Ten Years Later

Today is September 1st, 2017. It's nineteen years later, and Albus Potter boarded the Hogwarts express this morning, ten years after we all turned the final page.

It's silly, really, to care so much about an arbitrary date in an imaginary universe. It is only a story, of course.

But maybe not. After all: fiction is hardly the same as not real.

Harry's story meant a lot to me as I grew up. In many ways, it defined large parts of who I am today. The books, after all, matured alongside me. As so many have noted, Harry and his friends grew up in tandem with their audience. Harry's trials were my trials. Not the werewolves and the Dementors, but the crushes and the insecurities. The loneliness, the fear of a confusing world. These I could relate to. Harry's story was my Hogwarts, a place I could always retreat to and feel welcome.

Harry's adventures were my escape and my inspiration, an example of what the fantasy genre does at its best. Not only did the books inspire a lifelong love of reading stories, they helped me define how I came to understand my world. By holding a mirror up to our world, the story showed me the insidious malaises of celebrity worship, mob mentality, and economic, racial, and gender inequality.

Harry helped make me empathetic for the world. In the Luna Lovegood I saw my quirky school peers, and wondered who might need a hand in friendship; in Sirius Black, I saw the father figures in my life, and wondered if perhaps the bad guys aren't always the bad guys. After reading Chamber of Secrets, I remember wondering who the "mudbloods" of my world were, and how I could avoid being complicit in such awfully hateful attitudes. These are just a few examples, though I could easily fill a book with ways the books inspired me to an awareness of and a genuine desire to fight cruelty and injustice.

These desires did not evolve solely out of Harry Potter of course. The series was merely one of numerous forces that shaped the person I've become (a mother who predisposed me to empathy, the crippling loneliness and insecurity of the introverted, to name a few more), but I always felt a special kinship with Harry that filled a hole in my soul where nothing else could. This, perhaps, is why the books transcend the medium of mere literature in my mind. Harry Potter represents the first time I found a book and my connection to its world truly magical. Since then, I've found hundreds of worlds such as this, hundreds of characters that feel truly real to me. But Harry was the first. And the first is always special.

Of course, Harry was never my favourite character in the series. Oh no, far from it. Harry was always flawed, frustrating, and often foolish. But he always had good intentions. And don't we all succumb to our flaws sometime? You see, I am not, and never have been, the favourite character in my own story. Yet Harry gave me hope that perhaps I could still bring some good into the world. Perhaps one day I might even become the favourite character in someone else's story.

Harry's story is not for everyone, and many of those who came late to the series have not connected with the stories as I have. In this way, the series' popularity has perhaps been to its detriment. I would no longer consider myself a "potterhead" (a term I have always resisted, much as continue to resist the asinine "Whovian" label). I no longer reread with the same avid obsession. Yet I still pick up my worn hardcovers every now and then, and revisit a part of myself that will never leave me.

For those who understand I need say no more.

All is well.

September 1st, 2017

A Short Review of Spider-Man: Homecoming

A while back, I wrote a piece addressing my thoughts on Spider-Man joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A few months later, when Captain America: Civil War came out, I wrote a review with my updated thoughts on Tom Holland’s web slinger.

Now, after his first solo outing, I am truly convinced: Tom Holland is Peter Parker.

As I’ve said before, the choice to make this incarnation of the character so distinctly innocent, so obviously a kid, serves to give him a degree of relatability that previous incarnations have lacked. 

This Peter Parker, true to the comics, is a fifteen year old social outcast who’s stumbled into a world that’s bigger than he is. And, unlike the Greek Gods and billionaire playboys of this universe, Peter has to deal with the very real struggles of teenaged angst, high school, and dating.

Spider-Man’s ability to navigate the fantasy of superpowers as well as the monotony of daily life is the true strength of his character. This is why he holds such a special place in my heart, as I know he holds a special place in so many others.

With Spider-Man: Homecoming, I am happy to see that the role has been placed in good hands. The tone of the movie is light, paying homage to the world he came from with references to The Avengers and Civil War, with Tony Stark playing a main role. This crossover allows for a certain passing of the franchise torch, and shows a degree of forethought on the part of the writers. With the knowledge that Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans can’t anchor the franchise forever, Spider-Man: Homecoming marks what I expect to see in the post Infinity War era MCU, with a new generation of superheroes coming to the forefront.

