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EXCLUSIVE THE MILITARY B.R.A.T. BEHIND
WONDER WOMAN 1984 DIRECTOR
PATTY JENKINS Display until Dec. 31, 2020 Fall 2020
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CONTENTS
FALL 2020
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FEATURES ON OUR COVER
32 Military B.R.A.T., Adult TCK and futurist Patty Jenkins has been called one of the planet’s hottest directors. She began traveling the world at six months old. By her early teens, she would know art would play a big part in her future; in retrospect, however, globetrotting, a fighter pilot father and before-her-time feminist mother would shape her thinking. Who knew these experiences would spark her desire to create one of the most epic superhero movies of all time?
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
40 DESTINATION: Merida, Yucatan
18 An Officer’s Daughter Returns to Vietnam This Officer’s daughter made a brave trek to Vietnam to retrace her father’s time as a helicopter pilot during war. Little did she know the trip would foster healing for two generations on opposite sides of an ocean.
Soulful, storied, colourful — our trip to Merida, Yucatan is just the quiet that’s needed during these turbulent times.
48 Culturs Celebrations! More than just cuisine: Join us on a bi-lingual journey with the people, the food and the love of this historic land called Yucatan.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Isreali Actor Gal Gadot on the Set of “Wonder Woman 1984.”
82 The Stone Masons of
THE MUST LIST 64
Must See: A Creative Revives Historic Bollywood Posters
66
Must Read: This Polish Expat’s Life Work is Delicious
70
Must Watch: A First Nations Filmmaker Upends the Pandemic
Kashmir Sometimes mundane items passed in the hustle-bustle of life are just what we need to savor what’s most precious.
57 FINDING HOME From Hong Kong to Scotland: TCK Artist Peter Lo shows how fine art can be an act of kindness for the soul.
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Must Buy: Radical. Self. Care. with GoDeep
104 Must Buy: Unlock Your Limitless Potential with Kendama
IN EVERY ISSUE 6
Contributors
10
Culturally Fluid Definitions
12
Publisher’s Letter
13
Cultural Connections
86
Technology
92
Transnational Third Culture Kid Filmmakers
98
Behind the scenes
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Culturally Fluid Definitions n the 21st century, assessing someone’s background from outward appearance isn’t enough as hidden, rather than visual, diversity means people increasingly bring more to the table than meets the eye.
Whether through nationality, travel, race or ethnicity, many straddle culture in myriad ways. From Cultural Fluidity, to Third Culture Kid, Expat, Third Culture Adult, Cross-Cultural Kid and more, the language to describe our in-between community is of
Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK) A term coined by author Ruth Van Reken in 2002, is a person who is living, has lived, or meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during the first 18 years of life. This includes minoritized individuals living within majority culture.
Adult Cross-Cultural Kid (ACCK)
utmost importance. Knowing the vocabulary creates understanding and deepens our sense of belonging and connections to others with similar experiences. Here’s a quick overview so you can follow along any of our articles with ease:
Third Culture Kids (TCKs) Coined by Sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s as a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The first culture is considered an individual’s passport culture, while the second culture consists of the culture(s) in which the individual has lived. The third culture is a result of the person’s life experience; this is the culture to which they most belong. The third culture often is where individuals feel community with others of similar experience.
An adult who grew up as a Cross-Cultural Kid.
Domestic TCK Cultural Fluidity/Cultural Mobility A term coined by Culturs founder Donnyale Ambrosine to characterize hidden diversity created by people who don’t or didn’t grow up in a homogenous cultural environment. Culturally Fluid individuals may straddle nationalities, ethnicities, race or culture. The fluidity created allows understanding between or among their foundational areas of meaningful experience. It also may hinder sense of belonging to any one area.
Missionary Kids Children of missionaries who travel to missions domestically or abroad. 10
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Children who moved to various regions within the same country while growing up, often having to re-learn ways of being, especially as regional differences in dress, speech and action are heightened in formative years when it is important to be accepted.
Third Culture Adult (TCA) Coined in 2002 by Psychotherapist Paulette Bethel to signify individuals who travel extensively and are immersed in, or live in global locations after the age of 18 (after identity has been solidified).
Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) An adult who grew up as a TCK.
