{"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.14288\/1.0126063":{"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/dataProvider":[{"value":"CONTENTdm","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isReferencedBy":[{"value":"http:\/\/resolve.library.ubc.ca\/cgi-bin\/catsearch?bid=1211252","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isPartOf":[{"value":"University Publications","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued":[{"value":"2015-08-26","type":"literal","lang":"en"},{"value":"2002-10-25","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/aggregatedCHO":[{"value":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/collections\/Ubysseynews\/items\/1.0126063\/source.json","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/format":[{"value":"application\/pdf","type":"literal","lang":"en"}],"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note":[{"value":" '. -pi\nj SC\nw~?\nSf\n\u25a0rt'fcj\":\n.v.'\n.Ji s \u2022....'\u25a0\u25a0>:\u25a0\ne ;_\u25a0*\u2022*\u25a0 \u25a0\n\u25a0-V.\nU\nJ'*\n,i$li\n11\n&\nj ! -~*\n_X '* \/**_ * j_[ \"\\n _jvX> *_^ \u25a0 .35\n7\n\/\n! V.\n.1 s\nV\n\/\n**v\n&\n>.\nX \u25a0*\n;y\n, I \u25a0.\u201e .\n__E -E. \u25a0\u25a0*\u25a0\u25a0- \u25a0 .iJl\ny\n*' \/ - --* Va \u00ab:\u25a0<; -*r*^ \u25a0\n. \/ 'ijfipakxf\/\/)^pa ue].ia s iuuon ol\n-? * A*!\" . \u25a0*\u25a0\u25a0 ' _> i I _\u00a7 i\n i.g. :S.. g ^fes&T x.J.. \u201e jf .-; v- Is i^L - * l_ .-.-. ... ...\nNews:\nMayoral wannabes debate\nSPWRTSi\nInjuries, Inductees and\ninternational celebrities\nBird Droppings. Page 2.\neDITQRIAti\n18th, our asses\nUBC is so much better than that\nPage 6.\nRead about the Forum, Page 3.\nCVttfVtRC:\nJackass!\nJohnny Knoxville interviewed. Page 8.\nFEEDBACK@UBYSSEY.BC.CA\nWWW.UBYSSEY.BC.CA\nthe- K^KRg^K\na\nv Volume 84 Issue 15 V:-\nFsrirtR.. O.tc^.C? .*->> 2W?r\nWWUIID Tilf r;^; tm$wM- m 9. mmzmmmmmm&imi-z\n:^.^*?.^:AC^s;^i^\nAPPLICANTS W.ANTED TO STUDY\nPART IV OF THE URANTIA BOOK.\nEARN $25,000. For details, visit\nwww.eventodaward.com\nPROMOTIONAL ST.AFF NEEDED -\nS15\/HR! 5 bright, outgoing & attractive\npromotional staff for Vancouver &\nWhistler nightclub promotions\n(accomm. provided) - 11\/21 to 12\/14.\nPromo experience req. Email:\ndaniel@masev.com\nLOOKING FOR TWO STUDENTS to\nwork as occassional translators to be\ntotally fluent in both languages: one in\nCantonese & English, the other in Vietnamese & English. Call Denise 604-671-\n1441.\nra uurricuiar\nSWING DANCE! Every Sat. at St.\nJames Community Hall on 10th Ave. 4\nblocks West of McDonald. Beginner lesson @ 8, Student $4 only! 822-0124.\nPAKISTAN STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION!!! New club on campus! Want to\nmeet other Pakistanis? Interested in Pakistani culture & traditions? Email us to\njoin: UBC_pakipride@hotmail.com\nSTART YOUR OWN FRATERNITY!\nZeta Beta Tau is looking for men to start\na new chapter. If you are interested in\nacademic success, a chance to network\nand an opportunity to make friends in a\nnon-pledging Brotherhood, e-mail:\nzbt@zbtnational.org or call 800-431-\n9674.\n2002 HONDA JA\/\/. SCOT] ER. 50cc,\n1600km, excel, cond. 3 rnos wan amy.\n$2350. 604-765-4601.\nJUDY RACE ROCK SHOX FRONT\nMTN. BIKE FORK. Barely used - only\n1 season. Like new. Worth over $400.\nAsking $150. Call 604-719-8595.\nFOR SALE: 1990 HONDA CRX SI\nExcellent condition. Must sell. Asking\n$4900. Call 604-719-8595.\n2 YOYO MA CONCERT TIX. Good\nseats. Nov 4. $100 each o.b.o. Email i\nShirley Hon: wshirley@interchange.ubc.ca\nlMQffil!i\nervices\nLOW COST REPAIRS TO COMPUTERS & all electronic equipments. Free\npick-up & delivery. Free estimate. Alan\n604-879-0290\nLOOKING TO IMPROVE YOUR\nHEALTH & ENERGY LEVEL? I sell\nnutritional products for those who wish\nto lose weight, improve nutrition at their\ncurrent weight, or simply want more\nenergy to get through the long week of .\nclasses. Info: call, 604-323-4142.