A lot of thought seems to have been put into how Holland’s Parker learns to use his powers. The villain he faces in Homecoming, the Vulture, is arguably relatively weak on the scale of MCU villain hood. The film’s dialogue notes that Vulture would be finished if Iron Man or the Avengers were to notice him. In fighting the Vulture, we see an immature, eager, and clumsy Spider-Man learning his limits and learning to use his powers wisely. This dynamic between Parker and the movie’s villains makes for some entertaining scenes, including one hilarious interrogation scene. On a technical level, this learning curve also allows for a certain break in the monotony of super-hero action scenes. Rather than yet another film where Iron Man fights an army of robots, we have a refreshing mixing and matching of super-powers.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is one of the best films to have been released in Marvel’s shared universe, possibly the best behind only Civil War. More down to earth and relatable than many of its counterparts, Homecoming is a perfect Spider-Man film, staying true to the character and the tone of the world. Unlike many character introductions, this film dispenses with the well-trodden origin story, instead infusing backstory references to the dialogue.

Ultimately, Spider-Man: Homecoming is well worth the time and money to see in theatres, a truly loyal and heartfelt portrayal of my favourite superhero.

9/10

Reading List: Some Recommendations

Life is busy. Between full time work, summer classes, serious creative projects, and maintaining some semblance of a social life (and also sleeping, occasionally) it’s been hard to find time to read recently. I’ve been told this is part of being an adult, though I reject that notion. I know plenty of adults who continue to devour a half dozen books every month.

Still, making time for reading takes some concerted effort. Even harder, often, is deciding what books to use that precious time on. Nothing is more upsetting than wasting a solid ten hours reading a bad book. As such, here are a few books I’ve recently read and enjoyed.

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

Perhaps one of Steinbeck’s lesser known and most underrated works, Travels with Charley is an entertaining and insightful portrait of the United States. Thoughtful yet accessible in distinctly Steinbeck fashion, the book is a semi-fictional account of a road trip the author make to “rediscover his country” towards the end of his life. Spending several months touring America in a camper van with no company but his dog Charley, the author’s tone is reflective. This book was clearly written towards the end of his life and career, as one sees his growing disillusionment the longer his journey goes on. Such disappointment in the new generation is profound coming from a man who consistently provided a voice for America’s unheard populations.

For anyone who enjoys American literature or memoir, this book is an excellent choice. It blurs some of the lines between novel and biography, fusing elements of both to create profound yet enjoyable book. I also highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Gary Sinise.

On Not Losing My Father’s Ashes in the Flood by Richard Harrison

Calgary based writer Richard Harrison’s latest collection of poetry is a deeply compassionate exploration of grief, marriage, and family relationships. While each poem stands strong in its own right, this collection provides a memoir-like tale of a man attempting to process the loss of his father while realizing his own flawed mortality. Harrison uses the medium of narrative poetry to tell a deeply relatable story. This collection’s combination of insightful observation and profound imagery serves to create a cohesive and accessible whole. I recommend that even those who are not fans of poetry give this one a read.

Favourite pieces: “Found Poem” and “A Poem is a Story that Sometimes Happens to Someone”

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas by Fredrick Douglas

As much an important historical document as it is a memoir, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas is one of those books everyone should have to read at some point. Describing the author’s childhood (such as he remembers it) and early adulthood as a slave in Maryland, Narrative is one of several autobiographies written by Douglas during his career as an abolitionist in the mid-1800s. Heartbreaking and often sickeningly visceral, this book is not a pleasant read, yet it is a crucial one for understanding the origins modern racism. We cannot forget what happened, and we cannot allow ourselves to forget just how sickening the institution of slavery was. It is important to remember that for every Fredrick Douglas who escaped to tell their story, there were a million men, women, and children left beaten, raped, and starved for the entirety of their short lives.

OK by Kool AD

One of the more absurd books I’ve ever read, Victor “Kool AD” Vazquez’s postmodern novel OK (yes, I read a postmodern novel written by a rapper) is an intriguing series of experiments in form. Any attempt to sum up this novel is largely doomed to fail. The book is bizarre in a unique way that one has to experience for oneself. For many readers, the frustrating liberties OK takes with linguistic and narrative conventions will be a turnoff. But those who can make it through the confusion and disorientation will almost certainly be rewarded. At the very least, the book should provide an entertaining if bemusing experience.

Reading like a bizarre memoir written during an acid trip (which it might well be), OK features rap battles, gigantic eagles constructed from precious metals, literary and musical references galore, existential angst, moral ambiguity, and a lot of drugs. Any plot and character development is vague enough that the reader can draw their own conclusions. Throughout the novel, Vazquez consistently provides us with a series of vignettes arranged to encourage us to ask questions of everything.