Refugees
Traveler
Internationally nomadic group not characterized by a parent’s occupation. Displaced from their homeland forcibly or by choice, often having fled for varied reasons — violence, politics, religion, environment, etc. Refugees typically do not return to their origin country.
Those who travel expecting differences among intra-international or international culture, however, not immersed in these cultures for extended periods of time, or long enough to integrate local cultural norms as their own.
International Business Kids Immigrants People who, for varied reasons, immigrate to a country different than their homeland to stay permanently. Many return to their home countries to visit, though some do not.
Children whose parents work with multi-national corporations takes them to far-away lands, often in professional fields surrounding oil, construction and pharmaceuticals.
Borderlanders Expatriate (Expat) As defined by Merriam Webster — to leave one’s native country to live elsewhere; which also sometimes means to renounce allegiance to one’s native country.
Military B.R.A.T. Children of military who move with parents to different places within or outside of their home country. They often experience other cultures within the confines of a military installation or compound that possesses traits of the home country.
Non-Military Foreign Service Children traveling with their parents to various countries in non-military government roles, diplomatic corps, civil service, foreign service, etc.
Diplomat Kids Children whose parents are members of the home country’s political framework while living on foreign soil.
Described by author Ruth Van Reken in the book “Third Culture Kids,” a borderlander is a citizen of one country that lives close to another. Often the norms, customs and traits of each country’s culture seeps into the other, creating a cultural experience separate from either original culture, while allowing inhabitants keen knowledge and insight into their own culture as well as the other.
Multiracial People whose family consists of two or more races to which the individual identifies. With race often come cultural norms, slang language and attitudes that can greatly differ. Many multiracial children, though not all, have the unique opportunity to learn norms of all the cultures they comprise.
Multiethnic; Multicultural People whose family consists of two or more cultures to which the individual identifies. Even when belonging to the same race, differences in culture may exist between ethnicities, tribes and other cultural contexts.
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PUBLISHER’S LETTER
2020 has been a doozy for us all! Yet amid the strife and toil, upheavals and new normals — still we find ways to uplift each other.
W
e hope this is what this issue does for you. Our Summer 2020 “Time for Change Issue,” as of this writing, is tens of copies away from selling out. And we are honored that our audience has heeded the call to make a difference and foster change in any way they can. We are a multicultural magazine that amplifies all global voices with special focus on the marginalized and underserved. That work is not even close to done. We hope this issue and the stories within open your eyes to the people of the world and to creating change wherever you have the opportunity. Even though I interviewed Director Patty Jenkins just after COVID-19 overtook the world and before the social upheaval that resulted in protests around the globe, her words ring true to all that has happened and continues to happen. Like many Third Culture Kids, her foresight is 12
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astounding. As she mentions, growing up in different cultures at a young age makes a difference in our development. It’s a difference we often see later in life. Our designer Diana Vega felt it. Even though she grew up monocultural, she’s a Third Culture Adult who has lived and studied in different countries. Repatriating after graduate school in the United States honed her already heightened empathy as she experienced first-hand what happens when you change, but your former surroundings do not. We loved experiencing her homeland, her culture, her family — and you’ll see throughout the book — the foods she grew up with. Her native Yucatan is a place, people and cuisine imbibed with love, and it was a treasure to behold. We also pay homage to a Military B.R.A.T.’s memory of her father and his service. She made a brave journey to witness some of what he dealt with, and the ramifications of service during wartime. Some wounds are
The Vega Family with Editor-in-Chief Doni at their home in Merida.
passed through generations, and though we may not have experienced the trauma, often we still receive their ill effects. We hope this piece opens people’s eyes and their hearts to begin a healing process. We hope you find something that touches your heart in this issue — there are so many things that touched mine. We encourage you to find that art, that love, that pilgrimage that your soul seeks — the one that will help you reach new heights and uplifts others to do the same.
All the best,
Doni (Dah-knee) Publisher and Founder Culturs — the Global Multicultural Magazine Doni and Patty Jenkins at the Sundance Film Festival 2019.
