LEP PRESS March 31, 2017

The Popular Culture Edition LEP PRESS March 31, 2017 Photo by thewrap.com Oscar Battle: La La Land versus Moonlight By Josue Kurke And the Oscar goes to... La La Land! Wait, no! Moonlight! The Oscars gave us quite the surprise this year with the Academy’s mix up for Best Picture. Originally they claimed that La La Land won, and the cast went on stage to accept the award, when they were told that Moonlight actually won. It’s pretty 1 embarrassing for the most popular award ceremony in the world to make such a mistake. The question then arrives: who really deserved that Oscar? The answer for me is Moonlight. Like the Academy, I was on the fence between La La Land and Moonlight. La La Land is a musical that follows Mia (Emma Stone) and her struggle to make it big as an actress in Hollywood and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) to make a pure jazz club and revive the style of jazz. Moonlight is about Chiron (played by three actors), a boy growing up in Miami, and the challenges he faced for being gay. From a technical perspective La La Land was essentially flawless; the cinematography, the costumes, the soundtrack, the choreography and direction were perfect. My criticism of the film comes from the tone of the film; the movie wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. It had three lenses it focused on; the relationship between Mia and Sebastian, Mia becoming famous and Sebastian’s conflict to compromise his dream. These three focuses constantly changed during the film somewhat sloppily. Furthermore, the movie seemed to forget it was a musical during the second half, having a thirty minute span with no musical numbers. It’s still a great film, however, the tonal issues took away from it’s greatness. Moonlight is technically not as good; however, it takes the cake for having a consistent tone and a character that the audience connects to and pities. The emotional response felt from Moonlight is much stronger. This film also has three focuses, but it is broken up into three sections of Chiron’s life from his early childhood to his teenage years to his adult years. The difference between Moonlight and La La Land is they were presented in a linear way with smooth transitions with similar themes making for a consistent tone. Moonlight is a great film, the tonal consistencies in this case added to it’s greatness and allowed the audience to really be invested in the characters and the situation. I highly recommend both films; La La Land is technically a better film, but Moonlight is emotionally a better film. An important question to ask is which film should win the Oscar; the one that makes the audience feel more or the one that is technically better? For me, the one that creates more emotion should win because that is the goal of art. The point of movies and art in general is to make people feel, and for me the film that best achieves this is the better movie and for that reason Moonlight wins. 2 Canadian Music By Helen Czapor and Emily Ferguson Music is an important part of national and personal identity; it is partly what makes Canada unique and amazing for all Canadians. As a celebration of Canadian culture, we're taking a look at some amazing musicians that have emerged from the Great White North. You may or may not have heard of them, but you really should. We'll also zero in on some modern Canadian groups to look out for. Michael Buble - He's a vocal stylist from Burnaby, BC, whose activity spans multiple genres. From jazz, to swing, to pop, Buble's versatility makes him an enjoyable musician for many. Cœur de Pirate – A French indie pop artist from Outremont, QC. She released her first album in 2008, featuring a style that began with vocals and a piano accompaniment, and later evolves. The winner of such titles as “female singer of the year” at the 2012 Felix awards, she has been credited with reintroducing music to the youth of Quebec. The Tragically Hip - From Kingston, ON, and known lovingly by fans as The Hip. Formed in 1983, they've grown into an absolutely quintessential Canadian rock group. The Tea Party - An eclectic addition to this list, they're an early nineties rock group from Windsor, ON. Although their style is often read as experimental or industrial, The Tea Party's music is often recognized for its Middle Eastern inspiration. Alanis Morissette - Known as the “Queen of alt-rock angst” by Rolling Stone Magazine, Morisette made it big in the mid-90s with her third album, Jagged Little Pill. Hailing from Ottawa, ON, she is said to have lead to the popularity of countless other female alt-rock singers. Joni Mitchell - Born in Fort Macleod, AB, this folk artist made it big in Toronto in the early 1960s. Having released nineteen albums as of 2007, Mitchell is likely the most notable Canadian female musician of the modern era. Tom Connors– A sense of pride of Canadian history and values is conveyed through his music. Stompin' Tom has delivered countless folk and country hits, like “Sudbury Saturday Night” and “The Hockey Song” over the years. Barenaked Ladies – They're a folk rock group from Scarborough, ON, that occasionally dip into humorous jangle pop. The members of BNL have also gained popularity in the states, earning both critical acclaim and their own ice cream flavours, interestingly enough. 