November 13, 2020

The Kardashians are setting a poor example for pandemic behaviour

It has been almost eight months since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Everyone has felt the harrowing effects of social isolation and quarantine. In true Kardashian fashion, Kim Kardashian decided it would be an appropriate time to relieve her family’s stress by renting out an entire …

November 13, 2020

Remembering Alex Trebek

On Nov. 8, beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away after a battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek, age 80, hosted the long-running quiz show for 37 years, presenting a record-breaking…

November 13, 2020

O Canada: The reality of anti-Indigenous discrimination

In the weeks leading up to the US election, die-hard Trump supporters took to social media to announce they’d be moving to Canada if the incumbent president wasn’t re-elected. Canadians took offenc…

November 13, 2020

The history of Indigenous representation in film and television

It’s not controversial to state that Hollywood has a representation problem. In over 100 years of productions, positive and well-rounded Indigenous characters have been notably missing from film an…

My decade with acne

November 6, 2020

My relationship with my skin has never been great. I’ve spent the majority of my preteen, teenage, and young adult life struggling with acne. It’s a little hormonal, a little stress-related, which …

Examining the ethics of family vlogging

November 6, 2020

We’re all familiar with YouTube; boasting about every genre known, its videos range from beauty tips and toy unboxings to gaming videos and everything else in between. One genre which has cropped u…

To the Hallmark movie critics: stop hating on romance

November 6, 2020

Hallmark movies have a reputation. Unfortunately, unlike Christmas trademarks like Elf and It’s a Wonderful Life, that reputation isn’t particularly favourable. The question is: why? By nature, Hal…

The new Disney+ disclaimers help us step forward into an era of conversation

November 6, 2020

Last month, Disney made a small but significant change to how it presents certain films on its streaming platform—and it’s one for the better. Disney+ made the addition of 12 second, non-skippable …

Blue light glasses: Do they actually work?

November 6, 2020

Staring at a computer for hours on end, only to take a break by switching to stare at your phone, is hardly the healthiest way to spend your day. Unfortunately, with online work and classes to stud…

When politics come to the dinner table

November 6, 2020

Family dinners at my household have always been filled with vibrant conversation. Growing up, popular topics included what my brother and I learned at school, complaints about workdays, and drama s…

Three steps to surviving a Kingston winter

November 3, 2020

When choosing to attend university a five-hour flight away from where I grew up, I knew I was in for a weather change. Growing up in a temperate rainforest, I was used to what most people would cla…

Letting my mind wander in my friend’s haunted house

November 3, 2020

My best friend from my hometown lives in a haunted house. During visits in high school and trips home throughout my undergrad, I could always count on hearing stories about ‘Johnny,’ the phantom bo…

Not normal period pain: my life with endometriosis

October 22, 2020

It was the morning of my Grade 10 science exam when the pain started. Up until that moment in my life, my period pain had always been manageable. On that morning, it became so bad I began to black …

Voting absentee as an American-Canadian citizen

October 22, 2020

I’ve always been proud of my American-Canadian dual citizenship. While I grew up in a small, Connecticut town, my summers were consumed by month-long visits to my grandparents’ cottage near Westpor…

Why generational divides are unproductive when it comes to COVID-19

October 22, 2020

OK, Boomer—it’s a comeback, it’s a meme, and it’s a signal of a deep and contentious generational divide. Let’s face it: we love to point fingers at one another. Whether it’s blaming Millennials…

‘Emily in Paris’ tests negative for COVID-19

October 22, 2020

Netflix’s latest bingeworthy show, Emily in Paris, has been the perfect way for me to escape the harsh realities we’re facing today. From the bright, vivid colours to its amazing soundtrack, the sh…

Ranking Jane’s love interests on ‘Jane the Virgin’

October 22, 2020

Jane the Virgin centres around a young woman obsessed with writing, thinking about, and living out romance novels. As the title indicates, the series initially centres around Jane saving her virgin…

Falling back in love with reading

October 22, 2020

When I was a kid, I always had a book on the go. These days, I struggle to finish reading a modest novel in a month. I just don’t derive the same joy from reading as I used to—I don’t know if it’…

Speaking to my grandmother’s ghost

October 22, 2020

When people ask me why I believe in ghosts or spirits, the answer is simple: it’s because I have firsthand experience with them. My recollection is vague, but my mother’s is precise when she rememb…

‘Prime Day’ feels like an empty celebration

October 20, 2020

On Oct. 13 and 14, Amazon celebrated its fifth ‘Prime Day,’ an annual sale which promotes the company’s products and services. If you’re looking for a great discount on a Fire Tablet or an Alexa, P…

‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ falls eerily flat

October 20, 2020

You know those people who re-watch their favourite show or movie over and over again? I’m one of those people, and I was The Haunting of Hill House’s biggest fan. Unfortunately, I can’t say the sam…

Stop putting down media for young women

October 16, 2020

In the world of media for young adults, there are quite a few cheesy, absurd, and sometimes even brain-numbing options out there to choose from. Most of us probably have ‘guilty pleasure’ shows we …

The public has no right to discuss Billie Eilish’s body

October 16, 2020

Earlier this week, Billie Eilish stepped out onto a sidewalk in casual clothes. Wearing a tank top and long shorts, the 18-year-old looked like every other teenager in the world. But unlike every t…

Is nostalgia cramping Hollywood’s creativity?

October 16, 2020

Over the past decade, it’s started to appear as if Hollywood is incapable of creating anything new. From the recent Star Wars sequel trilogy to what feels like the hundredth Batman reboot in the la…

Allyship isn’t activism. Stop pretending it is.

October 16, 2020

I’ve been at a white institution for three years now, isolated from diversity and fighting battles every day to be allowed safety and comfort. Somehow, despite the casual and not-so-casual racism, …

How COVID-19 reshaped my student finances

October 9, 2020

In the middle of March, I lost three jobs in the span of 24 hours. One moment I was employed and living comfortably, hanging out with my friends near St.Patrick’s day—in the next, I was living thro…

A24’s filmmaking crafts meaningful art under a new mainstream spotlight

October 8, 2020

From Lady Bird to Mid90s, A24 has consistently been producing intricate, aesthetically-charged films which connect with its audiences on multiple levels. The magic of its filmmaking is arguabl…

The return of ‘Saturday Night Live’ couldn’t have come at a better time

October 8, 2020

2020 has been quite a year—from a deadly virus to murder hornets, it’s left us all wondering what could possibly come next. With everything going on, it’s easy to lose hope. But, as a silver lining…

iOS 14 proves the iPhone is far from revolutionary

October 8, 2020

This September, Apple released a major overhaul for its iOS devices with the launch of iOS 14. With it comes the age-old question: do iPhones live up to the hype? iOS 14’s features have made the …

‘The Social Dilemma’ excels as a documentary, but fails as a drama

October 8, 2020

Society has a social media addiction. Netflix’s new documentary-drama hybrid, The Social Dilemma, not only exposes this truth, but frames our dependency on smartphones as a reality on track to self…