Culturs.org Cultursmag.com
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS By Todd Cornell
Embrace Change And Be Happy
F
inding my place in China was sometimes challenging. The excitement of learning a new language — a portal of curiosity and fascination, quickly became a rabbit hole. The cultural adventures of re-learning life activities took on a new twist that led to balancing change. My United States-grown simplicity and ignorance revealed a culture gap that laid bare opposing ideologies, ideology clashes that pushed me to adapt to China or agonize.
Rascal in Utah
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A military B.R.A.T. makes peace
in Vietnam Story and photos by Donna Musil
A soldier’s daughter reminds us that children are often the forgotten casualties of war and the line between one’s friends and enemies is not always so clear.
Donna, Dena, and Tisa Musil (L to R) share a picnic in Germany, circa 1968.
WARNING. This article contains images and references to war and violence which some may find distressing and/or triggering. 18
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When I was sixteen, my father died from cancer. Today, it would be presumed to be related to Agent Orange, the deadly defoliant the U.S. dropped on Vietnam during the war, exposing millions of friends and foe alike. When he died, my father and I weren’t on the greatest terms. He was an authoritative military man and I was an obstinate teenager. Toss onto that simmering stack of charcoal raging adolescent hormones, eleven moves on three continents in fifteen years, and the fear of losing a parent — well, you can imagine the sizable flames on that particular fire.
It wasn’t always that way. Lieutenant Colonel Louis “Bud” Musil was a hands-on kind of dad. He was up at five a.m. cooking chicken gizzards (for the extra protein) before my swim meets in San Francisco. He made sure our cocker spaniel, Penny, flew across the Atlantic Ocean with us, no matter the cost. And he and my mother dragged our tiny, whining bodies to every temple, museum and monument across Europe and Southeast Asia, including the World War II concentration camp memorial in Dachau, Germany when I was ten. Because Bud Musil was no “ugly American.” He wanted to make sure we saw the good, the bad and the ugly in the world; the causes and consequences of war, not just the platitudes. He joined every cross-cultural friendship group he could find. To this day, my heart skips a beat every time I pass an airport, and I detest nationalism. Cultural preservation is one thing – but there’s a very thin line between patriotism and xenophobia. When I was seven, my father went to Vietnam for a year. He was a military lawyer assigned to a combat unit with the 173rd Airborne Brigade “Sky Soldiers,” during some of the bloodiest battles of the war. He slept on a cot in a tent that also served as their legal office and courtroom. His duties ranged from investigating U.S. war crimes to managing the debts of soldiers struggling to stay alive in the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)covered hills of the Central Highlands. In ten months, he tried 103 courts-martial and
reviewed 942 Article Fifteens (if a military member gets into trouble for a minor offense and it does not require a judicial hearing, Article 15 of the UCMJ allows for the commanding officer to decide the innocence or guilt and administer the punishment to the offender, if necessary), then focused on rehabilitating the convicted, saving many a military career.
Apparently, he did a decent job. In a recommendation for a Bronze Star, an eyewitness claimed Bud Musil’s approach “was marked by a maturity, wisdom, fairness, and understanding of human nature in a degree rarely found in individuals of his age and experience.” The eyewitness said he had an “intense interest in judiciously safeguarding both [the] rights of the individual and the interests of the United States Government” and was truly a “soldier’s advocate.”
Maj. Bud Musil on board a helicopter in Vietnam, circa 1967-1968.
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Halong Bay. The Vietnam landscape is as beautiful and resilient as its people.
bombs exploded around him. I recalled in one of his legal files a casual remark he made about dragging bodies off a hill and photographs of mutilated Viet Cong soldiers. I watched an old woman pick through the rubble at the end of the runway that morning; for what, I couldn’t tell. Our guide told us the runway is used to dry cassava now, a starchy tree root that locals eat. We considered, but couldn’t venture into the hills where the hand-tohand battles were fought, because bombs and booby-traps were still hidden amongst the foliage. As we drove away, our guide shared his own war stories. He said he was a young man at the height of the conflict, studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He had received a full scholarship from a Christian organization he met by chance
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while studying in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City. Upon his return, after the NVA won the war, he was sent to a “re-education camp” (nee prison) for two years, presumably for attending the Western institution. For three of those months, he sat alone in complete darkness. He was lucky; his cellmate and many others were beaten and executed.
