Recession victims find redemption
One website proves there’s always a way out of a tight situation

     

Angela Espinoza

ith 2009 now over, what’s felt
like one of the longer years in
recent time has already left its

mark on 2010; particularly those hit with
last years recession, which unfortunately
doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.

sounds absurdly impossible, and yet each
of those families has managed to pull
themselves out of their rut.

Janice Goudie, the director of the films
provided, will be continuing to follow the
families involved with the above project, as
well as dozens of others as a way to get their
stories out to the people who need to see
them the most. Several other local directors
of the National Film Board will also be
involved in the project, providing even more

 

“It doesn’t pay to get old”

 

 

However, one website has gone out of its
way to provide hope for those who’ve been
hit hard in Canada.

“GPD: Measuring the Human Side
of the Economic Crisis” is a video and
photo essay
web-series about
Canadians who’ ve
found ways to
cope with their
dire situations,
managing to find
ways to survive
despite financial
turmoil. The
series, which began in September 2009,
will be continuing up until September 2010,
uploading new stories daily in hopes of
inspiring others.

One of the better-known videos of the
150 episode film series is about a group
of families in Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L.
who banded together to start of all things,
a cranberry farming business. It almost

“The nice thing about these
documentary-like short films are that
there is no feeling of guilt forced upon
the viewer, unlike other reports often
seen in the media.”

stories to the website.

The project has gone out of its way to
become widely available, promoting itself
through sites like Facebook and Twitter
under the name GDPproject, which all
link back to the
original website,
GDP.NFB.ca.

The nice -
thing about these
documentary-
like short films
are that there
is no feeling of
guilt forced upon
the viewer, unlike other reports often seen
in the media. Rather, these films are made
to inspire those who seek help that will
most likely never arrive. The series is about
taking action into your own hands, and has
already done so successfully, with many
other victims of the recession going out of
their way to post their own ‘rags-to-basic
needs’ stories.

 

 

 

Ricky Gervais gets animated

Gervais’ podcast series gets a cartoon makeover

By Angela Espinoza

y now, English comedian Ricky
B Gervais has left his mark in the

world of television, having been
the creative genius behind Extras and the
original U.K. rendition of The Office.
Having also recently involved himself in
film with Ghost Town and The Invention
of Lying, as well as writing the best-
selling children’s book series Flanimals,
one can only imagine what Gervais
intends to get involved with next. Well,
how about his own animated series?

Gervais had previously been involved
in animation, providing his voice for
the 2005 Disney film Valiant, as well as
a guest spot on The Simpsons episode,
“Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife,”
where Homer and Marge enter a Trading
Spouses-type series, with Gervais’
character falling in love with Marge
during the swap.

On February 19, HBO will be
premiering The Ricky Gervais Show,
based on his ever-popular podcast series.
Involved in the thirteen-part project will
be close friends Stephen Merchant and
Karl Pilkington, both of whom have
collaborated with Gervais throughout

his career. The three will be heavily
involved in the series, intertwining much
of the discussions held in their podcasts,
which include odd and absurd excerpts
from Pilkington’s journal. They’ll also be
providing the voices of their characters;
however, it’ll be Pilkington in the
spotlight, as Gervais and Merchant will be
providing somewhat secondary roles.

This series is unique in that it features
severely simplified drawings provided by
animation studio Wildbrain, very similar
to that of cartoons made through the
Adobe Flash program. Just as well, the
series seems to provide no actual writing;
merely animated versions of the original
podcasts, drawing the three leading males
into place, with cutaway animations of
insane descriptions provided mostly by
Pilkington.

For those who have yet to hear
the “most downloaded podcasts in the
world,” each one provides hilariously
absurd views on virtually everything, from
philosophy to politics. Gervais claims that
it’s Pilkington’s lack of education, logical
reasoning and downright stupidity that
really ties the show together. One can only
assume how these observations will only
get better with visuals tied in.