\nEAT ALL DAY & MELT AWAY. New\nWeight Loss Plan. Call 403-935-5539\nUBC RESEARCH ON BROTHERS\nMothers & brothers b\/w ages 5-11 needed for study conducted by Dr. Charlotte\nJohnston. We also need families with one\nof the brothers having a diagnosis of\nADD\/ADHD. Mothers instruct sons in\ntasks & complete questionnaires. Mothers will receive $20 & children get a\nUBC T-shirt. If interested, please call\n604-822-9037. %\nHEALTHY INDIVIDUALS\nBETWEEN AGES 20-45, with recent\n(i.e. within the last 6 wks) lower leg fractures or injuries are required to participate in a study sponsored by Canadian\nSpace Agency. Study requires approx. 15\nhrs of testing over a max of 10 days\nbefore & during physiotherapy treat- ,\nment. An honorarium, not to exceed\n$250, will be paid for travel expenses.\nCall 604-822-0799\nTHE NO SWEAT FASHION SHOW:\nOxfam UBC presents... Thurs Oct 31\n11:30 12:00 & 12:30-1:00. Fri Nov 1\n12-12:30 & 1-1:30. SUB Main Concourse.\nON FRIDAY, SEPT 13, AT APPROX\n9:30-10AM, A B-LINE BUS stopped\nabruptly at the last stop before bus-loop\n(Univ. Blvd & Westbrook) resulting head\ninjury & bleeding from the mouth to an\n82-yr-old elderly on the bus. Anyone\nwho has any recollection of this incident,\nplease call Earl at 604-872-7553 & leave\na msg.\nSTUDENTS!\n:ii|ifllililiiii|\nliiiiiilillll\nIf you are a student\nclassifieds for FREE!\nFor more information, visit\n[basementJ or call 822-1654.\nBE A SUPERHERO\nVOLU.ffTEE.ti WOE THE UBYSSEY\nBe apropfreader.\nLearn layout.\nBe a part of the team that puts this paper\ntogether.\nAnd don't forget the free food.\nProduction nights:\nMondays and Thursdays: Dinner around 6pm.\nSUB 24-in the basement, hiding behind the\narcade.\nIf you are reading this, you are the type of \"reading the small print,\" \"paying attend 01 to detail\" kind of person that we\nneed here at the Ubyssey. Don't delay, show up today!\nTHEUBYSSEY\nFEELING THE MAGIC SINCE 1918\nSPORTS\naction'\nSPORTS\nexciting enough for you?\nThink again.\nUBYSSEY SPORTS.\nFast paced, fun and never predictable.\nWant to get personal? Write a profile.\nOr there's always volleyball.\nsp0rts@ubys5ey.hc.ca\n^SWVJ^MM'^^nhl PAGE FRIDAY\nTea and sympathy\nIf someone gets injured at the annual T-Cup this Friday afternoon, there\nwill be medical personnel on hand\nto swiftly attend. A whole football\nteam, in fact, as the female Nursing\nstudents take on the Rehab students\non Maclnnes Field at 12pm.\nFlorence Nightengale would be\nappalled\u2014the rest of us will be highly entertained.\nSmelser starts\nIt's the last game of the year for\nthe UBC Thunderbird football team,\nbut Blake Smelser is just getting\nwarmed up. After riding the pine\nwhile the Birds dived to a 0-5 record,\nthe first-year quarterback was thrust\nonto the field when the Regina Rams\nrolled into town October 11.\nSmelser owned the turf, and the\nBirds won 24-12. Four days later,\nUBC stole into Clan territory and\nspoiled SFU's playoff chances with\nan 18-10 decision. Tonight, Smelser\nstarts for the Birds as they meet the\nworst team in the league: the 1-6\nAlberta Golden Bears.\nSoccer\nUBC hosts Alberta and\nSaskatchewan for the last battles of\nthe year before the looming Canada\nWest Championships. The women\nhave already qualified for the playoffs\u2014this weekend will determine\nwhich of the four conference spots\nhas their name on it.\nAs for the men, there will be no\nscoring showdown between UBC's\nSteve Frazao, who leads the country\nwith 12 goals, and Alberta's Eric\nPinnell (he's scored ten) on Sunday.\nInstead, the Birds will have to\nanswer to Pinnell without the assurance of Frazao's \u201eusual firepower.\nThe second-year striker is on the\nsidelines with an ankle injury, but\nwill no doubt be shouting encouragement as the Birds fight to hold\nonto their number-three playoff\nspot Kickoff is at 3pm Friday, and\n2pm Sunday.\nJust a month?