February 2018

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 5

FEBRUARY 2018

PIN TREE POS - A visual guide to Laos - Valentine’s Day worldwide - Lunar New Year internationally

THINKING GLOBALLY

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Interviews with teachers and blind date goers alike

OLYMPIC EFFORTS

EXCELLENCE IN EXCALIBUR

All the highlights of Pyeonchang 2018, collected for your ease

A guest writer fills in for Classless Reviews

2 FIRST GLANCE P.4: WORLD

P.8: SCHOOL

The Pinetree Post

STAFF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Emily Liang, Julia Park ARTICLE EDITOR Julia Park

Get your Olympics fix!

P.12: FEATURED

Wake-a-thon, Wrestling, and Post-Strike Thoughts

P. 25: HUMOUR

CONTRIBUTORS Kate Chou, Noemi Galdamez, Maryam Gamar, Briana Ho, Elisa Korner, Emily Liang, Sunny Liang, Julia Park, Marvin Shi, Sophie Zhao GUEST WRITER Edward Yuan GRAPHIC DESIGN Emily Liang ONLINE CONTENT Saina Adamy, Katherine Liu SPECIAL THANKS TO The Pinetree Administration, Mr. Lau, Key Club, the Canadian Olympic Team, Pinetree Wrestling, Blind Date Goers, King Arthur

It’s All About Love

Classless Review of the Classics: Excalibur

GET INVOLVED IN THE PT POST! Although we at the Pinetree Post try our best to represent the voice of the everyone at Pinetree, we are only a small group of students. To find the most pressing topics and interesting avenues to explore, we rely on input from readers to curate relevant content only. Anyone is welcome to suggest a topic or provide an opinion for Pinetree Post writers and

contributors to look into further. Do you have something to say that needs your voice? The Pinetree Post also welcomes guest content, any time, of any kind. Feel free to submit an article on a topic you are passionate for, a comic you think everyone deserves to see, maybe even a letter to the editor!

You can submit your original content to us at thepinetreepost@gmail.com.

Have a question or a request? Contact us at: facebook.com/thepinetreepost

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First Glance EDITOR’S NOTE

Don’t Hate: Appreciate

Nothing says appreciation quite like candid photography.

Appreciating everything around us.

Emily Liang, Julia Park Editors-in-Chief

Let’s be honest with ourselves here, February was a darn weird month. From Chinese New Year, to the unexpected few days of ill-timed snowstorm (really, had the storm come NOT on a long weekend, perhaps SD43 would have presented us with some snow days for once?), to the undiminished buzz of the PyeongChang 2018, and perhaps Pinetree’s biggest scandal of 2018: the Blind Dates, conducted by yours truly (Julia). As single as your editors are, it is the month of love, and the Pinetree Post team (or, Emily,) has decided upon the theme for our February issue: appreciation. No greater appreciation for your good friend and co-editor than taking candid photos of them clearly disrespecting their learning environment by sleeping in class. Shame on you, Emily.

Read on to get a thorough recap of Canada’s stellar performance in PyeongChang 2018 (page 4), and find on page 10 a piece on the BC school system and grow appreciation for your teacher and Admin staff.

Source: Julia Park

On page 12, you can find the juiciest gossip behind the stories of the lovebirds of Pinetree Staff, and on page 14 is what you’ve been waiting for: interviews with our very own Blind Date participants. Read on about the various romantic traditions around the globe (and try not to cry, because us too, brother, us too) on page 17.

On page 20, learn more about the Global Perspective’s Trip to Laos with the incredibly well designed comic

by EmGod Liang herself. On page 23, you can find traditions during the Chinese New Year, and last but not least, on page 25, our first guest piece of 2018: a Classless Review of the Classics by Edward Yuan.

As we March into spring and hopefully some nicer weather, we can all practice some more gratitude, which, by the way, is an effective treatment for depression for it produces serotonin and increases activity in your cingulate cortex, the intersection between the limbic lobe and prefrontal cortex. That’s enough science for today. Honestly, I myself am just grateful for the two week break coming up. Catch you later, Pinetree.

Sincerely yours, Emily Liang and Julia Park Editors-in-Chief

4 WORLD WORLD

PyeongChang Olympics 2018

Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris win gold in mixed doubles curling FEB. 9 FEB. 9 Opening ceremonies begin in Pyeongchang

FEB. 17 Samuel Girard wins gold in short track speedskating

A timeline of highlights, Canada-biased, of course.

A recap for those who have just not enough time or interest but still want to participate in conversations.

Julia Park Writer

The 23rd Olympic Winter Games, an international winter multi-sport event, was held from 9 to 25 February 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The games feature 102 events in fifteen sports, including new additions to the Winter Olympics, such as “big air” snowboarding, mass start speed skating, mixed doubles curling, and mixed team alpine skiing. More than 2,900 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees have competed, with the debuts of Singapore, Malaysia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, and Nigeria. The motto for PyeongChang 2018 is “Passion. Connected.,” or in Korean, 하나된 열정 (Hanadoen Yeoljeong). Its mascots are Soohorang, a white tiger, and Bandabi, an Asiatic black bear. Here are some highlights.

Emily Liang / The Pinetree Post

FEB. 9, 2018: OPENING CEREMONY

PyeongChang 2018 was officially opened by the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-In at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium at 8 p.m. local time on Feb. 9, 2018. The ceremony’s message centered on peace, passion, harmony, and convergence. Five children from Gangwon Province led the ceremony, along with animals and a cast of 2,000. The children symbolized the five Olympic rings and represented fire, water, wood, metal, and earth.

The Parade of Nations was led by the Greek team, in accordance with tradition from the original ancient Olympics, and other teams entered in alphabetical order based on the names of the countries in the Korean language. By tradition, the host country concludes the parade, but the hosting country was represented by the unified Korean delegation under “Korea,” marching under an unfamiliar Korean Unification Flag. Korean traditional music, as well as hits in KPOP, including songs by Psy, Big Bang, and BTS, played during the Parade of Nations.

2018 Winter Olympics torch was lit in Olympia,

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World

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold in ice dancing FEB. 19

Three-time medallist Kim Boutin is the flag bearer for Canada FEB. 19 FEB. 24 Canada wins bronze in men’s hockey against Czechia

Greece, on Oct. 24, 2017, and traveled to South Korea on Nov. 1, 2017. The torch traveled across 2017 km of Korea, carried by 7500 relay runners, over 101 days.

