Incite Magazine - October 2011

Incite Magazine VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1 · MCMASTER UNIVERSITY, HAMILTON ▪ OCTOBER 2011

LIES: Faking your way to the top DON’T HATE THE PLAYER: The pickup artist and the seductress plus DECEITFUL DIPLOMACY: Six fibs that shaped history

EDITORIAL THE WHOLE TRUTH Sam Colbert & Anna Kulikov, Editors-in-Chief

S

ure, everybody lies.

But, for that matter, every path has its puddle, every rose has its thorn, and every day is just one closer to death.

An untruth, I think, is not necessarily evil; it’s just a blemish on the complex and creative ways in which we relate to each other.

Admittedly, there is something sinister, for example, about deceitful corporations. They can omit or contradict truths, delivering profit to their executives and hardship to the rest. In “Media Misinformation”, Stephen Clare writes about the ability of media outlets to control public opinion. Asha Behdinan, Leila Gaind, and Victoria McKinnon tell us what we’ve really been eating by exposing lies in the food industry. In his inaugural column, Shawn Fazel views modern corporate influence in the same way that Thomas Hobbes saw the authority of the Church in the 17th century.

Much more innocent and sensitive are the lies between loved ones. Meg Peters and Nicki Varkevisser share personal accounts of how their parents passed down fairy tales and holiday traditions. In “Being Kacper”, Kacper Niburski reflects on when he learned that, as an infant, his name was switched with that of his twin brother.

But on some moral middle ground are the lies we all tell each other in trying to keep our identities robust and relevant in our respective social circles. Whether you’re the depraved (“Hate the Game” by Lily Hastings) or the flirtatious (“Femme Fatale” by Anqi Shen), the vengeful or the greedy, the self-conscious or the sad, the protector or the prey, a lie can make a life.

So live and let live; lie and let lie.

-SC 2 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

W

ARTWORK BY ALICIA GIASANTE

hat would my lies taste like, I wonder?

Would they be sour in the anger they incite, or bitter in the trust at which they wear away? Or would they instead be warm and sweet in the false and fleeting comfort they create? I think that if they were palatable, my lies wouldn’t have just one taste - they’d have them all. Lies are complete culinary experiences, taste turning to taste as they go through the necessary stages: formation, execution, and consequence.

For lies live lives of their own, much as people do. Some live quiet and ‘white’ ones, generating only the slightest ripples in the web of social interconnectedness before being forgotten.

Abdullahi Sheikh explores these in “To Tell the Truth?”, while Incite’s resident philosophers ponder whether or not such deceptions, however useful, are ethically justified in “Philosophical Pragmatism”.

But many of the lies we tell are not so small and not so innocent. Some lies are big – big enough to swallow whole continents and shape the victories of the greatest wars of the last century.

Aaron Jacobs chronicles the most famous of these in “The Great Ones”. Meanwhile, Stephanie Wan investigates lies that pervade different cultures in “Liars Without Borders”.

Myself, I find “A Guide to Deception” particularly useful, because I am just as bad of a liar as I am a cook, and since my culinary legacy is that of cratered muffins, raw potatoes, and burnt toast, you can just imagine that my lying could use a course or two. So savour, dear reader, the delicious deception of Incite’s first issue of 2011/2012, but remember to take it all with a grain of salt. Or pepper; it’s your call.

-AK

incitemagazine.ca FEATURES

ARTWORK BY AFRISA YEUNG

DEPARTMENTS

4 16 24

Happenings Selected news from near and far Brief New World Shawn Fazel Some Words to Savour Kate Sinclair

5 6 8 9 10 11 12 14 18 19 20 21 22 23 26

The Great Ones Lies in History Aaron Jacobs A Guide to Deception Devra Charney, Erin Chesney, Julie-Anne Mendoza, Kaila Radan Ignorance is Bliss Childhood lies Meg Peters, Nicki Varkevisser To Tell the Truth?

‘White lies’ & when to use them Abdullahi Sheikh Rachel’s Unsent Letter Diary of a hidden child Yardena Winegust Media Misinformation Looking at news for profit Stephen Clare Greener Pastures Asha Behdinan, Leila Gaind, Victoria McKinnon Art Spread Livia Tsang Anatomically Incorrect How our bodies deceive us Sam Godfrey Philosophical Pragmatism Differences in perception Devin Ridley, Shen Storm Liars Without Borders Looking across cultures Stephanie Wan Being Kacper A twin’s identity crisis Kacper Niburski Hate the Game A nightclub encounter Lily Hastings Femme Fatale Hollywood’s temptress Anqi Shen Lies in Film and TV Zane Andres, Stephen Clare, Dylan Hickson, Jane van Koeverden

Editors-in-Chief Sam Colbert Anna Kulikov Managing Editors Irena Papst, Layout Ianitza Vassileva, Graphics Content Editors Jeremy Henderson Matt Ing Jane van Koeverden Kate Sinclair Contributors Zane Andres, Asha Behdinan, Mark Belan, Devra Charney, Erin Chesney, Stephen Clare, Anthony D’Ambrosio, Shawn Fazel, Leila Gaind, Alicia Giasante, Sam Godfrey, Lily Hastings, Dylan Hickson, Aaron Jacobs, Gordon Laing, Yang Lei, Joshua Lewis, Victoria McKinnon, Julie-Anne Mendoza, Kacper Niburski, Meg Peters, Kaila Radan, Devin Ridley, Abdullahi Sheikh, Anqi Shen, Kate Sinclair, Brianna Smrke, Shen Storm, Alisha Sunderji, Michael Teichman, Livia Tsang, Nicki Varkevisser, Stephanie Wan, Yardena Winegust, Afrisa Yeung Covers Mark Belan Printing Underground Media & Design Contact incite@mcmaster.ca Incite Magazine is published six times per academic year by Impact Youth Publications, founded in 1997.

Entire contents copyright 2011-2012 Impact Youth Publications. Opinons expressed in Incite Magazine are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Incite Magazine’s staff or Impact Youth Publications.

Letters of up to 300 words may be sent to incite@ mcmaster.ca; they may be edited for length and clarity and will not be printed unless a name, address, and daytime phone are provided.

Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 3

HAPPENINGS just lyin’ here

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LESZEK LESZCZYNSKI (FLICKR)

IN NORTH AMERICA...

Schizo-friend-ia PRINCETON, New Jersey—Researchers at Princeton University have found an increased rate of personality disorders among heavy users of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In particular, the study reported a higher rate of histrionic personality disorder, which includes superficial charm, insincerity, egocentricity and narcissistic tendencies.

Subjects demonstrated a lack of empathy for others and grandiosity, especially among users that spend five or more hours on social networking sites daily. Twitter and Facebook usage was monitored among a diverse group of users, from the infrequent tweeter to the self-narrating egoist: “I ate a bagel for lunch today”. Michael Obeng, head researcher, reports, “some of the observed disorders include adopting multiple personas for different accounts and ultimately losing track of genuine and virtual identities”. Detailed reports of the study are to be released in the next issue of Nature.

Campaign Saviour DES MOINES, Iowa—In an effort to energize conservative voters ahead of the upcoming 2012 primary elections, Texas governor Rick Perry has announced his running mate: Jesus Christ. While Christ is viewed favourably by Perry’s Evangelical base, establishment Republicans are concerned about his economic record and lack of foreign policy experience.

Despite these concerns, Perry’s campaign received a boost in the polls following the announcement, leaving other frontrunners scrambling to find other deities willing to join their tickets. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is reported to be talking with God about the possibility of a VP run, although He is not committed at this time. Neither God nor Christ were available for comment.

4 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

...AND AROUND THE WORLD Inky Affairs JAPAN—In a dimly lit room, a group of men stands huddled around a glass tank. One of them turns around and whispers, “final match of the night, winner takes all.” Illegal squid fighting has swept through the basements of seafood restaurants throughout Japan, attracting a diverse crowd of fishermen, gang members and underpaid service industry workers. “We’ve been training for months,” revealed one squid trainer, a retired pastry chef, who wished to remain anonymous.

Japan’s recent earthquake dealt a severe blow to the Japanese fishing industry, as consumers deemed seafood unsafe to consume. Squid fighting has become an alternative source of income for those left floundering by a decreased demand for seafood. Success on the squid fighting circuit can generate up to 380,000 Yen a fight (about $5200 Canadian). For the trainer, “a champion squid is a ticket to greatness”.

A Herculean Sacrifice GREECE—The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are continuing discussions on Greece’s debt reduction program. Greek citizens, however, have a launched a campaign of their own to pull their country out of debt: auctioning ancient ruins. Greece, known as the “Saudi Arabia of relics”, boasts an abundance of cultural gems, including the Parthenon, one of the most important surviving buildings of Classical Greece. The construction of the temple dates back to 432 BC, and its net worth is estimated to be over $2 billion. The potential buyers of ancient Greek architecture range from art collectors and museums to the ultra-rich, looking to have a piece of history in their own backyard. The appeal of owning a Doric column from the Acropolis has overshadowed astronomical shipping costs and ethical debates alike. Regardless, the message is clear to many: Greek citizens want to destroy their past to ensure their future.

Bad Science OSLO, Norway—Following the observation of sub-atomic particles travelling faster than the speed of light at the CERN particle research centre, officials are launching an inquiry into whether Albert Einstein’s 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics should be repealed. “We cannot allow the proud name of our institution to be tarnished by celebrating bad science,” said an unnamed representative from The Nobel Foundation. If the inquiry determines the award to have been given under false pretences, Einstein will be the first recipient of a Nobel Prize to have it revoked posthumously.

