the DEBATE 3
the newspaper University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly
March 3, 2011
Vol. XXXIII N0. 1
Munk Centre Research Group GC hopefuls talk reviews G8 pledges platforms at KEY FINDINGS Elections Townhall
The G8 Research Group, based at UofT’s Trinity College and the Munk School of Global Affairs, has released an Interim Compliance Report outlining the progress of G8 countries in complying with the key promises they made during last June’s summit in Muskoka. Formed in 1987, the G8 Research Group is a large network of scholars, professionals and students aiming to give an independent analysis of the G8 and its accomplishments, or lack thereof, over time. Their regular compliance reports rely entirely on publicly available materials and information. To help focus the latest report’s findings, 18 specific commitments deemed to be the highest priorities were selected for analysis out of more than 70, among them health care funding, food and agriculture, terrorism, and climate change. The findings assess compliance
Canada placed first in compliance with stated goals, tied with the European Union, followed in second place by Russia.
Canada scored -1 (no action taken) on its commitments to reduce carbon emissions. Commitments on Health Care Funding were most neglected, with most countries taking no action. Overall compliance was highest for terrorism- and securityrelated areas.
up to February 8th of this year, and are presented on a scale from +1 (full compliance) to -1 (no action taken). This time around, Canada has found itself at the top of
the country rankings, having followed through with most of their stated commitments, despite conspicuously taking no action towards their pledges on the reduction of mid-term carbon emissions. In second place, somewhat surprisingly, was Russia, which usually ranks between sixth and eighth. “Russia is the outlier in these findings,” explains G8 Research Group chair Netila Demneri. “The average compliance of the rest of the countries has not deviated much from their historical interim trends. On average in the last five interim reports, Canada, the UK and the EU have scored within the first three places.” As a group, the G8 achieved a score of +0.41, up from +0.33 this time last year. As Demneri notes, the findings also show that “the compliance gap between members has decreased compared to previous interim reports, which means that G8 members are being more com-
MART´IN WALDMAN
MARTÍN WALDMAN
MARTÍN WALDMAN On Monday night, Sid Smith hall hosted a sparsely attended town hall meeting for the upcoming Governing Council student governors. A chance at winning an iPod shuffle in an end-of-night raffle was not enough to lure more than a small handful of attendees to
Continued on page 2
the event, besides the mediators and candidates. Led by Antonin Mongeau, alumni chair of UofT’s French club (EFUT), the meeting quickly turned over to the town hall panel, composed of ASSU president Gavin Nowlan, The Varsity Continued on page 2
UTGA, 2.0 General Assembly picks up steam at latest meeting
HELENE GODERIS
MARTÍN WALDMAN
Students from the Faculty of Music warm up for their lobby concert of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition, arranged by Faculty Professor Richard Marsella (pictured leaning contemplatively at the piano).
The UofT General Assembly convened for its second meeting on Tuesday night. A large and diverse group of people filed into OISE’s main auditorium to update the goals and action plans outlined in the inaugural meeting, and keep up the momentum that had been gathered. The Steering Committee, UTGA’s administrative branch,
had organized the latest meeting and presented the assembly with draft proposals of organizational practices and procedures, as well as a basis of unity and a set of overarching principles for the assembly itself. The agenda and draft proposals were to be discussed and approved in the first hour of the three that had been scheduled, leaving the bulk of the meeting for discussions and presentations by working Continued on page 2
the news Elections
2
March 3, 2011
Continued from page 1
associate news editor Dylan C. Robertson, and student governor Joeita Gupta. The panelists alternated questions for the candidates present, covering a variety of pressing issues facing student governors in upcoming years, such as:
the newspaper creating special moments since 1978.
