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Apocalypse now

By
EIC
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By Devyn Lewis
Illustration by Ariel Mitchell

 

Are we really that different from zombies?

Picture this: you’re walking down a well-lit sidewalk, and you see someone approaching you, mumbling incoherently to himself. The drool dribbling from his mouth and the distant look in his eyes must surely be signs of someone hungry for brains. However, right when the seemingly half-alive person reaches you, he continues to shuffle on by as if he never saw you in the first place.
It’s not that your brains aren’t delicious. I’m sure they are: an hour of yoga a day and a scrumptious diet full of organic fruits and vegetables are sure to produce some appetizing brains. Perhaps it wasn’t the inedibility of your grey matter that thwarted this zombie-like creature to pass you, but the fact that he wasn’t as half-dead as he seemed.
Though you could have sworn you heard the zombie-like creature mumble “brains” as he approached, it’s possible he was actually having a conversation — and not just with himself. For, as you glance back at the slowly shuffling passerby, you notice a strange electronic device attached to his ear. This device, you realize, is one that he is actually talking into; because it was attached to his head, it looked like he was madly talking to himself. The careless swinging of the arms is perhaps not because of loose tendons, but because he is merrily resting his limbs from not having to hold a cellphone to his head all day. And perhaps that glazed look in his eyes is exhaustion, now setting in after all the excitement of finally acquiring his new Bluetooth. To celebrate his dutiful consumerism, he bought himself a warm Krispy Kreme donut, the filling of which has oozed down his chin.
Anybody who ceases to think for themselves is a zombie. To enable this zombification, consumer culture has a pre-approved status quo of values just for you. Bite-sized pieces of information are coming at us from every corner, expediently and without discretion, ready to be chewed up and spat out as fast as our consumer-driven appetites will let us.
How does one avoid becoming an unthinking, unconscious being? First and foremost, we need to take conscious control of our lives. There are many easy steps to prevent yourself, and perhaps society as a whole, from becoming zombified.

STEP 1: Turn off your TV and read books instead.
Seriously, turn off all its subliminal messages and flashy ads screaming at you how to think, how to feel, and how to be human. As the late comedian Bill Hicks put it: “Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye.”
There have been numerous studies done on television and its subsequent effects on brain wave activity. In 1967, Herbert Krugman found various abnormalities activiated in the brain during television watching. There is disproportionate activity in the right side of the brain, causing the release of pleasure-inducing endorphins. The brains of people watching television have also been measured to produce low alpha waves, similar to a hypnotic or meditative state. This state renders the watcher with little or no conscious activity as the brain is in a mode of suggestibility, causing some researchers to liken watching television to staring at a blank wall.
Reading books is an obvious alternative to watching TV: it activates neuron pathways in your brain, while television reduces brain wave activity.

STEP 2: Avoid or reduce exposure to WIFI, cell phone and other forms of EMR.
The user guide to your cellphone warns consumers to keep the device one inch away from the body when in use. This is because the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that cell phones and other electronic devices create is potentially harmful. Concentrated exposure at high frequencies of EMR heats up organic matter and has been measured to alter brain wave activity up to one hour after use. Bluetooths are even worse: you are exposing your brain to a constant low-level of EMR. Cell phone manufacturers have to meet Health Canada’s code requirements for the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of EMR to the head; that said, numerous studies have still measured alterations in brain wave activity even below the deemed level of “safety.”

STEP 3: Avoid putting unnatural substances in your body.
This includes anything from psychotropic prescription drugs, to artificial chemicals and food additives. For example, there is growing controversy over psychiatrics such as SSRIs (anti-depressants), and the subsequent personality changes and “brain fog.” And before you take another sip of that “diet” pop, take a second to think about aspartame and other artificial sweeteners: aspartame, that zero-calorie, phenylalanine based sweetener, produces excitotoxins in the brain, which has been linked to a whole host of medical conditions, including behavioral disorders, migraines, and even brain tumours. And who can forget that face-eating “zombie” on the amphetamine-based street drug known as bath salts?