The Road to Tsardom MOSCOW, Russia—Vladimir Putin has announced his candidacy for the next Russian election. Having already served two terms as a President and one as Prime Minister, he has offered the Russians the chance to reintroduce the monarchy and to name him Tsar of Russia.

If he takes on the title, Putin will be the state’s first Tsar since 1721, when Peter the Great founded the Russian Empire. The change would make little practical difference in the governance of Russia, as Putin already holds the Kremlin’s top job, through which he holds a significant level of influence. A black belt in judo, Putin’s influence spreads far beyond his state’s borders and into the virtual realm of internet memes, where he is currently a celebrity for his bearish stature and unyielding facial expressions.

Compiled by Shawn Fazel, Jeremy Henderson and Alisha Sunderji ...

. .. if by “Compiled” you mean “Completely made up”

THE GREAT ONES Aaron Jacobs

I

n an issue dedicated to lies, it seems only fitting to address some of the biggest and best of our time. So here are some of the greatest lies, mistruths, shams, frauds, and insincerities of the past century: 1938: The most worthless piece of paper in history. Amid the growing anxiety of war across Europe in early 1938, Germany demanded that parts of Czechoslovakia be annexed to its territory. Without the representation from Czechoslovakia present, the powers of Europe met and signed the Munich Agreement, sanctioning the occupation of the Czech Sudentenland in appeasement of the Nazi government. As an afterthought, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain co-signed a peace agreement with Adolf Hitler, which he then waved triumphantly to cheering crowds upon his return to London, proclaiming famously: “I believe it is peace for our time”. Hitler, meanwhile, told his Foreign Minister that the paper was of no significance whatsoever. After signing the agreement, Hitler said that Chamberlain “was such a nice old gentleman I thought I’d give him my autograph as a souvenir.”

1943: The man who never was. On the morning of April 30th, 1943, the body of Major William Martin of the British Royal Marines washed up on the shore of Punta Umbría, Spain. With him was a briefcase containing “top secret” Allied documents in a sealed envelope. The British government sent Spain a series of increasingly distressed requests for the safe return of the envelope, but in the meantime a few German spies managed to get their hands on it. They inserted a sticky wire into the corner of the envelope, rolled up the letter inside of it, and removed it through the hole, leaving the seal intact. They later replaced it, after having discovered that the document detailed the upcoming invasion of the Meditterranian.

It was later returned to the British with no apparent sign of foul play. The catch? The letter was a hoax – Major Martin was a completely fictional character cooked up by the Allied intelligence to distract the Germans. It worked, too; German troops were relocated in response to the letter’s contents, and the Allied invasion successfully caught them by surprise.

1977: The trouble with Nestlé. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nestlé had been pitching its infant milk powder as a healthier alternative to breastfeeding in the developing world. Be it out of miscalculation or misrepresentation of the facts, Nestlé’s product wasn’t all it was made out to be. Infant milk powder requires uncontaminated water

ARTWORK BY NORMAN B. LEVENTHAL (FLICKR)

and sterile drinking vessels, lacks many of the nutritional benefits of breast milk and creates a dependency on the product, all of which were concerns for the poor. Some NGOs suggest that millions of infants died as a result of this campaign, and although there is a WHO resolution prohibiting the marketing of these products today, it is routinely disregarded. In 1977, there were calls worldwide to boycott Nestlé products as a result.

1995: The perfect getaway. On the morning of the June 27th, 1995, four masked men held sixteen hostages at gunpoint inside a bank in southern Berlin. When the police arrived outside, they sent a single hostage out with their demands: 17 million marks (about

$15 million CAD at the time) in cash, along with a car and a helicopter. Nine hours later, when the impatient robbers threatened to shoot a hostage in the leg, two policemen wearing only bathing suits delivered a down payment of 5 million marks. Finally, at 4 a.m., a commando team stormed the bank, only to find the robbers had vanished through a 150m tunnel out of the vault. The siege of the bank, along with demands for getaway vehicles, had been a ruse. The robbers were never caught.

1998: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” American presidents have a history of telling some pretty big whoppers, but few are as infamous as President Bill Clinton for doing so. He uttered this famous soundbite, denying any adulterous activity, in the days immediately after his sex scandal first broke in early 1998. Later on he would uphold the comment, claiming that the agreedupon definition of ‘sexual relations’ implied a sexual action on his part, which he denied. The sexual actions of another upon him – such as, say, his receiving oral sex from someone else – did not count, he said.

2003: WMDs in Iraq. Though the case may have been closed on the myth that there were ever ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (read: nukes) in Iraq, more than 40 per cent of Americans today still believe there were. This is certainly a testament to the success of the Bush administration’s propaganda machine. Over the course of his term, Bush maintained the WMD myth despite the fact that there was no evidence – according to, for example, a Senate investigation and a CIA agent’s testimony – that Iraq had anything resembling a WMD. To this day, former Bush officials hold that they were fed ‘bad information’, and the former president maintains that it was the worst error of his tenure.

Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 5

A GUIDE TO DECEPTION

Devra Charney, Erin Chesney, Julie-Anne Mendoza & Kaila Radan ARTWORK BY ALICIA GIANSANTE

How to Tell a Convincing Lie “Oh, my God, I love your skirt! Where did you get it?”

“It was my mom’s in the ‘80s.”

“Vintage, so adorable.”

“Thanks!”

[Afterward] “That is the ugliest effing skirt I’ve ever seen.”

Not everybody can tell a lie as well as Regina George in Mean Girls. Most people, unfortunately, are not equipped with the skills needed to pull off a truly convincing fib. The following guide will help you become a confident, successful liar. Lying is a subtle art that takes both time and practice.

Commit yourself to lying In order to execute a foolproof lie, you must embrace it fully. Be in it one hundred per cent.

There’s no going back. Once you’ve decided to lie, you must follow through with it completely, or face the consequences of being caught. Someone who is only half-committed to his or her lie is more inclined to panic and reveal the truth. If you acknowledge that you will be telling a lie, this will reduce your chances of faltering later on.

Keep your lie simple The worst thing you can do is to concoct 6 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

an elaborate story that is virtually impossible to remember. It is important to include details, but not to the extent that your story becomes unbelievable. You need to keep your imagination in check and remember that in order to stick to your lie, it cannot be too complex. Furthermore, if your story becomes too farfetched, the person you are lying to will be less inclined to believe it.

Ensure that your lie is plausible and that there are no loose ends.

Believe your lie A successful lie is one that convinces not only your audience, but also yourself. If you believe your lie, then you will be more successful in conveying it to others. You will state something that you subconsciously consider to be true with more confidence than something that you know is false. In order to persuade yourself that your lie is true, try to picture the scenario in your mind, so that your lie becomes your reality.

Watch your body language Often when people lie, they give themselves away through their gestures and facial expressions. Make sure to stand your ground when you are lying – literally. Do not fidget or shift your weight from side to side, and remember to maintain a calm composure. Maintain eye contact.

Looking at the ground or away from the other person conveys a sense of uncertainty and may elicit suspicion. Finally, keep smiling to a mini-

mum, and avoid laughing or stuttering while you deliver your lie.

Be flexible, but confident Be aware that your lie may not go according to plan. If this is the case, you might have to adjust to the situation by conceding small truths so that you can still cover up the larger lie. Your audience will likely take these minor confessions as a sign that you are being honest and have nothing else to hide. Once he or she has gained your trust, you will be able to follow through with the important part of your lie without provoking further suspicion.

- DC & KR

How to Fool a Lie Detector Lie detectors, specifically polygraph tests, have earned an ambiguous reputation. They are depicted in popular culture as being unerringly accurate, and yet, they are often treated with scepticism and scorn in legal and scientific circles.

This stems largely from the fact that the very design of the polygraph test leaves it open to both false positive and false negative results.

A polygraph test functions by reading physiological responses like heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. These levels are monitored during control questions to establish a base line, which is then compared to the physiological re-

sponses elicited by more relevant questions. If the respondent’s stress response is higher during the answer to a relevant question than it is to the control questions, the polygraph identifies that answer as a lie. It is easy to see where errors might occur here: if the respondent’s stress levels rise for any reason during the test, their answers will be identified as lies even if the stress was unrelated to the questions being asked. Conversely, if the base line obtained from the control is not accurate, making any comparison to it is useless.

Of course, the people who administer polygraph tests are well aware of these failings.

As it turns out, polygraph tests are often more useful as stressors than lie detectors. The stress of a lie-detector test is often enough to make someone admit to something they wouldn’t mention otherwise. What you say during the test is not off the record, so, when lying to the detector, keep your answers concise and make no admissions.

In terms of actually manipulating the results, however, the most popular method is to deliberately tamper with the control values by amplifying your stress response during the control questions. To do this effectively, you need to correctly identify control questions versus relevant ones. This can be difficult, and further research is strongly recommended if you want to get it right every time, but a general rule of thumb is ambiguity - an ambiguous question is most likely a control.

By amplifying your stress response during and immediately after your answers to control questions, you can ensure that if you lie later on in the test, your stress response will be lower than the control and will register as truthful. There are multiple methods of increasing your base-line stress level. The most effective methods are the most discreet. Many breathing patterns register as stress signals. The easiest one is to hold your breath for five seconds following an exhalation. You can also raise your heart rate and blood pressure by biting on the edge of your tongue.

Keep in mind that these are just starting points. The more research you do, the more you are of passing the test. So read up, keep your cool, and remember that the polygraph is not as infallible as T.V shows and as interrogators might lead you to believe.

- JM

How to Succeed in Class, Without Really Trying This section, dear reader, is designed to tell you everything you need to know about the sci-

ence of getting ahead. If you are young, healthy, clear-eyed, eager and anxious to rise quickly and effortlessly within the ranks of the university world through deceit, now you can.