HART HOUSE HAIR PLACE Finest Cutting and Style Colour and Highlights
What remedies would you offer for the troubled state of UofT’s finances? This question brought forth various suggestions. Jorge Prieto called for a strategy to lobby government, coupled with more efforts to attract private donations. Aly Madhavji pointed to poor management and careless investments by the university for the current financial problems, calling for more sound internal policies, while Morgan Vanek outlined a general disagreement with any corporate influence on campus via private donations, and called for strategic targeting of donations along with government lobbying and an accountability process. What campus space poli-
cies would you advocate for? Candidates generally agreed on the need for changes to the university’s current policy. Maria Pilar Galvez in particular noted the lack of consultation in formulating the campus space policy last October, and called for free space for all campus groups. Galvez also pointed to a recent agreement between UTSU and the Faculty of Physical Education and Health as an example of successful efforts. Another candidate, Nicholas Gan, noted the need to address the underlying philosophical problems of the unversity’s current policy.
of students today as well as decades from now. The Governing Council is a long-term body, and that solutions must address the future. Both Jorge Prieto and Brian Kerr stated that success will come with identifying common and coinciding interests, and that the goals of student constituencies and the university are not mutually exclusive.
How would you balance the goals of student constituencies with the goals of the university? Incumbent student governor Olivier Sorin noted that there is a fine balance to be found between the two, and that governors must keep in mind that they are serving the interests
While several other questions were raised, the majority were met with similar responses from the candidates. There appeared to be a general agreement on the importance of voting as a united block when necessary, and the recent 42-8 vote at a GC meeting was discussed as a particularly important example of student solidarity. Following a brief but animated Q&A session, the moderators, candidates and others were left to converse, with many discussions surely focusing on how to better engage students in the important democratic decisions left in their hands.
from one speaker. The suggestion to include “anti-capitalist” in the UTGA’s basis of unity was perhaps most divisive, drawing hearty applause from some, and frustrated criticism from others. The working groups were eventually able to convene and announce, for example, plans for an anti-corporatization leafletting session, and co-operation with student unions for a flat fees strike vote. UofT grad student Ryan Culpepper summed up the challenges faced by the assembly in its early stages. “The UTGA is a big experiment, to see how we can govern ourselves without looking to other bodies,” he explains. “Self-governance is not
something we’re taught or really equipped to do, but we’re seeing working groups get organized, and planning meetings in the coming weeks. We can see action coming out of this.” The many disagreements raised through the course of the assembly illustrate that the UTGA is by no means an ideologically or philosophically uniform body. Even so, the constructive, albeit delayed, discussions by the various working groups, and general air of consensus towards the end of the assembly demonstrated that the ideas and ambition established in the first general assembly are still intact.
his government would not provide funding for abortion services overseas. Even so, progress in the health care funding criteria has been much slower than in other areas, with the G8 scoring a combined -0.67 . France, Russia and the UK have pending funding commitments for health care, which could boost the overall score, but the Muskoka Initiative has nevertheless had less of an impact than initially hoped.
When asked to speculate on what some of these results suggest about the G8 itself, and its member countries, Ms. Demneri explains that interpretation and commentary fall outside of the group’s mandate. “The G8RG only researches and documents the G8 members’ actions; our mandate is to capture and present facts and actions – we do not interpret these or the causes behind them.”
7 HART HOUSE CIRCLE MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 8:30 - 5:30 SATURDAY, 9:00 - 5:00 For Appointments Call: 416-978-2431
UTGA
Continued from page 1
EXCELLENT WORK & REASONABLE RATES
the newspaper Editor-in-Chief Helene Goderis
Contributing Editor Diana Wilson
Arts Editor
News Editor
Suzie Balabuch
Martín Waldman
Associate News Editor Geoff Vendeville
Web Editor Andrew Walt
Contributors
groups, the assembly’s main bodies for setting policy goals and executing action plans. However, despite the facilitators’ requests to focus on the spirit of the proposal, discussions over semantics, phrasing, voting and amendment policies, and minute details of the drafts dominated much of the evening. Disagreements over the inclusion of “the historical denial of speaking rights to certain groups,” the merits of a two-thirds majority voting system, or the addition of a point to exclude law enforcement officers from proceedings even led to moments of frivolous sarcasm and time-wasting
Dan Christensen, Stephanie Kervin, Jessica Stokes, Geoff Vendeville, Kate Wakely-Mulroney, Andrew Walt Mike Winters
Business Manager Taylor Ramsay ads@thenewspaper.ca
the newspaper 1 Spadina Crescent, Suite 245 Toronto, ON M5S 1A1 Editorial: 416-593-1552 thenewspaper@gmail.com www.thenewspaper.ca the newspaper is U of T’s independent weekly paper, published by Planet Publications Inc., a non-profit corporation. All U of T community members, including students, staff and faculty, are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper.