During the opening ceremony, South Korean figure skater Yuna Kim showcased a figure skating routine, received the final torch, and lit the cauldron.

Powerful world leaders, including Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, and Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, participated in the opening ceremonies, again highlighting the theme of peace for PyeongChang 2018.

by Russia and US. Canada’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe won silver in women’s freestyle skiing moguls. Laurie Blouin of Canada won silver in women’s snowboard slopestyle. Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloeman won silver in men’s 5000 meter speed skating.

SATURDAY, FEB. 10

Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris won gold in mixed doubles curling. Canada’s Alex Gough won bronze in women’s luge. Shaun White won gold in the snowboarding halfpipe event.

Canada’s Mark Parrot and and Mark McMorris won Silver and Bronze respectively in men’s snowboard slopestyle. Lim Hyo-Jun of South Korea set an Olympic record in men’s 1,500 meter short track race. Red Gerard of US, at only 17 years old and 115 lbs, won gold in slopestyle snowboarding event.

SUNDAY, FEB. 11

Canada won gold in team figure skating, followed

MONDAY, FEB. 12

Mikael Kingsbury of Canada won gold in men’s freestyle skiing moguls. Chloe Kim of US won gold in the snowboarding halfpipe event.

TUESDAY, FEB. 13

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 14

Canada won against US in women’s hockey 2-1.

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford from Canada won bronze in pairs figure skating.

6 WORLD THURSDAY, FEB. 15

Tristan Walker and Justin Snith of Canada won silver in luge team relay.

FRIDAY, FEB. 16

Nathan Chen of US became first in history to land six quadruple jumps in competition.

SATURDAY, FEB. 17

Canada’s Samuel Girard won gold in men’s short track speed skating 1,000 meters. Canada’s Alex Beaulieu-Marchand won bronze in men’s ski slopestyle.

Kim Boutin of Canada won bronze in women’s 1500 meter short track speed skating final. Ester Ledecka, a snowboarder of Czech Republic, won gold in super-G on Mikaela Shiffrin’s skis. She is the first person to compete in both skiing and snowboarding at the Olympics.

SUNDAY, FEB. 18

Canada’s Alexander Kopacz and Justin Kripps won gold in two man bobsleigh. Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue from Canada led the ice dancing short.

MONDAY, FEB. 19

Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won gold in ice dancing, followed by Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, and American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani. Canada’s Cassie Sharpe won gold in women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe.

TUESDAY, FEB. 20

Phylicia George and Kaillie Humphries of Canada won bronze in women’s bobsled. Czech

Republic eliminated US in men’s hockey quarterfinals.

Brady Leman of Canada won gold in men’s ski cross.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21

Canada’s Charle Cournoyer, Samuel Girard, Charles Hamelin, and Pascal Dion won bronze in men’s short track speed skating 5,000 meter relay. Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins of US won gold in women’s cross country skiing. US women’s hockey team won 3-2 over Canada.

THURSDAY, FEB. 22

Canada’s Kelsey Serwa and Brittany Phelon won gold and silver respectively in women’s skicross. 15 year old Alina Zagitova from Russia won gold in figure skating. Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond took bronze. US men’s curlers won against Canada in semifinals.

FRIDAY, FEB. 23

Germany won against Canada in men’s hockey.

SATURDAY, FEB. 24

Canada won bronze in men’s hockey against Czech Republic, 6-4. Canadian Snowboarder Sebastien Toutant won gold in big air competition. Canadian ski cross athlete David Duncan, his wife, and trainer William Raine have been arrested for car theft, and Raine has been charged with driving under the influence.

SUNDAY, FEB. 25: CLOSING CEREMONY

The South Korean National Anthem was sung

by Jang Sa-ik and a group of children, accompanied by a marimba. A thirteen year old performed a rock guitar

Team Canada at the Opening Ceremony of Pyeongchang 2018.

Source: Canadian Olympic Committee

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World arrangement of the Winter section from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and traditional Korean instrumentalists joined in. KPOP boy band EXO and CL performed their hit songs. Lee Hee-beom, the president of the organizing committee, and Thomas Bach, Olympic champion in fencing, gave speeches.

Skaters scooted around the stage and left luminescent trails, which later formed the logo of 2022 Games and large pandas roller bladed around stage. As per ritual, the flag of Greece was raised, the Olympic anthem hymn sung by Oh Yeon-jun, and the National Anthem of Greece was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The Olympic flag was handed over to the mayor of Beijing, which was followed by the performance of the National Anthem of China by a choir of singers from China.

In the final Parade of the Flags, the North and South wore different jackets and carried each country’s flags, instead of the unified flag. Olympic heroes from each respective nation carried his or her country’s flag.

The athletes marched behind them with no distinction of nationality, along with the PyeongChang 2018 mascots, Soohorang.

President Moon Jae-in and Thomas Bach of I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) shook hands with Ivanka Trump among others, and were presented snowglobes by two children who were born on the day PyeongChang was awarded the games. 400 performers entered with LED balls, and these lights cascaded up to the Olympic flame to “extinguish” it. Athletes and audience alike celebrated the successful conclusion of yet another Winter Olympics with Martin Garrix among the DJs for the Electronic Dance Music Party.

CANADA IN PYEONGCHANG 2018

After two weeks of national pride and fierce competition, the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang have come to an end. Canada had its best Olympics performance ever, with 29 metals, 11 of them gold and 8 silver. Short track speed skater Kim Boutin was chosen as the flag bearer for Canada during the closing ceremonies. She won silver in 1000 meters and bronze in 500 and 100. Canadian figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir stole the hearts of many watchers, broke their own record, and won themselves a gold medal.

Canada has broken its own record and has proven her athletic prowess to all those watching. 7

Korea: United at the Olympics Julia Park Columnist

The Olympics never fail to entertain me; it amazes me how humans can push against physical limitations and write history, making possible what once seemed impossible. To add to their charm, 92 nations gather for competition and leave their political conflicts and tensions behind. After all, the unofficial theme of PyeongChang 2018 is peace. What I did not expect was the unification of South and North Korean teams; athletes from the two countries marched in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony in identical uniforms, proudly waving an unfamiliar blue and white unification flag. One could not tell, watching the parade, which athletes were from the North or the South. North Korea has sent with its athletes 229 cheerleaders, who, dressed in red with an almost eerily synchronized cheer routine, chanted “We are one.” To my astonishment, the South Korean audience joined in their chant. Kim Jong Un even sent his classy younger sister to watch the Winter Games.