Step One: Getting Dirt on your Professors Now reader, this step will lay the foundation for your advance to the top. Prior to your first day of class, you must do background research on your professor. This step is critical. If done correctly, it could be the only time you will have to do research in their class.

Do whatever it takes to find out anything and everything about your professor that might be of use. Try speaking to his or her past students or anyone who might have the inside scoop. Re-

ARTWORK BY ALICIA GIANSANTE

member, coffee is a powerful tool for cozying up to faculty members.

What exactly should you be trying to find out? In general, try to find out their passions.

What do they invest a significant amount of time in when they are not teaching? This can include their favourite sport teams, the high school they attended, their hobbies, their current research, possibly even their love of dinosaurs (true story).

Be vigilant here, gather your information carefully – the more you know, the more effective Step Two will be.

Step Two: The First Impression Now, hopefully equipped with more useful knowledge than you will learn from any university course, you are prepared to enter your first lecture. Find a comfortable seat in the front row,

sit down and relax until the moment when the clock turns to twenty after. It is now time to make your move.

Approach the lectern with confidence. Now, dear reader, what you do next might require creativity. The key point is to subtly let the professor know you share a common passion (even though you most likely don’t). Whether you hum the professor’s favourite song or wear the hat of the professor’s favourite hockey team, just make sure that during the limited time you have, a connection is made.

Step Three: Office Hours You are now well on your way to succeeding in class, dear reader. It is at this point that you should attend your professor’s office hours, for it is a great opportunity to get some extra face time with your professor.

Continue the personal conversation that you started in Step Two. Your professor should not only know exactly who you are, but should also start to recognize some of themselves in you.

Beware, other students might intrude with questions about course content. Do not fret, my dear readers. Make sure to add your two cents to the conversation as often as possible by using the key words that every professor loves to hear. Ask key questions, like “But what does that say about society?” or “Isn’t that opinion up for interpretation?” As long as you appear slightly intelligent, you are in the clear.

Step Four: Sealing the Deal Once you have completed the above steps correctly, your professor will no doubt start to love you and your peers will probably become extremely envious of you. Feel free to go party the night before the midterm or sleep through a guest lecture, you deserve it!

But, it is still important that you ensure the bond with your professor is secure. This can be accomplished through a variety of gestures that proclaim your supposed ‘dedication’ to the course. For example, find out the exact time your professor goes to their office in the morning. Show up five minutes before his or her arrival looking like a mess and pretend to be asleep on the ground. When your professor asks you why you are in such a state, explain that you were so inspired by their lecture that you wanted to discuss it with them, but did not know when they were expected in. Your professor will be so awestruck by your commitment that your bond will now be completely secure and there you have it! Congratulations! You are now guaranteed to succeed in their class, without really trying.

- EC Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 7

IGNORANCE IS BLISS Meg Peters & Nicki Varkevisser

C

hildhood is riddled with deception. When we reflect on our younger days, we remember all of the magical characters introduced to us. From the Bogeyman to Santa Claus, children are bombarded with characters and stories that are as fantastical as they are unreal. As children, we hold on to these magical beings, truly and dearly in our ignorance, assuming the imaginary is true. But the important question is whether these lies that parents tell their children negatively or positively influence a child’s young and impressionable mind? And is this deception widely accepted because it plays such an important role in our upbringing?

When I was a little girl, I was a princess. I flounced about the living room I remember one fateful Easter, amid the festivities, I began to think in flowery little dresses, writing my “royal” name on just about everything. My up some very big questions. Somewhere between decorating eggs in pasparents read me fairy tales, telling me that long Victorian names signified maj- tels and colouring pages of Easter pictures something in my little mind esty. Margaret, my full name, meant that I was destined to be a queen. I dreamt clicked, and there were things I wanted to know... about the Easter bunny. of crowns, princes, and fairy godmothers. Cinderella taught me to wait my turn Fear not for my childhood innocence though, for I only wanted to know and to live a humble life despite my noble name, that I might one day rule the what colour he was to ensure I would not misrepresent him in my colourworld. ing book.

I eventually retired the frilly dresses and changed into more (questionI took my inquiry to the origin of all my worldly toddler knowledge: ably) masculine attire. Taking Robin Hood to heart, I stood up for the little guy, my parents. I don’t remember the exact conversation, but I remember and distrusted those with more change in their pockets. I awaited adventure, or that the conclusion was that neither of my parents had seen the Easter created my own by playing with Barbies, Beanie Babies, and my brother’s Hot bunny, as he only comes when everyone is asleep. This answer did not Wheels. Of course, the Hhot Wwheels always tried to steal Barbie’s money, and dampen my curiosity, so my father promised to investigate this pressing Robin Hood (the fox) saved the day. issue for me. On Easter’s eve, he set up a trap: our family video camera was When Barbies positioned to record got boring, I picked up the famous old rabbit chapter books, exciteas he went about on ment mounting for his chocolate-bringthe satisfying sound of ing ways. pages turning. Harry On Easter morning, Potter was one of my after the excitement first young adult novels, over chocolate and and I flipped through it shiny things subsided, in a matter of days. On I asked my parents my eleventh birthday, about the video. I I patiently watched for anxiously watched my owl. I could feel the the video and saw foilmagic brewing inside wrapped eggs popme, ready to explode ping up – but where upon my arrival at Hogwas the rabbit! The ARTWORK BY AFRISA YEUNG warts. When it failed to Easter bunny was inarrive, I counted myself as one of the only Muggles to know. I would keep the visible; it’s no wonder no one ever sees him! The case was closed, at least magical secret until the end of my days. for a few more years. Eventually I would figure out the real deal about the Fairy tales told me that I was special, powerful… magic. They lied to me Easter bunny on my own. every step of the way and I ate it up. At the same time, these stories of majesFor me, this deception was a silly memory, and I found it cute how ty, adventure, and charm were a vital force in my childhood, shaping me into much trouble my dad would go through to keep me an Easter bunny bea lover of words. Parents have the same hope when they perpetuate fantastic liever. Instead of just telling me the truth, he devised an elaborate plan to holiday mascots. It may seem strange to go out of their way to create and retell keep the lie from spoiling. Hell, he even employed stop motion video! But the stories of these characters, but parents tell these lies to their children to in- is it ever right for parents to lie to their children? As far as I can tell, my fuse imagination into everyday life. After all, what is everyday life without a little dad’s creative cinematography hasn’t done any permanent damage. bit of magic?

- NV - MP The naive nature of children forces parents to make a difficult choice: telling the truth or preserving imaginary characters. Perhaps they choose to blur the lines of reality in the hope of mystifying their children with stories of majesty, adventure, and charm. In the end, we all grow up. Eventually, in some way, we learn that the Santa at the mall is just an overweight guy who wants to makes a few extra bucks every December. That doesn’t mean that the time we spend believing in a more magical or adventurous world is a waste. After all, the memories of magic in our lives can be the fondest, even if they never happened.

8 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

TO TELL THE TRUTH? Abdullahi Sheikh

C

ould you tell a lie? Better yet, have you ever told a lie? Yes, you, the one looking at this page right here.

Don’t shy away, don’t try to weasel your way out of this one. If you do tell lies, then all that means is that you’re a normal, everyday person. After all, we all lie to keep things running smoothly. Your parents don’t need to know about that midterm, do they? No, not yet anyways. If you say that you never lie, then you must be lying, and in that case, I’ll have to judge you for lying to an inanimate piece of paper.

Nobody judges others making tiny little lies... right?

Surely, a little white lie can’t do too much harm. After all, little white lies make the world go round: while kids believe in Santa Claus, we students believe in our ability to meet deadlines. Nobody gets hurt, right? Well, except for our circadian rhythms (sorry sleep!). Regardless, a little bit of illusion here and there helps to cushion reality. You don’t need to tell your friend that they have rancid breath: just pull out some gum and offer them a piece! “But Mr. Magazine,” you’ll say, “that’s not really lying!” Well, that depends on your outlook. An omission is a form of manipulative misinformation,

ARTWORK BY LIVIA TSANG

in essence: a lie. After all, what’s worse: telling a little bit of hurtful truth here or there, or casually getting others to do what you want by lying to them? Now the subject’s not so clear-cut is it?

Ironically enough, white lies can serve an ethical purpose. For instance, a parable from the Mahayana Buddhist school of thought illustrates this point in a story that involves a man and his three children: the familial quartet find themselves trapped in a burning house and the father, after failing to convince them to flee, coaxes them out of the house with promises of toy carts waiting for them outside – here’s to hoping his insurance will pay for the trip to Toys ‘R’ Us! Luckily enough, the children find the offer of free toys tempting enough to “risk” escaping the building. “See Mr. Magazine,” you’ll no doubt cry out, “lying can be good!” Perhaps some lies are justified, but most lies don’t save children from burning buildings. But lying about your grades to your parents is more analogous to lighting a fire, sitting back, and watching it blaze out of control.

The slightly obvious conclusion is, a little lie can either be good or bad – in light of both its intention and outcome. Sure,

they can be helpful by finding a way to avoid telling your friend that their breath stinks – seriously, can you hand the guy next to you a mint or something? – and go a long way to avoid tactlessly destroying a friendship. And your parents would be so much happier if they thought you aced that midterm. And that cute girl across the bar - well, how much could it hurt if she thought you were an Olympic rower?

I digress. The important thing is to know where to draw the line: and you too could employ white lies to have happy friends, happy parents and an angry girl throwing a drink in your face. Come on, you didn’t really think she’d buy that story about your physique, did you?