G8 report
Continued from page 1
pliant with the pledges they make at the summits.” However, one area in which the entire G8 fell well short of their commitments was health care funding, also known as the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Stephen Harper’s Conservative government had heavily publicized their plans to make maternal health a major policy priority at the June 2010 summit, despite announcing that
the debate
March 3, 2011
Should we declare the TTC an essential service?
3
In a major victory for Toronto mayor Rob Ford, the Ontario government has put forth legislation to declare the TTC an essential service, thereby taking away transit employees’ right to strike. Ford had campaigned on ensuring TTC strikes were a thing of the past, and Ontario’s Labour Minister has pointed to the economic and environmental impacts of a transit strike on the city as a whole. But labour leaders are voicing concerns that this may set a precedent that could lead to further restrictions on the role and influence of unions. Many others are drawing parallels to recent legislation put forward in Wisconsin, which includes a major crackdown on public-sector unions, and has drawn tens of thousands of workers to the streets in protest.
The con
Anything to keep the trains on time
Declaring the TTC an essential service is hypocritical union-busting
ANDREW WALT
DIANA WILSON
There are things in life which are essential. You need food to eat, water to drink, and a roof over your head. The same applies to a city. You need hospitals to keep people healthy, police to keep people safe, and firemen to make sure it all doesn’t go up in flames. Yet when it comes to public transit, for whatever reason, a general sense of necessity doesn’t seem to be held. Even though hundreds of thousands of people use the TTC on a daily basis, its status as an essential civic service remains a point of debate. Why? Perhaps it’s because people view the TTC as being an unpleasant convenience. After all, its operators are hardly the most pleasant paragons of humanity, and its passenger base rarely seems to be much better. The vehicles themselves are often overstuffed and under kept, and exactly when the next bus or streetcar is due to show up is anyone’s guess. Yes, the TTC can hardly be said to make the Monday morning commute a magical experience, yet for many of us (myself included), there wouldn’t be a reliable commute without it. Toronto is a city of millions, every single one of them with places to go and people to see. Without a network of trams and trains to ferry them from one end of the city to the other and back again, what would they do without it? Walk? From the suburbs to the downtown core? Bike? Freeze to death in the winter and get heat stroke in the summer? Drive? Give those green freaks more munition while stagnating in impossible traffic? For many, the TTC is more than the just “the better way,” it’s the only way. Flawed though it may be, it’s what Toronto as a vibrant city has grown to rely on more than any other means of transportation. Why is the necessity of public transportation even a question? Because of the administrative ethics surrounding the right for disgruntled employees to strike and force reformation without fear of losing their livelihoods? Then what about the rights of the millions who depend on the service for their own well being? The need of the city must be considered worth more than the need of those who keep the trains on their tracks. As if we would even need to worry about this with the TTC declared an essential service, as it rightly should be. The everyman wakes up confident in knowing that he’ll have a train to work, and the operator of that very train is secure in knowing he has a steady job and a stable source of income. And this is a bad thing because no one has to worry about the threat of a strike ever again? The counter argument makes it sound as if the TTC is a totalitarian regime waiting to happen... I suppose it boils to what you believe is worse: a city at the mercy of transit workers, or transit workers themselves at the mercy of their administration? Personally, I’m in favour of what guarantees I get to class on time.