As my grandfather escaped what is now North Korea in 1951, the unified Korean entrance, as well as a united Korea women’s ice hockey team, means more than just the media buzz for me, my family, and the Korean population. I interpret the PyeongChang 2018 unified Korea team as a symbol of hope–one of possible reunification. This means no more tension and misunderstandings, no more evacuations in times of missile threats (I learned what fear was week 1 of my life in Korea, studying in a high school class at 10 p.m., being told to evacuate to the downstairs shelter to take cover for the incoming missile). This means no more people afraid for their lives, no more separated families, a reunified Korea.

The North Korean cheerleading team sang a song with the repeated phrase, “반갑습니다” (bangapseupnida) which means ‘Nice to meet you.”

Many South Koreans were puzzled at this rather peculiar song choice, but perhaps the Northerners just wanted to say hello to their soon-to-be-family. Nice to meet you, indeed. 4

8 SCHOOL CLUBS

Annual Wake-a-thon

The promotional poster for the Wake-a-thon.

A sleepless night at school.

Sophie Zhao Writer

One of the anticipated events in the upcoming month of March, is Pinetree’s Wake-A-Thon. The annual event is arranged by Key Club to understand and simulate the lives of children who work in third world countries. They spend the majority of their times working, and therefore, often do not receive enough food or get a wink of sleep at night. For this reason, the objective of this night alternates every year. Last year, the goal was to spend the entire night without any food. This year, it is to stay awake until at least 8:00 AM the next morning. Signs ups are from February

Source: Pinetree Key Club

19th until February 28th; forms can be picked up from the officers.

The Wake-A-Thon will start on Friday March 2nd at 7:00 PM, and last until Saturday March 3rd, 8:00 AM. Bag checks will be held for illicit items such as drugs or alcohol, and only unopened, commercially packaged foods will be allowed. Students can sign up for games and events such as the talent shows. In the previous years, participants had passed the time by working their way through an obstacle course and playing increasingly competitive rounds of musical chairs with large groups of people. Those who went to Wake-A-Thons in the past years had an amazing night, so be sure to sign up with friends and enjoy the experience as well. 8

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School SPORTS

Wrestling

The Pinetree champs do it again.

Elisa Korner Writer

Congratulations to the Pinetree wrestling team!

At the meet on February the 16th, Pinetree came in as an impressive second; and only two points behind the defending BC champions.

With Connor Mills (45 kg), Kye Mills (54 kg), Harry Valdez (60 kg), Daniel Chernetski (63 kg), and Golrokh Nouri (51 kg) all champions of their weight class, Pinetree had the most champions of any team.

As well as Silver for Josh Levas, Thomas Gabat, and Emily McLane.

Mr. Adair celebrates the team’s success. “I think we overachieved and that is always awesome,” he said.

“We won virtually all of the toughest weight classes.”

Great work Pinetree team, and the Pinetree Post wishes you the best of luck at your next meet! 1

CHAMPIONS 48 kg - Connor Mills 54 kg - Kye Mills 60 kg - Harry Valdez 63 kg - Daniel Chernetski 51 kg - Golrokh Nouri​

The Pinetree Wrestling team at the recent Zones tournament.

SILVER Josh Levas Thomas Gabat Emily McLane Emily Liang / the Pinetree Post

10 SCHOOL EDUCATION

BC Teachers’ Strike

Teachers striking in Chilliwack.

What was the 2014 strike all about, anyway?

Maryam Gamar Writer

In March 2014, teachers all across British Columbia began a labour dispute that lasted the length of the summer and into the beginning of the following school year. Their motive was simple: to secure better working conditions and pay. As many Pinetree students may remember, the teachers voted to begin a complete service strike in June 2014 that meant early dismissal of classes in public schools.

BC’s public education system is considered one of the best in the world, but even after the events of 2014, it has its flaws. The root of the problem, like in most situations, is money. Our education system likes to talk about the passion and energy that teachers pour into molding teenagers into the responsible adults of

Source: The Huffington Post

tomorrow, but we must remember that teaching is a job.

And it is difficult to sustain passion if one is overworked and underpaid.

The provincial government manages BC’s public education system so when education is a low priority on the policy making agenda, very few positive changes will be made.

The provincial government manages BC’s public education system so when education is a low priority on the policy making agenda, very few positive changes will be made. This was the case at the time of the teachers strike, when excess funding was being privately funneled into private schools and public schools were vastly underfunded and overenrolled. This affected teachers even before students were impacted because they had to alter their teaching plans, teach special needs students without the necessary help, and

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School work difficult hours. The blatant demonstration of the strike sent a clear message to those in charge that education and the protection of teachers is important to British Columbia and it brought about changes such as classroom downsizing and higher salaries.

The blatant demonstration of the strike sent a clear message to those in charge that education and the protection of teachers is important.

Another change was more energy invested into Professional Development Days. These are days where school is not in session in order to train teachers and teach them methods with all of their responsibilities.

To a highschool student, there is arguably nothing better than going to school on Thursday morning and realizing that Friday is a “Pro-D Day”. Whether students plan on using the long weekend to catch up on homework, spend time with friends, or host a party, the seemingly random breaks are regarded as a deserved pause in the hectic schedule of high school.

All of these positive changes have helped

To a highschool student, there is arguably nothing better than going to school on Thursday morning and realizing that Friday is a “Pro-D Day”. teachers and ultimately, their performance in promoting learning, but are Pro-D Days fulfilling their purpose? Is there really enough support for teachers in order for them to grow? These are questions that teachers are asking even after the reform of the strike because although changes have been made our system is still a work in progress.

It is the responsibility of governmental legislation and school administration to make positive change for teachers and their jobs but here are Pinetree, high school students can help put this into motion. Students easily fall into the role of complaining about homework overloads and strict deadlines so we often are not able see the whole picture from others’ perspectives and even contribute to the problem. By supporting teachers ourselves, and guaranteeing that they are appreciated, we can ensure that British Columbia continues to be known for its high quality of education. 2

I HAVE OPINIONS

Fresh Eyes

It’s been years since I’ve been able to see leaves on trees.

Emily Liang May be legally blind in Canada

I’ve had to wear some kind of corrective eyewear since I was seven years old. My optometrist always blamed it on me reading books for too long. Now, I kept reading my books anyway, because what kind of cruel facet of nature would punish me for reading books?!

Myopia, it turns out, is not kind to bookish children.

