Month: February 2016

Categories
TV & Movies

“Dear White People”: A Review by Kinnedy Broughton

Thumb_dwp

The following
review was written by Kinnedy Broughton, a Chicago high school student, as part
of Columbia College Chicago’s Columbia Links journalism program for high school
students. RogerEbert.com has partnered with the Chicago Urban League and
Columbia Links to mentor these students and to give them a platform for their
writing. Read more about the program here.

2.5 stars

What is racism? Who’s capable of it? Can it occur within
individuals of the same race? These controversial questions are represented in “Dear
White People,” written and directed by Justin Simien, and the 2014 Independent
Spirit Award winner for Best First Screenplay. It’s a promising satirical film that examines
the segregated stereotypes of campus culture.

Simien’s film takes place at Winchester University, a
predominantly white, prestigious university where we’re introduced to six
significant characters: Sam White (Tessa Thompson), the biracial activist who
overcompensates her blackness; Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams), the black
homosexual who lives in an all-white residence building, and feels little sense
of belonging; Colandrea “CoCo” Conners (Teyonah Parris), the white-washed blogger
who acknowledges racism yet chooses to ignore it in fear of non-acceptance from
the white majority; The Dean (Dennis Haysbert), who has worked hard his whole
life solely to over-emphasize his superiority and intelligence towards white
corporate men, specifically the president of Winchester; The Dean’s son Troy (Brandon
Bell), who spends his college career doing things to make his father happy and
impress the white majority; and Kurt Fletcher (Kyle Gallner), the privileged,
ignorant son of the President of Winchester.

Unfortunately, these characters are all extremely
underdeveloped with no true back story and have obvious predictability. Characters
such as Sam White, presented as the fiery activist who sparks elongated intellectual
debates, suddenly has her fire put out around the end of the film as if her
personality completely changed within a day. Lionel Higgins and Colandrea
Conners are both vital characters to the film, yet are completely under-developed.
The film gives us the gist of the stereotypes that are supposed to have purpose
in the film, yet we really didn’t know much about them. We don’t know what
makes Colandrea the way she is, or why she’s embarrassed of her roots. Neither do
we know why Lionel loathes labels and the reasoning behind why he can’t fit in
with his race or his sexuality.

Simien employs a mix of modern rap and alternative music,
which helps manifest the college-themed setting, although it doesn’t mix well,
and seems as if the music was simply thrown in the film. The camera angles are
amateur. It is distractingly clear that Simien tried to find points whereas to
create intricate camera angles, such as the time Colandrea has a conversation
with the reality television scout. It is more confusing than unique.

However, as flawed as it may be, the messages connect fairly
well. “Tell me man, what’s harder, being black enough for the black kids or
black enough for the white ones?” This quote parallels Lionel’s inability to
connect with his own race with Sam’s struggle with her identity as a biracial
girl. You also see some slight colorism occur with Colandrea’s insecurity towards her
dark skin as she points out while filming her video blog. Colandrea, The Dean
and Troy all struggle with receiving white acceptance, yet are in denial about it.
It’s clear that they believe the only way to make something of themselves and
to seem established is by melding into being something they’re not, loving
people they don’t.

“Dear White People” had potential and Simien undeniably conceived
an amusing-yet-thought-provoking message for his audience, even if that message
is predictable and only hits surface level. If the characters were more
developed beyond their stereotypical behaviors, the film could have been an
even bigger hit.

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/dear-white-people-a-review-by-kinnedy-broughton

      

Categories
TV & Movies

“Dear White People”: A Review by Kinnedy Broughton

Thumb_dwp

The following
review was written by Kinnedy Broughton, a Chicago high school student, as part
of Columbia College Chicago’s Columbia Links journalism program for high school
students. RogerEbert.com has partnered with the Chicago Urban League and
Columbia Links to mentor these students and to give them a platform for their
writing. Read more about the program here.

2.5 stars

What is racism? Who’s capable of it? Can it occur within
individuals of the same race? These controversial questions are represented in “Dear
White People,” written and directed by Justin Simien, and the 2014 Independent
Spirit Award winner for Best First Screenplay. It’s a promising satirical film that examines
the segregated stereotypes of campus culture.