STEP 4: Keep an open mind.
Socrates once said: “True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing at all.” The best way to keep from becoming zombified is simply by keeping an open mind. Don’t believe everything you hear point-blank; what we know today can easily be changed to another “fact” tomorrow. With a closed mind, we may miss many of the potentially mind-expanding ideas around us.
Now we can all take a deep breath, knowing that we are one step closer to saving ourselves from a potential zombie apocalypse. Now that you’ve read all this, I’m sure the world will get a little quieter as the infinitesimal buzzing of the TV set slowly starts to fade away.

THE PEEEEEEK’S ENCYCLOWEENIA: Terrifying tidbits

By
EIC
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0

By Ljudmila Petrovic


Forgotten Halloween traditions

  1. Colcannon: This dish was common in Ireland, and was just a meal made of cabbage, kale, and potatoes. On Halloween, however, the colcannon would have small gifts and coins hidden in it.
  2. Barmbrack:Another Irish food tradition, barmbrack is a traditional fruitcake. Like the colcannon, it has items baked into it; however, in this case they are supposed to predict the future of the person who finds it. A wedding ring foretells marriage, while a coin predicts wealth.
  3. The “tricking” part of trick-or-treating:  Causing havoc on the streets was a common part of Halloween some time ago, and the only way to avoid being a victim of pranks was to give out treats. Nowadays, “trick-or-treat” is less of a threatening ultimatum, and more of a cute thing that children yell at you.
  4. Bonfires: We’re all about the fire safety these days, but huge bonfires used to be a staple for Halloween celebrations
  5. Nut-tossing: Get your mind out of the gutter. This was a tradition in Scotland, where a young woman would name a hazelnut after potential husbands and then throw them into the fire. The nut that burned the fastest was thought to symbolize her future husband.

 

Halloween by the numbers

99 per cent: The number of pumpkins sold during the Halloween season that is used for Jack O’Lanterns.

4000 B.C.: The approximate year in which Halloween is believed to have originated.

93 per cent: The percentage of children in North America that go trick-or-treating every year.

90 per cent: The number of parents that admit to occasionally taking their kids’ Halloween candy.

2: Halloween’s ranking of commercial success compared to other holidays (the most commercialized holiday is — you guessed it — Christmas).

 

Didja Know?

-Jack-o-lanterns were initially made from turnips instead of pumpkins.

– The idea of jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland. Legend has it that Jack — after whom the lanterns are named — was a man who tricked the devil multiple times; because of this, he wasn’t allowed to enter heaven or hell, and so he had to spend the rest of his days wandering the Earth, waving a lantern at people.

– Samhainophobia is the overwhelming and irrational fear of Halloween itself.

-Children are more than twice as likely to be killed in a car accident on Halloween than on any other night of the year.

-Black and orange are the colours of Halloween because black represents death, while orange is a symbol of harvest and the fall season.

-There are variations of Halloween that are celebrated all around the world. The traditions are different, but all have the same idea of celebrating and honouring the dead. For example, in Mexico, it’s Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) on Nov. 1 and 2, while in China, it’s Teng Chieh (the Lantern Festival).

-There is a superstition that if a person wears their clothes inside out and walks backwards on Halloween, they will see a witch at midnight. It’s doubtful that too many people have gone through with that one, though.

 

THE PEEEEEEK’S ENCYCLOWEENIA: The History of Halloween

By
EIC
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0

By Ljudmila Petrovic

Think Halloween and you probably think of trick-or-treating, jack-o’-lanterns, or which everyday concept you can make sexy. The contemporary image of Halloween, however, with its mass-made plastic masks and bulk boxes of candy has little to do with the ancient origins of the holiday.

Pre-Christian traditions

The traditions of Halloween initially date back to over 2,000 years ago, when the Celts would celebrate the end of summer and the harvest, and the beginning of winter. The festival was called Samhain, and was meant to mark the new year. The evening of Oct. 31 was believed to be when the souls of the dead returned to earth. These souls were thought to have made it easier for the Druids to tell the future — a very important aspect of Celtic culture.