Eventually, it got so bad that I started wearing orthokeratology (“Ortho-K”) lenses. I just told people they were contact lenses, and they would nod back at me, thinking I popped a piece of plastic into my eye to start my day fresh and clear-sighted. In reality, Ortho-K lenses function very differently. You wear them in your sleep, they reshape your cornea during the night, and then you stick a suction cup in your eye to take them out in the morning! It was a very normal experience for preteen me, and I enjoyed immensely having to wake up early every morning to clean the lenses. Still, the magic of Ortho-K worse off, and I began needing eyeglasses anyway to see the whiteboard in classrooms.

And that brings me to now. I’ve gotten quite sick of putting plastic in my eyes, only to have to put plastic in front of my eyes anyway. The thing about Ortho-K is that most nights it just doesn’t work properly for me, like all reputable and certified medical technology. So I’m switching back to regular glasses, and it’s amazing! Do people really live like this, every day? Being able to read street signs from the next block over? Seeing people’s facial features in detail, rather than as a flesh coloured blur? I’ve spent years adjusting to half-sightedness, including developing a hobby in photography because taking pictures of something brings a faraway image closer to your face. Really, having good vision is a blessing, so I must reiterate the constant theme of my life and this column: never, ever, read a book. 4

12 FEATURED INTERVIEWS

Teacher Love Stories

Uncover the heartwarming journeys that led your favourite teacher couples to where they are today!

Briana Ho, Sunny Liang Interviewers

While love may be in the air for us students at Pinetree (or not), we cannot possibly forget the romance thriving amongst our staff. Grab your pinktinted sunglasses and get ready for the gossip! Read on to dig deeper into the love lives of the Carmichaels, Lockwoods, and Lus, while even picking up on some tips for your own relationships.

MR. AND MRS. CARMICHAEL

PTP: How did you both meet? What made you both decide to begin a romantic relationship?

MC: On May 1999, we met at St. Andrew’s United Church in Port Moody, where a mutual friend introduced us. When we discovered that we were both teachers and loved playing music, we wanted to spend more time together. Eventually we got married in May 2002 at that same church.

PTP: What are your favourite memories that you have together?

MC: Our favourite memories come mostly from playing in the same big band together: Friends and Teachers (F.A.T.) Jazz. Mr. Carmichael is our drummer while I play lead alto sax. I had already been in the band when I met Mr. Carmichael, and then the drummer we had decided to move away in

the summer of 1999. We needed a new drummer, and that’s when Mr. C. had the opportunity to play in F.A.T. Jazz. It was perfect timing! The rest of our favourite memories come from all the travelling we have done together.

PTP: Who proposed and how did they do it?

MC: Mr. C. proposed at St. Andrew’s Church, where we had met three years earlier.

PTP: What are the most important aspects of your relationship?

MC: Commitment, trust, being able to support one another, spending time together, forgiveness, and lastly, unconditional love.

PTP: What are your favourite parts about each other?

CC: I love Mrs. C’s character, personality, dedication, intelligence, and values.

MC: My favourite parts about him are his humour, personality, caring nature, and as he said for me, his intelligence and values.

PTP: What do you like the least about each other?

MC: Nothing.

PTP: What romantic advice would you give us teenagers?

MC and CC: We believe that a person needs to love themselves before they can fully love another person; so take the time to develop yourself, work on your education, travel, and keep learning.

Remember to always be humble and kind.

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Featured MR. AND MRS. LOCKWOOD

MR. AND MRS. LU

PTP: How did you and Mr. Lockwood meet?

PTP: How did you two meet?

KL: We met at SFU in a Science Lab class.

LL: We were both Pinetree students who met through a mutual friend, and video games were definitely involved–the original Guild Wars, not Guild Wars Two.

PTP: What are your favourite memories that you have together?

KL: Our best memories come from our family times together at our cabin; we love being outside and playing at the beach and in the ocean!

PTP: Who proposed and how?

KL: Mr. Lockwood proposed. Originally it was going to be at Burnaby Mountain, but it ended up being at the Dairy Queen that used to be on North Road.

PTP: What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? LL: Mr. Lu and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day much, because to us, anniversaries are more important.

PTP: What do you think are the most important parts of a healthy relationship?

KL: We laugh every day, like being together, and value the same aspects.

LL: Communication is important, and so is being balanced. I don’t think it’s good to be with someone exactly the same as you. Even though it’s good to have things in common, you also want to compliment each other. For example, somebody who is very energetic could go well with somebody more calm and relaxed.

PTP: What are your favourite parts about each other?

PTP: Do you have any tips for students at Pinetree?

KL: We are compatible at home and at work, and we both love the outdoors. Together we enjoy going on walks, hiking, and kayaking.

LL: Don’t be in a hurry; when it works, it works.

Relationships are not easy, and if it’s worth it, you’ll work for it. 5

PTP: What are the most important parts of your relationship?

PTP: What are the parts of each other that you like the least?

KL: I’m not really sure about that.

PTP: What romantic advice do you have for our students?

KL: If you can’t be yourself around them, then they are not the right person.

FUN FACT: Valentine’s Day was originally a day to celebrate Saint Valentinus, who performed weddings for soldiers who were not allowed to marry. He was imprisoned for this. He wrote a letter to the daughter of his jailer before he was executed, signed “from your Valentine”.

14 FEATURED INTERVIEWS

Blind Dates

What were the results of the Pinetree Post’s venture into matchmaking?

Noemi Galdamez, Maryam Gamar Interviewers

As you may have seen on Facebook, heard about in passing by conversations, or perhaps even participated in yourself, Pinetree Post arranged blind dates for those who wished for a romantic dinner with a gender of interest during what may possibly have been the loneliest day of the year–Valentine’s Day. There were over fifty sign ups and 14 “couples” were matched, but to the editor’s dismay, it had been revealed that many of the participants had been signed up for by friends, or wished to chicken out last minute. To only add onto our team’s annoyance, some participants showed up an hour late, resulting in a canceled date, or refused the interview, and some simply did not respond to further messages from Pinetree Post regarding the blind date. All in all, only seven or so dates have occurred, and unfortunately, two of these dates will take place after the publication of the February issue of the Pinetree Post. With that said, Pinetree Post wants to thank the Pinetree students for all the attention and participation, and apologize for the lower-thanexpected outcomes. Catch a glimpse of a couple of the successful (or not so successful) blind dates and see what our participants had to say about their special date with their fated someone! Hats off to the bravest of the brave who participated and interviewed with us.