DID YOU KNOW?

As the title character in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks plays a simpleton who inserts himself into many significant historical events, such as Watergate, and who inspires the likes of Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

However, Hanks’ famous line (“Momma always said life was like a box of chocolates.

You never know what you’re gonna get.”) is misquoted from the original novel, written

by Winston Grooms. Grooms wrote, “Bein’ an idiot ain’t no box of chocolates.” Allegedly, Groom disliked the changes made in the film.

- Michael Teichman Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 9

RACHEL’S UNSENT LETTER Yardena Winegust

Note: This is a fictional letter based loosely on the accounts of my grandmother, who was a hidden child in France during the Second World War. This is what I envisioned my grandmother would have sent to her father, who was a prisonner of war.

Dear Papa,

I know a long time has passed since last seeing you, but I hope you are well.

Mama, Josette and I have moved very far from Paris to live with the Carpentier family. They’re very nice, and they have two children: a boy close to my age, and a girl. It’s very strange being so far from home. No passersby to say hello to me, no street music to lull me to sleep, and no vendors who know me by name.

When we got to the Carpentiers, Josette and I had to change our names so nobody would discover that they were hiding a Jewish family. Instead of being called Rachel Sosiewicz, I must answer to “Rachel Simon” and Josette is “Josette Simon”. But Josette doesn’t understand, being so little, and I have to be the older sister who looks out for her. Mama didn’t change her name. She pretends to be the Carpentiers’ housekeeper who cannot speak French.

Since coming here, we have had to live like the Carpentiers. Wherever Mme. Carpentier goes, we go. Wherever their son Jean-Marie plays, Josette and I play there too. Whenever M. Carpentier does farm work, we’re hiding in the haystacks. We cannot just stay in the house all the time living in fear. Mama even said to go out and enjoy the fresh air. One day, I was outside playing Leap Frog with Jean-Marie and his sister. We were jumping and laughing the whole time, having such a wonderful time, that I accidentally slipped and broke Jean-Marie’s arm! I felt terrible, and I thought that Mme. Carpentier would get angry. But, we just went to the hospital, Jean-Marie got a cast, and Mme. Carpentier acted like nothing happened.

It’s like I’m trapped in an ongoing game of pretend. For the past few Sundays, I’ve had to go to church with the Carpentiers. It was so strange! When I entered the building, I saw men and women draped in elaborate robes, stern-faced statues everywhere, and endless rows of seats. A woman crouched at a bench, counting what looked like beads on a string. Josette and I had to dress like all the other children. We were wearing long white dresses with flower crowns on our heads. It felt like we were going to prayer services. Yet, I had to act like the Carpentiers did: if they were praying and singing songs, then I had to mumble so it looked like I belonged.

One night, we heard that German soldiers were searching for families hiding Jews. Mme. Carpentier told Mama, Josette, and me to hide in the barn. The three of us ran off as quietly as possible. The barn smelled horrible— a mixture of animal excrement and hay. But we had no choice. We had to be brave and stay there for as long as we had to. Mama buried us completely in the hay and bade us to be quiet. Josette was a little bit fussy, but she has since gotten used to the routine. Being two years old, this is the only world she knows. I whispered some Yiddish songs to calm Josette, the ones you’d sing to me before I went to bed. I assured her this would be over soon but I didn’t believe my own words.

I think about when “over” will be. I want a normal life again. But I have to live a lie. I know this will be over soon, and when it is, we will all be back together.

I love you with all my heart, and I miss you.

Rachel

10 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

MEDIA MISINFORMATION Stephen Clare

E

veryone remembers the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi in Japan a few months ago. How could we not? The story was plastered over every newspaper and blared from every TV for weeks. However, the media went over the top, devolving into mass-hysteria. According to them, not only were the reactors overheating, nuclear Armageddon was imminent. Not only were radioactive particles airborne, they had the potential to travel across the ocean and spread around the globe. With each day of the crisis, the headlines got more sensational, heightening the concerns of the audience.

Why is the media so alarmist? This was not an isolated incident. There are countless examples of mainstream media corporations spreading disinformation and outright lies to make their stories more exciting.

The answer is simple. They are selling the news to us and they need to make it as exciting as possible. Take, for example, the avian flu.

Whenever an outbreak occurs, media outlets pounce on the story as “the next pandemic.” However, according to the World Health Organization only 330 people worldwide have died of bird flu in the last eight years. By comparison, between 250 000 and 500 000 people die every year of the regular ol’ flu. Similar cases of media hype are seen every time a scary new infectious disease makes an appearance.

Recall the SARS scare and swine flu.

Media corporations have a lot of power. We all depend upon newspapers and news reports to keep us up to date in a fastchanging, complicated world. As such, it is the media’s duty to disseminate accurate news Think, for a moment, of the influence the media holds. When it claims a pandem-

ic is imminent, people completely change their lives in response. They skip work, buy masks, stop going to public places, and stock up on food and medication, for example. The economy suffers appreciably.

Yet, despite these potentially damaging effects, stories are still embellished.

The media is selling the news to us, making it more interesting than it really is in

ARTWORK BY KEVIN DOOLEY (FLICKR)

order to keep us glued to the TV screen or buying the newspaper every day. Last February, for example, Fox News used misleading video footage to exaggerate the violence of a pro-union protest in Wisconsin. They were only caught because some wary viewer noticed palm trees in the background of the footage. If your U.S. geography is up to par, you will recognize that very few palm trees grow in Wisconsin.

Fox was using footage from more violent

protests in California.

That event was relatively harmless, but the misinformation gets more dangerous, especially when it affects coverage of high-profile crimes. In these instances, the media’s effect on public opinions can literally be a matter of life and death. We all experienced it recently regarding the Casey Anthony murder trial in which the defendant was alleged to have killed her two-year old daughter. In that case, television host Nancy Grace was a perfect embodiment of the media’s hyperbole and presumption during the trial.

Anthony was condemned long before the verdict was given by the jury. Every night her face was plastered over the news with the degrading nickname, “Tot Mom.” And the public got their information regarding the trial almost exclusively from the news. Few among us took the time to watch the trial personally and make our own judgements. When Anthony was found not guilty, the public outrage was evidence of the media’s unfair reporting.

Jim Morrison said “whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” It’s the news media’s job to bring the people the facts, and it’s the people’s job to interpret and make judgements on those facts. However, news media has become a lucrative business, making money from selling us the news. Can they be blamed for sometimes distorting the facts to make them a more interesting?

That’s debateable. Regardless, it happens, and it happens more often than you think.

That leaves it up to us to be skeptical of the news and make an effort to draw on others sources and our own common sense, especially in a world that moves as fast as ours.

Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 11

GREENER PASTURES

Asha Behdinan, Leila Gaind & Victoria McKinnon

W

e have been told countless times that free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and organic produce are the way to go, but to what extent is this claim actually true? A closer look at the underpinnings of food industry myths reveals the lies concealed therein.

Trouble at the Hen House In a poll sanctioned by the St. James Ethics Centre in 2010, 82.4% of those polled answered a resounding yes to the question: “If animals are to be farmed, then should all ‘factory farming’ be banned in favour of ‘free range farming’ techniques?” There can be no doubt that in recent years, popular opinion has been tending toward free range. Unfortunately, we may have all been duped. According to United Poultry Concerns (UPC), an activist group that campaigns against cruelty to chicken and other fowl, free-range is not all it is cracked up to be (no pun intended).

There are four major issues with chicken farming: debeaking, inhospitable living conditions, disposal of excess male chicks and inhumane butchering. It is easy to believe that “cage-free” and “free-range” labels on eggs that cost around 40 cents more per egg would come without the cruelty. This, unfortunately, is not the case. The term “free-range” suggests that the chicken was raised in open 12 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICKI VARKEVISSER

space without ever being caged. Due to a lack of legislated standards, however, up to 20,000 chickens are often packed together in these industrial hen houses. Technically, a chicken can be labeled “free range” as long as it was raised in a coop with a window. Moreover, removing the caging creates an additional problem. Without cages between them, the birds peck at each other. To prevent the “freerange” chickens from pecking one another to death, some factory farmers force them to go through the painful process of beak removal, which inhibits their ability to feed and preen.

They are allowed minimal time outside, and sometimes there is not even grass for them to eat, just a dirt field.

Chickens come in two varieties: layers, who lay eggs, and broilers, who are slaughtered for meat. Male chicks born from layer hens are neither suitable for meat or for egg production, and are thus killed at birth. Some are ground up, others are suffocated in garbage cans.

When free-range chickens are taken to the slaughter, their glory days of ‘ranging free’ are over. They are thrown into trucks along with battery-caged hens and brought to the butcher house, where they sit in cages awaiting the same cruel death as other commercially farmed chickens.

Beyond the Label: The Grass-Fed Revolution “The Grass-Fed Revolution” is a term coined by Time Magazine to describe the change in production methods occurring in the past century. With more and more people questioning the origins of their meat, many traditional farmers have been making adjustments to the way they run their farms.

What ‘grass-fed beef’ essentially means is that the cows have been left to graze on grass, and have not been given any antibiotics or hormones. This process is certainly an improvement on the practices of commercial feedlots, where cattle are fed on corn, grains and animal by-products. It is favoured because the administration of different chemicals ensures that cows grow more rapidly than they otherwise would and ultimately produce more meat. This, of course, is cheaper and more efficient than the grass-fed method, which is big-money corporations tend to faDID YOU KNOW?

Contrary to popular belief, bats are not actually blind. Though most use sound waves as their primary means of navigation, all bat species are capable of sight. Some even prefer night vision to sound. We didn’t need echolocation to see through that lie.