Their traditions involved bonfires and animal sacrifices; they also wore costumes made of animal heads and skins, the origin of the Halloween costumes. To this day, black cats are a recurring Halloween theme. This is partly due to the superstition of black cats being bad luck, but Celtic druids were also said to throw cats into the bonfires as part of their rituals, which played a part in the presence of cats in Halloween imagery.

Growing Christian influence

At this time, the Roman Empire was quickly expanding, and by 43 A.D., most previously Celtic land had fallen to the Romans. As tends to be the case in history, the traditions of the two cultures integrated over time. The Romans had two festivals in October that soon assimilated with the Celts’ Samhain: Feralia — a day of the dead — and the celebration of Pomona, who was the Roman goddess of trees and fruit. The contemporary idea of bobbing for apples on Halloween emerged from the latter.

The Roman Empire collapsed in 479 A.D., and over the next several centuries, there was a growing Christian influence. In 609 A.D., the pope dedicated the Roman Pantheon to Christian martyrs; at the same time, the western church recognized the All Martyrs Day feast. By 1000 A.D., the Christian influence in Celtic areas was so strong that the latter’s traditions had more or less aligned with those of Christianity. The church established All Soul’s Day (also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas) on Nov. 2, and celebrated it in much the same way as the Celtic Samhain. The idea was to celebrate the passing of the dead, much in the same way that Samhain had, but in a church-sanctioned environment. The name comes from Alholowmesse — the Middle English word for All Saints’ Day, which developed into All-hallows Eve and eventually into the holiday we now know as Halloween.

Halloween comes to North America

Though the Celts and the Christians both essentially celebrated the same idea, All Saints’ Day put a negative twist on the souls and other supernatural beings that were believed to come out on the eve before the All Saints’ Day. As an appeasement to the evil spirits, the tradition of setting out food was established — does trick-or-treating ring a bell?

The Irish potato famine in 1846 helped to cause a flood of immigration into the United States, and with the influx of English and Irish immigrants came a raised awareness and acceptance of some of their traditions, such as Halloween. People began going door-to-door in costume, asking for food and money. The origins of this tradition had initially come from England and the All Souls’ Day parades that were often held for the occasion. The practice was called “going a-souling,” named after the pastries (called “soul cakes”)that those from lower classes would beg for. In exchange, they would promise to pray for the families’ dead relatives. Eventually, this tradition became specific to children, and developed into the trick-or-treating of our childhoods.

Modern day Halloween

At the turn of the 20th century, communities began to take a more family-friendly approach to Halloween celebrations, and many of the religious superstitions that had initially surrounded the holiday were deemed too gruesome for such an occasion. It was around this time that Halloween started developing into a more secular holiday. By the 1920s, Halloween had become almost entirely secular — much like the holiday today.

Sanctions on Iran are indefensible

By
EIC
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Reaping the benefits of embargoes in the name of nuclear terror

By Kai Yang Shiao
Graphic by Malky Currie

Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program has been a lingering issue. While the full truth is uncertain, many western countries have long suspected Iran of having nuclear ambitions. The subsequent sanctions imposed on Iran have no ethical basis, as they have exacted a serious toll on the lives of the country’s ordinary citizens.

Initial sanctions aimed to cripple Iran by restricting foreign commerce beneficial for its alleged nuclear weapons program. They have, however, extended to oil embargoes by several western countries as well as the European Union. Petroleum continues to serve as the main source of revenue for the Iranian government. Because of this, the decrease in Iran’s oil exports in 2011 by over 50 per cent has significantly weakened its ability to fulfill its everyday core activities, including subsidizing higher education. The spending cuts that accompany this trend will challenge the Iranian university system to respond to the educational needs of an expanding population. Furthermore, as a portion of such funding is directed at research and development efforts by universities, increasingly limited financial constraints will further restrict Iran’s ability to make positive contributions to the country’s gross domestic product, and to develop innovations that can then be commercialized. Therefore, the oil embargoes have the long term effect of undermining Iran’s potential for progress and advancement. The sanctions have also had harsh consequences for the living standards of ordinary citizens in Iran.