Book Review: Between the World and Me

I recently reread this book as part of a travel study done through the University. The theme of the course was "Slavery, Freedom, and Civil Rights," with the goal of understanding the ongoing legacies of racial conflicts. I attempted to synthesize some of my thoughts on Coates' work in an academic review of the book:

Book Review: Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

In his timely work Between the World and Me, national correspondent for The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates examines a black man’s place in a modern world plagued by a legacy of racial oppression. In light of recent high profile events and modern racial tensions, Coates perfectly captures the struggles faced by African Americans in today’s America. Framing the work as a letter to his son, Coates’ prose has a poetic imperfection that lends to the creation of an aching poignancy. The father’s love for his son lives on the page. The fear he feels for his child’s life, the pain he feels at the loss of so many other children, gives the work an intensely personal appeal. Between the World and Me is a deeply insightful examination of how the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow have resulted in a continued economic, social, and intellectual segregation in modern America. In the book, Coates illustrates with painful clarity the insidious dangers faced by black men and women in the Untied States now more than ever.

One part autobiography and one part a defiant reckoning, Between the World and Me is Coates’ attempt to convey to his son a haunting legacy of violence intrinsically tied to their very identity. Taking inspiration from the works of Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and other African American writers, Coates seeks to succinctly synthesize four hundred years of oppression while capturing a specific modern political moment. His outlook is bleak. His prose is not cluttered by sentimentality, and, unlike many of those who write on similar issues, he does not suggest the inevitability of justice. Between the World and Me is painfully aware that significant progress is neither inevitable nor likely.

Coates attempts to convey this harsh reality to his son, in order that his son might safely navigate a world that resents his existence. Though at many points Coates tends towards poetic abstraction, he centers his letter on a physical theme of the body. The brutal reality that Coates confronts can be seen in this motif. As Coates puts it, amongst all the economic, social, and historical issues, it is the physical, worldly vessel that suffers. Here, we see the titular implication, that the black body and the world around it are entirely separate. In a sense, there is something solidly between Coates and his son, and the world around them; thus, because they are not truly a part of the world, they are inherently endangered by it.

Coates’ bleak but realistic outlook is seen in this theme of physical danger, and illustrated poignantly in his discussions of the issues of domestic discipline and police brutality. For African Americans, both matters are inherently physical problems informed a multitude of factors. These physical problems are illustrated by the high profile killings of black men such as Treyvon Martin and Tamir Rice, to name a few. These deaths, Coates says, are emblematic of the systematic devaluation of the black body, both economically, socially, and, ultimately, physically. Simply put, it is less costly for a police officer to accidentally kill a black man than a white man because the world values one body over the other. This suggestion is the lynchpin of what Coates tragically conveys to his son. He wishes his son to understand this reality, so that he may best protect himself in the wider world. Indeed, Coates suggests that this is all that African American parents can do in a hostile world: prepare their children for how best to deal with that hostility. As Ta-Nehisi Coates painfully illustrates, the black mother beats her child so the child knows how not to be beaten by the police. Such brutal illustrations abound in the book.

Framing the work as a letter to his son is, perhaps, the most effective literary choice made by Coates. This gives the reader a sense of Coates’ personal investment that might otherwise have been missed. The theme of childrearing and parental love is a widely accessible one, and provides the author a method of reaching those outside of his frame of experience. This stylistic choice is one way Coates attempts to reach an audience outside of the African American community. Indeed, it is one way in which he attempts to bridge the gap to which the work’s title refers, between himself and the world.

However, the intensity of Coates’ investment should give the reader pause. It is important to acknowledge that, as poignant and effective as the work is, it is ultimately a conveyance of Coates’ own opinions. These opinions are, of course, coloured by the biographical details that Coates mentions. As such, the book cannot necessarily be read as an introduction to the study of race relations. Coates is not a neutral voice, and his own biases seep into how he addresses these issues. Once this fact is understood, however, Coates’ biases ultimately work towards the book’s purpose. Between the World and Me is an attempt to capture a unique perspective. To understand that perspective, one must understand the historical and social connotations it entails. In order to appreciate the work fully, the reader must be at least somewhat familiar with the subject of race relations. If the reader is well informed, Coates’ biases matter little, as he does not try to hide them. Ultimately, Between the World and Me is an attempt to illustrate the experience of a specific segment of the American population and convey that experience to an audience largely incapable of understanding it.

Updates

Those of you who follow my humble little domain on the internet might have noticed a slight absence recently. This happened for a few reasons, namely that I was out of the country for much of May and the beginning of June. Never fear, constant reader (and intermittent reader, because I’m fairly sure my only constant readers are my mother and grandmother). I am back, and I’m going to try to post more regularly than I have been the last few months.

My escapade through Trump’s America was a (relative) success. I saw some incredible things, met some wonderful people. Aside from hoeing a field, meeting an elderly civil rights activist, and accidentally seeing the orange man in the flesh, I got to spend a lot of time in museums contemplating memory and history, the role these things play in our everyday lives.

