Image Source: Gamekyo
Spoiler Alert
What's the first thing you do when you're contemplating watching a movie? Do you reach for the remote only to have Netflix suggest you a film list based on your 'watching preferences?' Perhaps you read a movie review to decide whether or not the film is worth watching. If you're the latter, you'll find the following review of 2014's top films helpful in deciding what you'll watch next.
The most difficult part of writing these reviews was not critiquing them but rather, it was narrowing down my contenders. With hundreds of movies released annually, at first, this task seemed near impossible. In 2013 alone, 698 films were released at the cinema (MPAA), making it very difficult for great works to get the screen-time they humbly deserve. This review does just that: it pays homage to what I have meticulously evaluated to be the top five cinematic masterpieces of 2014.
]]> Whiplash (2014)Image Source: Yahoo
At the top of this list, having won an Oscar for both Best Achievement in Film Editing and Sound Mixing (IMDb), Damien Chazelle's Whiplash blows everything out of the water. Whiplash is about an aspiring drummer with a musical conductor --played by J.K. Simmons, who also won an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, respectively (IMDb)-- that utilizes harsh and questionable teaching methods to help his students realize their full potential. Seeing this film win an Oscar motivated me to watch it. If the musical instructor's constant badmouthing and yelling doesn't keep you on edge the entire film, the frequent musical solos will surely do that trick. This film very bluntly suggests to its viewers that if they'd like to achieve something, talent isn't enough: hard work needs to follow. This is easily the best film of the year. After the closing scene, this film will stay with you for days.
Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Image Source: Wired
Second on the list, a daring cinematic marvel about a retired movie star whose discontent with his life achievements coupled with his schizophrenic tendencies push him over the edge. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman not only features a lineup of A-list actors, such as Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts, but it does it in a single take. That's right. At the hands of fancy new cinematic protocols that allow seamlessly stitching together different takes, Iñárritu achieves what many filmmakers before him have failed.
"Inarritu, determined to maintain the illusion behind the $18 million film, has instructed his editors not to discuss how long each individual take was and how many cuts, in some cases disguised by ingenious visual effects, were stitched together to make it appear seamless." (The Hollywood Reporter)
Not only was the film shot in one take, but it was produced in only thirthy days. It centers itself on a Broadway actor whose split personality, a giant bird, is unsatisfied with his host's decision to squander and supress his super powers as a Broadway actor. This film peaked my interest not only because of its illusory continuous experience but also due to the plot's inception-like concept; actors acting in a play on top of being filmed for a movie. At some points throughout the film, the performances are so mesmerizing that you lose track of whether Keaton and Norton are acting for the Broadway play or simply for the film itself.
Image Source: Big B Comics
The Giver is based on a 1993 social science fiction novel and takes place in a utopian society (arguably dystopian) in which races and feelings have been eradicated. There is no snow and there are physical proximity restrictions for individuals. The motive for this kind of society was created after a brutal war and the governing council deemed society to be better suited without the idea of diversity. As a result, citizens are given daily injections to stabilize their innate vitals and human instincts, which also rids them of their ability to see colors, to eliminate race conflicts.
The film is inspiring and conceptually daring in that it envisions a society with no war and complete peace, something every society has always hoped for. However, it shows how doing so has many drawbacks at the cost of human freedom. This film peaked my interest because, as a sociology major, both the precedence and repercussions sought forth in this fictional story demonstrate something, however frightening, entirely plausible.
Image Source: Live For Films
This film was definitely a favorite because of its historical significance in a society that arguably no longer ostracizes homosexuals. Set in the past and based on the life of Alan Turing, a pioneering computer scientist, this film depicts the real efforts of some of Britain's most brilliant minds. In 1939, Britain declares war on Germany, only to meet their demise several years later: Enigma, an encrypted telecommunications protocol that the Nazis used to communicate secretly. In their attempt to decipher Enigma, Alan Turing invents a machine designed to compute every possible setting of Enigma, as it changes daily.
What is so moving about this film is that despite Turing's brilliant contribution to helping defeat the Germans in war and further innovate the first computer ever built, he was later persecuted for being a homosexual. Seeing how this film is based on true events, this film had a greater impact on me. It's funny how that work, that the moment something crosses the line from fiction to fact, it becomes much more praiseworthy. One would almost argue that some filmmakers exploit that fact.
