Browsing Tag

stereotypes

Concert Review: Chantal Kreviazuk

The setlist at Chantal Kreviazuk’s show Friday night at Centennial Hall made it seem like fans were privy to a unique live performance of soundtracks from popular films of the 90s and early 2000s. When she wooed everyone by playing popular hits like “Time,” this brought back memories of watching MuchMoreMusic before the channel’s re-branding, not to mention climactic melodramatic scenes from Dawson’s Creek.

Her career may have peaked in the 90s, but Kreviazuk’s commentary between songs was definitely timely for a concert in 2012. While introducing “Feels Like Home,” she shared that many couples gush about it being their wedding song, and then emphasized how divorces and multiple marriages have changed how people feel about it. Her anecdotes can be summarized by the themes of remarriage, rowdiness and rock stars’ lifestyles. Evidently an Apple customer, Kreviazuk also spoke about how much she loves FaceTime, especially when either she or her husband, Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace, are touring.

Early on, Kreviazuk made self-deprecating remarks about forgetting lyrics 12 times, joking that she needed a teleprompter, even though such errors weren’t noticeable. What was more frustrating, however, was how Kreviazuk repeatedly faced the orchestra rather than the paying ticketholders. Although she was understandably impressed by the orchestra’s seamless collaboration, it would have been nice to see more of her facial expressions while singing emotionally-driven lyrics, no matter how “honoured” she was to play with them. Apparently she assumed everyone was a major Orchestra London supporter, but the weak applause when she acknowledged them indicated otherwise.

November 13, 2012 by Sarah Prince

Rewind and Re-watch: Legally Blonde

To kick off a new category and series of HOTS blog posts, I’ve revisited one of my favourite chick flicks: Legally Blonde.

I first saw Legally Blonde at a theatre at The Eaton Centre, which isn’t there anymore. It was 2001. Little did I know at the time that the film about a blonde sorority girl disproving others’ perception of her by going to Harvard Law School would spawn sequels and propel Reese Witherspoon’s career much further than Election could accomplish alone.

As I re-watched it for the umpteenth time on DVD, I was more attuned to the product placement. Not just the Red Bull that Elle’s sorority sister drinks while exercising or the stack of Cosmopolitan magazines on Elle’s dresser, but especially the OPI nail polish bottles scattered across her colourful room. Even when Elle has the revelation at a nail salon to enroll in law school to win Warner back, the back cover ad on the magazine she’s reading is for OPI. I also thought about the contrast between Elle’s nerdy classmates on black PCs and her brand new orange Apple iBook.

September 23, 2012 by Sarah Prince

Behind the Books: David Yoo

Name: David Yoo

Best Known For: The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever (2012), The Detention Club (2012)

Current Employment and Projects: I teach in the MFA creative writing program at Pine Manor College, and at the Gotham Writer’s Workshop. Currently I’m working on a nonfic project tentatively titled CHASING THE SHIRT, a book about my ten years desperately trying to win a measly/pointless adult co-ed intramural soccer league championship.

Favourite memoirs & essay collections: This Boy’s Life – Tobias Wolff, Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris

Favourite magazines: I can’t afford to buy print magazines regularly–at this point I only allow myself this small luxury when I’m in an airport, in which case I usually buy Vanity Fair or something chunky that will a) last a while and b) make me smell like I’m going to my junior prom. I do read Deadspin and AV Club with regularity online, given that I’m an armchair athlete who has a verging-on-creepy reverence for really lame movies from the 80s.

Professional role model: Stewart O’Nan, who somehow manages to write a lasting, beautifully written novel every two years or so. When I feel overwhelmed by the seemingly un-climbable mountain in front of me, I think about how he’s already, in the same space of time, heading down the backside of it. His latest, The Odds, is that rarity: an engrossing, memorable short novel. What I’d give to be so concise…sigh.

In The Choke Artist, you admit that you “felt depressed about my crappy academic standing, yet at the same time more frustrated than ever that everyone still assumed I was an academic genius because I was Asian.” Describe how you feel about stereotyping in 140 characters or less:

I’ve never texted before + clueless re Twitter. Regarding stereotypes: surely I’m the only Asian guy who has never owned a cellphone…sigh.

August 17, 2012 by Sarah Prince

Ashley Madison Doesn’t Belong in Meme Generators

The latest campaign for the website designed for cheaters proves why “kindness” is not in their mission statement.

This may not be a sizzling hot story anymore, but it left its mark in print and online and I for one am even more appalled by Ashley Madison as a result.

Adultery with someone of any gender or size is not a case of ‘everything bad is good for you’ (a book that’s on my to-read list, thanks to curiosity and a friend’s recommendation), not even in moderation.

Promoting infidelity makes Ashley Madison a deplorable company of questionable morals and I know I am not alone in saying so. That there are enough unfaithful people to support Ashley Madison’s business model is a real shame in itself. Their latest advertisement, which promotes their already disgraceful business, while creating a hurdle for fat acceptance, is even more deplorable. The print ad implies that men should ditch their overweight or obese wives for a scantily clad thin seductress instead.

Ashley Madison’s advertisement raises several issues about pornography, sex, stereotypes and beauty, which you can consider while reading message boards (yes, those still exist) where people express their outrage.

November 24, 2011 by Sarah

The Stereotypical Western Girl on Twitter

I’ve been thinking about the new Rewd blog at Western and Ryan Dergy’s quest to learn who is behind the @wstrngrl Twitter account. In his article, he proposes that perhaps it is run by Gazette staff because he finds it suspicious “that they got an exclusive interview with @wstrngirl a few months ago.”

Most of the Gazette’s editorial staff identifies themselves as multimedia journalists. Any driven journalist will make optimal use of their resources to get the dirt on an upcoming story when needed and interviewing @wstrngirl is no exception. The creator of the account could easily create an anonymous e-mail to exchange messages with a reporter while maintaining ‘her’ mysterious identity.

Moreover, the Gazette staff operates Canada’s only daily student newspaper and many of its writers are full-time students who write personal blogs. They already have plenty of fun in their office on the third floor of the UCC, while writing editorial pieces and debating each other about hot topics. As for participating in Western’s Twitter community, they share links to new articles, monitor the #uwo hashtag and laugh at what fellow students are sharing.

As a spokesperson for the stereotypical female Western student who wishes Weldon washrooms had full-length mirrors, @wstrngrl has plenty of fame online and offline. Likewise, Gazette writers already have a large readership and do not have the same motivation as the average attention-seeking Western student or business-savvy Ivey folks who want to experiment with social media.

@wstrngirl is a conversation starter and a comedian. The account’s followers don’t need to probe for more info about the person behind the computer screen or BlackBerry. Just read, tweet, and enjoy.

March 25, 2011 by Sarah

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