When it is time to take a hard look at our society, we want to be assured that the values we espouse match the policies we make. The first clue to those values is hidden in the previous sentence: we. Collective cooperation is the essence of a democracy, even when capitalist imperatives seem to interfere. The provincial government is colluding with the Toronto municipality to take away the TTC workers’ right to strike. The rights to unionize and to bargain collectively ensure that workers can demand just treatment in adverse, discriminatory, or unsafe working conditions. And that, as many pickets in Wisconsin will tell you, is a right people have died to establish and protect. Many will say that these kinds of rights are only legitimate if they are practised in good faith. Unions have a history of using their clout to monopolize hiring practices, demand unearned wages and benefits, and generally behave like a mafia crime syndicate (and in some cases be the mafia). But not every union operates like a bunch of Paulies. We cannot offer or retract rights based on the behaviour of a few criminals (or some sleepy booth attendants). Likewise, if we retract the right to strike (there’s that ‘we’ again), we are skewing the power in favour of the employers over the workers. Under the current system, the municipal government is forced to negotiate with the unions in order to prevent a work stoppage. If the unions have that power taken away, the bargaining table will be unfairly tipped and the municipality will have little motive to meet the workers’ demands (reasonable or otherwise). The claim is that the TTC is an “essential service.” Other unions that fall under this category include hospital workers, police, and firefighters. What do all these unions have in common? They are essential not just to the ideal functioning of the city but the very lives of its citizens. So what is the TTC essential to? What aspect of life holds public transit as its essence? Without transit many people would not be able to get to work. Without the TTC, the economy slows down to a walking pace. So here is the thrust of my argument: if Ford and friends want to undermine civil rights to bust unions and save a buck, don’t try to tell me its because we can’t live without the TTC. Believe it or not, the economy can survive a slow workday, or even a couple of slow weeks. People can learn to carpool or walk. Yes, it’s inconvenient and yes, it disproportionately effects lower-income earners who can’t take days off. But that is insufficient to claim the TTC as essential as firefighters. The worst of this move toward essentialism is the hypocrisy. The Ford council has happily declared the war on cars over. They are trying to get out of the business of building subway lines by recommending private companies spend the next fifteen years dealing with angry Scarborough residents. They nixed the Metrolinx plan. They don’t treat the TTC as essential, so why should the unions be forced to?
KATE WAKELY-MULRONEY
The pro
You decide which argument smoked the other. Visit thenewspaper.ca and vote in the poll at the bottom of this article!
4
the inside
March 3, 2011
Raise the roof
U of T’s best and brightest perform their talents to raise money for a critical cause On Friday, March 4th, U of T’s George Ignatieff Theatre will come alive for U of T: Talent Explosion! 2011. A joint effort by some of the university’s most actively humanitarian groups and clubs, the event promises to be exciting and fulfilling, as every dollar raised will go toward UofT’s Habitat for Humanity Campaign and Habitat Haiti, the group’s project in the rebuilding of the earthquake-ravaged nation. A Toronto family will be matching the amount of money raised, dollar for dollar, making Talent Explosion a truly community-based event. The event’s organizers, Habitat for Humanity @ UofT, Eyes of Hope, the Arab Student Association and Take Action! held auditions last month and have come up with a bevy of performers, all students at U of T. Philip Chen, Co-President of Take Action!, has high hopes for the night. “There are so many exciting acts. We have a jazz improv solo and a topnotch pianist playing a contemporary piece. We also have a singer, guitarist and cultural dance. Finally, we have an
“
unique act that includes unicycles and music.” Jake Reynolds, the night’s guitarist/ vocalist, is excited to be a part of Talent Explosion. “It’s a really great opportunity to be perform with such talented people, and all for a great cause.” The event’s hosts will also be providing exciting add-ons to the night’s festivities. Raffle prizes for various local Toronto eateries are among the prizes to be claimed, and the night’s competitors will be vying for cash-prizes. Still, the focus remains on bringing awareness to a very important cause. Chen says, “I hope the audience feels that watched some of the best talents at UofT and understand more about Habitat and our Habitat for Humanity project.” Tickets are $10 at the door at the George Ignatieff Theatre, 1 Devonshire Place, or at Robarts and Bahen (SF caf) on Thursday and Friday, between 11-4 and 11-2, for $7. Tickets can also be bought online at www.uofttalentexplosion.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit http://eyesofhope.skule.ca/ habitat/.
