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(Y Steven’s Man-Cave: Dig up some buried treasure

(¥ Chairman of the Board: Life sucks, and then you die

(¥Y Comic Corner: Hate is a strong word

And more!

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Contact: Chery! Minns, Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

www. theotherpress.ca

 

Life before Batman in ‘Gotham’

» Nitty-gritty comic book drama shows promise

G

   

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

corrupt politicians and
police, twisted senses of justice
and morality, and totally crazy
supervillains. Widely known
for its dark content and neo-
noir atmosphere, Batman’s
hometown of Gotham City
has always been part of what
makes the world appealing.
Although the concept of a show
set in Batman’s city without
any Batman sounds farfetched,
Gotham proves it might just be
fantastic after all.

Right from the pilot,
the show is obvious with its
depiction of popular Batman
villains, including a young
Catwoman (Camren Bicondova)
who pickpockets citizens
with cat-like reflexes before
witnessing one of the most
famous comic book scenes of
all time: the murder of Bruce
Wayne’s parents. Young Bruce

exit a theatre only to be held
up by a mugger, who murders
Bruce’s parents in front of him
and sets the stage for the young

Caped Crusader.

Gotham is not a story of
how Batman came to be; it isa
story about a twisted city full of

: corruption from all sides that

: followsa young Jim Gordonasa :

: rookie cop in the Gotham Police :

: Department, years before he

: becomes police commissioner:
: and works with Batman. Viewers :

he world of Batman features : —. a :

: will recognize Jim portrayed by

: Ben McKenzie, better known

: as Ryan on The O.C. Jim has a

: much more moral sense of the

: law than his corrupt partner

: Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue)

: as he seeks to solve the murder

: of Gotham’s wealthiest citizens,

: Bruce’s parents.

Things become darker and

: more dangerous for the cops

: as they investigate into the

: depths of Gotham’s organized

: crime world where they become
: intertwined and even on the

: side of the mobsters that control :
: Gotham City. Among the

: criminals are femme fatale Fish
: Mooney (Jada-Pinkett Smith)

: and young mobster Oswald

: Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor),
: who is nicknamed Penguin by

: the other thugs because of his

: appearance.

It’s hard to see what

: é : direction the show will take in
(David Mazouz) and his parents : the future, although it’s clear

: that more Batman villains will
: be set up in future episodes—

: probably Two-Face, Mr. Freeze,
: and the Joker to name a few.
man to grow up and become the : The many villains featured are
: definitely not subtle, such as

: ayoung girl named Ivy who

: is obsessed with plants and is

Gotham is a story
about a twisted city
full of corruption
from all sides that
follows a young Jim
Gordon as a rookie
cop in the Gotham
Police Department.

clearly the future Poison Ivy.

This gritty, alternative police

: procedural has a lot of potential.
: All of the actors in Gotham do an
: excellent job at portraying their
: respective characters. McKenzie
: shows his ability to play in-

: depth emotion as he portrays

: Jim struggling to be lawful and

: yet work within the violence

: and corruption presented to

: him. Logue as Bullock steals the
: show with his ruthlessness and

: cynicism. These two make an

: excellent tag team as cops with

: opposing personalities without

: seeming cliché.

The show also has great

: cinematography in a timeless
: film-noir style and excellent

: visuals. In many ways, it feels
: like watching a movie.

Whether youre a Batman

: fan who's read every issue of the
: comics or if youre totally new to
: the franchise, Gotham will leave
: you intrigued for more every

: Monday night.

 

 

Being a musician 1n a non-musician world

» Quick PSA on the struggles musicians face

Julie Wright
Contributor

B eing a part of the music
scene in Vancouver is a
very positive experience. I’ve
met good friends and made
interesting acquaintances
through music. When I find
out someone I’ve just met is
a musician, we immediately
have a stronger connection.
I find musicians also get a
lot of respect from the non-
musical crowd because the

crowd can appreciate the time :

and effort we dedicate to our
craft. What most of the non-
musician population doesn’t

realize, however, is that being a!

musician can be very awkward
and uncomfortable at times,
whether playing, transporting,
or talking to people about
instruments.

During a series of online
interviews with the Other
Press, high school and
university musicians revealed
some of the not-so-glamorous
aspects of their musical lives,
such as the many annoyances
of public transit, physical
exhaustion from instruments,
and the struggle to keep all of

one’s music together during an :

outdoor gig.

One issue the musicians
said they often deal with is the
struggle of carrying multiple
instruments at one time.

Lorynne Machado,

: described the awkwardness

: of “being 51” and carrying

: three instruments as you walk
: home, with a backpack that

: weighs a thousand pounds

: from the music you have, and
: getting weird looks from all :
: the strangers who probably feel :
: bad for you.”

Annaliese Meyer said she

: has been stuck “carrying a

: tuba, trombone, and baritone
: through Sun Peaks—while

: carrying music.” :
A lot of the musicians also :
: shared anecdotes about the

: inconvenience of transporting
: instruments on public transit.

“To carry two clarinets, a

: bass clarinet, a bass clarinet

: stand, a suit, dress shoes, and
: an umbrella to a concert hall

: an hour away by [transit] is

: definitely not fun. And people
: think the lives of classical

: musicians are fancy,” said Seok- :
: Hee Jang.

“Sitting in the middle
back seat on the bus with your

: case in front of you, then the
: bus comes to a sudden stop

: and you trip over and literally
: somersault down the aisle,”

: said Meyer.

Trisha Caccione said she
was not allowed to board the

: bus because “the ‘large black
: box’ I was carrying was not safe :
: for other passengers.”

Kedean Varga got “glares

: from the driver because my

: instrument is too big to carry
: but not too big to not be
: allowed.”

In my personal experience,

: I’ve encountered situations

on the bus where the driver

: has told me my tuba is “just

: too big” or I’ve been caught

: behind slow walkers who don’t
: understand how cumbersome
: it is to walk with a large

: instrument and how my one

: goal is to get to my destination
: and put this heavy box down.

Hopefully these struggles

have given you a glimpse of the
: complex world of musicians

and allowed you to sympathize

: with us, the musicians living in
> anon-musician world.