Simien’s film takes place at Winchester University, a
predominantly white, prestigious university where we’re introduced to six
significant characters: Sam White (Tessa Thompson), the biracial activist who
overcompensates her blackness; Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams), the black
homosexual who lives in an all-white residence building, and feels little sense
of belonging; Colandrea “CoCo” Conners (Teyonah Parris), the white-washed blogger
who acknowledges racism yet chooses to ignore it in fear of non-acceptance from
the white majority; The Dean (Dennis Haysbert), who has worked hard his whole
life solely to over-emphasize his superiority and intelligence towards white
corporate men, specifically the president of Winchester; The Dean’s son Troy (Brandon
Bell), who spends his college career doing things to make his father happy and
impress the white majority; and Kurt Fletcher (Kyle Gallner), the privileged,
ignorant son of the President of Winchester.

Unfortunately, these characters are all extremely
underdeveloped with no true back story and have obvious predictability. Characters
such as Sam White, presented as the fiery activist who sparks elongated intellectual
debates, suddenly has her fire put out around the end of the film as if her
personality completely changed within a day. Lionel Higgins and Colandrea
Conners are both vital characters to the film, yet are completely under-developed.
The film gives us the gist of the stereotypes that are supposed to have purpose
in the film, yet we really didn’t know much about them. We don’t know what
makes Colandrea the way she is, or why she’s embarrassed of her roots. Neither do
we know why Lionel loathes labels and the reasoning behind why he can’t fit in
with his race or his sexuality.

Simien employs a mix of modern rap and alternative music,
which helps manifest the college-themed setting, although it doesn’t mix well,
and seems as if the music was simply thrown in the film. The camera angles are
amateur. It is distractingly clear that Simien tried to find points whereas to
create intricate camera angles, such as the time Colandrea has a conversation
with the reality television scout. It is more confusing than unique.

However, as flawed as it may be, the messages connect fairly
well. “Tell me man, what’s harder, being black enough for the black kids or
black enough for the white ones?” This quote parallels Lionel’s inability to
connect with his own race with Sam’s struggle with her identity as a biracial
girl. You also see some slight colorism occur with Colandrea’s insecurity towards her
dark skin as she points out while filming her video blog. Colandrea, The Dean
and Troy all struggle with receiving white acceptance, yet are in denial about it.
It’s clear that they believe the only way to make something of themselves and
to seem established is by melding into being something they’re not, loving
people they don’t.

“Dear White People” had potential and Simien undeniably conceived
an amusing-yet-thought-provoking message for his audience, even if that message
is predictable and only hits surface level. If the characters were more
developed beyond their stereotypical behaviors, the film could have been an
even bigger hit.

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/dear-white-people-a-review-by-kinnedy-broughton

      

Categories
World

Airstrike on MSF-supported hospital in Syria leaves several dead

An airstrike destroyed a makeshift clinic supported by an international aid group in northern Syria on Monday, killing and wounding several people, activists and aid officials said.

Mirella Hodeib of Doctors Without Borders — also known by its French acronym MSF — said the airstrike destroyed the MSF-supported structure in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province. She had no immediate word on casualties or the circumstances of the strike.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes targeted the makeshift hospital, destroying it and killing nine people. The Observatory, which tracks the casualties in Syria’s five-year civil war, said dozens were also wounded in the airstrike.

Massimiliano Rebaudengo, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders, told Reuters it was a “deliberate attack against a health establishment.”

“The destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone.”

Ongoing offensive

Syrian troops have been on the offensive in northern Syria under the cover of Russian airstrikes over the past week. The ground offensive has been focused on the northern province of Aleppo while Monday’s airstrike struck the clinic in the nearby Idlib province.

“The entire building has collapsed on the ground,” said opposition activist Yahya al-Sobeih, speaking by telephone from Maaret al-Numan. He added that five people were killed near the clinic and “all members of the medical team inside are believed to be dead.”