\nBefore most of us were born, the\nUBC women's basketball team was\nalready winning at the international\nlevel. Way back in 1930, the team\ncompeted in Czechoslovakia to win\nthe Women's International Title,\nbeating France by four points. It was\nas much a victoiy against the elements as it was against the\nEuropean champions, as the game\nwas played on an outdoor cinder\ncourt buffeted by harsh wind and\nsub-zero temperatures.\nAnd as this month is Women's\nHistory Month, with a 2002 theme\nof Women in Sports, it's fitting that\nthe 1930 basketball team, along\nwith other famous UBC women,\nwere inducted into the BC Sports\nHall of Fame on Monday. The\nprovincial government has sponsored a special exhibit for women at\nthe Hall, and even Gordon\nCampbell was in attendance for the\nceremony.\nKathleen Heddle, who fell into\nrowing at UBC and won gold at the\n1992 and 1996 Olympics alongside\nMarty McBean, was also among the\nhonoured. \u2666\nmm\nUBYSSEY\nFILM\nFIX: The Story of an Addicted City at Granville 7,7pm and 9:30pm,\nmatinees Saturday and Sunday at 4pm\nNettie Wild's documentary chronicles the battle for safe injection sites\nin the Downtown Eastside. As well as laying out the severity of the\ndrug problems in that community, this is also a love story, an intimate\nlook at one man's addiction and a tense drama between clashing parties. It's riveting. And Wild will be answering questions and facilitating\ndiscussion after every single showing. Go see it\nLIT\nThe Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival at various venues and times\nLots of events are sold out, but of what remains we can recommend\nsome Saturday shows: Nancy Lee with Gail Tsukiyama (10-11:30am)\nand Bill Gaston (l-2:30pm). As for Sunday, go see The Seven Sisters\nWriting Group (2-3:30pm). These chicks are excellent Excellent! Check\nout www.writersfest.bc.ca for the details. wmmwi\nUS students\nattack Bush\nadministration\nby Alejandro Bustos\nNEWSWRITCR\nAcross the United States, many campus newspapers\nare accusing US President George W. Bush of undermining civil liberties.\nFor instance, consider the editorial that appeared\nearlier this month in the Oregon Daily Emerald, the\nstudent newspaper at the University of Oregon.\nThe editorial attacked the US government for\neroding civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism.\n\"The slope toward fascism is hardly noticeable\nalong the way,\" the newspaper warned its readers.\nThe editorial\u2014which urged students and faculiy\nto \"stand up and voice their concerns'\u2014was attacking the USA Patriot Act\nThe act, a massive anti-terrorism bill that was\npassed lastyear by the US Congress, was introduced\nfollowing the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks\nin New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.\nThe new law allows US officials to, among oth&r\nthings, monitor library records, check e-mail traffic,\nlook at what websites a computer user goes to and to\ntrack phone communications.\nMany students in the US fear these new powers\nare a serious violation of basic democratic principles.\n\"If we lived under a Nazi regime, it would be easier to hunt down a terrorist, but that's not the kind of\ngovernment we want to live under,* said Dan\nLeathers, co-coordinator of the American Civil\nLiberties Union chapter at Pennsylvania State\nUniversity.\nLeathers made the comment this month while\ntalking to the Daily Collegian, the student newspaper\nat Perm State.\nA recent story in the student newspaper at the\nUniversity of Southern California also accused the\nBush administration of undermining civil rights. \u2022\nIn the Madison, Wisconsin-area, meanwhile, students have created a group opposed to the Patriot\nAct\nKelly Jones, a member ofthe group Students for\nan Informed Response, said the Bush administration was waging war on civil liberties.\n\"Since September 11, this treasured freedom of\nour nation has come under attack, and it's not some\nterrorists\u2014it's from our own government leaders,\"\nshe told the Badger Herald, the student newspaper at\nthe University of Wisconsin.