All of us, regardless of how or where we live, are affected, in one way or another, by the stories of those who came before us. Museums, hallmarks of how a particular area chooses to remember its history, shape that memory. Take, for instance, Richmond’s Museum of the Confederacy. This example is incredibly relevant, given the controversy that has been steadily growing around Confederate monuments. A blatant shrine to the separatists of the Civil War, my impression of its visitors was that they had little exposure to the darker side of Civil War history.

Yes, these people think, of course the Civil War involved slavery. But it wasn’t about slavery. The war was fought by a brave few who wished to preserve their state’s independence.

First time hoeing a field...

Yes, perhaps state’s rights was an aspect of the War: the right for a state to condone slavery. And yet it is not hard to see where skewed understandings of history, like the example above, come from. If all one understands is the history one is shown, that being a skewed story that excuses a racialized institution of slavery, it is to be expected that such history becomes the dominant memory of the Civil War.

It is for this reason that Confederate memorials and Confederate flags are being removed. Not to dampen the spirit of state’s rights, but to avoid condoning the continued manipulation of cultural memory. Such attitudes must no longer be normalized. By moving these artifacts to places where they can be viewed in a well-rounded context, we are helping to avoid this normalization.

So, there’s my two bits for today. Read history, and read all sides of history. Try to understand where the other is coming from. Whether you are Jeremy Corbyn avoiding disaster in the general election or a hard core libertarian arguing with your leftist friends, try to see the other side.

On that poorly written and sleep deprived note, stay tuned over the next few weeks as I try to post a bit more regularly.

As always, thanks for reading.

Wise words

Replica battleship at Historic Jamestowne

House of Burgesses, Colonial Williamsburg

Monticello

13 Reasons Why: Required Viewing

About a year ago, I wrote a piece the culmination of a bout of depression. My hope was that reading it might encourage others to seek help, as I did. In publishing the piece, I was trying to reach out to other people in positions like mine. I wrote for myself, and for the people who struggle like me.

13 Reasons Why writes for the loved ones, friends, and acquaintances around us.

It seems to me that Netflix’s new binge-driven show is incredibly polarizing. There doesn’t seem to be anyone who’s on the fence about their opinion. Either you love it, or you hate it.

I’m certainly one of the former, one of the people who “gets it,” I guess.

I’m not going to get into defending the show against allegations of unnecessarily graphic rape scenes, glorified suicide, or misrepresented depression. Some of these criticisms are founded, some are plain absurd, but they aren’t what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about why I think this show is one of the most poignantly honest portrayals of depression, teenaged angst, and the cruelties we inflict on one another every day. I’m sure I’ll address some criticisms indirectly.

As I said, the show is not written primarily for those going through depression. It is written for the people around those who are struggling. One thing I was consistently struck with while watching the show is how well it conveyed one simple fact about depression: nobody – and I mean nobody – can truly understand what is going on inside of another person’s head.

Of course, the show’s central conceit revolves around Hannah’s posthumous attempts to illustrate this fact to her classmates. Through recorded tapes sent to everyone who bullied her and everyone who stood by while she was bullied, Hannah sets the record straight, explaining in agonizing detail to her classmates and to her audience how their seemingly small actions can have massive consequences.

Of course, as many have pointed out, there’s a severe degree of implausibility in the story. Would the narrative unfold this way in real life? No, probably not. But that’s not the point. 13 Reasons Why is a show about severe angst, the feeling that the entire world is against you. Such angst does not allow for reality to prevail. Such angst, by its very nature, makes our perception of the world unrealistic.

One thing 13 Reasons Why does so effectively is portray this angst for adults. I’m sure many teens who watch the show are familiar with having their struggles dismissed or ignored: “just try to focus on school;” “it doesn’t last forever;” “we all went through it.”

While these voices generally mean well, such attitudes are dangerously dismissive. For adults – specifically parents and teachers – to portray these attitudes to their kids is to devalue the struggles those kids are going through. When you are a teen, when you’re in high school, surrounded by hundreds of other insecure, confused, and struggling individuals in a microcosm of raging hormones, that angst is real for you. Sure, we can all say that we went through it. But if you find that this is your attitude, ask yourself: was there ever a point where it didn’t feel real? Was there ever a point where those struggles weren’t your entire world?

I found myself thinking a lot about my own high school experience while watching the show. When I was seventeen, I was more a Clay than a Hannah, but I empathize with both characters. Off the top of my head, I can list a dozen names, people who probably don’t even remember my name yet invariably left marks on me through their words or their actions. I hope that in watching the show people like that might come to realize that words and actions that might seem inconsequential to them almost always have consequences: if I, as someone who was innocuous and socially awkward but never bullied harshly, felt the sting of individuals’ words, how must the Hannahs of my school felt?