Image Source: The Guardian
Having won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects (IMDb), Interstellar was a last minute addition to this review set because it simply blew me away. Set in a different era, it tells the story of a retired aerospace engineer that has been selected by NASA to be deployed into space in search of new habitable planets, after learning of the Earth's impending self-destruction. Matthew McConaughey, who plays the astronaut, must face the harsh reality of leaving his ten-year-old daughter behind without knowing when he'll return or if he will return. Throughout their space travel, McConaughey's team encounters difficulties and remain trapped in a different galaxy longer than expected -a galaxy that for every hour spent within it, translates to seven years in their milky way. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, when McConaughey returns home he hasn't aged more than 2-3 years (which was the length of the journey) and yet he is now 124 years old. Consequently, his daughter is now ninety years old and has been cryogenically frozen.
While the film is a bit far-fetched due to its plot being centered on a scientific plausibility that has yet to be confirmed, the story and visual achievements make it a marvel to watch. Interstellar was a great film because it was unpredictable until the very last scene, unlike most films nowadays.
I hope that these reviews have helped you in deciding which film to watch next. The year 2014 gave us many great films and no matter what the genre, there's always something for everyone.
]]>Life doesn't happen to you, it happens for you. ―Jim Carrey
(Image Source: SplitSider)
Ah, movies! Whether you're home sick from work, just finished a long day at the office, or simply yearning for a break from your daily shenanigans, movie and TV actors are always there to get you through the day. Whether you're into slapstick comedies, heartfelt dramas, or romantic love stories, you can always count on your favourite actor performances to bring your tiresome day to an enjoyable close. Many of us claim we love actors and have watched all of their films but very few of us know more than what the media feeds us about our celebrities. Very rarely do we stop to think about how our favourite actors and actresses have made it to the status they are today, at the forefront of comedy with Hollywood's biggest film stars and giants.
At the forefront among these giants is Canadian-born comedian Jim Carrey. This feature article aims to expose an unsightly part of Carrey's early life in an effort to demonstrate that with enough perseverance and ambition, we can overcome anything to attain our dreams.
]]> Early LifeBorn in Newmarket, Ontario on January 17th, 1962, James Eugene Carrey was not always the renowned impressionist many of us now know him as. When he was 14, his father Percy lost his job as an accountant, forcing the entire family to relocate. Later Percy found a job as a janitor in Scarborough which included a house on-site, forcing Jim to take up 8-hour shifts after school.
"I quit school at age 15 to begin working to help support my family as a janitor. I'd have a baseball bat on my janitor cart because I was so angry I just wanted to beat the heck out of something."
As a result, Jim's grades began to suffer. Over the course of his youth, Jim, once a bright student, dropped out of two different high schools to support his family's economic hardship and to care for his mother who later died of kidney failure in 1991. For eight months, Jim lived with his family in a VW campervan which was parked on his relative's lawn. Not only was Carrey's family poor, be he was an undiagnosed dyslexic, and often struggled making friends in school, that is, until he learned to use comedy to reach out to others.
Cultural Significance
And it is by reaching out to others that Carrey learned to find his place so snuggly in the comedic venue. Quite frankly, what we can deter from Jim's current success is that regardless of our situation of desperation and temptation to desist, we must always strive to attain our goals.
Surely this story has influenced young and aspiring comedic minds. Listening to Jim Carrey talk about how he himself was influenced to continue his comedic conquest as a result of great comedians before him, surely others will feel a similar desire to persevere.
This topic is entirely relevant in a world where, as Jim explains in the below speech, people end up choosing fear (their dead-end jobs) and disguise it as practicality. Carrey's message is simply not to give in to fear and to take a shot at our dreams, even if they seem out of reach, because the outcome is unimaginably rewarding and exhilarating.
Of course, there are still instances of this today. For instance, turn to the 2009 drama Up in the Air for a moment, in which George Clooney plays a man whose job is traveling around the country to fire employees from large companies. In many scenes in which Clooney is firing the employee, he moves to explain them that this unforeseen circumstance is nothing but liberation from fear and a chance for them to finally aspire to the fruitful career that they once hoped for.
