8  Artsand Entertainment

January 18, 2006 + Over the Edge

Colourful Decisions

RICE ALUMNI COLLEGE

A colour wheel, demonstrating varying colours, and in this black and white example, shades of black.

TABATHA LUNDHOLM
STAFF WRITER

We all walk around wearing dif-
ferent colours. Some chose to wear
all blacks, or grays, but others love to
just go crazy and wear colours like yel-
low, pink, or lime green. Why do we
choose the colours we wear? What is
it about colour that drives us to be a
sunny yellow, a pretty pink, or an out-
tageous orange? How does colour af-
fect out moods?

American columnist Faber Birren
had something to say about the effect
of colour in life, and how it affects our
moods: “Its role in all forms of life is
too evident to be either denied or ig-
noted,”

Colour is everywhere, and since
it is always within our eyesight, we
are constantly being subconsciously
altered by whatever colours are pres-
ent. Commercials will show a drab or
unhappy life in dull-grays and darker
colours, but as soon as their product
enters the scene, everything is a happy
yellow! Hmm, wonder why they do
thar... -

Colour originated as only being
purposeful for hunting and hiding
from hunters. We knew that a black

and yellow creature wasnt going to be

very safe, and that the yellow flowers
made better tea than the pink ones.
Greens meant plentiful life with little
chance of starvation, since green, lush
vegetation means that there is water
nearby.

Colours have specific effects on our
mind, Even colours within the same
section of the spectrum, for example,
royal blue and powder blue, will have
different effects on people's moods,

‘The four psychologically-recognized
main, or “primary’, colours are red,
yellow, blue and green. These repre-
sent the balance between the physical,
the emotional, the mental, and the és-
sential sections of our psyche. These
four colours also have been used to
represent the original four “elements”:
earth, air, fire and water. Above these
four colours, there are also indigo, or-
ange, and violet. Yup, you guessed it,
Roy G. Biv strikes again.

Did you know that the reason that
most surgical outfits are green is so
that after the surgeons have looked
at the red blood for so long, their eyes
will be rested by the opposite colour?
Irs true, When we stare at a certain
colour for more than 30 seconds, our
eyes become fixated on it; that’s why
you can look at a picture of a blue

heart and close your eyes, and you'll
see an orange one there!

When it comes to what colours best
represent a person, and why they wear
certain colours, there are four groups
that people can belong to. Ones who
prefer delicate colours containing no
black (i.e. peach) often seem to be live-
ly, optimistic and immature. People
who chose more gray-infused colours.
(ie. lavender) tend to be graceful,
soothing, and elitist. Those who chose
to wear more fiery colours (i.e. burnt
orange) are usuall/y more reliable,
earthy, and bossy. The final group is
the ones who chose the bold, outright
colours (i.e. magenta), and these indi-
viduals have a habit of being sophisti-
cated, modern, and expensive.

Moods can be altered accordingly
to these said colours. When you see a
certain shade of blue, such as ice blue,
you may feel a little materialist. If you

were to see a rose pink, you could feel .

a little more elegant.

So whether you're a lively peach, or
a bossy burnt orange, you are what
you see, and with over 16 million to
choose from, you'll be sure to find
your niche.

Spoken Word Beats Silence

TABATHA LUNDHOLM
STAFF WRITER
Spoken word has swept radio air-

waves everywhere, being a haven’

for poets, the politically outspoken,
and the heartbroken children of the
world. Beginning with bards traveling
the country, telling their poetry to
whoever would listen, oral poetry, or
spoken word, has been a great way to
be heard.

After the bards all had their time,
written poetry came into play, and
spoken word fell off the face of the
social planet. It wasn't until later, with
.beat poets, that spoken word had its
cultural comeuppance. Famous faces
such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Gins-
burg got the political spoken word
ball rolling. The Beats, a spoken-word
troupe that wanted to spread their
personal views on academics and the
wrongs of societal norms, were big on
the scene in the 50s and 60s. Spoken

word vanished again, until there was a
major uprising in the 90s..

Spoken word usually means poetry, -

but also includes categories such as

comedy, plays, or political speeches.
“[AJll poetry read aloud is spoken

word, but not all spoken word. is

‘poetry, said Mark Miazga, host of

the spoken word performance house,
Holden's Lair. “[I]t is difficult to dis-
cern where spoken word ends and
poetry begins.’

The spoken word movement in
the 90s is still fresh in many people's
minds. Poets such as Maggie Estep,
Bob Holman, and John S. Hall were
among the many faces that stepped up
to the spotlight in coffee bars every-
where.