Whenever a monetary transaction involving the purchase imports is made, it is customary for the seller, for example the U.S., to convert U.S. dollars into the Iranian rial for purposes of payment. By selling U.S. dollars for rials in the foreign exchange market, the United States is, in effect, demanding Iranian currency. Because of increased demand for the currency, its exchange rate decreases in relation to the U.S dollar, reflecting an increase in the rial’s value. This inverse relationship is also observed as decreased demand for the rial is seen in an increased exchange rate. As oil embargoes have continued to decrease demand for Iranian petroleum, the rial’s value has fallen by more than a third of its 2007 value. As of February 2012, at more than 12,000 rials for every U.S. dollar. As the rial’s value continues to take a nosedive, it has been responsible for Iran’s heavy reliance on imports.

As petroleum remains one of the key drivers of the Iranian economy, this unfortunately means that Iran continues to import many of its products from abroad. In the face of its steadily weakening currency, the cost of imports will continue to rise rapidly. This is reflected in the officially reported 23 per cent inflation rate, which measures price levels of typical goods and services consumed by Iranian society. While this is by no means a tolerable rate, it misrepresents the current economic reality due to the harsh extent of the sanctions. To make matters worse, Iranian prices are rising several times faster than Iranian wages, making it harder for ordinary Iranians to make ends meet.

The Iranian rial’s rapid depreciation bodes poorly for the long run performance of the Iranian economy. As double-digit inflation continues unabated, there will be a strong incentive to spend and a strong disincentive to save, depriving the country of funds that may be loaned out to accumulate productive capital. As its population continues to increase, there must also be a corresponding increase to sustained economic growth. Unfortunately, the rapid depreciation of the rial will likely undermine Iran’s ability to adjust to such demographic changes.

While the western mainstream media commonly portrays the sanctions as key to preventing Iran from going nuclear, they have gone too far, and have compromised citizens’ access to quality education and economic prosperity.

Trampires don’t exist

By
EIC
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0

Kristen Stewart versus the duble standard of infidelity

By Leah Scheitel
Photos by Eleanor Qu

VANCOUVER (Capilano Courier) — On July 24, news stormed the Internet that Twilight star Kirsten Stewart, or “K-Stew,” had been caught smooching her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, while still in a relationship with Robert Pattinson (herein to be addressed in equal fashion as “R-Patz”). The media frenzy that this affair triggered was mind-blowing, with the media, general public, and fellow celeb stars like Will Ferrell and Bruce Willis chiming in about their split. Everyone seemed to have something to say about their relationship, and this time, everyone was on Team Edward.

It seemed nobody could get enough of the story, and neither could the public. The amount of attention that K-Stew and R-Patz suffered was alarming, considering that infidelity happens every day (maybe even twice a day in Hollywood). More alarming was the amount of scorn and hatred for K-Stew as the cheater, the one who shattered the dream relationship of every Twi-hard across America. Enter the double standard.

In 2005, Brad Pitt was TMZ’s wet dream when he cheated on wife Jennifer Aniston with Angelina Jolie. He committed adultery, broke his vows, and destroyed their marriage, yet never met the wrath of the media, instead continuing his highly successful Hollywood career. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a 10-year affair with his maid, Mildred Baenea. Baenea had Arnie’s child out of wedlock, who Schwarzenegger finacially supported for years, unbeknownst to his wife, Maria Shriver. Interestingly, Arnold was the Governor of California when this information surfaced. Even Bill Clinton, who was the president of the United States when he had “sexual relations” with 22-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky, received less public scrutiny than K-Stew’s kissing. He barely got a slap on the wrist for it, professionally speaking.

Not only did K-Stew get cut from the sequel of Snow White and the Huntsman, The Huffington Post reported that the sequel is being rewritten without the Snow White character in it, and will focus mainly on the Huntsman.