Jim Carrey performing stand-up comedy.
While Carrey may be a proud Canadian, often remniscining about our North American antics and customs in relation to our southern big sibling, one surprising find is that despite his father (Percy) being of French-Canadian ancestry (the family's original surname was Carré), Jim no longer uses that name.
Carrey's success as a comedian, actor, and screenwriter is not only attributed to his nationality and his relentless passion to perform for Canadian venues --despite his American success and citizenship-- but equally because he succeeded in creating a new genre of comedy. Jim's thousand faces and witty oral impersonations bring life to a comedic style that was arguably unheard of before his time; this is what makes him so valuable and irreplacebale. If you think of Jim Carrey, chances are good that you'll have a hard time comparing him to another comedian, or any other actor, for that matter.
Today, Carrey has earned a spot amongst Canada's greatest comedic icons, all while demonstrating his ability to perform in satirical dramas. Furthermore, on August 29th, 2014, Canada Post issued an Official First Day Cover in Carrey's honour under their Great Canadian Comedians release.
Practical Implications
If there's anything that we can deter from this article it's that no matter where you're from or what social class you were born into, with enough perseverance and ambition, anyone has the potential to achieve their dreams. To a certain extent, and this is arguable, everyone is born with equal opportunity and potential for social mobility.
Almost every successful actor has had to overcome family hardship or financial crisis to earn their current spot in show business. Behind every great actor's performance is an even greater story of triumph, and in some case, destitution. Below, Jim Carrey is delivering an inspiring speech to a graduation class, quite possibly as a double entendre for his life achievements.
Jim Carrey's Commencement Address at the 2014 MUM Graduation.
For those of you that are interested in learning more about Jim's early life, feel free to watch the following full-length recording of his interview with Inside the Actors Studio, an American television show originally intended to be a televised craft seminar for students of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Carrey
http://www.nndb.com/people/757/000022691/
http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/pr/2014/2014_canadian_comedians.jsf
http://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/biography/biography-jim-carrey
http://www.character-education.info/resources/Jim_Carrey.htm
http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/success-stories/jim-carreyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Actors_Studio
Ah, snow! If you're a Montrealer you either hate it or embrace it, but one thing's for sure: you have to deal with it. Unless you're Pitbull or Oprah, you've likely had to shovel snow, whether the process involved clearing your entire home's walkway or simply digging your car free with a tri-fold trunk shovel. No matter the severity or frequency of your shoveling, proper form is imperative to avoiding injury. According to WebMD, "The task sends on average more than 11,000 adults and children to the hospital every year", which gives reason for the following illustrative how-to guide.
While snow and ice can create hazardous situations for everyone, seniors and people with disabilities are more susceptible to injury when performing the task. However, shovelling is not the only means of clearing a walkway; due to their ice melting properties, salting and sanding your property can also help reduce the potential for slip-and-fall incidents, which can cause serious injuries.
Safe snow shoveling requires not only the right tools, but equally proper preparation, good technique and knowledge. The following is a guide illustrating how to safely shovel snow to avoid injury.
]]> 1. GAINING KNOWLEDGE2. PREPARING TO SHOVEL
3. ACQUIRING THE RIGHT TOOLS
4. LEARNING PROPER TECHNIQUE
Note: Protect your back by lifting properly, always trying to push snow rather than lift it.
a) Stand with feet at hip width for balance.
b) Hold the shovel close to your body.
c) Space hands apart to increase leverage.
d) Bend from your knees not your back
e) Tighten your stomach muscles while lifting.
f) Avoid twisting while lifting.
g) Walk to dump snow rather than throwing it.
"You'll never know the outcome, but if you have a lot of faith and you're strong, you have better chances of making it." When questioned about her support network during her two and a half year treatment, this was Theresa Priolo's answer, a 53-year-old lymphoma cancer survivor, wife, and mother of two. Armed with a bachelor in biology from our very own Concordia University (1986), and over 25 years of first-hand experience working at the Montreal General Hospital in parasitology, microbiology and hematology, Theresa's field experience elegantly compliments the retelling of her lengthy journey to recovery. Her knowledge base allows you into the world of a cancer patient's sentiments like never before seen, while her endless praise for church and family serves as a reminder that having a support network is key in all such circumstances.