\nActivists like Jones had been lobbying Madison\nCity Council to pass a resolution condemning the\nPatriot Act Their hard work paid off last week when\nMadison city councillors passed a resolution condemning the act by a vote of 17 to two.\nBut not everyone in the US is denouncing new\nanti-terrorism laws like the Patriot Act.\nA recent survey regarding the September 11 terrorist attacks and free speech showed that many US\ncitizens were willing to sacrifice civil liberties for\nnational security.\nThe survey was conducted by the First\nAmendment Centre, a national organisation dedicated to protecting freedom of speech. According to the\nsurvey, 49 per cent of US respondents believe the\nFirst Amendment goes too far in protecting free\nspeech.\nSome students also voiced support for infringing\nsome civil liberties in the name of security.\nClaudia Lum, vice-present of the Young\nAmericans for Freedom chapter at Pennsylvania\nState University, told the Daily Collegian newspaper\nthis month that the threat of terrorism required that\nsome civil rights be contained.\n\"It's sort of a necessary evil,* Lum told the paper.\n\"We have to ensure we can keep enjoying the rest of\nour freedoms.*\nOther students argued that protecting freedom\nmight require the US to attack countries like Iraq.\nRob Parody, a 2 7 year-old statistics student at the\nUniversity of South Carolina, said he would support\nattacking Iraq if it would prevent another terrorist\nattack in the United States.\nParody told The Greenville News, the student\npaper at his university, that it was a mistake not to\nhave removed Saddam Hussein from power during\nthe 1991 Gulf War.\n\"We should have done it when we had the\nchance,\" Parody said. \u2666\n<*r\n\u25a0J. \u25a0 . :\nFROM LEFT TO RIGHT. OOPS. NO, FROM RIGHT TO LEFT: Jennifer Clarke, Valerie MacLean and Larry Campbell share a\nserious moment at the mayoral forum last Tuesday, chris shepherd photo\nMayoral candidates at\nHot topics were safe injection\nsites and public transit\nby Kathleen Deering\nNEWS EDITOR\nVancouver mayoral candidates came to\nUBC's Faculty of Law building Tuesday for\na forum put on by the Law Students' Social\nJustice Club. The candidates spoke to students about their platforms for the upcoming civic election.\nLaw Professor Margot Young introduced\nthe potential mayors, assuring the crowd it\nwas only coincidental that Non Partisan\nAssociation (NPA) candidate Jennifer\nClarke sat on her far right, while Coalition\nof Progressive Electors (COPE) candidate\nLarry Campbell sat on her far left.\nDescribing herself as 'completely apolitical,* and telling the crowd that she chooses\nher seats and her fights wisely, Vancouver\nCivic Action TEAM (vcaTEAM) candidate\nValerie MacLean sat in the middle.\nThe ever-present problems in\nVancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES)\nsurfaced in Tuesday's talk, with candidates\nexpressing varied commitments to implementing safe-injection sites. Vancouver's\ncurrent Mayor, Phillip Owen, has begun to\ndevelop this idea, said Campbell, as part of\nhis Four Pillar Approach to Drug Problems,\na plan which integrates prevention, treatment enforcement and harm reduction.\nClarke described her research done in\nFrankfurt and Amsterdam in the summer\nof 2000, and said she wrote a report stating there were very good systems of safe-\ninjection sites in both places. Amsterdam\nalso has safe-consumption sites for drugs\nthat users aren't able to inject.\n\"They worked very well in conjunction\nwith alaw enforcement system that pushed\naddicts into these supervised consumption\nsites,* she said, 'and those in turn were the\nfirst sort of contact with medical care that\nmany ofthe addicts [had].'\nClarke said that after a seven-year period the addicts and dealers had decreased.\n\"I think safe injection sites could work well\nhere...in conjunction with a law enforcement strategy,\" she said.\nMcLean echoed Clarke's approach to\nharm-reduction strategy. \"Not only is it\nimportant to the Four Pillar program, but\nwe would implement it aggressively and\nquickly if I become mayor of the city of\nVancouver,\" said McLean.