CAMERON LEE PTP: What were you expecting?

CL: I initially wanted to meet someone new and get to know them as a new friend rather than as a way to get a relationship.

PTP: What are you looking for in a relationship?

CL: I guess the most important thing is that I want my relationship to happen naturally when I meet someone; if it happens it happens.

PTP: Did you know your date previously?

CL: Yeah we met in grade 7 through a mutual friend and we hung out in the same friend group but we never knew each other that well.

PTP: How did you get the the mood to change from friendly ?

CL: I guess the activities we did helped, and I was a bit more chivalrous rather than joking around like I usually would.

PTP: Was it awkward?

CL: At the very beginning it was kind of awkward because this was my first blind date but once we got the conversation going it was nice. We have a lot of commonalities and it was easy to talk about certain stuff. It also helped that we had hung out before and weren’t strangers.

PTP: What is your ideal first date?

CL: One in one talks so like: a walk in the park or around downtown so we can just chill and spend time getting to know each other.

PTP: What’s something you would want to happen different during your date?

CL: I drove really badly, like I had a hard time parking.

PTP: What is a benefit to going on a blind date instead of asking someone out?

CL: You meet someone maybe that you wouldn’t usually talk to and usually meeting one on one when you’re put into the situation isn’t as bad as you think.

PTP: One word to describe your experience?

CL: Pretty chill.

JENNY ZHAO PTP: What were you expecting when you signed up?

JZ: I didn’t expect them to find anyone that

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Featured matched my description. I just wanted to meet a new friend.

PTP: What are you looking for in a relationship?

JZ: I’m not looking for a relationship right now.

PTP: So why did you sign up?

JZ: I just thought that there are no cute boys in Pinetree so I asked for someone good looking.

PTP: How did you get the mood to change from friendly?

JZ: I don’t know, he paid. We also just talked a lot I had a really great time.

PTP: What is your ideal first date?

JZ: Honestly, I don’t care where it is, it just depends on who I’m with I guess. Someone who can carry on a conversation, preferably good looking, I mean someone I can look at and not feel repulsed.

PTP: How did this one compare?

I was happy with it.

PTP: What is a benefit to going on a blind date instead of asking someone out?

JZ: I got really scared, and I don’t usually get scared but you just don’t really know what to expect. It could be worse than asking someone out because if your friend sets you up but you actually hate the person and your friend doesn’t know it can be awkward. I’m just glad that it wasn’t someone I hate.

PTP: Would you recommend blind dates to your friends?

JZ: I would say do it because, why not? Don’t expect anything out of it but it’s fun so just do it.

Cameron and Jenny.

Emily Liang / the Pinetree Post

CYNTHIA CHEN PTP: What were you expecting when you signed up?

CC: I wasn’t expecting anything, I was just like, oh, that sounds like fun, ok.

PTP: What are you looking for in a relationship?

CC: I’m not particularly sure, I’m just looking for someone I can get along with and shares kind of the same interests as me and someone to click with.

PTP: How did you get the mood to change from friendly?

CC: I don’t know if I did that.

PTP: Was it awkward?

CC: Yeah it was awkward because I knew him as a friend so it was just kind of weird but it was ok because we had stuff to talk about.

PTP: What is something you have in common with your date?

CC: Our families are both Chinese and they’re both really big and weird.

PTP: What did your date order?

CC: He ordered this seared meat but it was kind of raw in the middle and I hadn’t tried it before.

PTP: Who paid for dinner?

CC: Him. He just did, I offered to split it but he just paid.”

PTP: Would you go on a second date with this person?

CC: Uhhhh, noo? Yeah, like it didn’t really feel like a romantic date so no.

PTP: What is your ideal first date?

CC: I haven’t been on a lot of dates so I don’t know really, but I guess it’s just somewhere we can just hang out and not feel pressured into doing stuff so I guess just a regular hang out.

PTP: How did this one compare?

CC: It was pretty close because we were just talking the whole time about different stuff.

PTP: Would you recommend blind dates to your friends?

CC: Yes. Because you don’t have any expectations about how it’s going to go. Like for me personally, I don’t really like it because I prefer to know who I am going on a date with but it’s good if you want to meet new people and go for a new opportunity.

PTP: One word to describe your experience?

CC: Awkward but nice.

16 FEATURED YILONG JIANG PTP: Where did you and your date go?

YJ: We went to Sushi Oyama near Henderson.

PTP: What are you looking for in a relationship?

YJ: Right now it’s more like if we want to be together we can be together but if we are busy doing stuff then we can be separated for a while.

PTP: How did you get the mood to change from friendly YJ: I think the atmosphere in the restaurant really helped and also we begin to talk about out of school stuff, like personal stuff so I think that changed the mood.

PTP: What is a benefit to going on a blind date instead of asking someone out?

YJ: Definitely you don’t have to be that brave you just go on and enjoy the surprise and also asking someone out, you will probably break the friendship if you were friends with her.

Yilong and Cynthia.

Emily Liang / the Pinetree Post

ANONYMOUS PTP: Where did you and your date go?

A: I got a message from Julia and that we were supposed to go downtown, visit some places and

that’s what we did.

PTP: What were you expecting when you signed up?

A: At first, I was kinda in a joking manner, when I signed up, but then, when I got the message from Julia, and I was like yep, this is happening.

PTP: What are you looking for in a relationship?

A: Mostly, I prefer having like a good communication with my partner. I can have a good talk with for hours.

PTP: How did you get to know each other?

A: It was really awkward. I was under the pressure of a date, but like talking for a bit lead to talking for awhile, yeah, so that kinda smoothed it out.

PTP: Did the experience feel like a date or just an outing with a friend?

A: It was definitely not just an outing with a friend, yeah, as I said it was under a name of a date, so it’s different.

PTP: What is something you have in common with your date?

A: As we go to know each other I realized that our conversation was pretty smooth, it wasn’t like colliding, you know? As in like we don’t get along like talking and other than that our dress code kinda matched.

PTP: What did your date order?

A: We went to downtown and we just went around the robson centre than we went to eat and when we were coming back we went to Lougheed and that was pretty much it.”

PTP: What is your ideal first date?

A: I guess more like what we did last week, but a little less awkward, you know? That’ll be great.

PTP: What’s something you would want to happen different during your date?

A: I guess, I’d say transportation. Downtown is pretty big for the place we went to eat, which is pretty far from Robson Centre, so I had to make her walk.