MY LAI MASSACRE Two days later, our other guide, Pham Huu Van, told us he also spent time in a re-education camp after working as a translator during the war. He was still translating when he took us to the Son My Memorial, honoring the victims of one of the worst civilian casualties of the war. On March 16, 1968, American soldiers massacred more than 500 unarmed elderly men, women, and children in a small
village called My Lai and its surrounding areas. I had wanted to visit the memorial for years. My father was in Vietnam during the same time period, and the soldier who led the slaughter, Lt. William Calley, once ran a popular jewelry store in the town where my mother lives. I had watched Calley eat a chili dog one day at a local delicatessen, three tables over from me. I had wanted to say something, but was too scared, so I sat there frozen, pretending he was just another customer. Calley was a diminutive man at 5’4,” who reportedly led a non-descript life after the massacre. But on that particular day in Vietnam, he and his “brothers-in-arms” shot, stabbed, beat, blew up and mutilated 182 women (including 17 pregnant women), 173 children (including
56 babies under five-months-old), 60 villagers over sixty-years-old and 89 middle-aged villagers, wiping out generations of families for decades to come. Pham Thanh Cong was eleven years old when the U.S. invaded My Lai at daybreak. Like most families, he writes in his memoir, “The Witness from Pinkville,” he was eating breakfast with his mother and three sisters, one barely two years old. Other boys were already working in the fields with their grandfathers. Suddenly, a shower of missiles and bullets began raining down on their heads, as nine helicopters hovered, firing rockets and machine guns. The farmers and field boys were the first to die. Then houses, food, and livestock were burned to the ground. Mothers wailed while their daughters were raped and sodomized.
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African American
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TIME FOR
CHANGE
EXCLUSIVE THE MILITARY B.R.A.T. BEHIND
DEFINING
WONDER WOMAN 1984
BLACKNESS
DIRECTOR
AROUND THE GLOBE PANDEMIC: SURVIVING AND
THRIVING
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
PRACTICAL WAYS
ROBIN D'ANGELO ON
YOU CAN MAKE
WHITE FRAGILITY
A DIFFERENCE
PATTY JENKINS Display until December 30 Fall 2020
AN OFFICER'S DAUGHTER
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FROM HONG KONG TO SCOTLAND:
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EXPERIENCE
$10.95 CAN Display until March 31, 2020 Winter 2019 $11.95 US $12.95 CAN
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Director Patty Jenkins with Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman 1984.
The Military B.R.A.T. using her TCK background to create
WORLDS OF WONDER
P
atty Jenkins is best known for directing acclaimed movies like “Monster,” with Actor Charlize Theron (a role for which she won an Oscar), and “Wonder Woman,” with Actor Gal Gadot — both of whom are famously cross-cultural — but few people realize Jenkins is as well. As a second generation military B.R.A.T., Jenkins traveled abroad at age six months, beginning her tenure as a full-fledged Third Culture Kid (TCK). Her experiences and her life path would be
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instrumental in creating some of the most lauded film productions of all time. During our conversation, Jenkins jokes that no one would be speaking to her if she hadn’t done the work she has to date. In our global, cross-cultural world, however, the fame and glitz might be cool, knowing that someone with a similar background “made it,” might be awesome, but the milestone for us in talking to her is how she grew up, and that she fully understands our culturally in-between world. TCKs know all-too-well that in-between space that few understand. It’s amazing to see how the traits, characteristics and experiences among TCKs like Military B.R.A.T.s can shape and mold a life and a career.
DESTINY CHARTED
Courtesy of Turner,
Jenkins was born to a fighter pilot father and feminist mother on George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif., U.S.A. Before she could walk, she was flying, as
her mom took Jenkins and her sister to live in Vietnam, then Cambodia and Thailand so they could be close to where their father was deployed during the Vietnam war. “She’s a feminist rebel who decides that she’s taking us to go along even though we’re not supposed to go,” Jenkins says of her mother. Having grown up in a military family herself, there was no way the young mom could fathom being left behind. The family lived on their own in Thailand while Jenkins’ father was stationed in Cambodia. And so, it began. Jenkins is very aware of how such an upbringing can shape one’s mindset. She posits that being in a completely different culture than that of the U.S., and being there during wartime, changes the effect on the experience as much as the experience shapes the individual. She notes, “Your first observations of life are in another place, but there’s also extreme duress all around you. Only in retrospect do I realize and think I was
THE THIRD CULTURE KID JOURNEY TO WW1984 In her own words, here is how we think Patty Jenkins’ background brings the universal to the masses in ways to which we all can relate: *text edited for brevity and clarity.