- Anthony D’Ambrosio

vour it. The downside is that it also involves some controversial and unnatural methods.

The question remains: how legitimate is the grass-fed industry? Although it is advertised as an environmentally sound, health conscious way of raising cattle, this can be easily proven false with a little research.For one, raising cattle is one of the biggest contributors to climate change because of the large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide it produces. Moreover, as an alternative mode of production, grass-feeding isn’t all that sustainable. Grass-fed cattle take up a lot more space than industrial-fed ones. If there were an overhaul of the cattle industry from industrial to grass-fed, cattle would soon overrun the countryside, and the whole industry would quickly collapse. The only way to keep the grass-feeding process going is to have it remain a niche market. Even so, many cattle on these small farms still endure the same hardships as their corn-fed counterparts, including forced impregnation and the horrors of the slaughterhouse - where cows are shocked, tied upside down and left to bleed to death. Last of all, though grass-fed beef is thought to be better for your health than corn-fed beef, it still contains a lot of saturated fat and hormones.

For concerned consumers, it’s important to look closely at food labels. Some say “grassfed” while others say “grass-finished”. Be wary of the latter term. “Grass finished” simply indicates that the cow has been fed grass prior to slaughter but may not have been raised on an all grass diet. All in all, neither grass-fed nor grain-fed methods of cattle-raising offer many benefits to the environment or to our health. There’s more to a product than its label.

The ‘100% Organic’ Myth People often turn to organic produce wanting to avoid ingesting the pesticides that often coat non-organic products. What they do not realize is that organic pesticides can also be quite dangerous. It has been seen that rotenone (a major organic pesticide) is a neurotoxin, causing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease; in fact, it is actually used as a poison by native tribes. These organic pesticides do not even have to undergo the battery of safety tests that non-organic pesticides are required to undergo. Remember, even if chemicals are “natural”, that does not mean they are safe.

What does it really mean when food products are labeled “organic”? In Canada, the U.S and the U.K, T:7.5” a product is considered ‘organic’ when 95% of its ingredients are

produced with minimal pesticides, growth hormones, and fertilizers. Products labeled as ‘100% organic’ are therefore something of a misnomer. Under the “Canada Organic” label, foods with less than 70 percent organic content must list their organic ingredients to claim they are organic. Consumers that buy foods “Made with Organic Ingredients” are often fooled into thinking they are buying organic when, in fact, they are not. It is important to fully understand what is meant organic produce labels so that we are not duped by misleading advertising.

Organic and free-range industries do a great job of marketing their products as beneficial to our health, the environment and the animals themselves. For the most part, the industry is profiting off of our ignorance. Unfortunately, it seems to be up to the consumer to scout out food that is truly free of pesticides and antibiotics.

DID YOU KNOW?

Have you heard that it takes seven years for swallowed gum to digest? If so, you have been misinformed. Chewing gum is virtually nonbiodegradable, but it passes through the digestive system at the same rate as anything else. I bet that’s a tough one to swallow.

- Anthony D’Ambrosio

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Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 13

ART SPREAD

14 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

ARTWORK BY LIVIA TSANG

BY LIVIA TSANG Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 15

BRIEF NEW WORLD LEVIATHAN Shawn Fazel, Columnist

T

homas Hobbes wrote in Chapter XIII of Leviathan: “Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.” Withforce as physical dominance and fraud as mental dominance, the use of the word “cardinal” was especially ambiguous, considering Leviathan’s aim was to discredit the Church’s stronghold on education and information.

The final book, Of the Kingdom of Darkness, doesn’t describe Hell, but instead the darkness of ignorance, as opposed to the light of true knowledge.

Hobbes attacks the Church for purposefully misinterpreting the scriptures – but more importantly, he lays blame on its followers for not realizing this: “The enemy has been here in the night of our natural ignorance.” Hobbes describes the means by which the Church controls information through the misrepresentation of the scriptures, stories of demons and the repression of knowledge and truth. While many would disagree with Hobbes’ view of “the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” I can find little argument against his views on human proneness to ignorance. The idea is omnipresent, like in Voltaire’s Candide, which shows us that “cultivat16 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

ing our garden” (in other words, tending to our own affairs while leaving larger concerns to others) ensures happiness, partly through ignorance and partly our small sense of achievement. Herman and Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent is especially relevant in today’s age of Facebook and Google, where all internet activity is monitored and turned into valuable data for marketers. Like slaughterhousebound pigs enjoying free meals and lodging, if you’re not paying for a service, then you’re not the consumer; you’re the product.

Members of the media, who occupy the place of social influence held by the Church during Hobbes’ time, do little to free your mind from control. They can withhold good information, or repeat bad information ad nauseam (Obama is a socialist), that is ad hominem (Obama is an evil socialist), appeals to authority , appeals to fear (“terrorists”) and appeals to prejudice (“axis of evil”). As students, we may believe we are capable of seeing through this, but we are not the norm of society. Critical thinking requires continuous effort. If you have enough mental energy to pick apart your news every night while working a full-time job and

raising two kids, then congrats: you’d probably be voting Ralph Nader if you lived in the U.S. (or you would have left).

In Canada, you may not have that many options.

Your news source is likely shaping its information so that you come to a predetermined conclusion, which you will believe is impartial and detached from any moral argument. Instead, your conclusion is based on a biased version of the facts and has already been “filtered” through the standard of morality of our state that will inevitably seep into you, whether you like it or not. Whether you get your news from BBC, CBC, FOX, Economist or Al Jazeera, the media is fighting for your mind so that they can have your money. From money, they can develop new instruments to get their message across. In the U.S., this problem is particularly visible, and it comes as no surprise that the Koch Industry, a multi-billion-dollar private energy conglomerate, is a financial supporter of the Tea Party. Despite the small size of the Tea Party movement, it has profited from huge free advertising from virtually every news source, to the extent that everyone in North America knows of them.

They fight for government deregulation of industry, meaning more opportunities to make money for companies, believing that the wealth generated by the multinationals will eventually “trickle down” to them (and “trickle-down” economics, as any economics student will tell you, are a complete falsehood). Essentially, this political movement is no different than any corporate operation, and the Tea Party members are the product (brains not included).

If we put this back into the context of Hobbes, then we find that the Church has transformed into the corporation.

Actually, they are one and the same and always have been: religion profited the Church, just as ideology today profits the corporation. Looking at it this way, it reminds us of Marx’s view of religion as the opium of the people. Marx puts it very elegantly: religion is but a creation of man to appease our desire for spiritual fulfillment. “It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality … The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions.”

Guy Debord later makes the analogy to marketing: as industries battle for our attention, they make us associate happiness with their products. We begin to look for this happiness through consuming, and the cycle continues. In many ways, consuming is our opium of the people.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World takes religion to a whole new level. A dystopia set in year 2019, where humans are bred in warehouses and raised to fulfil a predetermined social role and status. There is no religion of the state, but a drug called soma that plays the same role: it is a political tool that systematically drugs the population as “insurance against personal maladjustment, social unrest and the spread of subversive ideDID YOU KNOW?

Shaving does not cause terminal hair to grow back thicker or darker. Hair that has never been cut has a tapered end which shaving simply removes. It is the remaining, thicker shaft that creates the illusion of changed hair. Hopefully that misconception wasn’t too hairy to wrap your mind around.

- Anthony D’Ambrosio

as.” This turns Marx on his head; instead Today, we find false hope in religion of religion being the opium of the people, and consolation for our condition. “Hope opium becomes the religion of the peo- springs eternal from the human breast,” ple. The people willingly surrender their said Alexander Pope. If religion is dyability to think critically and are thereby ing out now, then it will be replaced by unable to hold their oppressors account- something equally revolting, perhaps a able. This is what Hobbes means by de- strong sense of individualism (Ayn Rand ception being fuelled by the ignorance style, God forbid), or sheer idiocy. Maybe of the audience. Propaganda in Brave we’re better off like Candide, tending to New World, however, does not only rely our own affairs. on misinformation, but instead exploits In his 1896 cycle of poems, A Shropman’s infinite appetite for distractions. shire Lad, A.E. Housman suggests we find We are addicted to distractions, and as consolation for the state of affairs in a students, we know this quite well. An- glass: other example would be the US invaAnd malt does more than Milton can sion of Iraq, even after the “evidence” of To justify God’s ways to man. weapons of mass destruction was found Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink to have been a lie. Are the people of the For fellows whom it hurts to think: USA holding their government accountLook into the pewter pot 40Crk_5x6.5_b&w_Sept11_fin_College Papers ad - b&w 14/09/11 11:34 AM Page 1 able?

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Fo rtyCreekWhisky.com Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 17

ANATOMICALLY INCORRECT Sam Godfrey

R

eading this issue of Incite may be enough to make a perfectly content individual such as yourself into a surly dried fruit of cynicism. “I can’t trust anyone except myself!” you may grumble as you eat your prunes while watching Wheel Of Fortune. Never fear: I’m here to tell you otherwise! I’m here to tell you that you can’t trust anyone, including yourself. You’d think that after a lifetime of knowing yourself, you could count on you when you need you most (you follow?). But the reality is that your body plays all sorts of tricks on you, anything from that feeling of falling when lying down, to unnoticed pregnancies, and “locked-in syndromes.”

First there are the Dennis the Menaceesque tricks: temporary paralysis, out-of-body experiences, lucid dreams, and that pesky-yetkind-of-fun feeling of falling just as you’re dozing off. As you may have noticed, all of these things happen most often just as you’re about to slip into sweet sleep. This pre-unconscious state is called hypnagogia and is responsible for a whole mess of corporeal deceptions. Sleep paralysis occurs just as someone is about to fall asleep or just after one has woken up, and is caused by either an early onset of REM or a REM cycle that has persisted into your conscious state, respectively.