PTP: What is a benefit to going on a blind date instead of asking someone out?

A: I guess there is a better objective, so we are in a setted frame, it’s just a blind date so there is no pressure and we don’t really have to care for consequences as supposed to when I have to ask someone out, I’m like in the more pressure position.

PTP: One word to describe your experience?

A: It was- I’d say, interesting. 5

17

Featured GENERAL INTEREST

Love Around the Globe

We’re used to Valentine’s Day looking like this, but that’s not always the case.

There’s more than one way to show your love.

Kate Chou Writer

Boasting a broad entity of multicultural peoples, Pinetree Secondary’s diverse student body has kept writers at Pinetree Post intrigued to the modes of how the world takes a stab at celebrating the most widely renowned day for love. It would be only fitting to pay tribute to the otherwise culturally-varied Valentine’s Day traditions around the globe, unpacked within this February issue of the Pinetree Post.

You will not find the Welsh celebrating Saint Valentine; instead, those living in Wales mark their most romantic day of the year in Saint Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers. Exclusively celebrated a month earlier, on the twenty-fifth of January, the most conventionally adored Welsh gift exchanged on this commemorated day is a love spoon. Welsh men, as early as the seventeenth century, took the time to carve intricate wooden spoons as a token of affection for the women they love, and this tradition stays a recurrent practice on Valentine’s, as well as for weddings, anniversaries, and births. Personalized

Source: iStock

patterns and symbols are carved into these love spoons, each signifying different messages; horseshoes for good luck; wheels, symbolizing support; and keys, which symbolizes the figurative keys to a man’s heart. Spirit akin to that of the Welsh is reflected in Pinetree’s rose gram sales, with personalized messages attached to each flower stalk, and delivered to the special people in the giver’s lives.

Spirit akin to that of the Welsh is reflected in Pinetree’s rose gram sales, with personalized messages attached to each flower stalk, and delivered to the special people in the giver’s lives.

There is an intriguing equivalent to Valentine’s Day in China: Qixi, otherwise known as the Seventh Night Festival. Conveniently, it falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year. Chinese lore fed into prominent traditional Valentines Day practices in China; a heavenly king’s daughter and a poor cowherd, Zhinu and Niulang, had fallen in love, exchanged vows, and bore twins. Zhinu’s father had learnt of this marriage and sent his queen to bring Zhinu back to the stars. The lovers were allowed only to meet once a year.

Hereafter, during Qixi, young women prepare offerings

18 FEATURED of melon and other fruits to Zhinu in hopes of finding a good husband for themselves. Couples also head to temples together to pray for happiness and prosperity.

At nightfall, people look to the stars to watch as Vega and Altair, or Zhinu and Niulang, come close at the time of the star-crossed pair’s annual reunion. This once heavily Chinese tradition is now morphing into a westernized celebration.

Akin to many parts of the world, South Africa celebrates Valentine’s Day with a slew of festivals, flowers and other tokens of love.

Akin to many parts of the world, South Africa celebrates Valentine’s Day with a slew of festivals, flowers and other tokens of love. It has morphed into a customary practice for women in South Africa to literally wear their hearts on their sleeves on February 14th. This is an ancient Roman tradition recognized as Lupercalia,where women pin the names of their love interest on their shirtsleeves. In some cases, it is excitingly through this practice in which South African men learn of their secret admirers.

While Valentine’s Day celebrations in the Western Pacific are similar to that of celebrations in Western countries, a singularly aged tradition has swept An Estonian “love bus”.

the country of the Philippines, leading to thousands of couples re-brandishing their rings, and sharing a wedding day on the fourteenth of February. In recent years, these mass wedding ceremonies have gained much popularity, with hundreds of couples gathering at open malls or public areas dotted about the country to renew their vows or fulfill marriages en masse.

Shedding light on the European inhabitants, a popular Italian Valentine’s Day tradition was for young, unmarried girls to wake up before dawn in efforts to spot their future husbands. The belief stayed herein; the first man a woman saw on Valentine’s Day was the man she would marry within a year, if not, at the very least, strongly resemble the man she would marry. Today, Italians celebrate Valentine’s Day with gift exchanges between lovers and romantic dinners.

One of the most popular Valentine’s Day exchanges in Italy, Baci Perugina, take the shape of small, chocolatecovered hazelnuts wrapped and plastered with a romantic quote printed in four languages; a widely treasured gift.

Whether single or out of wedlock, all are included and encouraged to unite in Finland and Estonia. “Lonely” is a weary, distant word in their vocabulary, so Finnish and Estonians have adopted “Friends Day” as the title for an otherwise heftily celebrated Valentine’s Day. Cards and gifts adorn Source: arctic-cycler.com

Featured

Pont des Arts in Paris, France. mailboxes and tabletops express valued friendships, yet romance still shares a place in the picture. In Estonia, riding a “love bus” provides single people an opportunity to mingle and find a loved one. Within Mexico, a similar all-inclusive based practice of tradition is expressed, in which friendship is catered to as a large facet in the grand scheme of Valentines Day.

In Japan and South Korea, the tradition is gender specific, but different from what most may expect. In Japan and South Korea, same sex marriage is not recognized from the national level, and the traditional definition of a couple, encompassing a man and a woman, still holds. Valentine’s Day is strictly for women and girls to gift chocolate to their romantic interests or lovers, and this action is reciprocated on “White Day” on March 14th, when their male counterparts gift candy to women. A concept called “Obligatory Choco” exists in Japan, where women gift chocolate to male family members or classmates as an “obligation” and not as a sign of romantic interest.

Fear not, single men and women, for April 14th is known as “Black Day” in Korea, on which single men and women celebrate by eating black Jajang noodles.

Saving Paris’ whimsical traditions for last, it has become a widely acknowledged gesture for couples to attach a padlock on the Pont des Arts rusted “love lock bridge” and throw the key into the River Seine. These locks, unfortunately, were removed in 2015, the bridge

19

Source: Michelle Gable

railings replaced with ones leaving not much room for love in lieu of industrial purposes, yet lovers still kept tradition by latching padlocks onto remote bridge railings about the capital of Paris. Paris, however, is not the only French destination for romance, as the cozy village of St. Valentin flourishes with flowers every year for a massive Valentine’s Day festival. An itinerary of the day boasts weddings, vow renewals, and tree planting to commemorate love. Now merely regarded an outdated fad in other parts of the world as technology drones on, the definition of romance at the heart of tradition is resembled in French practice of couples exchanging beautiful love notes, or cartes d’amities, on the eve of Valentine’s.