“You know things have gotten bad when the studio doesn’t just fire you from a film; they’re so afraid of being associated with your scandal that they’re firing your entire character,” wrote Nico Lang.

The public’s infatuation with the Kristen Stewart story is overwhelming. Even comedian Will Ferrell has something to say about it: “They were in love and she just threw it all away,” Ferrell cried on Conan, “I don’t know what this means for the Twilight franchise!”

So the message is: men cheat and they can continue to rule the world, whereas a 22-year-old girl cheats and she is deemed a “trampire.” Where is the scorn and ridicule for her accomplice in adultery, Rupert Sanders? He had a wife (with whom he has two kids), and was making out with his employee, who was 20 years his junior. As a society, we should be focusing on less trivial issues that actually concern us on the whole. The private lives of others should be their concern, whether they choose to be monogamous or not.

While it may be lonesome on Team Bella right now, K-Stew still has some allies. Her former Panic Room co-star, Jodie Foster, has said: “Actors who become celebrities are supposed to be grateful for the public interest. After all, they’re getting paid. Just to set the record straight, a salary for a given on-screen performance does not include the right to invade anyone’s privacy, to destroy someone’s sense of self.”

If K-Stew and R-Patz’s frail relationship has any chance of resurrection, the public needs to stop treating her like a slut, and more like any 22-year-old woman with real flaws, making mistakes that are only made harder when magnified by society’s judgement. Whether their kindled romance survives or they break up again in two months, the real lesson here is that we all just need to mind our own goddamn business.

Second-hand Halloween hunting

By
EIC
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0

Thrift stores are a gold mine for originality. Here’s a few costume ideas to get you started.

By Daryn Wright

When planning a Halloween costume, there are several elements that must be taken into consideration: affordability, uniqueness, and accessibility. Year after year, the thrift store proves to be the Holy Grail of costuming. They’re generally cheap and filled with odds and ends from grandmother’s attics from across the region. Instead of ravaging through musty trunks or buying vacuum-sealed, stiff plastic costumes, go to your local thrift store and dig around. Here’s a few costume ideas to get you started:

 

1. Kid wearing his dad’s suit at his high school prom

Thrift stores are brimming with suits that are too large in the shoulders and flow like waterfalls over your feet—perfect for the scrawny 16-year-old attending his first prom in his father’s borrowed suit. Find a button-up shirt (preferably one that clashes horribly) and pluck a pink carnation from mom’s garden for a boutonniere to complete the look. Make sure to part your hair and apply appropriate amounts of Brylcreem for shine.

 

2. Beheaded Marie Antoinette

The used lingerie section may seem a tad creepy, but that’s why washing machines exist. Find a lacy slip and camisole for the main body of the dress. Check out the section of formal dresses and gowns too, as these can be a gold mine for weirdly ornate and lacy bodices. A large tulle skirt and a long sleeved lacy blouse work well underneath the lingerie to add volume and make the dress seem more period appropriate. Pile your hair up high (as high as you can get) and powder both hair and face with baby powder. Add a large beauty mark for extra class. The best part: make a line of fake blood around your neck to give the appearance of severance.

 

3. The Press

This is a fun one for couples or two people. One person can go as a newsboy: find a little plaid newsboy cap, suspenders, a satchel of rolled up newspapers, and smudge your hands with ink. Don’t forget to shout out “Extra! Extra!” excessively throughout the evening. The other can go as the press: key items here include a trench coat, fedora (with press passes tucked into the band), large old camera or note pad, and a cigarette hanging limply from your mouth. Extra points if you talk with a Humphrey Bogart accent the whole evening.

 

4. Mime

This one’s a good last-minute costume. Find a pair of black pants or bottoms and a stripy shirt — black and white is the most important here, but the more stripes, the better. Use white face paint and black face makeup to exaggerate your features. Add a little black bow tie and a bowler cap for extra originality. Don’t forget to mime being trapped in a box the whole night; this move will surely have some people sighing in exasperation.