An interview with a cancer survivor, one who has also worked in the very system she was treated, lends a fresh perspective to the inner workings of cancer rehabilitation. When asked about her treatment experience, Theresa affirmed that her specialized knowledge, experience, and personnel resources allowed her to be better prepared for the two-and-a-half-year-long journey she was about to embark on. "I was blessed, I really was. Within a week and a half, everything was done." How nerve-wracking it must have been to witness the systematic caring of patients from the opposite end of the health spectrum: Theresa was no longer the caregiver but now one of her own patients. She was now under the very microscope and scrutiny that her patients once were.
]]> Throughout the retelling of her experience, Theresa continued to identify with her occupation and its corresponding duties rather than her condition. "First, they give you a large dose of Benadryl to avoid developing an allergy towards the chemo. Some people can be allergic to the rituximab, which is a protein, so we don't take any chances.""To everyone afraid of getting cancer, just live. Just surround yourself with people. You need people, you really do," said Mrs. Priolo when asked to supply encouragement and advice to concerned readers or current cancer patients. The following is the remainder of the interview she so graciously consented to with Montrealités.
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When were you diagnosed and how old were you?
I was diagnosed on November 1st, 2007. I was 46 years old and I was diagnosed with a follicular Lymphoma, which is a non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
What stage were you diagnosed with?
I was at stage four. I was at an advanced stage where the Lymph nodes were big. They were about 15 centimetres. I had maybe 2 or 3 that were about 15 centimeters in diameter, which is relatively big.
How was the cancer initially detected?
I had a pain, almost like a sharp knife in the abdomen every now and again. I didn't have a clue. Two months before, I was having profuse night sweats and I was drenched. But I thought "Ok, this can be pre-menopause." But as it went forward, I was tired all the time. I would do something for 2-3 hours and immediately tired; I had to go back to bed. I would sleep 3-4 hours, then I would get up again and I was tired. That's when I decided "Hey, it's time to go get checked."
Who did you go get it checked with?
My husband is a physician so he said, "You know what, well do an ultrasound." So, he put in the requisition and I went the day after. I got it right away. And that was the heavy duty!
How did you feel when you received the news?
Because I worked at the hospital for 25 years, I knew everyone, including the lady that performed my ultrasound test. As she was doing the test, I see her calculating and going over and over, and because I knew her well, I could see that she was concerned. And I said to myself "There's something wrong." And then she says "You know, you have some large Lymph nodes." And I thought, "OK, cancer." She said "Let me go get the radiologist." So the radiologist comes in and says "You have large Lymph nodes which requires further investigation." Already convinced, I reaffirmed that I had cancer, to which he replied, "No, not necessarily." I said "I have Lymphoma." I didn't travel, I didn't have an Epstein - Barr virus; this has to be lymphoma. He said "You need to do further tests." Afterwards, I was just in tears, going to my husband's office. When my husband saw the results that were forwarded to him, he looked at the screen and just sat and was shocked. He said "This is cancer." He called his friend Denis, which is my current hematologist and filled him in. We were both crying. Denis said "Stop it. Tomorrow, I want to see you both in my office." So the next day at the office, Denis says "Terry, I can tell you with 99% certainty that this is lymphoma. After seeing so many cases, I'm sure, just by the way it presents itself." He said he'd get me to do a bone marrow test, a PET scan, as well as blood tests and another ultrasound on my heart before I received the chemo. It was nice because within a week and a half, everything was done. And then the downfall of all of this was that I was just so beside myself, I wanted to know what the results in pathology were. I wanted to know: if it's cancer, what type is it? Because my husband is a doctor, he calls again and Dr. Dennis Cournoyer told us to come back in and he would explain it before we start panicking and going all over the place. He had told us that it's a cancer that's very slow growing. This is good and it's not good. Slow growing means that you know you can keep it; it can go for a long time, and usually it's a recessive cancer. In other words, when your cells multiply quickly, the chemo gets them all, it just zaps them. But when they're slow growing, you don't know if they're all zapped. So chances are good that it returns. Afterwards, he laid out the treatment. My husband and I both gave our separate opinions. He didn't want me to have certain chemotherapies that affect the heart, so we were in disagreement. Ultimately, I said "This is my treatment, I'm going to decide."
