris Bergoch R, 88 Minutes July 10, 2015 (limited) There’s something to be said for a movie that thrills you before you even sit down at the cinema. I had luckily caught…
A Silent Voice Speaks Out Against Bullying: A Review
A Silent Voice vols. 1 Kodansha Comics Yoshitoki Ōima (mangaka), Ben Applegate (Editor), Steven LeCroy (Translator/Letterer) Release Date: May 26, 2015 A review copy was supplied by Kodansha.