Straight outta Comp Sc1

» Douglas College student follows his own beat

B Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor

M arts@theotherpress.ca

ip hop artist Teemus

Supreme recently took his
game to the next level when
he performed in concert with
several BC musicians at Venue
in Vancouver. The live show was
recorded and made available
through Pay Per View on Rosner
Management Services’ website.
But at Douglas College, Teemus
Supreme is known as computer
science student Sumeet Jassal.

Pursuing a music career
while attending college courses
is no easy task, but Teemus
Supreme manages to balance
both while also fitting in a
bit of acting on the side.

“Music is a passion of mine,
so it never feels like work when
I have to sit and write a song or
go into the studio and record a
song,” he said. “The only hard
part is when exams or finals come

 

around, then finding the time to
: study becomes overwhelming.”

Teemus Supreme discovered

: his love of hip hop music

: through his cousin when
: he was in high school.

“] was sitting in my cousin’s
: car and he was driving us back

Image via bandcamp

: home. He put ina CD and played
: this song. When I heard it, it

: was music to my ears,” he said,

: explaining that the song was

: “Runnin’ (Dying to Live)” by 2Pac
: and the Notorious B.LG. “Ever

: since then I’ve been trying to

: establish myself in this genre.”

Two of his favourite musical

Teemus Supreme’s

: performance at Venue has

: been a big step up for his

: career from playing smaller
: gigs like open mic nights.

: “Many people showed up and :
: there were lots of performances
: by other artists,” he said about

: the concert. “I meta lot of new

: people, which will result in new
: collaborations in the near future.”

His decision to take

: the Computing Science and

: Information Systems Diploma

: Program at Douglas College

: came from his interest in writing
: code, building programs, and

: : designing websites. While his

: artists are 2Pac and the Notorious :
: B.I.G., whose music has

: influenced his style in a variety

: of ways. From 2Pac’s music, he

: learned that every single word

: needs to count, and that it’s

: important to speak from the

: heart. From the Notorious B.I.G’s
: music, he learned about flow and
: the necessity of having rhythm.

education doesn’t specifically

: relate to his music career, it
: has helped his music in certain
: ways, such as his songwriting.

“When I had to take English

: classes as my electives early

: on, it helped me because one

: of those English classes was a

: poetry class and it made me

: appreciate poetry more,” he said.

Teemus Supreme is currently

: working on releasing his first
: album, attracting sponsors

: for his Canadian tour planned
: for this spring, and discussing

a possible tour in India.
To learn more about Teemus

: Supreme, check out his official
: website at TeemusSupreme.com

 

‘Star Wars’ for fun and profit

» A long time ago in a Hollywood backlot...

  

Adam Tatelman
staff Writer

Wee J.J. Abrams’ new
Star Wars film, The
Force Awakens, is good, bad, or
average doesn't really matter.
It’s Star Wars, which means
it’s going to get butts in seats
regardless. It’s practically a
generational tradition at this
point, an obligation to some.
But it wasn’t always that way.

In 1977, Star Wars stood
alongside Jaws as the first
summer blockbusters in
Hollywood history. A new
market was ripe for the picking:
thousands of teenagers across
North America had disposable
income of their own, and they
built their identity around
the new and exciting films of
the time. Their money was
the most powerful vote they
could have given. In a way, Star
Wars is largely responsible
for the filming cycle and
summer release hotspots that
Hollywood still uses today.

I can’t think of any
franchise that has moved
more merchandise than Star
Wars over the last 39 years
on the strength of its brand
alone. With the release of The
Empire Strikes Back in 1980
and Return of the Jedi in 1983,
creator George Lucas set the
foundations of a marketing
empire that has rarely been

: equaled. While there were tie-in
: toys and such for the first film,

: it wasn’t until the sequels were

: released that the momentum

: built in earnest. Even without

: Star Wars films in theatres, the

: brand moves roughly $2 billion

: during a slow year, according

: to Bloomberg Business.

This surge led to the

: Expanded Universe, a massive :
: collection of side stories that took :
: place between the films and after :
: Return of the Jedi. These stories

: brought Star Wars to the cartoon, !
: comic book, novel, and video

: game mediums. Ninety per cent
: of it wasn't great, but many of the :
: details fleshed out the history of |
: the Star Wars universe, priming
: the stage for a new trilogy—and
: more millions on the horizon

: for Lucasfilm Limited.

Put yourself in the shoes of

: a Gen X-er. You grew up in awe

: of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo,

: and Leia Organa adventuring

: on the big screen. Those films

: were your fairy tales—in space!

: But then in 1999, when you

: have kids of your own, suddenly
: anew Star Wars film appears.

: New characters and old friends

: alike revive all your childhood

: fantasies! You want to recapture
: the sentimental feeling those

: old films gave you. You want to

: share it with your own children,
: just like your parents shared

: the rollicking monochrome

: exploits of Buck Rogers and

: Flash Gordon with you. Thus, a

 

: generational tradition was born.

Over a decade after the

: fact, fans young and old still

: argue over whether or not the

: prequel trilogy’s bombastic CGI
: effects managed to capture the

: whimsical energy of the originals, :
: and they will likely never stop.

: I guarantee that Lucas doesn’t

: care because we still went to see
: them regardless. The prequel

: films’ success put them on

: Disney’s radar, and now we’ve

: got The Force Awakens to share
: with our younger siblings.

Despite his objections

against the Expanded Universe,
: Abrams freely adapts elements

. from them into The Force

: Awakens. This is why he’s the

: king of empty nostalgia. He

: doesn’t have any original ideas,
: but he knows how to adapt

: proven formulas for mass appeal. :

Just look at his film Super 8

: and try to tell me it’s not E.T.
: with a new coat of paint.

The Force Awakens is full

: of goofy references to the earlier
: films, John Williams’ brass tones,
: aging stars, and old-school

: effects—not for authenticity’s

: sake, but to capitalize on the

: rift the prequel trilogy created.

: Abrams knows popular opinion

: is that the older films were

Image via moviepilot.com

; better, so he imitates their style
: to curry favour and keep the

: tradition alive. As a result, The
: Force Awakens is essentially

: just a remake of A New Hope.

Star Wars has always been

: full of wretched dialogue,

: pacing problems, and gratuitous
: action. But its simple moralistic
: charm has survived generations,
: much like the narrative within

: the films. There’s every reason

: to assume that we will be

: sharing the inevitable episodes

: X, XI, and XII with our own

: children come Generation Z.

Star Wars is here to stay, so

we might as well enjoy the show.