STEPHANIE KERVIN
SUZIE BALABUCH
the campus comment
”
the newspaper asked these folks: what would YOU ask the all-knowing computer Watson?
Madeline Malczewska, 1st year, Poli Sci “Are the U of T elections undemocratic?”
Sabrina Rewald, 4th year Poli Sci & History “What is your favourite colour?”
Dan Miller, 1st year, Poli Sci “What’re you gonna do with the money?”
GEOFF VENDEVILLE
Victor Rohm, 4th year History and Philosophy (currently taking an a class on A.I.) “What’s wrong with the wireless at Robarts?”
Mike Lavian, 4th year Poli Sci “Do you have a conscience?”
Nordia Brown, 3rd year Poli Sci & Sociology
“Why am I here?”
Faiq Abidy, Poli Sci & Economics “Can you come up with a political theory that is better than any of those we have now?”
the inside
March 3, 2011
5
HELENE GODERIS
Water exhibit proves fluid at ROM
JESS STOKES Scientists estimate that by 2025 approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide will not have access to drinking water. As Canadians we are the largest producers of hydroelectricity globally, containing approximately 10% of the worlds global water resources – statistics that make the idea of water scarcity seem far removed from our realities. We rely on water for 62% of our power demands and are among the top water consumers in the world averaging approximately 326 liters a day - more than 15 times than a person in many developed counties. With what seems like endless access to clean water the question becomes what responsibility do Canadians have in terms of the role they could potentially play in mitigating water scarcity? This Wednesday I had the opportunity to check out the new Royal Ontario Museum new feature exhibition entitled Water in the Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall, officially opening on March 5th. The purpose of the exhibit was to highlight the history, science and current state of the global water resources in order to draw attention to issues surrounding water scarcity. With a tag line encouraging us to “become stewards of our blue planet” I was expecting the show to focus exclusively on the
anthropogenic implications of water use. Visually the exhibit was stunning utilizing a variety of multimedia installations and cultural artifacts to capture the importance of water as a global resource. The curators chose to focus of the many aspects of water as a life giving substance, balancing it’s implications for biodiversity conservation, human survival and the cultural importance it plays throughout an impressive range of cultures and historical timelines. As an ecologist, I appreciated that the exhibition concentrated equally on the consequences of the manipulation of water and aquatic ecosystems from both an anthropocentric and ecological viewpoint. The balance helps to proliferate the ideology that the role water plays in ecosystem functioning is just as important for other species as it is to agricultural and hydroelectric operations. Conserving the integrity of these environments preserves our biosphere allowing life of all forms to survive. A
concept that we as city dwellers can be too far removed to even consider, despite the fact that we rely on water derived from aquatic ecosystems for our continued existence. In my opinion, the highlight of the exhibit was a large 1.7-meter sphere in the centre of the first main exhibition hall constructed out of projection screen material in which four projectors created an accurate depiction of earth from space. An ominous women’s voice guides the viewer through the current state of water distribution globally and it implications for the sustainable use of this resource. Not only was this piece visually spectacular, the information presented was easily accessible for people with limited scientific knowledge. One aspect of the exhibit I felt was lacking was the final room which featured advertisements and installations encouraging the sustainable use of water. Many Toronto municipal ad
campaigns promoting the use of tap water instead of bottled and the impact of plastic bags on riparian and aquatic ecosystems were on display. While the devastating impacts of China’s Three Gorge dam was chronicled in great detail, information on what we as global citizens and Canadians can do to have direct impact on water consumption was lacking. Although it is incredibly important to ensure public awareness of ecological disasters and the repercussions of unmitigated water use and the exploitation of aquatic ecosystems, what we can do to help prevent these tragedies are equally if not more important. Accompanying the exhibition is a series of lectures, panels and debates entitled Water: The Forum. The series aims to critically analyze the political, environmental and social implications of water use highlighting it as on of the most pressing issues of our time. A particularly interesting event included in the series is The Blue Covenant, a panel