 

5. Gogo Yubari

The key item for the little Japanese, ball and chain-wielding character from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a plaid schoolgirl skirt. To complete the look, hunt down a navy blue school blazer and white blouse, both common thrift store finds. Add some knee-high white socks and a red bow around your neck to tie it all together. If you can, wear your hair dark and straight, or find a cheap wig. Don’t forget to drag around the ball and chain all evening (easily found in the Halloween section at most Value Village locations, or you can get crafty and make one from papier-mache) and maintain a cool and deadly expression.

A timeline of some of the best horror films

By
EIC
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0

A serving platter of choices for your Halloween movie-night

By Kelsey Dech

Whether a scary movie is about murderous psychotics, the supernatural, or flesh-eating zombies, they give us the thrills, chills, and screams that have become fundamental to Halloween. With the holiday just around the corner, it is the perfect time to take a look at some classic films that have continued to scare us over the years.

 

1922: Nosferetu

Based on the story of Count Dracula, the German expressionist horror film is a silent classic, which only makes it more eerie. While the modern vampire film features the handsome and seductive undead, Count Orlok has a ghoulish appearance and long, creepy fingers. It’s a must for the horror film fanatic.

1960: Psycho

This timeless Alfred Hitchcock film is infamous for the shower scene, not to mention the soundtrack. This slasher features the everyday man who transforms into a murderous maniac. Sparking several sequels and remakes, the original Psycho still sets us on the edge of our seats.

1968: Night of the Living Dead

George A. Romero was ahead of his time, setting up the framework for many zombie movies to come. The idea of the dead rising to feed on the flesh of the living remains terrifying. As it was one of the first of its kind, this film is still enjoyed by thrill seekers and zombie fans alike.

 

1973: The Exorcist

Is there anything scarier than a little girl being possessed by a demon? When 12-year-old Regan becomes possessed, two priests attempt to exorcise the demon from her through Catholic practices. The Exorcist is relatively slow moving, but as events accumulate, the nuances of the film become increasingly terrifying.

1975: Rocky Horror Picture Show

Veering away from the horror genre for a second, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is a still a prime Halloween movie-night pick. With annual viewings and live performances of the film still held around the globe, this cult classic has the musicality, humour, and over the top costumes that makes it immensely fun. Plus, Tim Currey wears lipstick, fishnet stockings, and high heels.

1980: The Shining

Adapted from Stephen King’s novel, The Shining is a terrifying psychological horror that has both a suspenseful storyline and superb acting. The crazed character of Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson is one of the most famous from the psychological horror genre. What distinguishes this film from the others is the slow build towards a climax: Nicholson drinks in empty bars in the Overlook Hotel, but these scenes are interjected with flashes of dead twins and corpses in the bathtub. From the famous lines “redrum” and “Heeeere’s Johnny,” to the images of the creepy twins, The Shining is a horror movie that continues to scare new and old audiences.

1996: Scream

The famous slasher that made Ghostface a horror icon, this movie is still a popular one, as it contributed to the redefining of the genre. Scream is a parody of the horror genre. It has a little bit of everything from horror to humour and remains a classic whodunnit film.

2004: Saw

The unconventional situations the characters are put in make this gruesome film one that puts movie-goers on the edge of their seats. With the twisted plot and the theme of taking things for granted, this film has spawned several sequels, each more gruesome than the last.

2009: Paranormal Activity

The film that started the long train of sequels, Paranormal Activity tells the story of strange events that happen within a family. This movie stands out against the rest in terms of form: hand-held and hovering security cameras are used to illustrate the entire film. This immerses the viewer in the experience of the paranormal activities and makes the film viscerally gripping.

2012: Cabin in the Woods

Apparently, college students staying in a creepy cabin in the woods never gets old. This one features the usual good-looking cast, complete with the chiselled-jaw jock and the pretty blonde in cut-offs. What they discover is that there is something lurking in the cabin they’re occupying, something evil. Let the screams begin.

Cozy Catastrophe is an apocalyptic gem

By
EIC
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0

The Cultch’s production is a grab-bag of eccentricities.