And you didn't agree that your husband might have known best?
Nope! I think that my hematologist is the best one to decide that. I told my husband "This is my cancer, and I'm going to deal with it." Because if something were to happen, I would blame him. I wanted to put the chance in my hands. I really trust my hematologist. So, I went through, regardless of how bad it was. I decided and my hematologist told me what the treatment would consist of. For the chemo, the cycle is every 21 days and I had to have 8 of those. He told me I'd lose my hair, my eyelashes, everything. I got sick because I was taking heavy prednisone. I got inflated [gestures face], all swollen up. I took prednisone, and then a few days after the chemo I started taking Neupogen for ten days. Neupogen is injected into the stomach as a liquid. It creates red blood cells in your bone marrow and the process is excruciating because it works inside the marrow, inside the bones. For ten days, I had to do what I had to do. I did 8 cycles of those.
(Photo Property of Julia Richard-Priolo)
Is there a family history of this type of cancer?
Funny enough, on my mother's side, one of my cousins got it. But hers was a Hodgkin's, mine wasn't. And then on my dad's side, there was somebody that had a non- Hodgkin's, like me. They say that there's no genetic correlation, but I'm not sure about that.
Can it function similar to recessive genes, skipping a generation?
I honestly think it's related to a lot of the environment. Maybe somewhere along the line I had that gene but with the epigenetics now and the harsh environmental factors, pesticides, and pollution, you'll never know. While I was in there doing chemo, I met a 39-year-old woman that never smoked a day in her life, but she had lung cancer. She was never around people that smoked and she didn't have a contaminated house. She died. 39 years old. Hello? Never smoked! So, I really think it's an environmental factor. You may have a small genetic predisposition, but the fact remains that everything is against us. I'm going to move and go to Sardinia, an island in Italy, off the coast of Pisa. They say that people live past 100 years there. It's a beautiful country.
Did you have a support network? If so, can you tell me about it?
Oh God! Did I have a support network? I have my family, my church. They're so important to me. I had the people in my church and my pastor praying for me, my sisters and mom coming to chemo with me, my sisters cooking for me. I've been blessed. If you don't have that, forget it! You're doomed! You're not going to make it, if you have to go through this and you don't have anyone, I don't know how you're going to do it.
Can you talk about your treatment process?
The treatment process involved zapping your cancer cells. First, they give you a large dose of Benadryl to avoid developing an allergy towards the chemo. Some people can be allergic to the rituximab, which is a protein. So we don't take any chances. They gave me the Benadryl and after I started with 100mg of prednisone, which makes you go all over the place. You become very erratic, similar to having a psychosis. It makes you extremely happy and nearly impossible to sleep with this medication. It's like speed. After, they would give me three other medications by intravenous. We're looking at about eight hours in the day. I would be in bed, long chair, or even a regular chair, sitting with my wig, eight hours a day. This was every three weeks. After I finished the eight treatments, I had to do only the rituximab for two years. I would go there for one day, maybe 2-3 hours, every three months, and that had to last for two years,
The rituximab is a protein that really hits. The treatment itself was about 8 months. That's the aggressive treatment. You're looking at about two and half years, all in all. However, the most aggressive was that eight months. The rituximab, every three months was nothing compared to the chemo itself. It's like a walk in the park.
Were there any programs or services offered to you that would help with the treatment process?
They did offer some services, one of which was how to put makeup on. Unfortunately, actually, it's really full. There's too many sick people and there's not enough nurses. There's not enough help. They just don't have the resources. It's very unfortunate because at times I had to sit on a chair for my chemo because obviously the older patients require the beds. Here you are on a chair, and you're dozing off because you're on Benadryl. What can you do? Nothing! In this area, oh my God, easily 50 people crammed doing chemo. Some for three hours, depending on the type of chemo. Now my hematologist tells me that it has tripled. Unfortunately, you don't get any attention. It's the system. Nobody else's fault.
(Photo Property of Julia Richard-Priolo)
Did you face any obstacles during your treatment process? If you did, how did you overcome them?