When I was in high school, I didn’t consider myself depressed. It is only in retrospect that I can apply that label, and understand the reasons I felt like I did.

A lot has been written about the show’s failure to qualify Hannah’s mental illness. While I understand this criticism, I feel it is misplaced. Indeed, I think the fact that Hannah is never defined as clinically depressed is part of what makes the show so effective. In the end, the term “depression” is a somewhat arbitrary and incredibly broad label. 13 Reasons Why focusses on the manifestation of that depression, and how those around us can recognize the signs.

As much as I hate to admit it, there remains a stigma around mental illness. It’s a hot phrase that is often easily dismissed. The result of this is that directly explaining Hannah’s mental illness would have been either unnecessary or alienating. As I’ve said, this is not a show primarily written for those who suffer from mental illness, but one written for those around the sufferer. The jocks of Hannah’s school would have easily dismissed her depression, just as the bullies of my high school would have.

Of course Hannah’s mental illness influenced her reaction to these things, but we already know that. Obviously Hannah was depressed, but directly labelling her as such would have made it far too easy to dismiss the actions of those around her: the bullies who objectified her, the parents who didn’t pay enough attention, or the man who raped her because he thought she “wanted it.” The show is written for the real life people like this.

13 Reasons Why is not a show primarily about the experience of mental illness, but about how we all need to be better at recognizing and understanding the effects our actions have on one another. We simply don’t know what another person is going through. In real life, nobody wears a badge or goes around proclaiming “I’m depressed.” Indeed, many teens probably don’t realize that they are depressed. 13 Reasons Why does not shirk away from the fact that there is often a thin line between clinical depression and general angst, and that drawing a sharp line between these two things should not be our purpose.

There is nothing this show shirks away from. It addresses a wide array of issues with brutal honesty, harnessing its young adult milieu to speak to teens and adults alike. 13 Reasons Why is not a show for the Hannahs of the world, but a show for the Clays and the parents of the world; it is a show for all the guidance counsellors who might dismiss their students and for all the kids who think it’s just a joke, or who think that silence means consent. For this reason, it should be required viewing.

If you think you or someone around you might be consider hurting themselves, there are resources you can reach out to. I know it isn’t easy sometimes. Trust me, I know. But please do it, if not for yourself then for those who love you. Reach out to a friend or family member, a teacher or a co-worker, or call one of these numbers.

KidsHelpPhone Ages 20 Years and Under in Canada 1-800-668-6868
First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness 24/7 Help Line 1-855-242-3310
Trans LifeLine – All Ages 1-877-330-6366

24 Crisis Line – 1-403-266-4357

Finally, here are a few resources for further reading:

http://www.distresscentre.com/join-our-team/volunteer-opportunities/

http://www.supportisp.org/?gclid=CjwKEAjwz9HHBRDbopLGh-afzB4SJABY52oF6hpn5qdjjpFPiKECFgdSTAtlIurxuktxigwury10ZRoCO2Xw_wcB

http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/understanding-mental-illness/suicide/

https://www.kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Emotional-Health/Suicide/What-Happens.aspx

https://www.kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Emotional-Health/Suicide/I-Want-Out.aspx

http://suicideprevention.ca/need-help/

https://beautifulmindsmagazine.org/

Logan: A Milestone Superhero Film

On-screen adaptations of comic book superhero stories have been around for decades, but the 2008 release of Iron Man and the growth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kick-started a generation of blockbusters with superheroes at its core. It’s impossible to go more than a month or two without the release of a new entry into the canon. And while most of these films are hollow reiterations of the same action tropes – relying on beautiful stars and overbearing special effects – Hollywood occasionally produces a masterpiece within the framework of the genre.

Logan is one such masterpiece. Arguably one of the best superhero films of all time and certainly the best X-Men film since X2, the film is reminiscent of last year’s Deadpool, flipping the worn out superhero genre on its head.

After a decade of confusing timelines and alternate continuities, Logan brings the X-Men franchise back to its base. The film deals with concepts that much of the genre seems to forgotten, tackling complex themes you’d never find in an Avengers movie.

The film explores ideas of mortality and pain that Hugh Jackman’s previous solo outing, The Wolverine, introduced. In the year 2029, a visibly aged Logan (who has long given up the mantle of Wolverine) struggles with the slow and steady degradation of his powers. Meanwhile, Patrick Stewart’s equally decrepit Charles Xavier struggles with dementia and seizures.

Embedded in a brutally realistic and vaguely dystopic future, Logan asks uses the framework of the superhero film to ask relevant and timeless questions: what are the psychological and physical effects of aging? What happens when the most powerful mind in the world begins to break down? What happens when the immortal becomes mortal?