discussion including Maude Barlow and Dr. Zafar Adeel (Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health). Held on Thursday March 3rd at 7pm in the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery in the ROM and mediated by Mark Kingwell, the panel will focus on the proposed Article 31, an recently proposed addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states all people should have access to clean and potable water as a fundamental human right. We use water on a daily basis without considering it origin or value. Living in an urban environment it can easily seem harmless to quench your thirst with a bottle of water from your local convenience store not understanding that it takes double the volume of water you’re purchasing to produce the bottle it’s contained in. Similarly, understanding that your ten-minute shower uses 200 liters’ of water is a shocking realization when you attempt to visual a volume of that size. The new Water exhibit does nothing if not brings home the gravity of unmitigated consumption of this life giving resource. Not only is it a beautifully executed exhibit but it’s deeply impactful managing to make the science, history and current and future state of water on our planet as a personally powerful issue for the viewer.
the arts
6
Art to Heart
SUZIE BALABUCH Nadja Sayej, Art world renegade and star of Artstars* TV, is coming to U of T to host a “power sermon” at UTAC, this Friday and Saturday at 7pm. “The Gospel of Artstars*” will shed light on how this fearless force of nature crashed the international art scene and how you can
ArtStars* host comes to UofT to deliver ‘power sermon’
do it too. the newspaper spoke with Sayej about her talk, her job and her bold philosophy on life. What first got you interested in art? I think I was just incessantly drawing cartoons as a teenager, and then after that I went to OCAD, and then, I like to say this because it shows the contrast of what art school does to you, I went in drawing cartoons and I left painting stripes. It kinda changes you. It’s just kinda like this transformation, going through this machine and being packaged into, you know, learning about art history, or what’s considered art history. Your appearance at UTAC has been dubbed as a “power sermon.” What can people expect to see? I’m religious, I can’t help it! No, it’s true. I went to Catholic school. People can see me being like the priest, the art world saviour, because that’s what I am. I’m the only who’s doing something that’s not been done before. When I apply for grants, I
get rejected, not because my work is not good enough, but because it falls into a grey area that has not been defined yet, and to me that’s a huge compliment. So that’s why I’m taking the stage to do something like that. Religious themes keep on coming up in whatever I’m doing. If you go back and look at some of the Artstars* episodes that I did at AGO, I dressed up like a nun. These weird religious things just come down to the fact that I’m basically a religious person who sleeps with a bible under my pillow. That really creeps guys out. What’s your favourite part about your job? I think I’m just really passionate about being a reporter; I think it’s my mission in life. When I was making art, I was always kind of frustrated, but the moment when I started being a journalist, it felt right. There was one moment when I was sitting on the TTC or something and I saw a reflection of myself in the mirror, and I was holding my notepad, and a sound recorder,
March 3, 2011 and journalism books with sticky notes stuck in it, and I looked at myself, and it felt right. Looming deadlines are looming deadlines, word counts are word counts, edits are edits, having to write headlines is having to write headlines. But if the love is there, then it makes it that much easier. What do you wish someone had told you when you first started out? I would have to say, don’t be afraid. Fear not, because a lot of people are so cautious, or are so weary or they push their dogmatic beliefs on you. Just go out there, give it your best, and you can’t fail. You must act as if it were impossible to fail. How has your experience in Berlin been so far? It’s been really difficult, it’s been exhilarating. Even though I want to talk about my show, which is kind of the point of the talk, I really want to talk to people about the practicalities of moving to another country. Maybe I was unprepared, but I’m still doing well considering that. There’s little things you don’t realize, coming from North America, that will fuck you over, basically. The culture is very rigorous. They value their art, and culture so much
more than I feel like in Canada, and a lot of artists are way more critical than critics. There’s a lot of quality here, but there’s also quantity stuff you have to sift through too. What do you miss most about Toronto? Other than my friends, cause that’s totally obvious? The fact that everybody speaks English. The fact that people are creating a lot of DIY art projects, they’re opening up their own spaces. Also, the undercurrent, the counter-culture of Toronto, which is really cool. A lot of people have really great ideas, and they’re not afraid to throw it out there, without funding or whatever. Even people from Toronto who live here now, speak very fondly of Toronto. What’s next for you? I’m probably going to stick around. I might stay here, I might go work in the UK, but I think to keep my show thriving, I need to keep hitting up larger and larger art shows. Trying to get an interview with Damien Hirst, and Yoko Ono, and persisting and not stopping until I’m able to make my dreams possible. You do always struggle, you do always pay a high price, but the only failure is to give up.
