arts // no. 10 theotherpress.ca ‘The Defenders’ truly leaves you wanting more >» A Marvel show review Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor kek KK ’m not going to lie—I'd been excited to watch The Defenders for a good while now. After watching Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, it was like a dream come true to see how they would all come together. Their personalities at face level seem very incompatible, and yet... actually, they were pretty incompatible. In the best most entertaining way possible, that is. The series starts with the same anticipation that I'd been feeling before I started the series waiting for these superheroes to finally meet each other. It was agony waiting over an episode for them to finally begin running into each other. However, when they did, it was worth the wait. The story of their main villain— The Hand—had been growing in the background with all of the other shows (except Jessica Jones). Daredevil had already been fighting The Hand, and his show’s last season introduced us to Elektra, his ex-girlfriend, a master ninja, and more recently the “Black Sky,” also known as The Hand’s weapon. While the end of season two of Daredevil saw Elektra die, we got to see her being pulled out of her grave to be brought back to life by The Hand, unbeknownst to those who were close to her. This means she came back as a true secret weapon in The Defenders. Matt Murdock (Daredevil) had also been trained for most of his life to fight the war against The Hand, similarly to Danny Rand (Iron Fist) who had been trained amongst warrior monks in another dimension called K’un-Lun to defeat The Hand as well. Danny Rand, however, had been given the power of the Iron Fist, being taught that it was the only power strong enough to ultimately end The Hand. His role was to be the guardian of K’un-Lun. Luke Cage had only encountered characters with ties to The Hand, but not The Hand itself. Cage is also a character who tends to not believe in mystical tales, so he wasn't persuaded easily about the true darkness and power of the villain at hand (sorry). Meanwhile, Jessica had been busy fighting her very real and dangerous foes with no connection to The Hand. Her personal distaste of being a hero and working alongside people made her the hardest person to be persuaded into the superhero team. She makes many hilarious Jessica remarks along the way such as, “Am I the only one left who doesn’t know karate?” I was happy to see Daredevil and Jessica being partnered off often, as they are my two favourites. Their personalities also contrast the most, with Jessica having avery uninterested and negative energy, and Daredevil basically representing all the goodness, wisdom, and care a superhero Oscar analysis: ‘Crip Camp’ » It wasn’t easy to cope without what was previously a constant Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist keen was originally going to do an analysis of Judas and the Black Messiah (which I could have watched on HBO Max if it was available in Canada). But the film and other Oscar nominated films that were recently released both in theatres and digital still had premium pricing... even for just renting them. Maybe they will be fully available to rent a few days before the Academy Awards happen? At least Nomadland will be available on Disney+ on April g. Instead, I watched one of the films that are nominated this year and available on Netflix which is the follow-up to the Academy Award winning documentary American Factory produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The 1960s had a lot of important movements that set the framework of society. These movements began in small places and the fight for accessibility rights began in a camp in New York called Camp Jened. Jim LeBrecht was living in a world where handicapped people were undermined and invisible to a lot of people as well as put in institutions that had the conditions of a concentration camp. When he finds out about a camp close to Woodstock which is managed by hippies, Crip Camp begins. His experience in Camp Jened was like the typical camp experience with the summer of love. He made a lot of new friends and had conversations about their experiences outside of camp which they used to express their opinions on integrating handicapped people into society beginning with Disabled in Action. The campers were able to have their own freedom, have fun, and get support from camp counselors—few of which are also handicapped. The protest tactics of Disabled in Promotional image for 'Crip Camp' via Netflix Action included causing traffic in New York City which led to President Richard Nixon to sign Bill 504 which allows public buildings to be accessible which he was initially not going to sign because of the costs to implement accessible infrastructure in public spaces. The Camp Jened gang had another challenge to tell the US government to enforce it by occupying a government building fora month until the politicians would give in Illustrations by Janis McMath could have. Though, we also see a side of Daredevil that is distant, secretive, and troublesome, which is refreshing. The series only has eight episodes which is incredibly saddening because there was a lot of potential here. The story of The Hand had been built upon for a long time throughout many different series, so The Defenders’ eight-episode resolve feels rushed. My score of four and a half out of five is generous. The story is good, the acting is fantastic, the dialogue, effects, action, and every other aspect is great, too—but the series is just too short. Although, The Defenders got cancelled, it is still available to watch on Netflix. to their demands. It was peaceful and they even got help from other protest groups including hospitality from the Black Panthers. They finally got their rights when a report by San Francisco reporter and friend Evan White on their movement was aired nationally on ABC, thus the bill was signed and enforced. Now, Jim has a successful career being the recording engineer for The Grateful Dead and the barriers that he had are no longer a problem. A major local story being aired nationally is powerful and can lead toa conversation and action on issues. Everyone has an opportunity to work and if workplaces are adjusted to meet their needs, they can thrive. The campers were great too and they were lucky that they did not go through what most handicapped people went through at that time. Another journalist who covered the camp gang, HolLynn D’Lil, felt what they had to go through after being confined to a wheelchair from an accident. There were a lot of sex jokes throughout the documentary including when Denise Jacobson talked about having her gonorrhea mistaken for appendicitis and her soon to be husband, Neil, getting a handjob. Both had successful careers in literacy and business respectively and they got equal rights when the American Disabilities Act was signed by George H.W. Bush in 1990. The peaceful and energetic attitudes in Camp Jened led toa better life for handicapped people.