1. A 360-degree POINT-OFVIEW: WW1984 is an ensemble piece much more than the first movie, where there are four main characters and they all start in pretty strong ways except for Diana, who is complex. It’s a journey where, hopefully, I deconstruct all of them so you see where they’re ending up and why they’re ending up where they are — which is an interesting thing to do with villains. Certainly, I’m not the first person to do it but it’s not a common thing to do and oftentimes you want your villain, you want to understand their journey. By the end you’re experiencing all of the points of view of the story. Hopefully. 2. TRANSCENDS BORDERS: I was so proud to be a part of the gender conversation in the last movie, but Wonder Woman is about saving the world, and we have big problems. Interestingly she is talking about what we’re going through right now in this movie which is: We can be better than this. 3. REQUIRES EMPATHY: I feel like that’s what I was trying to do with “Wonder Woman I,” which was: You think that there’s a bad guy and you’re gonna kill the bad guy, ~continued on pg. 35
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DESTINATION:
MERIDA, YUCATAN By Doni Aldine 40
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M
exico — the most Southern country of the North American continent, is known for its popular tourist areas, beaches and fantastic food and drink. Culturs, however, prefers to get into the local scenes, tuckedaway spaces and little-known history of each destination we visit. With this in mind, this destination was inspired by the hometown of our designer, Diana Vega, and her amazing family. The country boasts 32 states, on which we will focus on two: Yucatan, which is home to Merida (The Vega Family stomping grounds), a storied and historic city with simple tastes of yesteryear. A stroll through its streets evokes the calm of a quiet Sunday, while its well-worn buildings and cobblestone thoroughfares impart a peacefulness as vast as the gentle soul of its people. We’ll take you through some of these streets, then walk you through a dinner
party with traditional Yucatan foods and provide the tools to create a dinner party of your own. Traditional recipes are shared in Spanish and English thanks to Vega and her family’s matriarch (who expertly infuses a depth of love into meal preparation that each feast feeds not only their bodies, but their spirits as well). Dinner time in Merida is family time when everyone, including the family’s excitable puppies, comes together until their souls are full. Good times, love and laughter are as much staples as the “oooos” and “aaaaahs” that linger in the air as steam rises from freshly prepared dishes. Next we saunter through Jalisco in Central Mexico to walk you through the centuries-old art of tequila making – small batch, cured and done the way they used to in the old times. We finish with downloadable templates online for you to recreate a Yucatan-inspired feast and tequilainspired or festive non-alcoholic drinks of your own. www.CultursMag.com
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DESTINATION:
MERIDA
C Illustration by Diana Vega
ulturs loves to visit with local residents at our destinations. Whenever possible, we sit down for dinner or a traditional cooking class with our hosts. In this edition, we had the distinct honor of learning about traditional Yucatan food with our designer and her mother while visiting her home town. Together they organised their favorite foods and have created instructions on how to prepare each mouth-watering dish. We also provide elements including the recipes, invitations, menus, guest placecards and drink and decor suggestions for you to recreate your own traditional culturally inspired feast for friends. Whenever possible, we create videos of the cooking instruction as well. To top it all off, we include a timeline of what to do and when so you don't forget a thing. Find all of these items, plus downloadable templates online at cultursmag.com. Not enough time to print all the items yourself? Find affordable pre-printed, prepackaged CultursCelebrations online at Celebrations.cultursmag.com.