He added that paramedics and workers are now working on removing the rubble. Al-Sobeih said the four-story building that once was a cement company but had served as a makeshift clinic during the five-year civil war was hit with four missiles.

An aid official said at least one patient died and nine Syrian staffers were missing. The official, who was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide more details. Casualty figures are often sketchy and conflicting, and cannot be independently verified because of the inaccessibility of the conflict zones.

14 killed in separate strike

Also on Monday, in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border, at least 14 civilians were killed when missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other locations, a medic and two residents told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to the town, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, from towns and villages where there is heavy fighting between the Syrian army and militias.

“We have been moving scores of screaming children from the hospital,” said medic Juma Rahal. At least two children were killed and ambulances ferried scores of injured people to Turkey for treatment, he said.

Turkey strike U.S.-backed Kurdish militia

Meanwhile in Brussels, European Union officials on Monday called on Turkey to halt its military action in Syria after Turkish forces shelled positions held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia over the weekend.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that “only a few days ago, all of us including Turkey, sitting around the table decided steps to de-escalate and have a cessation of hostilities.”

She said more fighting “is obviously not what we expect.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said “we have the plan for a cessation of hostilities and I think everybody has to abide by that.”

Syria’s main Kurdish faction, the People’s Protection Units, has been most effective in combating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but Turkey appears uneasy over the group’s recent gains.

Source:: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-msf-hospital-bombing-1.3448514?cmp=rss

      

Categories
World

Airstrike on MSF-supported hospital in Syria leaves several dead

An airstrike destroyed a makeshift clinic supported by an international aid group in northern Syria on Monday, killing and wounding several people, activists and aid officials said.

Mirella Hodeib of Doctors Without Borders — also known by its French acronym MSF — said the airstrike destroyed the MSF-supported structure in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province. She had no immediate word on casualties or the circumstances of the strike.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes targeted the makeshift hospital, destroying it and killing nine people. The Observatory, which tracks the casualties in Syria’s five-year civil war, said dozens were also wounded in the airstrike.

Massimiliano Rebaudengo, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders, told Reuters it was a “deliberate attack against a health establishment.”

“The destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone.”

Ongoing offensive

Syrian troops have been on the offensive in northern Syria under the cover of Russian airstrikes over the past week. The ground offensive has been focused on the northern province of Aleppo while Monday’s airstrike struck the clinic in the nearby Idlib province.

“The entire building has collapsed on the ground,” said opposition activist Yahya al-Sobeih, speaking by telephone from Maaret al-Numan. He added that five people were killed near the clinic and “all members of the medical team inside are believed to be dead.”

He added that paramedics and workers are now working on removing the rubble. Al-Sobeih said the four-story building that once was a cement company but had served as a makeshift clinic during the five-year civil war was hit with four missiles.

An aid official said at least one patient died and nine Syrian staffers were missing. The official, who was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide more details. Casualty figures are often sketchy and conflicting, and cannot be independently verified because of the inaccessibility of the conflict zones.

14 killed in separate strike

Also on Monday, in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border, at least 14 civilians were killed when missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other locations, a medic and two residents told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to the town, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, from towns and villages where there is heavy fighting between the Syrian army and militias.

“We have been moving scores of screaming children from the hospital,” said medic Juma Rahal. At least two children were killed and ambulances ferried scores of injured people to Turkey for treatment, he said.

Turkey strike U.S.-backed Kurdish militia

Meanwhile in Brussels, European Union officials on Monday called on Turkey to halt its military action in Syria after Turkish forces shelled positions held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia over the weekend.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that “only a few days ago, all of us including Turkey, sitting around the table decided steps to de-escalate and have a cessation of hostilities.”

She said more fighting “is obviously not what we expect.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said “we have the plan for a cessation of hostilities and I think everybody has to abide by that.”

Syria’s main Kurdish faction, the People’s Protection Units, has been most effective in combating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but Turkey appears uneasy over the group’s recent gains.