3 Chantal Kreviazuk – Starting in 1996, Kreviazuk emerged in the contemporary music scene of Winnipeg, MB. She released her sixth album in 2016, and is a prolific creator of music videos, one of the most popular of which was for her hit, “God Made Me”. Sloan – One of the most popular Canadian bands of all time. They originated in Halifax, NS, adopting a sound between power pop and rock. Their style of joint songwriting between every member has led to activity spanning over twenty-five years, and eleven albums released as of 2014. Oscar Peterson – From Mississauga, ON, he started off in 1945 and went on to become an incredible jazz pianist. He's an essential member of the Canadian instrumental and jazz scenes. The Odds – Their name: odd. Their quest: to give Canadians a taste of utterly cool alternative rock; as they have been since 1987. This Vancouver band has helped to inspire many other musical groups, even those outside the country. Leonard Cohen – A folk musician from Westmount, QC, with a career spanning over fifty years. Cohen was previously a writer, and incorporated his skills into his musical career. He is a companion of the order of Canada - a testament to his contribution to the world of Canadian music - as well as a member of the rock and roll hall of fame. Photo by Samantha Gibson TWRP – “An elite group of rock stars from the future,” Tupperware Remix Party is an 80s-inspired synthwave/electronic/funk/rock group from Toronto. Their latest album, Ladyworld, was released January 14, 2017. They often tour with comedy bands NSP and Starbomb, providing instrumentals. Mother Mother – An indie rock band, based in Vancouver, BC. They self-published their first album in 2005, and have released six albums as of 2017. They started becoming acclaimed after The Vancouver Province ranked them among the top five BC bands to look out for in 2006. Half Moon Run – Another indie rock group, they are based in Montreal, Quebec. Half Moon Run released their first album, Dark Eyes in 2012, and The Sun Leads Me On in 2015. They’ve toured Europe, Australia and North America, playing at many music festivals and opening for bands like Of Monsters and Men. 4 Top Albums of the Year By Avery Williamson Switching It Up: A Breath of Fresh Air By Emily Ferguson Early in March, the Nintendo Switch was released, along with the much anticipated Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. According to Nintendo, Switch sales within the first forty-eight hours were the company's highest, outselling even the 2006 Wii. One and a half million consoles were sold worldwide. Two weeks after release, sales slowed down significantly, likely due to lack of availability. The Switch is sold out nearly everywhere right now, making it very difficult to get your hands on one. Nintendo planned on producing eight million units this year, but have now doubled that number. The console itself is meant to transition between a portable system and an at-home console. It comes with a dock (which plugs into a TV via HDMI cable), the Switch itself, which is kind of like tablet, 5 and two Joy-Cons (detachable remotes.) To play on the go, you simply slide the Joy-Cons into the Switch. For at-home play, you place the Switch into the docking station and within a few seconds, the image will appear on your TV screen. There have been some issues with the Joy-Cons syncing, but Nintendo has addressed them, telling customers to make sure there aren’t any other interferences, such as wireless headphones. Photo by techtimes.com Breath of the Wild has also been a massive hit, becoming one of Nintendo’s best selling launch titles. It outsold Wii Sports in Europe in the first forty-eight hours, which wasn’t an easy feat. The open-world Hyrule is a defining trait for the title. Though the much-loved franchise started with an open map featuring dungeons that had to be completed in a specific order, it became much more scripted over the years.

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