\nCampbell directed his response to\nClarke's, citing objections about her vague\ntimeline and her party's lack of commitment to implementing safe-injection sites.\n\"The fact of the matter is, is that this is not\noptional,\" he said.\n\"Her answer demonstrates that this is\nnot going to happen in the near future and\nwhile this is going on my coroners are\ngoing into those alleys and picking up people in [unsafe injection] sites.\"\n\"I tell you right now, right here, that\nthere will be a safe injection site one way\nor another within one month of my election,\" he said.\nLast year's bus strike and the direction\nTransLink would take under each candidate was another key point in Tuesday's\nforum. .\nMcLean said she herself is a transit\nuser, and said her party would look at all\npossible solutions to avoid the gridlock\nacross the city. \"My solution is...more\nbuses running, articulated buses running,\nbuses running 24 hours per day, seven\ndays per week,\" she said, adding that rail\nand water transportation options would be\nexplored.\nCampbell directed his answer to UBC\nstudents. \"I live on 12 th and Sasamat, so\nevery morning I watch six B-Lines coming\nto UBC full,\" he said. \"Buses have to go\nwhere people are and where people have\nto go.\"\nClarke, who has served as a city councilor for the last nine years, was on\nTransLink's board of directors during the\nfour-month bus strike last year. She mentioned the newly-completed Millennium\nsky-train line as a achievement of the NPA\nand a reason to re-elect her party.\nShe added she also supports extending\nthe sky-train line into the False Creek area,\nas well as the creation of a north-south\nrapid transit line linking Richmond and\nthe Vancouver International Airport.\nThe forum lasted roughly one hour,\nalthough Clarke had to leave early for a\ncouncil meeting. Votes can be cast\nfor the Vancouver civic election on\nNovember 16. \u2666\nOpening government up to the people\nLiberal MP starts website to\nallow input to government\nby John McCrank\nNEWS STAFF\nA new website is opening up the federal government to suggestions from Canadians\nacross the country. Started by Liberal MP\nDennis Mills, the website is intended to\nallow all Canadians to be involved in the\ngovernment\nMills, MP for Toronto-Danforth,\ndescribed the website as a place where people can articulate their ideas on how to\nmake Canada a better place, and are given\nan incentive to do so.\n\"We are reaching out to people,\" said\nMills, \"and in fact, what we agreed to do, is\nthat by the end of February 2003, for the two\nbest ideas\u2014and [this idea] could range on\nany one of the 40 subjects that you see on\nthe web site\u2014we are going to give intern\nexperiences on Parliament Hill for 15 weeks\nalong with a stipend of ten thousand dollars\neach.\"\nThe subjects on the site (which is intended to be non-partisan) span all areas of policy and law making, affecting economy, foreign policy, health care, taxation and justice.\nSeniors, women and Aboriginal peoples are\nalso topics.\nThe site, which started operating about a\nmonth ago, was inspired by Victoria-born\nThomas Homer Dixon, a political scientist\nand former Clinton advisor, who wrote, a\nbook called The Ingenuity Gap, in which he\nmakes the point that over the last number of\nyears society has marginalised the creative\npeople at a time when, due to the increasingly complex web of problems at hand,\nsociety needs them most\u2014a conclusion that\nMills concurs with. i\n\"[A]s a member of parliament over the\nlast fifteen years,\" said Mills, \"I have noticed\nthat in the public service\u2014both at the\nbureaucratic level and the political level-\nthat same experience has happened: creative people are really not given the amount\nof time and respect that they should be\ngiven, because ultimately, ideas are really\nwhat fuel debate and fuel making the country a better place to be.