Source:: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-msf-hospital-bombing-1.3448514?cmp=rss

      

Categories
World

Airstrike on MSF-supported hospital in Syria leaves several dead

An airstrike destroyed a makeshift clinic supported by an international aid group in northern Syria on Monday, killing and wounding several people, activists and aid officials said.

Mirella Hodeib of Doctors Without Borders — also known by its French acronym MSF — said the airstrike destroyed the MSF-supported structure in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province. She had no immediate word on casualties or the circumstances of the strike.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes targeted the makeshift hospital, destroying it and killing nine people. The Observatory, which tracks the casualties in Syria’s five-year civil war, said dozens were also wounded in the airstrike.

Massimiliano Rebaudengo, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders, told Reuters it was a “deliberate attack against a health establishment.”

“The destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone.”

Ongoing offensive

Syrian troops have been on the offensive in northern Syria under the cover of Russian airstrikes over the past week. The ground offensive has been focused on the northern province of Aleppo while Monday’s airstrike struck the clinic in the nearby Idlib province.

“The entire building has collapsed on the ground,” said opposition activist Yahya al-Sobeih, speaking by telephone from Maaret al-Numan. He added that five people were killed near the clinic and “all members of the medical team inside are believed to be dead.”

He added that paramedics and workers are now working on removing the rubble. Al-Sobeih said the four-story building that once was a cement company but had served as a makeshift clinic during the five-year civil war was hit with four missiles.

An aid official said at least one patient died and nine Syrian staffers were missing. The official, who was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide more details. Casualty figures are often sketchy and conflicting, and cannot be independently verified because of the inaccessibility of the conflict zones.

14 killed in separate strike

Also on Monday, in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border, at least 14 civilians were killed when missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other locations, a medic and two residents told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to the town, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, from towns and villages where there is heavy fighting between the Syrian army and militias.

“We have been moving scores of screaming children from the hospital,” said medic Juma Rahal. At least two children were killed and ambulances ferried scores of injured people to Turkey for treatment, he said.

Turkey strike U.S.-backed Kurdish militia

Meanwhile in Brussels, European Union officials on Monday called on Turkey to halt its military action in Syria after Turkish forces shelled positions held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia over the weekend.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that “only a few days ago, all of us including Turkey, sitting around the table decided steps to de-escalate and have a cessation of hostilities.”

She said more fighting “is obviously not what we expect.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said “we have the plan for a cessation of hostilities and I think everybody has to abide by that.”

Syria’s main Kurdish faction, the People’s Protection Units, has been most effective in combating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but Turkey appears uneasy over the group’s recent gains.

Source:: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-msf-hospital-bombing-1.3448514?cmp=rss

      

Categories
Ft Mac Politics

Ward 2 Byelection Results Show Claris Voyageur is the Winner, and the New Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Councillor for Ward 2

When former ward 2 councillor John Chadi passed away last year in November everyone knew that he left behind some big shoes to fill, and a byelection was needed to name the new ward 2 councillor. The byelection hinged between Claris Voyageur and a single opponent, Scott Flett, who was previously Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation councillor. There were 274 ballots that were cast in the election and Claris won 173 of these votes to win the race and gain recognition in the ward 2 byelection results. The byelection campaign was 5 long and grueling weeks, and Voyageur emphasized her community involvement, her volunteer activities, and the fact that she is from the local area and knows the region well. In fact part of the campaign for Voyageur was the phrase “no stranger to the region.”.

After the ward 2 byelection results were in Mayor Melissa Blake offered a statement “On behalf of Council, I extend our sincere congratulations to Ms. Voyageur for her win tonight. I look forward to welcoming her to public office. I would also like to thank Mr. Flett for putting his name forward, as well as everyone who voted in the by-election.” New councillor Claris Voyageur also made a statement through email about winning the byelection which stated “It was bitter sweet. I ran a clean campaign, and I will do my best.” For almost 3 decades Voyageur has been responsible for managing the Ayabaskaw Seniors Home in Fort Chipewyan, and she has also been a member of the Fort Chipewyan volunteer fire department for over 20 years. Claris will represent Fort Chipewyan, Fort McKay and Fort Fitzgerald on the council.