By Sara Bohuch
Photos by Theatre Meele


It’s seven o’clock, and the rain is really starting to pour. The wind’s picked up, and the bright coloured leaves seem like a cheap, empty promise of warmth. The perfect weather to see a play, especially in a venue that allows wine inside.

It’s the opening night for Cozy Catastrophe, and the summary in the play-bill is deliberately vague. I’m apprehensive, wondering if I’ve just signed up for an hour and fifteen minutes of overstrung emoting and bad pacing. I clutch my glass of red in the back row and take in the stage.

It looks like someone has taken great pleasure in trashing the place: the stage is a warehouse, filled with gas cans, milk crates, and plastic sheeting strung from the painted brick. As the lights dim, I’m surrounded by an eerie noise, much like the sound of descending underwater. Then the windows begin to glow a bright, poisonous green, and the screaming starts.

Being blind to the plot is half the fun of going to this particular production, so I’ll try my best not to spoil it. It’s funny in most places, and gloriously weird in others, but remains one of the better apocalyptic productions that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing.

The warehouse setting turns out to function as a safe haven for the few survivors of whatever is happening outside. The event is never discussed in the play, but the effects are seen and observed. Whatever it is that wanders the streets is rendered more alarming by the strange lights and mechanical sounds that menace our champions periodically through the play. As the story unfolds, the set alternatively shakes with impact, drips water from the ceiling, and is lacking in safe havens for the would-be survivors.

The humour, veering from black comedy to physical gags, is engaging and well-delivered. The first 20 minutes of the play are the best, as the cast stumble around in the dark and find each other.

It is the characters that drive this piece, each with their own brand of escalating manic energy. From the time each of them flop, creep, or kick their way onto the stage, you get a good sense of their traits. They are a true gathering of weirdos, their strangeness and eccentricities make them all the more human. Not one of them is overly courageous, or kind-hearted, or brilliant; there are no stock characters or reactions in this production. They are all small, panicked people, hiding in terror in a decrepit warehouse, trying to inject order into chaos and figure out what to do next. The character dynamics are one of the strongest aspects of the play: each character is a hot mess, but they play off each other well.

There remain many unanswered questions by the end of the play. When the time came time for the inevitable sharing of backstories, one character refused to share his. He’s not penalized for it, because there are more important things to worry about during the end of days.

Cozy Catastrophe successfully portrays the apocalypse as an event both big and unnameable, something that catches each character not at their worst or best, but at their most normal and undignified. This, set against the storminess of the apocalypse, makes the dark comedy a perfect pairing for the Halloween season.

The Haunted Man embodies ghosts of songstresses past

By
EIC
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0

Bat for Lashes is the Frankenstein of pop music.

By Elise Purdey

The Haunted Man is a gateway album. Natasha Khan’s influences from Portishead, Sinead O’Connor and Kate Bush stand out and, at times, dominate her new Bat For Lashes album.

The many influences overshadowing the unique sound showcased in 2006’s Fur and Gold and 2009’s Two Suns leave no room for stand-out pop tracks like “Daniel” or “What’s A Girl To Do”. Instead, the album can only be fully appreciated as a single unit. Themes of optimism emerge from the dark musical undertone, like in the opening track “Lilies”, the strongest and most poignant song of the album.

The closest Khan comes to a pop song appropriate for the radio is “All Your Gold”, a sinister song about a woman revaluating her passionless relationship. Unfortunately, because of its springy beat it has received comparisons to Gotye’s one-hit wonder, “Somebody That I Used To Know”, which might deter it from the appreciation it deserves. With “Laura”, an apostrophe to a fallen starlet, she seems to return to herself. Khan has perfected this type of piano ballad, which has become her signature style and because of that this track seems to be out of place on The Haunted Man.