This paralysis lasts a mere moment but is sometimes accompanied by a perceived difficulty in 18 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

ARTWORK BY BRIANNA SMRKE

breathing, imaginary sights and sounds, and superfluous emotion. It is most likely the culprit for people’s accounts of alien abductions. As for the oh-lord-almighty-I’m-hurtling-to-my-surely-untimely-death feeling, it turns out that your body is actually trying to help you out! These spasms are called hypnic myoclonic twitches and they occur in response to your brain interpreting your muscles relaxing as a sign that you are falling, and so it attempts to save you by activating them.

But hypnic twitches are about to seem pretty dull, as do most things when compared to (surprise!) pregnancy. Unnoticed gestation is actually relatively common. More than 1 in 500 pregnancies go unnoticed until four to five months along, and you – assuming of course that you have the proper parts for baby-carrying – are three times more likely to carry to full term unawares than to give birth to triplets. To represent that statistic in a more meaningful way: if you know a set of triplets, then you probably know three people whose mothers were ignorant of their existence until labour!

Alternatively, there are cases in which a woman who is not any more pregnant than I am – and I’m not, just to be clear – is convinced that she is with child. These are called hysterical pregnancies, named after the ‘feminine’ affliction of hysteria. False pregnancies, as they are

also called, are the result of abrupt hormonal changes which bring about symptoms similar to those of pregnancy, although they can also be entirely psychological in origin. Occasionally, an intense want for, or an intense fear of pregnancy may also bring about these deceptive endocrinal changes. Isn’t the body ironic in its cruelty?

And finally, at the extreme end of the body’s practical joke spectrum, we find lockedin syndrome, or for the particularly pretentious: erebromedullospinal disconnection or Eingeschlossensein (the pronunciation of which may have unpleasant consequences). Those afflicted with locked-in syndrome have no motor function, except for that of the eyes – they can perceive everything, but can do nothing. This is caused by damage to the lower brain, leaving the upper regions unaffected. This is why the individual retains perfect cognitive function, but is condemned to paralysis. Unfortunately, there is currently no known cure, or even effective treatments, for this condition. Though curiously they managed to do it on House…

As you may have gathered, your body is a conniving little bugger, probably bitter about those all-nighters, deep-fried ice creams, and sporadic treadmill visits. I suppose you could try to appease it by treating it with a little more tact and respect. But for now: more Wheel of Fortune.

PHILOSOPHICAL PRAGMATISM

Devin Ridley & Shen Storm (with contributions from Matthew Ing)

T

his article isn’t about ways in which lying can be justified using complex logic, words that only philosophers know, or some amazing leaps of faith that would make Evel Knievel say: “Whoa, that looks like a big gap there.” Instead, we’d like to talk to you about the “grey areas” in lying and how a little piece of philosophical history just might clarify our understanding.

The concept is pragmatism, first popularized by famed psychologist and philosopher William James as a way to reconcile the claims of religion and morality on one hand, and science on the other. Pragmatists reject objective, absolute truths. Instead, a fact is true so long as believing in it will yield beneficial consequences. In the words of James, “Whatever works, is likely true.” As with telling your kids that Santa Claus exists, belief in God is justified if it makes the believer happy or emotionally fulfilled. Insofar as there are no practical differences between adhering to scientific or religious explanations, there is no conflict.

It is commonly understood that lying is the communication of something you believe is false. In fact, truth is an essential part of lying.

Without truth, there could be no lying. So then, what is truth? There are many different ways of thinking about it, but western society relies primarily on the scientific method to uncover and

ARTWORK BY MARK BELAN

convey truth. Adhering to empirical theory, scientific truth is obtained through systematic observation and measurement of phenomena to test hypotheses. Pragmatism has been described as a “laboratory philosophy” because if the hypothesis is not true, then the experiment will fail to produce the predicted sensory effect.

In everyday life, we usually just consider what we observe to be true.

But let’s consider the implications of a situation where perceptions do not align: my parents own a dresser that my mother claims is blue and my father insists is green. A scientist would argue that science removes much of the bias of human perception, but the scenario poses a daunting realization: if we don’t perceive things in the same way, then relying on our powers of observation to identify universal truths is perhaps not as simple, or even as feasible, as we might think. If our perceptions aren’t accurate to some degree, then to what degree are they accurate?

However, if we doubted the reality of our senses, we’d be plunged into a realm of hopelessness that is reserved only for mornings when we wake up and realize that we’ve somehow run out of coffee. Abandoning our senses would mean abandoning everything that results from them, including science. So, what is left to us? Well, aside from adopting Vulcan

values and viewing the world entirely through a logical lens, we are left with philosophical pragmatism. Doubt must remain in the back of our minds, and truth becomes whatever works best for our individual purposes.

And there we have it. Given the variable nature of perception, the world is open to interpretation. The dresser is as truly blue for my mother as it is green for my father. The pragmatic truth is highly mutable. A belief remains true only for as long as it continues to benefit its beholder. In this light, the lie is paradoxically the individual (or even ultimate) truth. The lie is truthful so long as believing in it delivers satisfactory results. When it falls short, it is simply replaced by a more efficient lie. The logic is consistent because the pragmatic truth is contingent upon whatever works. Though we have to be careful, the application of philosophical pragmatism in the “real” world could spiral out of control to justify immoralities, especially by those with political teeth.

But for the little things – when you are caught at the crossroads of honesty and kindness: “Honey, how does this dress look on me?”

– adopt the truth with the most positive outcome.

“Well sweetie, perspective is relative. All that really matters is what you think.”

Hey, whatever works.

Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 19

LIARS WITHOUT BORDERS Stephanie Wan

T

ARTWORK BY JOSHUA LEWIS

he time that my parents told me that my belly-up fish Perky was simply “taking a nap,” or the time that they tried to explain why I couldn’t attend Aunt Margaret’s bachelorette party, they were lying. Fabricating. Fibbing.

And looking back on these moments, I realize that no one ever had the satisfaction of announcing, “Aha! I caught you!” and smugly wagging an index finger in their faces. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to watch my parents buckle under the sheer pressure of having to produce another lie to cover up the first. I used to justify this ‘responsible-lying’ as possibly an ‘Asian’ thing my family does. And in many ways, I was right. But around the world, different cultures lie in the name of protection – from casual trivialities like “tastes rustic” instead of the really tempting “tastes like rust”, to more serious matters of preserving the bonds of friendship. But if socially acceptable lies DID YOU KNOW?

Napoleon Bonaparte was not particularly short. Though it is recorded that he was 5 feet 2 inches, this was in French units and corresponds to 5 feet 6.5 inches international feet, which was an average height at the time.

- Anthony D’Ambrosio 20 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

are embedded into the workings of every culture, when is honesty a good policy?

In Japan, certain conventions are used to cover up lies. The Japanese even have a saying that “lying is another dialect.” In fact, some physicians in Japan have brought lying into the clinical context. A doctor may diagnose a terminal patient with a less severe disease upon the request of patient’s family if they wish for them to die in peace. Other social lies are more implicit, using phrases that both parties mutually accept or acknowledge as lies. For example, it is often by using stock lies, such as shukadai (homework), that Japanese people tell a friend that they can’t make it to their next party. The liar understands that they will be found out, yet the etiquette of lying makes the act acceptable, even noble. This is quite a contrast from the natural laws of the playground, where kids immediately harmonize to “liar liar pants on fire”, and use it as a weapon of shame.

We see the same pattern of politeness in the Middle East where some values simply cannot be meaningfully compared to western ones. Upon meeting a friend at a café in Tehran, it is common to greet them with “nokaretam”, which

translates literally to “I am your slave.”

But don’t hop on the next flight to Iran just yet; nobody will be putting on shackles and washing your dishes. Instead, it carries a deeper meaning of utmost sacrifice and benevolence. Ironically, lying in Tehran adds a measure of respectability to your character. But is it really lying when those you lie to know exactly what you mean?

As westerners, we are too quick to label unauthentic phrases like “How was your summer?” or “How have you been?” as small talk. I think this is erroneous: calling this type of talk “small” is not necessarily true. It is the way in which most conversations start, and they may even lead to more profound or intimate discussion. In this sense, unauthentic platitudes may be used as a stepping stone towards a more genuine conversation. A bit of insincere interest may lead to some longthirsted-for, meaningful truth.

It seems that from Tehran to Tokyo, the fabric of social interactions is threaded with dishonesty. No matter what culture you hail from, these lies perpetuate our systems of collective existence and, oddly enough, add a measure of stability, dignity, and predictability to our lives.

BEING KACPER Kacper Niburski

M

y father spoke the only truth that I have ever heard in my life. It was a rainy day. My mother was crying. I asked her why.

She said because the weather was making her cry. I asked my dad why that would make her cry.

He said, we are all born liars.

That got me thinking.

See, I always thought I was born an honest guy. More importantly, I thought I was born a ‘Kacper’, as if somehow my name was etched on my forehead with invisible ink that only my parents could read.

But what my dad was trying to tell me, I now know, was that I was switched up at birth with Oskar, my twin brother – that I’m not really Kacper, but Oskar. All these years, I have been wrong about my own name.

In fact, as I age, I’m finding out I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. Either that, or I’m just lying about a lot of things. If there’s a difference between the two, I don’t know it.

That was probably why my mom was crying. Purposefully calling someone by the wrong name for years can be hard on a person. I don’t mind it. I should’ve told my mom, “Don’t cry, mother. Being Kacper has its perks.”