LET'S GET THE
PARTY STARTED! MERIDA-INSPIRED CELEBRATION MENU Frijol con puerco Sopa de lima Tacos de carne asada Salbutes Ceviche 48
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DESTINATION:
MERIDA
FRIJOL CON PUERCO
Ingredientes para el frijol con puerco • 1 ½ tazas de frijol
finamente picada
• 2 limones partidos
• 8 tazas de agua
• 1 kg de tomate
• 1 aguacate Hass
• 1 diente de ajo
• 5 rábanos picados finamente
• 1 chile habanero
• 1 kg de pierna de puerco en trozos • ½ cebolla blanca
• 1 taza de cilantro finamente picado
Ingredientes para el arroz blanco • 1 taza de arroz blanco
• 4 dientes de ajo finamente picados • 1 cuchara de aceite de oliva • 2 tazas de agua • Sal al gusto Cut here
PORK WITH BEANS PREPARATION In pressure cooker The beans are put in the pressure cooker with water, the pieces of pork, garlic clove and salt. It is covered and heated to simmer until it rings. Once the pressure is out, the pork with beans is ready to serve with the rice and toppings. In normal pot: The beans are placed in the pot with plenty of water, it is put over high heat and covered. When half-cooked, remove two cups of the broth. Add pork, garlic and clove. Simmer until meat is soft. Turn of the heat and let it rest. How to make the rice: The finely chopped garlic cloves are sautéed with the olive oil, add the rice (previously washed and drained the excess water with a strainer) and sauté until the grains stop being sticky. Add two cups of
water or bean broth and add salt to taste. Cover the pan and simmer. Turn off the heat once the water has evaporated. How to make “chiltomate” The tomatoes are washed and covered with foil and placed on the fire. When the tomatoes are soft, they are removed from the heat. They are macerated in a bowl. Chop the coriander and onion. Add them to the tomatoes. Add salt to taste.
HOW TO SERVE In a bowl, place the pork pieces and rice with the bean broth. Place the coriander, onion, radish, avocado, lemon, habanero chili and “chiltomate” to taste as toppings
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DESTINATION MEXICO:
TEQUILA MAKING
HERE'S THE PROCESS: 60
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John Johnston Creative
W
idely regarded as the drink consumed in small doses and often chased with salt or lime, tequila has a reputation as a drink for partiers. Yet in its country of origin, historically it’s known as a sippable drink to be enjoyed quietly with friends, perhaps at the end of a leisurely meal or the start of a memory-making evening. Tequila is made from the succulent called agave with fleshy leaves that take years to mature and flower. Agave is grown in a limited section of Mexico and more than 90 percent of the production comes from a regulated area in Jalisco, central Mexico. We spoke with the experts at Suerte Tequila, specifically because of their approach to the process — which honors the age-old traditions of tequila-making. While many well-known tequilas are made from the same distillery in Mexico, often distinguished only by their packaging and marketing, Suerte takes its time to create a quality product. We love this photo journey from agave to tequila — and we especially love the recipes added to our Yucatan-inspired CultursCelebrations! Let us know what you think on social @Cultursmag
Jimadors use tools to remove spiny leaves to expose the pina, or heart of the agave that is grown in iron-rich, volcanic soil.
Agave is quartered
Stacked
Roasted for days.
Agave is quartered, stacked and roasted for days.
Suarte is known for manually crushing agave with a Tahona for 16+ hours.
Days of fermentation, then double distillation, filtration, then rest.
Charred white oak whiskey barrels now age tequila.
Hands-on bottling includes a final tequila rinse before filling. All so you can enjoy the subtle flavor with family, friends and love.
For Dia de Muertos Culturs partnered with Suerte for specialty giveaways.
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FINDING HOME:
Gondolas at night, Venice, Italy
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HOW FINE ART CAN BE ACT OF KINDNESS FOR THE SOUL
Story and art by Peter Lo
G
rowing up as a Third Culture Kid with a rich but very diverse heritage; from Scotland to China to India to Malaysia, and as a serial expat and lover of travel, I am no stranger to transitions and the richness of exploration. This tension expresses itself in my artwork. I paint to capture magical memories in time of “home” to promote a sense of well-being through belonging — of being able to be home whilst being away.