Much like Deadpool the film understands where it’s come from. It understands the tangled mess that the X-Men franchise has become, and does not try to resolve it. Where Deadpool addressed this issue with humour, Logan does so with cold, hard reality. Logan exposes the man behind the curtain, highlights the writer’s hand that is so often the curse of the superhero genre. Logan is grounded in reality more than any genre film to be released in the last few years.

In this way, the film tackles issues we’ve all had with the superhero genre. Of course it’s rewarding to see Iron Man fight off a hundred robots and then meet up with Thor, but is that really plausible? Is it really plausible that after 14 films, there hasn’t been a single major character death in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Logan calls bullshit. At one point, it is revealed that the young Laura is a fan of the in-universe X-Men comics. Logan’s reaction to the fictionalization of his stories is suitably cynical: “Maybe a quarter of it happened, and not like this.”

Indeed, if we lived in a world with super humans, it would not be a polished and clean one. It would be dirty and scarred, imperfect as our own. Logan knows this.

Logan takes our expectations of the genre – and our disillusionment with it – and crushes them beneath a clawed heel. There are no city-levelling battles, no clash of titans. Stadiums don’t fly and there are no robots. The Wolverine does not fight ninjas. Yes, the film uses its R-rating to the fullest potential, letting Wolverine show us what he is capable of; there is plenty of brutalization and dismemberment, in shocking yet somehow beautiful detail. But these scenes are window dressing. They are not where Logan’s weight lies.

No. Logan’s conflicts are far deeper, far more poignant.

In real life, people die. Mistakes are made. Conflicts are not resolved by the time the credits role. Sometimes, the heroes are not good people. Stories rarely have neat resolutions, and even rarer are those solutions happy ones.

Logan does not have a happy ending. And that’s okay. Because life doesn’t have a happy ending.

Ultimately a beautifully poignant character piece, the movie’s strength lies in the interplay between the two leading actors. In their swan song, both Jackman and Stewart offer their best performances yet, giving new dimensions to their characters as Logan struggles to continue taking care of himself and his mentor. Logan shows how apparently inhuman characters deal with intensely human problems. 

By giving us relatable themes of aging and loss, Logan shows us the true potential of the superhero genre. The struggle of Logan and Charles is our struggle. We all have ghosts, and we all have secrets.

One day, we all lose our powers.

Logan is a story about one man’s attempts to come to terms with the things he has witnessed, what he’s done. An attempt to find purpose in an existence that has become meaningless.

Isn’t that something we can all relate to?

Logan represents the way forward for a genre that has become stymied. It joins the canon of great genre films and, hopefully, marks what we will see in the years to come.

I’m sad to see Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart go. I’ll miss their iterations of their characters. But their time was up, and this movie was the perfect way to say goodbye.

Beautiful, powerful, a masterpiece of cinema: for realizing the limits – and therefore the potential – of its genre, Logan is one of the best films I’ve seen in years.

We cannot buy into myths about Canadian exceptionalism

At the beginning of last month, the New York Times ran an opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof lauding the Canadian attitude towards refugees, referring to Canada as “the one great exception” to an international community that is steadily turning its back to refugees and immigrants. Given events in Europe and America, it’s easy to imagine Canada as a last bastion against intolerance. Examples like the government’s promise to spend $28 million on Yazidi refugees and Justin Trudeau’s charming publicity pieces make it easy to give a face to Canadian exceptionalism.

It is important that Canadians look past that face.

It is certainly true that Canadian attitudes towards refugees have been generally more favourable than much of the world in recent months, particularly when one makes a direct comparison to our southern neighbour. Just look at Ben Carson’s recent comments that conflate slaves and immigrants. No wonder the months that Donald Trump has been president have seen a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants crossing the U.S. – Canadian border.

There is a danger, however, that this continued presentation of Canada as a quasi-utopian space may lead to Canadians being desensitized to the problems inherent in our own country.

Canada, as a nation, is often misunderstood by much of the world. Simply google Canada, and one will find a wealth of entertaining and rarely accurate stereotypes. The great white north is often seen as a singular mass of friendly semi-Americans who live in igloos and apologize for everything.

While this image, like most stereotypes, is probably based on a degree of truth, it contributes to a dangerous single narrative in which Canadians consist of a single one-dimensional characteristic: their acceptance. The fact that many Canadians seem to buy into this narrative about themselves only increases its danger.

To paint all Canadians with a single brushstroke – in the case of refugees and immigrants, “accepting” seems to be the buzzword being applied – is a mistake consistently made by much of the world exemplified by the Kristof article. Canada is a vast country with a population of some 35 million and a landmass smaller than only Russia. The diversity of Canada’s population is reflected in the diversity of opinion held by Canadians.