This album has the redeeming quality of highlighting her voice’s ethereal character in new ways that her previous albums did not achieve. While the excessive resemblance to Kate Bush and Portishead’s Beth Gibbons brings out a new strength in her voice, it tends to distract from Natasha Khan’s identity as an artist. She also adopts hypnotic chants, building and fading in songs like the celestial “Horses Of The Sun”, which creates the kind of haunting beauty immortalized by Sinead O’Connor. At more obscure moments on the album’s b-side, Khan combines worldly and electronic beats, and simply becomes a more digestible version of Bjork on tracks like “Marilyn”.

Whether or not the album is as strong as its predecessors, her voice performs miracles, bringing each song to another world. This is exemplified by her live performances and surreal, emotionally touching covers of songs. It’s like being visited by a deceased friend in a dream. Khan reacquainted us with massive hits like Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” and The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These” and garnered respect from the hard-to-please Radiohead fans when she performed their song “All I Need”.

Khan attempts to revive music styles that died out during the 90s, and consequently this album seems like a Frankenstein creation of all her influences put together. However, no angry villagers will be chasing this away. The album has been subject to severe criticism, not because it lacks quality, but because it fails to fulfill expectations set by fans who were deeply moved by her previous albums. The disappointment is only temporary though, The Haunted Man is more uplifting with each listen, and it becomes easy to float away on the weightlessness of Natasha Khan’s voice.

It’s the end of the world, do you have your theatre tickets yet?

By
EIC
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Theatre Meele’s new production is absurdist comedy in apocalyptic times.

By Kaylin Metchie

Photos by Theatre Meele

There has been a lot of talk recently about the state of Vancouver’s theatre community. For those of you that are not aware, the Playhouse Theatre, one of Vancouver’s prominent theatre production houses, closed down early this year. After this, some people decried the death of Vancouver’s theatre scene, but theatre artists don’t die so easily.

Theatre Meele, a company formed back in 2004, opened their newest creation Cozy Catastrophe on Oct. 22, and it promises to be a good one. Created through an ensemble-devising method, Cozy Catastrophe follows five characters who are trapped in a room right after the end of the world. The inspiration for this post-apocalyptic comedy arose three years ago, before the whole 2012-is-coming fascination. Co-director Courtney Dobbie is proud of this premonition of cultural trends. “We wrote this show about three years ago, before the whole zombie craze started happening. So we feel a little ahead of our time.”

The company, which came together through a common love of absurdist comedy, doesn’t follow the traditional playwright, director, performer hierarchy. “We wanted to devise together, because we have so much to contribute as creators and writers that it would have been sad to exclude someone’s amazing comedy writing potential just to follow the traditional theatre organization.” Dobbie explained. For Cozy Catastrophe, Theatre Meele began with the question, “What would happen if four people were stuck together at the end of the world?”

Theatre Meele was born out of a performance at the festival Theatre Under the Gun. Having limited time to create a performance within very specific constraints, the five graduates from Studio 58 and one from UVic realized that “the six of us just really liked each other’s sense of humour.” Since then, they have created four original comedies, always working in a devised theatre organization.

Devising theatre may open up the opportunity for multiple voices to be present in a play, but it is not without its headaches and heartbreak. “We have a lot of ideas, and a lot of fantastic ideas. It’s a matter of deciding which ones are strong and weeding out the ones that are not.”

The theatre environment in Vancouver is far from dead, but it is not without its obstacles. “There are a lot of challenges. Most of them are really healthy though, nice challenges to overcome. They don’t put you up against a wall.” Dobbie explains about being a theatre creator, “The biggest challenge when it comes to independent theatre companies is getting the money together and the producing power behind a project.

“It’s important that we keep creating no matter what,” Dobbie says about the current apathetic attitude some Vancouverites have on live theatre. “Out of the challenges from the supposed decline of the theatre environment of the city can come really amazing productions.”

This is some important advise for any young, up and coming artist; no matter what obstacles are placed in your way, you must keep fighting through it. Nobody gets into the arts for the fame; it’s hard work. You must do it because you love it.

“If all the theatre creators decided to move away from the city,” Dobbie imagined, “the city’s people would be upset. They may not know that right now, but the city would became quite a hollow and empty space.”

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024