In Paris, couples can attach a padlock on the Pont des Arts rusted “love lock bridge” and throw the key into the River Seine.

After close speculation at a handpicked few out of the world’s plethora of romantic celebrations, it is proven our cross-cultural student background both stems from and emanates wonderfully varied, historic, and ethnic expressions of love in the wake of Valentines Day. It stays an eminent fact that these modes, in alliance with disparate ethnic backgrounds, are singularly, and beautifully, poles apart. 4

20 FEATURED GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES: PROJECT LAOS 2018

22 LIFE

23

Life GENERAL INTEREST

New Year Around the Globe

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

When the Gregorian new year fails you, there’s always the lunar calendar.

Source: The Sun

Sunny Liang Writer

eyelids and jaws controlled by strings inside the elaborate costume. You can go see a lion dance for yourself every Chinese New Year at various locations around Greater Vancouver including Chinatown and Henderson Place.

Last issue, we got you prepped for all the local celebrations, but what happens outside of the circle of Vancouver? Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a major holiday in many Asian countries and is celebrated by many families at Pinetree. Of the families that do celebrate the holiday, each has traditions that differ from one family to another.

One of the most extravagant of celebrations is the lion dance, often confused with the dragon dance. It involves two people controlling a life-size lion costume accompanied by drums, cymbals, and gongs.

Traditionally performed outdoors in the streets, the lion prances around in it’s colourful costume “eating” lettuce hung at storefronts by store owners. Attached to the lettuce is a red packet containing money for the performers. The costumes even have articulating

To many, the most important part of Chinese New Year is the food, numerous traditional dishes are served and each family will often have their own twist on classics. Nian Gao or “Year Cake” is a variety of rice cake that is commonly consumed during Chinese New Year made with glutinous rice. It is similar to Japanese mochi and Korean tteok and is known for being very

Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a major holiday in many Asian countries and is celebrated by many families at Pinetree. Of the families that do celebrate the holiday, each has traditions that differ from one family to another.

24 LIFE sticky and chewy, in some cultures it is sweet while in other cultures it is salty and savoury. You will sometimes even see Nian Gao moulded in the shape of a fish with bright colours embedded in it to emulate the look of a white and red fish. Traditional Chinese meats are a delicacy you can find all year long but are particularly common around Chinese New Year. Popular meats include pork belly, steamed whole chicken, barbecue pork, pig ear, and roast duck. Other prominent dishes during Chinese New Year include rice, dumplings, and mandarin oranges.

A favourite tradition among many people who celebrate Chinese New Year is “red packets”. This tradition involves parents and elderly couples giving a small red envelope containing cash to the youth, though thriftier parents sometimes settle with a chocolate coin.

It is customary to only give an even sum of currency due to superstitions of odd numbers being associated with funerals. As you may already know, the number four is considered very unlucky as it is a homophone with the word for death. Red packets are also given out on other special occasions such as weddings, graduation, and the birth of a baby. Today, red packets are also distributed digitally through the dominant form of social media among Chinese people, WeChat.

Lunar New Year is the largest holiday in China with celebrations spanning across several days, but the holiday has also made its way into surrounding countries who have made their own modifications.

These countries include Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia, and the Philippines. Both Malaysia and Singapore officially recognize Chinese New Year as a half-day holiday and have various public festivities related to the holiday. Korean Lunar New Year is celebrated using the same lunar calendar and very similar horoscopes as those used in China.

Koreans have their own cultural foods eaten during Lunar New Year such as Tteokguk, a combination of chewy sweet rice cake (tteok) and soup (guk), and Jeon, a savoury pancake like dish that often includes meat, seafood, and vegetables. Indonesia is a major proponent of the holiday and officially recognizes Chinese New Year as a one-day holiday, moreover it is often unofficially celebrated for two or three days.

In particular, large population centres in Indonesia

for Chinese-Indonesians such as Jakarta, Medan, Singkawang, Binjai, Batam, and Pangkal Pinang will have major organized celebrations of parades and fireworks. Lion dances are not an uncommon site in Indonesia and many malls will decorate with paper lanterns, calligraphy, lion and dragon figures, and an overall red and gold theme. Even in non-Asian countries, Chinese New Year is a major celebration;

Even in non-Asian countries, Chinese New Year is a major celebration; Sydney, Australia claims to have the largest annual Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia with over 600 thousand individuals participating in celebrations in Sydney’s Chinatown.

Sydney, Australia claims to have the largest annual Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia with over 600 thousand individuals participating in celebrations in Sydney’s Chinatown. Events over the course of three weeks include outdoor markets, food stalls, dragonboat racing, and parades.

Rice cake soup (Tteokguk).

Source: Korean Bapsang

Chinese New Year is a cultural holiday that is celebrated internationally, even halfway around the earth in North America, that brings families together.

For those that aren’t very familiar with Chinese New Year, perhaps it’s worth it to explore one of the many publicly open events that happen every time Lunar New Year comes, right here in Greater Vancouver. 4

25

Humour CLASSLESS REVIEWS OF THE CLASSICS

The Sword in the Stone

We’re used to Valentine’s Day looking like this, but that’s not always the case.

Freud would have a field day with this father-son relationship.

Can it be a Classless Review if the movie isn’t a classic? Our intrepid first guest reviewer sets out to find the answer with Excalibur (1981).

Edward Yuan Guest reviewer

This guest review is dedicated to the Medieval unit that my Comparative Civilizations class did not have time for.

Jeez, this movie is a blast from the past. I remember being left alone to watch this film from a shifty Chinese film streaming website while my mom went to do mom things. Evidently, my mom failed at one mom thing because this film is not for children, not the uncensored version I watched anyways. The dated special effects only make the gore more terrifying and, after watching it, I immediately did my best, with all the brainpower of my nine-year-old self, to forget this movie. Yet, it stuck with me. Vivid images from the film stuck with me long after I forgot its name. Only recently did I go back into the recesses of my memory

Source: iStock

Source: Edward’s computer

and pulled Excalibur from that murky swamp. So, how am I going to deal with film-induced childhood PTSD? By reviewing it of course!

So, how am I going to deal with filminduced childhood PTSD? By reviewing it of course!

You knew what the film is all about, right? The sword in the stone, the Lady in the Lake, the once and future king: Arthur. Arthur, what a name! No other name has so defined how we told stories in English. All fantasy stems from the few foundations laid down by five-hundred years of telling and retelling such a story.