Consider the issue of refugees. As I’ve said already, Canadians are ostensibly, and probably on average of late, more accepting of outsiders than the United States; our official policies of multiculturalism and history of liberal leadership speak to a national disposition that is generally accepting of minorities.

Yet it is a stretch to say that Canada is “leading the free world.” To claim that Canada is the sole exception to a pattern of intolerance is perilously simplistic and irresponsible.

Such claims are incongruent with Canada’s history of racialized immigration policy and the ongoing mistreatment of First Nations communities. Sure, we now have Justin Trudeau, a prime minister whose views on immigration and multiculturalism seem to be generally geared towards acceptance. But let’s not forget that two years ago the man in the PM’s seat was advocating policies that were culturally isolationist if not downright racist. Also consider the fact that the idealism that swept Trudeau in the office has very much dissipated.

Canada has yet to elect a Trump-like figure, yet many Canadians are expressing the desire for to have our own swamp drained of both political corruption and ethnic diversity. The rise of Kevin O’Leary as a possible standard bearer for a Canadian populist movement presents a terrifying potential for the next election. The press received by the Canadian business mogul has very much mirrored the press received by Donald Trump back in 2015, with a steady increase in political engagement preceding a run for office.

A recent study conducted by McGill University determined that Canadian attitudes towards immigration are not as exceptional as many imagine. The study argues that perceived Canadian exceptionalism is largely due to the fact that the country’s political system has not suffered any large degree of stress from immigration issues. What happens when the steadily brewing resentment towards outsiders becomes the central issue of national politics? The results of this study seem to suggest that a serious anti-immigration movement is not unlikely over the next few years.

This brings me back to the Kristof article. Certainly it is nice for the world to have a place like Canada to imagine as a pillar of acceptance, yet it is important for Canadians themselves not to buy into this sentiment. Canada is not immune to the wave of prejudice and isolationism that has swept the western world. Increasingly, Canadians (particularly those in rural areas) are turning towards a misplaced sense of isolationism and nationalism.

Canadians need to be aware of the prejudices of their country, and the prejudices they themselves may hold. We need to avoid complacency, and we need to avoid accepting assumptions about our nation’s own moral infallibility.

If we do not do so, we will end up with a Trump of our own. And that’s just the beginning.

It Can Happen Again

On February 27^th, 1933, the seat of the German government, the Reichstag Building, was set alight by a young Dutch communist. For the previous few years, tension between the German government and communist groups had steadily been rising. Many feared the country was on the verge of an uprising similar to the one that had happened in Russia two decades earlier. Indeed, much of the world feared communism in this time, just as it feared an international Jewish conspiracy. These two groups were the spectres that haunted the nightmares of the average European and North American.

The arson of the Reichstag Building gave the newly inaugurated German Chancellor, Adolph Hitler, the rhetorical space to purge the government of dissenting elements. Just over a month later, in response to the arson, the Enabling Act of 1933 was passed. This Act gave Hitler the power to suspend German civil liberties and act without oversight from the government’s legislative arm; the resulting creation and legitimization of the SS and SA paramilitary forces turned Germany into a police state with one man at its head. The funneling of powers into the executive branch gave the Nazis the ability to remilitarize the country and begin implementing the final solution. All this was, ostensibly, done in the name of combatting terrorism.

In Hitler, the German people had seen someone who didn’t play by the book, someone who would bring a breath of fresh air to broken system. The world was in the midst of the Great Depression. Germany’s economy was suffering and its people suffered with it. The country had been forced to pay humiliating reparations for an old war. Germany had become a shadow of what it once was. Hitler knew this, and used it to his advantage.

Hitler himself was a political maverick, a former soldier who rose to power on a wave of public discontent. His entry into public life came in the form of the now famous beer hall speeches. In them, he would provide improvised and impassioned tirades on the failures of the Weimar government. This passive but vocal commentary eventually moved into his running for office. Despite the vague nature of his policies, Hitler’s charisma combined with an engagement in popular frustrations to carry him to the chancellorship.  

When implementing his authoritarian policies, Hitler did not begin by sending Jews, homosexuals, and other minorities to the gas chambers. He consolidated power slowly and methodically, tapping into existing prejudices and fears. He worked methodically, using his charisma and half-facts to desensitize people. He promised, at every step, that his measures would only be temporary, in order to protect Germans and make their country great again.

The circumstance we face today is not the same as the 1930s. Our world is not that of 1930s Europe. The idea that history repeats itself is misplaced. History does not repeat itself, yet there are patterns, circumstances that mirror those that came before. In this manner, history can teach us.