\"\nAll serious entries will be considered and\npassed on to the proper authorities, and the\ntwo best ideas\u2014which will be chosen by a\ncommittee made up of independent evalua-\ntors\u2014will be rewarded.\nThe campaign is part of a larger effort by\nMills to promote ingenuity in Canada. Last\nMarch, Mills's office recognised 20\nCanadians for their achievements with\nIngenuity Canada Awards. Some of the\nrecipients included Carol Grafstein, founder\nof the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation;\nTommy Douglas, founder of the CCF (the\nforerunner to the NDP); and Catherine\nSwift, President and CEO of the Canadian\nFederation of Independent Business.\nThe website can be visited at www.inge-\nnuitycanada.com. \u2666 2t.e-jfe2- :\nr\n.\u00ab88\u2122S:' \u00ab gr. jsaassg S j^* SF^ -\nilii tiltss m Blililif'\nAGE FRIDAYtMHtf^\nfdav. October 5S. 20o4 t^T^VJfck'?\nI Friday, October 25, 2092\nOf\n5\nFILMSOC\nAll films $3.00\nin the NORM (SUB theatre)\nFilm Hotline: 822-3697 OR check out\nw u v. ams ubc ca\/clubs\/filmsoc\nFri Oct 25 - Sun Oct 27\n7:00 Signs 9:30 Minority Reports\nMon Oct 28 - Tue Oct 29\n8:00 Warren Miller's Storm ($10)\nWed Oct 30\n7:00 Happy Times 9:30 Devil's Backbone\nThur Oct 31\n6:00 Happy... 8:00 Devil's... 10:30 Rocky Horror\nmmmmMMi\nLive and Learn\nJapanese!\nWaseda Oregon Programs take North American and International students to\nthe prestigious Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan for Japanese language and comparative US-Japan Societies study:\n\u2022 Waseda Oregon Transnational Program\nJanuary 15-June 27, 2003\n\u2022 Waseda Oregon Summer Japanese Program\nJuly 9-August 19, 2003\nScholarships of up to $1000 are available for the Transnational P'rogram.\nFor more information, contact:\nWaseda Oregon Office\nPortland State University\n(800) 823-7938 www.wasedaoregon.org\nemail: info@wasedaoregon.org\n#\u2022\u25a0 ;\u2022-\u25a0\n4 Wi'\nt\nAHinin niUHber 2 fruin\ntbe French dso, An\nta, confines the\ntee floor with snore\nnnstopMelionse\nCome to tbe Ubyssey Business Office for\njour chance to win a brand new \u00a7 bj tains!\nSUB Room 23 Bebind tbe Arcade\nWith Bollywood\/Hollywood, Indo-Canadian director\nDeepa Mehta pays tribute to two cinematic worlds\nJ-\nhere is one tiling, among\nothers, that one does not\nforget about film maker\nDeepa Mehta. It's her voice.\nHers is a husky and raspy\nand tinged with accents-\nCanadian with a hint of urban Indian. A\nvoice that is mixed with confidence, power\nand understanding, very much like the\nwoman and the films she creates.\nFifty-two. year-old Mehta is arguably one\nof the best, and most controversial, directors in the world. Mehta's latest venture\u2014\nthe cross-cultural musical comedy,\nBollywood\/Hollywood\u2014is all set to challenge cultural mores yet again, but this\ntime through comedy.\nthe hilarious Bollywood\/Hollywood is\nunlike Mehta's previous creations. Known\nas a strictly serious filmmaker, Mehta\ndecided to move her hand into comedy.\nYet, Mehta feels the theme is no different\nthan that of her previous films. Fire and\n1947\u2014Earth. The tradition, the desire for\nan independent voice and the desire to satisfy elders\u2014all the classic elements are\nthere, just set to a different tune.\nBollywood\/Hollywood (as the title sug-.\ngests) is also doing something previously\nuntried. It is synthesising two of the\nworld's largest cinematic genres, India's\nBollywood and America's Hollywood.\nMehta feels that although they are two\ndifferent industries both are very much\nalike. \"Hollywood is so similar to commercial Bollywood, and Bollywood is similar to\nHollywood,* says the Toronto-based filmmaker. \"It really is, for me, two [different]\nconventions and having fun with them.