Arts & Culture
Who doesn’t want to watch a Canada/US border heist movie?
This week went by so quickly. If you were to ask me what I did I don’t know that I would be able to tell you. Well, other than reading the news, watching the news, posting about the news. Truly I don’t know how other countries deal with election campaigns that stretch on for months or years. We are on Day 34 in Canada and I just need this to be over. The stress of worrying if our country is going to have a stable future or be taken over by a group of Maple MAGA is unbearable.
It was the kind of week where every time I sat down to watch something I just endlessly flipped between apps and couldn’t settle on anything. The trolls were ramped up and all of my social media was a steady stream of hateful comments. The “BREAKING” notifications were breaking me.
So I wasn’t consuming any challenging media this week. I let my algorithm keep feeding me bbno$ songs on TikTok and listened to Sabrina Carpenter on repeat. I watched the entirety of Ransom Canyon in one day. And dreamed about what I would do with the Lotto Max grand prize.
If you need some distractions and don’t want to make any decisions I’ve listed a few below that should get you through to the other side of the election.
~Katherine
Movies
The Art of the Steal (2013)
Written & Directed: Jonathan Sobol (Niagara Falls, Ontario)
Starring: Kurt Russell (MA), Jay Baruchel (Montreal, QC), Katheryn Winnick (Toronto, ON), Chris Diamantopoulos (Toronto, ON), Jason Jones (Hamilton, ON), Kenneth Welsh (Edmonton, AB), Terrence Stamp (UK), Matt Dillion (NY)
Filming: Bucharest, Romania; Hamilton, Ontario
Whenever someone asks for a Canadian movie recommendation this is my go-to. Primarily because I think heist movies tend to be able to draw in a broad audience. But also it’s a damn good movie that no one really talks about. This specific heist plot takes place across the Canada/US border. What could be more timely than that?
It’s currently streaming on Crave & CBC Gem, and is a damn good time if you need to shut off your brain for 90 minutes.
TV
Don’t get too excited, this show was cancelled. But even as a standalone season of just 8 episodes it’s one of the best detective shows I’ve seen. It’s not one where you scroll on your phone and can predict the killer by who the guest star is. This one will grab your full attention.
Three Pines. It’s based off the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series. No a light and fun detective romp, the show deals with heavy Canadian topics head on including residential schools and the MMIW crisis. It takes place in a small Quebec village and also tackles some of the French/English tensions.
If you want to lose yourself in a series that is the opposite of fluff, this one is for you.
Podcasts
If you’re on TikTok you probably know about JB Politics & Knitty Knits. Both are creators that talk about Canadian politics almost exclusively. A while back they started a podcast called The Tuesday Effect. Usually it combines some extremely deep dives on whatever topic Knitty has her brain set on that week. Often to hilarious and fascinating results.
This week they’re talking to Karla Marx and talking about “Drag-out the Vote”. Part of which gets into talking about toxic masculinity and why one of Canada’s political parties is making marginalized communities the enemy. You can listen to it wherever you get podcasts or watch it on YouTube here.
If you’re not into listening to something about the election right now (I get it) check out one of their earlier episodes: How 9/11 Caused 50 Shades of Grey
Documentary
Have you heard someone in your life talk about “the Manosphere”? If you’re someone in my life you definitely have because I’ve been talking about it for years. I fully acknowledge that I’ve been aware of it for so long now (since 2013 at least) that I definitely sound like a tin foil hat person when I talk about Andrew Tate and the red pill bros.
If you’d like a softer introduction into the concept of the Manosphere try this 45 minute CBC documentary Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by University of Alberta professor Timothy Caulfield. It really helps to give a primer on everything from the men who are selling supplements and drinking their urine to the online talking points that men are being sucked into.
This week’s CanCon Quota: 100%