The burning of the Reichstag Building was crucial to the rise of Nazi Germany and the establishment of Hitler as a dictator. Without the arson, or another such public event, Hitler would not have been able to transform a relatively functional democracy into an autocracy. Germany would not have been remilitarized and many atrocities of the Second World War would have been somewhat mitigated, if not entirely avoided.

Someone told me recently that nothing like the Holocaust or the other atrocities of the Second World War could happen in the modern world. People are too well informed. Safeguards are in place to stop such totalitarianism. Any actions being taken that might seem similar to those of the 1930s are limited in scope and necessary for our safety and security. We are wiser than our predecessors.

I’m sure that Germans in the 1930s believed the same thing about themselves. By telling ourselves it cannot happen, we breed the atmosphere in which oppression thrives.

Ask yourself: how would the western world react if an event like the Reichstag Fire were to happen today? How would we react if a bomb were to go off on Capitol Hill tomorrow?

It can happen again.

If we are not vigilant, it will happen. 

A few thoughts on the Presidency of Barack Obama

2008 was the first presidential election I remember, if only vaguely. I remember the smear campaign, attacks from both sides and I understood the significance of the moment: America’s first black president. But my observation was made through a lens of juvenile disinterested. I was twelve. Politics meant little to me.

In 2012, at sixteen, I was far more aware of the world around me. I read the news, attempted to engage with it on a meaningful level. Morally, emotionally, and intellectually, I was a rough approximation of the person I am now. The election race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was, as all presidential elections inevitably are, an international spectacle, and I observed with interest. I watched the debates, researched the candidates. I cringed as this sleazy middle-aged man talked about having folders full of women, a stark contrast to the eloquent, fatherly figure who’d been leading the free world for the past several years.

I’d known Obama’s election was a precedent setting moment, even from a young age. And, I think, on some level, a part of my burgeoning intellectual brain simply felt that Obama’s relatively successful first term, combined with the historical precedent it set and the obvious appeal he had over Romney, was enough of a reason to think America should elect him again in 2012. I viewed politics, American, Canadian, and all others, through a black and white lens. I bought into general ideas, rhetoric promoted by the media, rather than hard facts.

Fast forward another four years, and I’ve come to view Obama through yet another lens, brought about by brutal personal experiences, wide reading and critical thinking, and a few years of university.

In general, my feelings towards the outgoing president are pretty similar to what they were in 2012. I admire the man. I think he is a genuinely good human being, and I respect the trials he faced to reach the Oval Office. I have a greater understanding of the historical context in which he operates, the cause and effect events that resulted in many of today’s problems. I believe he acts in a genuine and measured attempt to make life better for his country and for humanity. I think, in particular, over the second half of this term he has displayed great skill and dexterity when dealing with both domestic and international issues, from issues with health-care reform and racial tension, to the rise of populist nationalism the world over.

I don’t agree with everything Obama has done. I think, sometimes, he’s played the middle-ground a bit too much, attempting to appease both sides of the political spectrum. Sometimes, he’s done otherwise, acted with too little tact and played into the hands of the opposition. He’s failed to form a coherent approach to dealing with the Middle-East. He made empty threats towards the Assad regime in Syria. This, combined with many other factors, most notably his escalation of American drone strikes in the region, has allowed for a rise in anti-American and anti-western sentiment in the region, directly influencing the conditions that gave rise to the Islamic State.

But, ultimately, I think judging the presidency of Barack Obama as anything other than a relative success is somewhat short-sighted and simplistic. The world is changing. American dominance and Western influence is waning. People are shifting to their roots: fundamentalism, populism, and various other “isms.” No president, Republican or Democrat, black or white, has the capacity to stop this change. They can only weather it.

I think Obama has weathered the past eight years well. The President of the United States faces a unique set of challenges that none of us can truly understand. To my mind, Obama has always attempted to tackle these challenges with morality and compassion. Sometimes he has not succeeded. He has made mistakes, as humans do, but he has also enjoyed great successes given the challenges he’s come up against.

I think that Barack Obama is a genuinely good human being. When one compares him to the man who came before him, and the man who will succeed him, it is hard to argue that he is not both intellectually and – at least in one case – morally superior. The contrast has shone through in his presidency.

There is a storm ahead. Frankly, I’m scared shitless for what is to come in the next few years. The world is becoming more hostile, more closed off. In some ways, this is humanity reverting to its default settings after an unprecedented level of prosperity and cooperation. I hope that we, as a species, can find a way past the coming storm, though I am not entirely confident.

I hope Obama remains politically engaged over the coming years, perhaps following a path similar to that Jimmy Carter took after his time in the White House ended. Obama is a politically astute, compassionate, and confident.

We’re going to need people like that going forward.