The cinema in downtown Nogojiwanong – Peterborough, Ontario – was almost packed for a noon screening of A Complete Unknown on the second day of its general release. That Bob Dylan fellow still pulls.
The film is the latest cinematic effort to unravel the enigmatic genius of Bob Dylan. It has been greeted by generally favourable critical response, particularly due to an excellent performance by Timothée Chalamet as Dylan. Edward Norton as Pete Seeger also proffers a performance that has been widely commended.
The script zeroes in on the period between Dylan’s 1961 arrival in New York as a nineteen-year-old from Minnesota – previously known as Bobby Zimmerman – and his controversial appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where ‘Dylan went electric,” much to the dismay of some folk enthusiasts including Pete Seeger. The film chronicles his encounter with the young singer’s hero, an ailing Woody Guthrie, and Dylan’s rise through the Greenwich Village folk scene into a Columbia Records studio under the production guise of the legendary John Hammond Sr.
The film has many charms and strong points, but it also has weaknesses.
We offer our two cents on the major events of 1924. Let us know what you think in the comments.
When we started this humble tradition back in 2013, it was based on a frustration with seeing year in review think pieces and declarations of things like the word of the year being released in November – which always signalled to us that December didn’t count. So tough luck to all the inventions, birthdays, and monumental events that happen in the 12th month, you get overlooked because editors are impatient.
In the past couple years, however, we are pleased to see that that trend has started to reverse. This year, for instance, Spotify had enough restraint to avoid releasing Wrapped until December. Whether this signals that our frustration has become more widespread or that perhaps the algorithm overlords that now run our lives are getting better, there seems to be a greater recognition that the year isn’t over until it’s actually over.
Despite this move in that positive direction, our original motivation that we need time and historical context to truly understand what was important in any given year still holds true. A lot of things happened in 2024, but we won’t know the true implications of these for years to come, so we will refrain from commenting on them. 1924, on the other hand, has enough historical distance that we are ready to look back and determine the most important event of the year.
As always, we have set up a four brackets – Entertainment, Business, International, and the fan-favourite Potpourri – and selected 16 of the biggest events from 100 years ago. They will square off in head-to-head matchups until only one is left to be crowned the winner. (A full list of past winners and links to previous editions are included at the bottom of the post). As always, events that fall in the same category as winners of past years are not eligible and have not been included.
We hope that you enjoy this year’s version!
First Round
Entertainment Bracket
(1) Metro Pictures and Goldwyn Pictures Merge
v.
(4) First Winter Olympics
Aaron: The motion picture industry was big business in the 1920s and the desire for new movies kept studios busy. American businessmen Marcus Loew had established a studio in Hollywood but wanted to expand his offerings. In 1919 he purchased the Metro Pictures Corporation to enable a steady stream of films in his theatres. Then in 1924, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures. On April 17, 1924, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company was incorporated. Its logo, the roaring lion, is an instantly recognizable symbol and one that starts numerous famous films, including Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind, and the James Bond series. In 2011, MGM declared bankruptcy protection and was ultimately purchased by Amazon.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought with it a revival of continentalist rhetoric to North American politics.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon…”
A few days ago, when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned, the President-Elect observed:
“The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau.”
And just yesterday:
“Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!”
The idea Trump is putting forward is not a new one.
Since at least the early-to-mid eighteenth century, continental visions of empire – from Manifest Destiny to Annexation – have permeated North American political culture and haunted Canada’s self-identity. Perhaps not since the Fenian Raids of the 1860s, and the broader nineteenth-century annexation movement, has an American threat to Canadian sovereignty been as visceral.
Contrasting these imperial visions, though, have been other ways of thinking about space, place, and home. Continentalism is not the only way to think about North America’s political geography. If we look to the past, we can see pathways towards a more transformative vision for North America that better reflects regional relationships and identities.
This week I’m joined by Crystal Gail Fraser, author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. We discuss the lesser known story of northern residential schools, conducting oral history with survivors, and the Gwich’in concepts of individual and collective strength. We also chat about the significance of the Inuvik’s school construction in 1959, the resistance to the system from students and their communities, and the legacy of residential schooling across the region.
“Petroglyphs 1.” Photo by Kelly Nokes, from Sierra Club Press Release. Images for Media Use. (Public Domain)
Imagine walking through the doors of the last large museum you visited.
What do you see? Colourful artwork hanging off the walls? Marble sculptures along voluminous hallways? Rare cultural artifacts in neatly packed display cases? If any of this sounds familiar, your memory has betrayed you.