The hardest part was looking at yourself. You get depressed, you get very depressed. At first, I really isolated myself; I didn't want to talk to anybody. Afterwards, I went to church. That helped me through the time I was depressed. My pastor was very kind about it. He said "Terry will sit in the back and please don't shake her hand because she doesn't have any white blood cells, so she can't come in contact with anybody." I would sit in the back and he would just administer the prayers. I was very blessed to have my pastor and members of my church call me all the time to pray for me. It was more than depression. The loneliness, me thinking: what if I don't get through it? It was OK if I didn't make it but it wasn't OK for my kids. That was my biggest worry, but I got over the depression. The emotions are very hard. I went to therapy too, to help me through this. My doctor said "Terry, if you need therapy, go for it. Don't say you're going to do it alone, because it's really hard." So I went.
How often were you going to therapy?
Once a week at the very beginning, until maybe three-quarters of the way. It was very hard.
Is there a message you'd like to provide women in the community or anything you'd like to share with a fellow cancer person or someone afraid of getting cancer?
[Long pause] Everyone's afraid of getting cancer. For me, it's simple: just live. Life is meant to be lived, and if you have cancer, just surround yourself with people. You need people, you really do. Whatever support system you can get, you're going to need. You really need a support system so that people will walk with you. You can't do it by yourself, it's hard. I did it with the church because as a Christian, I'm a strong believer in God. That's what helped me through it. Women, men, whomever, I would say you need support. Surround yourself with whatever you believe in. I know at the beginning, it's hard to accept, because it was hard for me. You isolate yourself. But whatever you do, try and reach out, that's the most important thing otherwise it's way too hard.
If there's anything else you'd like to add, you're more than welcome.
I have a lot of thoughts of people that don't make it at a young age. It really breaks my heart, because they shouldn't have to go through that. In remembrance of all the people, just fight! Whatever happens will happen. You'll never know the outcome, but if have a lot of faith and you're a strong, you have better chances of making it. My doctor told me that thinking positive is more than half the battle, and that resonates with me until this very day. He said "I had two women that I don't know how they made it. I couldn't tell them you're going to die, but I just said it's going to be hard. Don't ask me how they made it. I have no idea. Scientifically, it doesn't make sense." He said "I had a gentleman that was so depressed always thinking 'Ah, I won't make it!' You will make it," he said. The guy abandoned himself, got depressed and did not make it. More than half the battle is the mental state. It doesn't matter whether you make it or not, but at least run the race.
May I have your credentials?
I have a bachelor's in biology and I've worked at the Montreal General Hospital for 25 years. I worked in parasitology and microbiology. The terminology of all the medical aspects was learned through the job itself.
Since you had experience working in the hospital before you were diagnosed, once you were diagnosed, did you feel like you were being man-handled by the system, sort of the way you would handle your patients?
I was really lucky. The sad part is that because my husband is a doctor, I got the royal treatment. I hate to say this, I really do, but I got A to Z. My husband just made sure I got everything. He would call the pharmacy and they would deliver, everything was always accounted for. But my heart goes out to the people that don't have that luxury, because they have to wait. I never waited. There are just no resources. And as they're waiting, the cancer is still growing! Mine wasn't as bad, but I've seen people with aggressive breast cancers that are waiting and they're just doomed and they don't know it yet.
Aren't patients tended to based on the severity of their cancer?
Yes, they are, but by the time you get to all these specialists, it's a long process. I just walked in. I was very blessed because of my husband. For someone that goes through their GP, you're looking at months.
It's a lot of bureaucracy.
Yes, and then by the time they get to the specialist, it's another couple of months. The system is really bad, it sucks. You guys are young, you don't realize the debt of how bad our system is: there are 20 000 people that die in hospitals due to negligence. "The nurse didn't see this." There's too many patients and not enough people to tend to them. Now our government just made some cuts in the health sector, so it's going to get worse. It's going to be a nightmare. I would tell people to put a lot of money in the bank for your medical services. You guys are young, you may not need it now, but you will eventually. Insurance, that's what's going to happen. We're going to have to do like the Americans: pay 20,000$ for a family. It's outrageous! But this is what it will eventually be. This province has no money anymore. It is what it is. Put money in the bank for health because in the states they get the royal treatment. I was with a lady in one of my chemo treatments and she said "My first time around, when I had cancer, I had my own TV and my own room." And I thought "Oh my God, really?" Here I have just a chair! She was telling me that it's a business. That's what it's going to become eventually. It's going to become a business. It's just a matter of time.