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Photography by Beata Lubas
MUST l READ
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MUST l READ
This Polish Expat found her Life’s Work in the U.K. and the results are delicious
B
eata Lubas left her native Poland at age 20, purchased a one-way ticket to England and embarked on an adventure that she hoped would reveal her true direction in life. It wasn’t until she took a chance on a food photography competition and finished as a finalist that she seriously considered a career doing what she loved best: photography. Today, Lubas has 128k followers on Instagram (@bealubas) and creates food stories for clients all around the world, working with magazines and brands including Waitrose and Royal Doulton. Her mission is to convey the deliciousness of her subjects in visual ways. She is passionate about educating and motivating aspiring photographers through her workshops and online tutorials. The most rewarding part of the job, for her, is being able to help students discover something new about the craft of photography and take their work to the next level.
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MUST l WATCH
A First Nations Filmmaker Makes the Most of Turbulent Times ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE FILM MIRRORS PANDEMIC By Antoinette Lee Toscano
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Prospector Films
T
en years in the making, “Blood Quantum” is a new zombie apocalypse film by First Nations Writer, Director, Film Editor and Composer Jeff Barnaby (best known for his debut feature film “Rhymes for Young Ghouls”). It is a timely portrayal of deadly disease, xenophobia, survival and creating a post-pandemic new normal. “Blood Quantum” is true to the genre of zombie film making. It is also rich in Indigenous culture. The characters are complex, the cinematography is artful and the parallels between the zombie plague and life after the COVID-19 pandemic are subtle, yet coincidentally striking.
Blood Quantum movie poster. A film by Jeff Barnaby.
The film is an excellent distraction as cities around the world begin to re-open after our very real COVID-19 pandemic. In the plotline, the dead are coming back to life because there is a zombie plague and only a group of Indigenous inhabitants — the Mi’gmaq people on the Reserve of Red Crow in Listuguj (Quebec, Canada) are immune. “I wanted the themes in Blood Quantum to be a bare-knuckled look into the frustrations of racism. To exist is to hold a line,” Barnaby says. “That has a romantic, noble savage shine to it — but the truth is, you’re not holding that line so much as that line is holding you, and you get held there until you hate the world for treating you differently or hate yourself for being different.” The concepts, political undertones, the struggle to create a multicultural, post-apocalypse community, as well as pre- and post-colonial dilemmas abound. “Blood Quantum” uses all the familiar zombie flick tropes, yet it offers more than escape from reality. It brings the “woke” viewer along for a head nodding (in agreement) ride. Yet, for those who are not so well-versed in the struggles of aboriginal people around the world, it envokes deep thought. Perhaps it will also cause you to have some uncomfortable conversations about race, class, and post-colonial fears and injustice.
Photography Luis Mora
MUST l WATCH
Writer/Director Jeff Barnaby.
“I’ve based my entire life around the truth that art can transcend hate and alter perceptions; I know this for fact because art has done this for me more than once,” Barnaby emphasizes. If you know North American history, you’ll understand why the Indigenous people in the film, on the Reserve of Red Crow, are once-again divided over offering aid and shelter. “With less than 5,000 speakers, my language is disappearing, as what’s left of the Mi’gMaq nation assimilates into the new world. The ideas behind “Blood Quantum” are more than just plot points to a horror film. The Mi’gMaq are in extinction protocol,” he says. As Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) on every continent are demanding social justice and inclusion, “Blood Quantum” is a creative reveal of
what could happen if the people of the world do not figure out how to coexist in harmony. Barnaby was born on a Mi’gmaq reserve in Listuguj, Quebec. His filmmaking paints a stark and scathing portrait of post-colonial Indigenous life and settler culture. “I know that there will be loss and tragedy in the grand pursuit of equality. I know that the survival of being Mi’gMaq, of being Navajo, Nava’Maq, is synonymous with cultural synergy. I don’t know what I’ll lose in this pursuit of the idea of harmony, but I know wanting to take the journey makes holding onto my humanity, understanding forgiveness, and grief, and love and hate, and never slipping into despair, is mandatory.” Just like North American history, “Blood Quantum’s” ending is messy, unclear, and filled with anxiety about the future of humankind. The film promises an emotional ride from hands over face gore, to heart-wrenching character dynamics, and a few laughs.
Catch Blood Quantum on Shudder and Crave streaming services.