The film
Will have you Driving home Angry if you spend $15.75 on the 3D ticket If only Nicolas would be a little more Cagey in selecting roles...or studios in offering them to him DAN CHRISTENSEN Nicolas Cage’s career has become a parody of itself. It’s almost as if his involvement in a movie guarantees its mediocrity. This is a shame, of course, considering that he’s proven himself to be an actor of substantial talent – I count his performances in both Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation. as two of my all-time favourites. However, these jewels shine against the backdrop of embarrassment that is the majority of his film career. Perhaps saying the majority is too harsh, and maybe we should divide his acting filmography into three categories: outstanding (15%), forgettable (50%), and utterly laughable (35%). The confusion is compounded by the pace at which his starring vehicles are churned out. In the last six years, he has appeared in no less than nineteen films, playing the lead role in thirteen of those. It’s just the beginning of March, and he’s already starred in two films this year, and he has two more awaiting a 2011 release. First of all, what kind of crazy Hollywood machine is he? Does this man sleep at night, or is that
too inefficient? Second of all, how are this many people desperate to have him star in their movies? Is he really that big of a box office draw? Or maybe he just takes all of the offal – excuse me, offers – that come across his agent’s desk, thus ending up with rejects from other A-listers. This would at least explain why so many of his movies are garbage – that is to say, why he has such a “varied track record.” I can only imagine that signing Mr. Cage onto your picture must be a rather harrowing gamble. I can’t help but think of what a preliminary conversation between Nic and his new director would look like:
Knowing performance. NC: Could you explain a little more?
Director: Okay Nic, just to make things clear here, what we’re looking for from you on this film is more of a Bad-Lieutenant-like performance, alright?
D: Also not a National Treasure 2 performance.
Nicolas Cage: I’m sorry, I try to turn in my best work on each of my pictures – what do you mean?
D: Just don’t do what you did in The Wicker Man and we’ll be fine, okay?
D: Well, we’d like to avoid a Season of the Witch-y performance. NC: I don’t understand.