You would have seen, first and foremost, the metal detector, the security guards, the plethora of ceiling and wall-mounted cameras, locked doors, and other deterrents like bulletproof glass. It sounds like a prison, but this is what it takes to protect art and objects in 2024. Even then, this security doesn’t do much for cultural items and landscapes located outside the museum. Specifically at risk are Indigenous cultural landscapes that are all too often targets of vandalism.
In Canada, this type of vandalism is somewhat common.
By Sean Carleton, Alan Lester, Adele Perry, and Omeasoo Wahpasiw
Residential school denialism is on the rise in Canada and meaningful reconciliation is at risk.1 After the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report in 2015, and especially since the Tk’emlúps te Secwe?pemc Nation’s 2021 announcement about the location of potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School and the confirmation of additional deaths at other schools across the country, many priests, pundits, and politicians across the country have engaged in what is known as residential school denialism.2
Denialists do not usually deny the residential school system’s existence, or even that it did damage. Rather, like in other cases of denialism, they employ a discourse that twists, distorts, and misrepresents basic facts about residential schooling to shake public confidence in truth and reconciliation efforts, defend guilty and culpable parties, and protect Canada’s colonial status quo.
This week I’m joined by Stephen Osborne, author of The Coincidence Problem: Selected Dispatches 1999-2022. We talk about Stephen’s involvement in the launch of Geist magazine, what makes a good dispatch, and why the format is good for storytelling. We also discuss coincidences, how to write about them, and what makes them so entertaining.
Crystal Gail Fraser and Jess Dunkin In this post, we discuss Indian residential and day schools. Please take care as you read. If you are a Survivor or intergenerational Survivor of residential or day school and you need help, there’s a free 24-hour support line. Call 1-800-695-4419. Additional resources are available here.
The cover art for the How I Survived Podcast was designed by pipikwan pêhtâkwan based on a wall hanging made for the project by Agnes Kuptana.
On October 22, during the first snowstorm of the season, we launched How I Survived, a podcast about recreation at northern residential and day schools, at the Explorer Hotel in Sǫǫ́mbak’è (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories). Given the weather, we were pleasantly surprised at the 30-odd people who came to learn about the podcast and celebrate its release. After almost seven years working on this project, it truly felt like an accomplishment to bring this work to the public.
The How I Survived Podcast grew out of a research project of the same name. Initiated in 2018 by the NWT Recreation and Parks Association (NWTRPA) in collaboration with Crystal Gail Fraser at the University of Alberta and guided by an advisory committee of Survivors and intergenerational Survivors, the research project was a response to a recognized need for more education about residential and day schooling generally and the place of recreation within this system specifically. We understand recreation to include a variety of creative, physical, social, and intellectual activities including, but not limited to music, art, sports, games, crafts, reading, and Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. How I Survived was also envisioned as a way to further truth and reconciliation in this country, and engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
It’s part of the craft of writing: a “killer quote” that powerfully demonstrates the point the author is trying to make. Taken from a primary source, it can become the most quoted part of the secondary piece in which it appears. And when loosed from its moorings to the publication that contextualizes it, the quote is carried into the murkier waters of online venues and social media platforms where it is transformed from illustration into soundbite. This is bad enough, but what happens if a quotation was inaccurate to begin with?
In researching the origins of the “Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969,” I encountered a quote nearly everywhere I looked. Responding to criticisms of the White Paper, Pierre Trudeau reportedly said:
“We’ll keep them in the ghetto as long as they want.”
Did the prime minister really say that? I had no idea, so I set out to track down the original source, eventually tracing it to a passage in a book:
In a television interview in March 1970, Trudeau left little doubt as to how he felt history would unfold if Indians rejected the White Paper. “We are not forcing anyone to do anything,” he said. “We’ll keep them in the ghetto as long as they want.”[1]
In Part 1 of this series, I provided a historical overview of Canada’s sex work legislation. In Part 2, I compared The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, or Bill C-36 (2014), with its predecessor, Bill C-49 (1985), ultimately arguing that both Bills are nearly identical. Now, for the final article of this series, I assert a need for change. I outline the historical and contemporary consequences of Bill C-49 and C-36 and why Canada’s sex work legislation must change.
To fully understand the consequences of the parallels between Bills C- 36 and C- 49, I need to talk about Indigenous women. Indigenous women, cis and trans, are overrepresented in Canada’s outdoor sex trade.[1]