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This Fitness Expert is on a Mission to Unlock Your Limitless Potential 78
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MUST l BUY
Tommy McMillion
I
n 2003, Brandon Kelly was in a horrific motorcycle accident. He broke multiple limbs, snapped his pelvis in half and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Today, because of that experience, he believes we are all perfect machines. “I wouldn’t have been able to just get out of my accident or continue living if everything hadn’t worked out in the exact precise manner to let my life continue on,” he says. “It helped me understand that we’re all doing the exact same thing.” His mission is to remind each of us that, indeed, we are perfect machines.
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Sang Taraash
IN STONE— the mason’s stroke.
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Stone Carvers of Kashmir at Work Story and photos by Mudabbir Ahmad Tak
M
an is tough. Some men are anyway — strong and resilient and stubborn and with the will to break the hardest of stones and carve them into different shapes. It is fascinating how with a few simple tools, man can break down a mountain into tiny irrelevant pieces — mountains turned to mortars and pestles. These pictures try to speak to that confounding mystery — the will of man, which may sometimes be stronger than a mountain, and sometimes more capricious than dust.
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TECHNOLOGY By Andrea Bazoin, M.Ed., Founder of everHuman
Coping with Chaos in
2020 AND BEYOND
Courtesy of Daily Haloha.
CAN 2020 GET ANY MORE STRESSFUL?
Haloha Wall.
The chaos of 2020 has forced us to reckon with centuries of structural injustice. Although we can see the light of hope shining through the cracks, the process of tearing down and rebuilding is as uncertain as it is painful. 90
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If what you need is a little peace of mind, I invite you to check out five resources that can get you through the rest of 2020 and beyond. DO YOU FEEL ME
Courtesy of Daily Haloha.
Remember the last pre-Covid conversation you had with a trusted friend about the meaning of life? Chances are you felt safe enough to be vulnerable, invested enough to be engaged, and curious enough to really listen. These are the ingredients of connection, which is what many of us are sorely lacking in this moment. Daily Haloha, created by New York-based Amy Giddon, has the power to restore your sense of connection to humanity, without ever leaving your house. The app presents a single, thoughtprovoking, fill-in-the-blank
App Store Screen.
Courtesy of Daily Haloha.
TECHNOLOGY
statement each day. “It was a big turning point when…” “...would be a dream come true.” “Spirituality is…” Participants share their responses anonymously, which are displayed on a wall for everyone to read. In a moment, one is able to get a glimpse inside the minds of hundreds of strangers — creating an instant sense of connection to a global community. Currently more than
ten thousand people from over 110 countries subscribe to the app. The app was inspired by Giddon’s experience encountering the now famous “Subway Therapy” that spontaneously occurred just after the 2016 presidential election results were announced. In Subway Therapy, one by one, thousands of sticky notes were adhered to the walls of NYC subway stations, each with an anonymous yet heartfelt expression of grief, hope and everything in between. “We saw that [such public installations] were uniquely capable of creating a shared moment of humanity among anonymous strangers,” Giddon reflects. “We realized the thing that created this magic moment of togetherness was that they were anonymous, free of judgement and free from status. Social media promises connection but hasn’t delivered. It is often fueled by judgement, comparison and performance.” Daily Haloha is not for racking up “connections” or “likes,” rather it allows for collective reflection. “We think collective reflection can rekindle empathy,” she affirms. “Because it is selfreflection connected with everyone else’s experience.” Download Daily Haloha on Google Play or the Apple Store. www.CultursMag.com
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Gerald Ambrosine
Courtesy of Turner Collection of murals by artist Fernando Castro Pacheco on permanent display in the Government Palace in in Merida’s Plaza Grande.
Doni Aldine
Patty Jenkins on set.
Doni Aldine
BEHIND THE SCENES
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins being interviewed at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sign at Progresso Beach 20 minutes outside of Merida, Yucatan.
Recently married, the happy couple (L to R): Alvaro Buenfil and Diana Vega sit in Merida's popular "confidente" chairs, which line the city's main downtown avenue and allow lovers to gaze into each other's eyes with ease.
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Doni Aldine
Doni Aldine
The Vega Family enjoys each other’s company (L to R): Ruben, Gertrudis, Andrea, Diana and the puppies, Allende and Lorenzo
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