The first benefit is that I can always be remembered. Teachers, friends, and enemies alike associate my name with the infamous, undead Casper. They ask, “Are you friendly?” It doesn’t help that

I have pale skin that nearly makes me transparent.

Boy, each time a witty bastard says it, you bet your ass that I laugh like it is the first time I heard the joke. Pretending to laugh is a great feeling – almost as good as the real thing. I always

ARTWORK BY LIVIA TSANG

just shake my head like a shy schoolgirl would when she’s being asked about liking a boy or not. I even blush.

Sometimes, though, when people glare at me with their beady eyes as if I were a window, a mirror image of my brother, a name and nothing more, I feel like a ghost.

And yet — if you’d believe it — there is something great about being Kacper; I am unique. No one has such a wonderful name. Kacper. No matter how you say it, even if mispronounced, there is a sweet ring to it. ‘Kac-scar’, ‘Kap-er’, the rumblings of the tongue roll on like a sonnet to my ears. Even Kil-pear, once spoken by drunken bards, sounds like fruity murder, and I mean, who doesn’t like to be fruity from time to time?

On top of that, I have a scar on my

face. The entire identity of me, Kacper, is built up on that scar. Without the scar, well, I would just look like Oskar, and trust me, that isn’t a good thing.

Sharing a few genes is enough. Most of his jeans don’t even suit me anyways.

It is because of the scar that I am who I am. It gives me a mysterious air. With one look at the gash spread across my face, some think that I could be a badass kickyou-in-yourface-if-youmess-with-him kinda’ guy. Others think that I am just a poor misunderstood soul who had ended up on the wrong street at the wrong time.

In between a person’s best guess and wildest fantasy, I find myself, whatever that means. I am Kacper – liar or not, despite what my father had said.

No one else could ever be me, except of course, my twin.

Oh brother.

DID YOU KNOW?

Who doesn’t love Spider-Man and a catchy inspirational quote? Luckily, the good people at Marvel have provided, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This quotation is credited to Uncle Ben Parker, dating back to 1962, when Spider-Man first appeared in comics. Appearing as a caption of narration, voiced by Uncle Ben, it wasn’t an actual spoken line by any characters in the story. In most of Spider-Man’s later portrayals, including the 2002 film, the actual quotation was used in Uncle Ben’s final lecture to Peter Parker and would later provide inspiration to the superhero.

- Michael Teichman Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 21

HATE THE GAME Lily Hastings

T

he club is so loud I can barely hear. Big C and I are yelling at each other, but we may as well be whispering.

“Blonde. Hair. Go. Team.” is all I hear from his end. I see the girl he’s talking about 15 feet away.

She’s tall, thin but curvy, and blonde.

I’d been sneaking glances since I arrived. It was part of Big C’s plan, and I knew it was going to work. It always did, and that was the beauty of his technique. He didn’t need to yell for me to hear the next thing he said. He always gave me The Look: the indication that I was to start walking halfway to The Target, make eye contact, and promptly turn around to talk to another girl. The trick was to stare her right in the eye so that she knew I was interested, and then make her think she wasn’t good enough. It never failed. I weave my way through the crowded dance floor and catch her eye. She stares right at me, drink in hand, while her friend talks on. I hold her gaze for a few seconds and then turn right around to the girl next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I know The Target is still staring at me. Perfect.

Big C is here. There is no doubt in my mind he’s here to get back at me, but how did he find me? I scope out his new recruit: tall and dark haired, face is so-so. Too bad he’s not getting anywhere tonight. He’s still naive enough to think The Technique always works. He’s doing Big C’s trademark: the look from afar and the subsequent 22 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICKI VARKEVISSER

deflection. Later he’ll look at me and walk over halfway, expecting me to meet him. Maybe I’ll indulge him. I give my shirt a little downward tug and toss my hair coyly. My Co-Femme is beside me, keeping up appearances.

“Is he doing the Half-Walk?” she asks. I nod in response. “Take the bait. Make Big C think he’s got you, then shatter this kid’s act. I’ll hold down the fort here. You know the signal if you need help.” I touch her arm slowly head over to the kid.

She’s walking towards me. Time for the Conversation Sandwich: Compliment, insult, compliment. She’ll be begging for me in minutes.

“I noticed you from across the room. I think it’s your hair; it’s so shiny and healthy. I think it needs to be dyed again soon, though. But that’s a great colour.” She laughs.

“I’m Samantha.”

“Peter.” I’ve been using fake names for a while now, but they never quite seem to fit right in my mouth. “So are you here looking to meet guys? A girl as pretty as you are shouldn’t be so desperate. You can do a lot better, you know. Like me.”

This guy has Big C’s routine memorized, word for word. I can’t believe he hasn’t changed it in two years. I think after I played him he wanted to prove that he could finally pull his shit on me. I wish he’d give up. I smile and listen to that stupid Insult Hug or

whatever Big C called it. I roll my eyes.

“I need a smoke.” I brush the kid aside and walk out. I sit down and reach for my lighter. I turn around and the kid is still there. I wish he’d leave me alone. If he wasn’t so goddamned persistent he’d be pretty cute.

I wonder what his Kill Count is.

“Can I bum a light?” I can’t believe she didn’t go for it. Thirty-six other girls have begged for me after one sentence. She’s the first I’ve ever lost.

I’m bringing out the heavy guns, the final tricks.

I’m not losing this one. Before I met Big C, I’d only ever slept with one girl. I’m not going back to that.

The kid sits down beside me and I give him my lighter. I can see him running over his next steps in his mind: he’ll probably pull out some bullshit stat about dating or sex and wait for me to refute him, or he’ll ask me about my feelings.

He’s got this all choreographed. I see him calculating, and when he’s about to speak I stand.

“You know, you’re a good rookie and all, but girls really don’t respond well to criticism about their hair. Try the outfit. It’s less personal.”

I stomp my cigarette out, “Oh, and tell Big C his shtick really needs work. It’s not the ‘90s anymore.”

My Co-Femme is standing by the car. My heels click down the sidewalk as I head over to her.

The street is loud but I still hear his jaw drop.

FEMME FATALE Anqi Shen

F

rom classical literary figures to contemporary pop culture icons, femmes fatales have made their mark on art, history, media, and the imagination. This archetype has become both symbolic of women’s resistance to the confines of both patriarchally structured society and the nuclear family, and as one of the most popular emblems of the modern female celebrity (some stars strive to attain its status even after they have fallen ie., through eponymous albums). Although society at large has come to identify this character as the pinnacle of seduction and temptation, some wonder: “Whatever happened to the femme fatale?”

Historically, both in film and mythology, the femme fatale has used charm, deception, and in some cases even supernatural powers to lead her lovers to their demise.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the film noir industry capitalized on the scandalous side of the femme fatale, reinventing her as a disillusioned woman who resorted to deceit and base sexual wiles to ‘break free’ of social and marital confinement. Some well-known noir actresses have included Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, and Theda Bara, the latter of which was often hailed as the first onscreen femme fatale for her role in A Fool There Was (1915).

Film noir drew inspiration from the early cinema of this period, which gave rise to a dark, erotic vampiric figure who still mesmerizes teen audiences today.

Characterized by her dark eyes, red lips, and provocative dress, the all-too-familiar Old Hollywood image of the femme fatale was meant to invoke a sense of both mistrust and

irrepressible curiosity. The male protagonist in Double Indemnity, a 1944 noir film, describes the femme’s mysterious gaze and betrays his failing: “I was thinking about that dame upstairs and the way she had looked at me. I wanted to

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICKI VARKEVISSER

see her up close.” Just as her appearance is hypnotizing, it has been captivating and influencing large audiences for decades. The late 1950s, for instance, saw peak levels of female smokers: 44 per cent of British women and 33 per cent

of American women were lighting cigarettes, in large part due to the femme fatale’s role in promoting (whether inadvertently or not) cosmopolitanism, glamour, and liberation from societal expectations of women.

Similar to the way her appearance helps to construct an exuberant sexuality, the femme fatale’s craftiness and inscrutability are equally self-defining. She is often featured in espionage thrillers, murder mysteries, and detective tales, from older classics like Sherlock Holmes to more recent box-office hits like Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Kill Bill. The deceptiveness of the femme fatale, though dubious in ethical nature, qualifies her as both a heroine and an anti-heroine. While she is often portrayed as relentless and sinister, she also possesses a certain vulnerability that does not make her immune to her own deceptions and deadliness.

The recently recreated femme fatale is arguably more aggressive and less reliant on her male counterparts, with Uma at the extreme of examples. At the same time, she seems to lack whatever mysteries had existed before, choosing instead to portray a familiar yet wholly unhidden sense of rebellion, a new look that perhaps changes the nature of her allure I begin to wonder, has the femme fatale become just another catchphrase tossed around in reviews and movie-jabber? Or has she faded away with all of the class and glamour of Old Hollywood? While some see a re-invention of the femme fatale as a reflection of shifts in societal attitudes about gender, others – the romantics – are still stuck on the old-Hollywood version—smoke rings, melodrama and all.

Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 23

SOME WORDS TO SAVOUR Kate Sinclair

ARTWORK BY JOSHUA LEWIS

24 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

Dank Plop Ferment Perturbation Salami Bologna Bulbous Oily

Crusty Crotch Boil Moist Flaking Constipated Corpuscular Ameliorate

Rank Bulge Greasy Canker Grotto Orifice Pore Wipe Tube Bulk Hammy

Clammy Pit Acrid Incubate Squelch Pustule Fondle Booger Undulate Squish Ointment

Architecture Political Management Infrastructure Protection and International Security

Journalism Sustainable Energy

Human-Computer Interaction Chemistry Biomedical Engineering Cultural Mediations

Environmental Engineering

International Affairs Legal Studies

Music and Culture Religion in Public Life

Women’s and Gender Studies Business Administration Cognitive Science Computer Science Design Biology Earth Science Geography Information and Systems Science Mathematics Neuroscience Physics Social Work Public Administration Electrical and Computer Engineering Public Policy Management Civil Engineering French and Francophone Studies Materials Engineering Public History Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies Economics Communication European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies Geography Political Science Sociology Art History English Philosophy Anthropology Canadian Studies Psychology History Film Studies Aerospace Engineering Political Economy Mechanical Engineering Technology Innovation Management

ARTWORK BY JOSHUA LEWIS

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Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 25

ROLE PLAYING: LIES IN FILM AND TV

Zane Andres, Stephen Clare, Dylan Hickson & Jane van Koeverden ARTWORK BY MARK BELAN

The Invention of Lying (2009) Imagine a world in which everyone is brutally honest. Dates begin with an honest appraisal of each partner. People are regularly reminded by their coworkers that they are hated. Sympathy is unheard of. Empathy is rare. Everyone is self-absorbed and petty.

This cruel world is the setting of Ricky Gervais’ and Matthew Robinson’s film The Invention of Lying. That is, until one man “invents” the ability to lie.

The word “invents” is used loosely; it is more of an isolated, spontaneous occurrence. Mark Bellison (Gervais), a lowly screenwriter of little talent, is the recipient of this gift. One day he is at the bank, withdrawing money, and finds himself suddenly able to lie about the amount of cash in his account. Since lying does not exist in the world, the clerk takes Mark’s word to be an absolute truth, and gives him more money than he actually has.

Mark quickly finds that his ability to “say things that are not” gives him considerable power. He can convince women to sleep with him by telling them the world will end if they don’t. He can persuade dying seniors that there is a wonderful afterlife. He can sell his scripts by assuring his clients that they are literally the best 26 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ October 2011

screenplays ever written.

Of course, things quickly spiral out of control in an all-too-predictable series of increasingly ridiculous untruths. This predictability is the movie’s main flaw. It is not especially surprising when Mark’s lies get more and more grand until he ends up inventing an entire religion. There’s also a romantic subplot thrown in, just to make sure all the clichéd bases are covered.

I was also disappointed that the movie never quite explored the full philosophical implications of its premise. There are winks and nods, especially regarding Mark’s religious fabrications, but they are quite subdued. That said, it’s a comedy, meant to make the viewers laugh, not question the nature of their reality. And it is funny. Too many of the jokes come across as uncomfortably contrived (sometimes there’s a difference between being honest and being rude), but the cast is talented enough to make most of them work. Gervais is his usual amusing self, portraying Mark with just enough forlorn resignation to make him believable. Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Louis C.K., and Jonah Hill also make notable appearances, completing the movie’s best scenes. Garner is especially good as Anna, Mark’s love interest.

It’s not brilliant cinema, too often falling for lowest common denominator humour, but The Invention of Lying has its bright spots, and held my attention long enough to get me involved in the ridiculous world it envisions. It won’t change your life, but it might make you chuckle.

- SC Jim Carrey: The Man Behind The Mask Throughout the last two decades, the comedy scene of Hollywood has been dominated by Jim Carrey’s explosive acting, He says, “yeah I’m emotional, I’ve decided to be there. I only act in movies.” From a young age, Carrey used comedy as a means of dealing with the challenges he faced: poverty, a sick mother, and depression. The use of humour as a means of disguise is evident in many of the roles Carrey has played over the years.

Carreyʼs breakout film, The Mask, is entirely based on the premise of hiding your personal problems behind a facade of uninhibited comedy and flare. He plays Stanley Ipkiss, an average guy who finds himself stepped on and degraded by almost everyone around him. One night he comes upon a mask floating in a river, which completely transforms him into a crazy, mischievous

party-goer. Enjoying the newfound respect and good fortune the mask brings him, Stanley loses perspective and lets the situation get out of hand. He soon finds himself hunted by a number of people. Hilarity ensues, but eventually Stanleyʼs love interest, Tina Carlyle, shows him that he doesnʼt need the mask. He finally gains the selfconfidence, self-worth, and self-respect to throw it back into the river.

Further along in his career, Carrey landed the role of Fletcher Reede, a successful lawyer who built his career on lies and deceit in the movie Liar Liar. As beneficial as his lifestyle is to his career, it wreaks havoc on his family life and Fletcher is soon separated from his wife and son. His son Max, fed up with his father’s behaviour, makes a birthday wish that for one day, Fletcher could not lie. Through the magic of birthdays, this wish comes true, and Fletcher struggles for 24 hours, incapable of telling a lie. As Fletcher becomes more and more desperate to pull his life together, he realizes how lying has torn apart what he really cares about and he promises Max never to tell a lie again.

The roles that Carrey has taken in his rise to fame seem to mirror his own need to hide behind a character. His career was built off of a wild and physical comedy routine that has developed into a strong acting performance, as some of his more recent movies show. In an interview with CBS in 2004, he revealed his thoughts on his own problems and the ways he deals with them.

As his acting evolved, so did Carreyʼs perspective on his own life and how it should be lived. He says, “Just be in the moment.

And live now. Because this is all there is.

And enjoy now like a child. And be your authentic self.”

- DH Catch Me If You Can (2002) Catch Me if You Can is a hybrid criminal and comedy film, starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks and directed by Stephen Spielberg. DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr., who, as a young man, engaged in a life of deceit and forgery. The ever-enjoyable Tom Hanks plays FBI Agent Carl Hanratty who is tasked with tracking down Abagnale. The film follows the manhunt and Abagnale’s various stints posing as a Pan America pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. However, things begin to go wrong for Abagnale when the life of loneliness and lies gets to him. The chase between the two main characters becomes less about the

crime and more of a rivalry – an elaborate game of cat and mouse. At one point Abagnale meets and falls in love with Brenda, played by a then-relatively unknown Amy Adams. The two almost get married, but Abagnale admits his true life style to her and is almost caught by the FBI as a result. As seems to happen often in the film, truth-telling yields negative results. Abagnale’s chase around the world is exciting; he’s portrayed as a free spirit and he gives the movie a sense of action. But he only achieves this through a life of deceit, because honesty would just pin him down.

The real Frank Agabnale Jr. later started his own fraud-prevention firm and now makes millions of dollars a year. So I’m not really sure what the message of the film is supposed to be. Lying gets you everything in life? Engage in a life of deceit and fraud and everything will work out for you in the end? Stealing millions of dollars and endangering the lives of many (considering he pretended to be both a pilot and a doctor)?

Maybe I’m reading too much into it and should enjoy it simply as a comedy but this has always bothered me every time I watch the film. At any rate I do enjoy the film and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.

- ZA The Fifth Estate: “Enemies of the State” (2010) “Enemies of the State” was originally broadcast in October 2010 as an episode of the much-loved Canadian television show, The Fifth Estate. Journalist Linden MacIntyre, conducted an investigation on PROFUNC; a top-secret government-initiated program that was carried out in Canada from 1950 to 1983. PROFUNC’s main purpose was to keep detailed records of known Canadian Communists and their families. There were also comprehensive plans to intern these individuals, but no evidence suggests that a single incarceration ever took place. As MacIntyre says at the end of the programme: “officially, it never happened.”

PROFUNC was created in response to the Cold War and continued for 33 years in the name of national security. MacIntyre unearthed thousands of names of suspected communist supporters from the PROFUNC files, including Tommy Douglas, the father of public health-care. What is most shocking about these revelations is the degree of intimate information contained in the dossiers: particulars included, age, photographs, physical descriptions, cars, addresses, and potential exits for escape.

Throughout the episode, MacIntyre references what is likely the most common form of government deception: lying by omission. He talks frankly of CSIS, the RCMP, the Canadian Revenue Agency and other government-run organizations that quietly gathered and exchanged data on Canadian citizens. MacIntyre makes the point that, despite a public show of authority by the police force, the real security is going on behind the scenes, unknown to most Canadians. The PROFUNC program is just one example of this. It was presented in true Fifth Estate style. A dramatically grave tone was set from the beginning to reify the draconian nature of the PROFUNC program. At times the dramatics were almost trite and worked against the solemnity that MacIntyre was trying to convey. But there was also a distinct earnestness about the piece, reminding us of the wrongdoings that the authorities had committed against innocent civilians. It felt like an appeal to every man and woman to investigate the injustices for his or herself. To strengthen this appeal, MacIntyre introduces political activist Stefan Christoff towards the end of the program. Christoff had become aware of CSIS’ interest in him after they interrogated many of his friends. A nice shot of Christoff playing the piano, accompanied by his poet friend on acoustic guitar, added to the image of the innocent dissenter.

Overall, the programme was highly informative and more unsettling. As MacIntyre frequently iterates, the PROFUNC files are not common knowledge amongst the population. It is evident that Canada was not immune to fears of Soviet infiltration during the Cold War. If your interests lie in government cover-ups and Canadian history, then it is an excellent way to spend 45 minutes. The episode can be accessed on the CBC website.

- JvK DID YOU KNOW?

The beginning of school marks the end of summer’s warmth and the start of the cold seasons, and the primary objectives for many become staying warm and evading illness. The importance of one’s health seems amplified in university, as the inability to study or attend a test has a direct connection with our future success. We’ve heard our mothers suggest many ways of preventing colds, such as drinking orange juice or wearing hats. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that most heat is not lost from the head and orange juice is not effective against colds.

- Gordon Laing Volume 14, Issue 1 ▪ Incite Magazine ▪ 27

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