Mainstream movies even started
to feature this phenomenon as a part
of their character sketches. Canadian
actor Mike Myers played a spoken
word poet in “So I Married an Axe-

Murderer”. “Message for Posterity”
was another movie on the lives of beat
poets, released in 1994; it honoured

and analyzed the movement of poet

Dennis Potter in the 60s.

The spoken word idea of getting

what you have to say out there to a
varied audience appeals to many a
college student. The young and pol-
itically-minded academics of our gen-
eration took hold of this idea, creat-
ing a plethora of spoken word shows
on college radio everywhere. With an
audience of like-minded individuals,
students have taken the spoken word
movement to a new high. Instead of
sitting in coffee bars with slow jazz
playirig, they're behind microphones
in studios, talking politics, relation-
ships, and theories to listeners every-
where, Even on CFUR, you can find
spoken word shows daily, from poetry
to politics: people are getting their
word out.

We All Heart
Canadian Films

PAULINE HADFIELD
THE PEAK
{SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY)

BURNABY, B.C. (CUP) - For most
people, trying to think of any Canad-
ian film draws a.bit of a blank. Fubar?
Was that Canadian? Canadian actors,
maybe... Michael J. Fox... Pamela An-

- derson... the skanky one from Sex and

the City? Thinking of Canadian films
draws images of anything low budget,
really. Nothing like the giant oyer-the-

. top blockbuster movies from. Holly-

wood, with their damn special effects.

However, like most things Canadian,
once you are acquainted with the world
of Canadian film, you will find it quite
charming.

A good place to start is not the“ We're
Canadian” section of your Roger's
Video or - if your local Roger's is as
embarrassingly lame as mine - at the
bottom of the “We're Foreign” section.
Rather, a good place to start is the First
Weekend Club,

The First Weekend Club is a Van-
couver-based organisation that works
to promote Canadian film. The num-
ber of people that attend a film's open-
ing weekend determines how long the
film will play in theatres. So, the FWC
promotes Canadian films like crazy
right before their opening weekend, in
hopes of ensuring longer runs for our
country’s films.

The FWC recently started holding
live Question & Answer sessions with
Canadian movie stars. These sessions,
happening on its website's forum, are
going to be held once a month. To
submit a question, you have to join the
forum and go to the “Question and An-
swer with whoever” link. On the day of
the event, the questions to be answered
are flagged, so you know if your ques-
tion is in.

This month, Don McKellar, whose
films include Highway 61, Last Night,
and. Childstar, joined the First Week-
end Club’s forum.

I heart Don McKellar, the well-
known/unknown Canadian film writ-
er/director/actor. I like his crazy left
eye, his fly-away haircut, and his quiet
wit... and, in the FWC’s Question &

Answer forum, he answered my ques-
tion. That's right. We're in love.

Tasked if Childstar was inspired by a
character in his film Highway 61, who
sold her soul to the devil to become
famous. If you haven't seen either film,
read this and then watch them both. At
the end of my question, I mentioned
that I- was writing an article for the
SFU student newspaper, and would
appreciate it if he answered it.

Don McKellar said (posted) this.
“Sure. I thought your question was
pretty lame, but if it'll help your article
I'll happily reply. Seriously though, I
think your question is pretty interest-
ing, Id never thought of that connec-
tion. I guess I have a long history of
torturing children in my work... there is
definitely something about the Amer-
ican dream that I find terribly sad and
mortifying. It tends to oppresses crea-
tivity and individuality rather than fos-
ter it. And it-seems much sadder and
more moving. when it is imposed on
children’

“Sometimes I think these thoughts
came to me after watching tons ‘of TV
(I was- watching The 700 Club daily
when I wrote Highway 61). Sometimes
I think they were nurtured in my fam-
ily home; I remember the torture my
sister went through as-a competitive
gymnast. Maybe these thoughts are a
kind self-loathing that developed as a
defense against my own childish long-
ings for attention. In any case, they are
feelings that have only multiplied with
each glimpse I have stolen into the core
of the entertainment complex.’

I was so excited when I saw that he
answered me - and that was only part
of the response! What a man.

This forum is the opportunity to
show those Canadians involved in the
film industry that we are interested in
something beyond anything involv-
ing Lindsay Lohan. Who knows, you
might get a chance to interact with your
Canadian celebrity sweetheart.

The next Question & Answer forum
will be with Martin Short, to discuss.
his film Jiminy Glick in La.La Wood,
See www.forum.firstweekendclub.ca
for more information.

ATi tig
| Fh

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