]]>"You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." -Robin Williams
Arguably, the single-most repeated question newcomers to stand-up comedy repeat themselves when watching a performance is "Was what he said true or is he making it up for the show?" Well, for Robin Williams, the argument can be made that, yes, most of it was true. The interesting aspect about Williams' life is that what drove him to the peak of both his intellectual and vocational career as a writer, producer, director, comedian and actor was also what slowly led him to his suicide; it was a case of bitter irony.
]]> Robin Williams' comedic career began at an early age; his first stand-up appearance took place when he was only 20 years old at a local comedy club in San Francisco called the Holy City Zoo. Following that appearance, Williams was slowly influenced by great comedic minds such as Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Peter Sellers, and Lenny Bruce.There were many red flags throughout Williams' career that point to the fact that he was living with depressive sentiments. He would always perform shows with his personal life as the comedic focus, stressing that bringing up such private matters was "cheaper than therapy." William's admiration for comedian Richard Pryor's ability to speak fearlessly about his alcohol and drug problems may also be interpreted as a red flag; perhaps Robin Williams was so fascinated by stand-up comedy because he saw it as a medium to vent about his personal problems in a socially acceptable manner.
There is a theory called the "sad clown stereotype" (or syndrome) that suggests that comedians are more prone to depression due to the nature of their work. This theory implies that because comedians often demonstrate characteristics that can also be found in persons with schizophrenic tendencies, they too are believed to be mentally unstable. Have you ever watched a performance in which the comedian flawlessly creates a dialogue between multiple imaginary characters? If so, you're witnessing that spark of madness, that schizophrenic behaviour scholars believe comedians share with mentally unstable patients.
However, to tie back into the opening of this article, can an argument be made that this newfound knowledge concerning comedians' stage-facades will affect public enjoyment? Would you find it funnier watching a comedian joke about his personal drug addiction or would you feel more at ease knowing he's simply making it all up for your enjoyment? Some audiences respect comedians and praise their genuineness and authenticity, arguing that doing so brings life to the show, while others advocate that it's a subtle cry for help.
For comedic genius Robin Williams, his depressive attitude is believed to have fuelled his comedic career. Will this news make acts less enjoyable knowing the majority of the content that is believed to be our enjoyment isn't really a façade or will viewers eat it up? I guess we'll just have to see who follows in the footsteps of this great comedic genius.
Works Cited:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/robin-williams-death-are-comedians-more-prone-to-depression-1.2734500
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Williams
]]>I have always struggled to determine a career path. During my final year in cegep, I decided to enroll in a humanities courses entitled "Sociology of the Family"; through this course, I came to realize that I have a keen interest in the way society works. Having found a direction now brought me joy and a sense of fulfilment. By the end of cegep, I had taken plenty of sociology courses and my love for the field had only grown stronger. Sociology is one of those disciplines that reshapes and molds itself based on each person's individual experience and perspective, making it unique and dear to me.
]]> When I first realized that I was interested in studying the inner workings of society, I remember being in a classroom full of students that seemed to only be interested in completing the bare minimum requirements or sub-par work while I was completely intrigued by the lectures. And despite my "Sociology of the Family" teacher having the most unenticing and monotonic voice, I was inexplicably drawn to the content of her lectures.The majority of the class was busy texting on their cell phones or talking among themselves, while I listened intently as she explained why we do what we do as human beings and the driving forces behind our actions. At the end of the year, I went back to see my professor to acquire a letter of recommendation in the event that I'd need one to enter into my future university's sociology program.
It wasn't until I reached university that my anxiety slowly began creeping up on me again when I began realizing that sociology was, for lack of a better word, a dead end. I decided to also enroll in Concordia's Professional Writing Minor Program as means of adding tangibility to my educational carrer and to ensurie I don't end up working a low-paying job after completing my bachelor degree.
A moment of conflict between my own experience and conventional wisdom is when I slowly began losing faith in religion as a result of enriching my education. This is a perfect example of me struggling to find value in something that is increasingly being rejected, or for lack a better word disregarded, by society. In the end, studying sociology helped me make sense of my life and the actions of others.