Even if the Arthurian legend was told a thousand more times in ways that do not even remotely resemble its original form, the Arthur in our minds stay the same.

So strong is the legend that no retelling can harm it.

One retelling, Excalibur, a 1981 film by John Boorman (trust me, what you just thought was wrong) shows that sometimes, the simple essentials of fantasy can be made into something so familiar, and yet new.

Just as 1.0 M acid burns me more than 0.1 M acid (Mr.

26 HUMOUR Lockwood didn’t see), the basics (or acids) of fantasy are concentrated in Excalibur. That being said, the taste of pure fantasy drives as many people away as it takes them in. Every review I have read either paints it as their favourite film or as a predictable, confused, and cliched mess. This polarization shows that the problem lies not in the film, it remains exactly as it is between its doubters and its lovers, but rather, in interpreting the film. I think that those who fail to adore the movie do not realize one crucial fact: that it is set in the land of dreams.

I think that those who fail to adore the movie do not realize one crucial fact: that it is set in the land of dreams.

This is all the knowledge you need to allow the film to sweep you up in its glistening banners and its silver castles on which sunlight dances. The characters may be predictable and cliche, but that is the point.

So, I advise you to read no further than this sentence, watch Excalibur right now, and remember what fantasy is: all that is lost, and wonderful, and sad.

If you happen to have no interest in the film (you feeling-devoid robot) I will briefly summarize why this film is so great. Excalibur is chiefly about the sword with the same name and its owner, King Arthur. For starters, in comparison to the actual stories of Arthur, the film takes all the stories most important in Arthurian legend and compacts them into a single film, cutting off all unnecessary characters and side-plots.

The knights are dressed in armour two feet thick and carrying weapons the size of inflatable toys you might win at a circus. That is to say, they look like they belong in some mecha anime, not a movie about Arthur and his knights.

Excalibur begins in a hellish scene (not unlike the dance floor at Senior Sail), it is dark, breaths are visible in the cold, knights fight each other are tinted red from blazing fires. The film is clear; it is set in the (very literal) dark ages. If you’re anything like me, you must be crying out at how outlandish everything looks.

The knights are dressed in armour two feet thick and carrying weapons the size of inflatable toys you might win at a circus. That is to say, they look like they belong in some mecha anime, not a movie about Arthur and his knights. Once again, this is fantasy, suspend your disbelief about these steel Michelin men.

It’s quickly established that Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, is running around England and beating up all the other rulers. Eventually, Merlin - a weird reality travelling wizard or something (we’re left guessing) - gives Excalibur to Uther. However, Merlin forces Uther to negotiate with his enemies instead of laying down some magical beat-downs on his pesky rivals. After effectively becoming king, Uther messes everything up when he gets too intimate with the Duke of Cornwall’s wife in a scene you do not want to watch with your parents or younger siblings. The entire system of peace that Merlin sets up crumbles and Uther is eventually killed by some of the many people he betrayed.

This becomes a common theme throughout the story, man’s primal nature getting in the way of the good of the land. Uther represents almost complete submission to his instinctive wants, and it ultimately destroys him.

This becomes a common theme throughout the story, man’s primal nature getting in the way of the good of the land. Uther represents almost complete submission to his instinctive wants, and it ultimately destroys him. On the other hand, Merlin only ever thinks of the good of the land and this makes sense, after all, as Uther puts it, “you’re not a man, you don’t understand.” To put it in simpler terms, think of Uther as the one friend who buys a burger at Triple-O’s daily and runs out of money in a week while Merlin waits till that sweet Tuesday deal. The changes in the costuming also show this. Initially, everyone’s armour is made to represents animals, beaks and horns jut out of helmets in a mockery of nature’s worst elements. Gradually, as the land is united and brought under control, the armour of the knights polishes up and takes on an otherworldly appearance - mirroring the growing

Humour

27

nobility and splendour of Arthur’s knights and court.

Merlin gives Arthur the titular sword Excalibur which quickly wins him the support of the land. He becomes king, takes Guinevere as his queen, builds Camelot out of solid silver, and gathers around him the bravest knights of the land to serve on his roundtable.

As Arthur ascends to the throne, the land blossoms. Usually, if a modern hero rises to power in a country, they would often have to pass through tedious tax bills and sack incompetent officials to get anything done. However, for Arthur, the land just bursts into prosperity and rainbows like so many Gushers™.

While this may sound like the monarchist propaganda that one guy in History 12 would not be quiet about, there is a lot more to this idea than stolen arguments from 4chan threads.

battle pits Mordred - Arthur’s son, born of trickery with the sorceress Morgana (Arthur’s half-sister, but let’s not get into that now) - against Arthur. Thousands of years of storytelling tradition demands one of them die, or both; the whole film has been leading to that moment.

As Wagner’s Siegfried’s Funeral March builds up, Mordred and Arthur impale each other under a bloodred sun. With his dying breath, Arthur sends Perceval to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. As the Funeral March reaches its crescendo, like a serpent, a single arm rises from the lake and grasps the sword; then without a splash, the arm returns from whence it came - a land of dreams. The message is clear, an age of legend has ended, “The one God of the many comes to drive out the many gods. It is a time for men and their ways.” 2

While this may sound like the monarchist propaganda that one guy in History 12 would not be quiet about, there is a lot more to this idea than stolen arguments from 4chan threads.

You can already tell that this will be a critically Source: horrornews.net lauded film.

The dialogue in the film also deserves some attention. All dialogue in the film has that quirky feeling to it; it’s not real or authentic, sometimes it borders on the absurd and funny (it disturbingly reminds me of myself). Myth has that feeling though, things aren’t quite right. Characters say their piece and then leave, in that sense they are somewhat one-dimensional, but these characters all contribute to a broader mythology and world which they all inhabit, a land of questingknights and sorceresses. It is the world the film creates and Arthur which should be focused on, not the sidecharacters. For example, in Arthur’s last meeting with Guinevere - his wife whom he loves deeply - he forgives her for loving Lancelot and leaving him. The scene barely lasts a minute, and yet, Arthur’s speech is so conclusive and moving that you don’t feel robbed

But this is not the end, after all, I told you that the story encompasses all the Arthurian legends. So, I am not spoiling anything by telling you that Arthur dies. Everyone knows he dies in the end. The whole film leads up to that moment. In perhaps one of the most emotionally overwhelming moment put on film, the unspoken prophecy is fulfilled. The final climactic

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