So, anyway, now we come to Drive Angry 3D, and boy, does Nic live up to his reputation. Whoever got the idea that a man with a receding hairline who talks like the guidance
D: If you could, stay away from a
D: Maybe avoid a Next performance. NC: Still don’t get it. D: Look - try not to do a Ghost Rider performance. NC: Give me something else here. D: We don’t want a National Treasure performance. NC: What about –
NC: Hmm. I’m still having trouble –
counsellor from South Park would make a great renegade vigilante from hell (literally) truly made a terrible mistake; there is nothing badass about Nicolas Cage. For the most part, this is what I like to call a poster movie – a movie that moves one step past the singlesentence-summary of the highconcept film (i.e. Jaws: shark terrorizes beach-goers and is hunted by an unlikely trio), allowing us to summarize it with a quick glance at the poster: Nic Cage driving around angrily with a hot girl in the passenger’s seat. (In fact, we can almost create a new special category for it: a title movie.) The whole thing plays like an agonizingly never-ending music video for a classic rock station that can’t afford to pay the royalties on any good music. Even after accepting the poorly executed premise of an escapee from Hell named John Milton (played by Cage – the cringe-worthy reference, which likely has the writer wishing he could return from death to stop the abuse of his name, is happily lost on all viewers) returned to save his baby granddaughter from sacrifice in a cult,
most scenes are still unbearable. We’re treated to one where he kills eight attackers while continuing to have sex with an aging bar waitress with (most of) his clothes on (reporting “I never undress before killing.”) and another where he drives around a pit in a flaming car for about three or four minutes, killing nearly all of the members of the cult therein almost exclusively by running them over. While I’ll admit that it seems as if the director’s efforts are at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek, making the film intentionally over the top at times, he did not go nearly far enough in this respect. When you leave too many crappy-movie remnants hanging around, guess what? You end up with a crappy movie. So, if you’re looking for a movie to give you some disparate laughs over its campy quality and provide some very occasionally impressive 3D effects, while disappointing in basically all other respects, then drive intrigued (sequel?) down to the nearest theatre pronto. If you’re still waiting for the next Nic Cage masterstroke, you’ve got two more chances before the year is through.
March 3, 2011
the arts
7
Buying contraband cigarettes costs more than you think. It fuels other criminal activities, such as the trafficking of drugs and guns. Individuals caught in possession of contraband cigarettes face serious consequences ranging from a fine to jail time.
contrabandconsequences.gc.ca L’achat de cigarettes de contrebande coûte plus cher qu’on le pense : il alimente d’autres activités criminelles comme le trafic d’armes et de drogues. Les individus pris en possession de cigarettes de contrebande s’exposent à de graves conséquences, allant de l’amende jusqu’à l’emprisonnement.
consequencesdelacontrebande.gc.ca
CRA-3934-BE-9.indd 1
11-02-01 10:06
the backpage
8
March 3, 2011
n o i t c e l E G N I R P S 2011
s e t a D g n i t o V h t 0 1 h c r a M & h t 9 h c r a M , h t March 8 n
io ents’ Un o Studof Students of Toront Federation Universi• ty Canadian Local 98
St. George Campus Polling Stations:
Sidney Smith Hall (2) Bahen Centre for Information Technology (2) Athletics Centre (1) Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building (1) Gerstein Science Information Centre (1) Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (1) Alumni Hall (1) *Isabel Bader Theatre (1) Edward Johnson Building (1) Gerald Larkin Building (1)
Poll clerks needed (multiple postions available) Type: Part-time, temporary Skills: Organizational, basic computer skills, Pay: $11.00 per hour, up to 30 hours during voting days. Hours of work: 09:00 to 18:00 March 8, 9 & 10, 2011. Please send resumes to cro@utsu.ca to view full posting please visit www.utsu.ca under jobs.
. raduates at St such es ll-time underg portant serviced TTC presents all fu im re n es io id ov Un ’ pr . ts .U en g and discount The U of T Studississauga campuses. U.T.S e central U of s, clubs fundin George and M ntal Plans, book bursarie represents students to th and connects De so as Health & . Your Students’ Union al cates for students’ rights, ns and social Metropasses n and government, advo common goals, campaig s to work on T administratio ss all campuse students acro programming.
09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 16:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00
Mississauga Campus Polling Stations: UTM North (1) UTM CCIT (1) UTM South (1)
09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00
All Poll locations are accessible and open from 09:00 - 18:00* *Isabel Bader Theatre, open from 09:00 - 16:00 For more information, visit our Students’ Union website at www.utsu.ca or contact cro@utsu.ca
Please note that, at the time of this publication, “University of Toronto Students’ Union” and/or “U.T.S.U.” refers to the Students’ Administrative Council of the University of Toronto, Inc (”SAC”)