\nPeople have addressed, generally, that\nmelodrama, as represented by Bollywood,\nis a lapse of good taste. Bollywood has\nalways felt that Hollywood just doesn't\nknow how to show real emotion^ and [yet]\nthey're both so similar\/\nIn fact, many Bollywood films themselves are 'original copies' of Hollywood\nblockbusters. The stories have been\n'Indianised' to fit tamer Indian sensibilities (you'll see very few on-screen kisses,\nand sex is a definite no-no). The characters\nwill also break into song and dance at the\ndrop of a hat, typically around eight times\nper film.\nOf Bollywood\/Hollywood, Mehta says,\n\"It was like trying to bring them together\nand be in an objective place {which is being\na Canadian) and to look at Bollywood and\nlook at Hollywood and say 'Okay, we take\nPretty Woman together with melodrama\u2014\nwhat do you have?\"\nWhat you have is Bollywood\/Hollywood.\nMehta's hybrid of elements that are distinctly Indian set to a Western tune. The\nfilm itself is set in the Indian community of\nToronto. Yes, there is song, dance and all\nthe melodrama of desi (Indian-made)\nfilms. Mehta uses this as the spice to bring\nout the flavours of the dilemmas facing\nfirst generation Ihdo-Canadians. There are\nthe parents trying to keep tradition intact\nby drilling them into their offspring. And as\nfor the kids, they're caught walking the thin\nline between leading their independent\nlives and keeping mom and dad (and\ngrandmaji) happy.\nThere is the Hollywood plotline (boy\nmeets girl), the happily-ever-after ending\nand the pretty independent women that are\nin control\u2014all the essential masala elements are there. Throw in an phony\narranged marriage, a hip granny, hookers\nand a cool pad and you have the makings of\na hybrid film.\nMehta herself is an unabashed fan of\nthe song and dance. \"It's a phenomena\nthat's from my country and I feel happy\nmore than anything,\" she explains. \"And it\nreally is just a different kind of cinema.\"\nAlthough she's a fan of the genre,\nMehta's films have always broken the\nBollywood typeset They question Indian\ntraditions and morals and try to change\nthem, as opposed to promoting them. It is\nthis questioning that prompted fundamentalists in India to halt the making of\nMehta's last film. Water, in early 2000.\nBrought down by the seriousness ofthe situation, Mehta needed to do something that\nmade her laugh.\n*,* p**\n!\/.\na*\n1\n\u25a0tp\u00bb!\n.* < 7 *' -f\n\"What I've learned from making\nBollywood\/Hollywood is how important it\nis not to take ourselves too seriously,\" she\n' says.\nMehta also wanted to look at two distinct cultures and how they are assimilated\ninto one. She sees this as a common problem, as many Non-Resident Indians (a term\nresident Indians use), like herself, have\nformed mini-India communities throughout the world. In Bollywood\/Hollywood,\nMehta wanted to explore how one can keep\nthe link to one's homeland without giving\nup one's life in a new country.\nAs Mehta says, 'Bollywood\/Hollywood\nhas nothing to do with immigrant angst\nCanada is a county of immigrants, of people who are very comfortable with their\nidentities as Canadians. Everybody needs a\nbit of where they come from, and that\ndefines their behaviour.\"\nShe continues to speak of her experiences, \"I think I am lucky that I have equal\naccess to India and to Canada. And so\nshould all of you young kids. Use it, use that\nfact that you have access to both rich cultures.\"\nlike the characters in her film, Mehta\nherself is a kind of cultural hybrid. Born in\nby Parminder Nizher\nCULTURE STAFF\nAmritsar into a post-colonial India, she\ngrew up in a completely different culture\nthan her elders. She learned English in\nschool, as opposed to Hindi, and went on to\nreceive a degree in philosophy from the\nUniversity of New Delhi, where she met\nher future husband. She married Canadian\nfilmmaker and producer Paul Saltzman\n(they have since split up) and immigrated\nto Canada in 1973.\nMehta likes to do it all: she writes,\ndirects and produces her movies. \"When I\nwrite my script, I write in images. I\ndescribe images so I can direct it first and\nthen write it\" She laughs, \"I write about\nstuff I want to direct\"\nHer first film, Sam & Me, won an\nHonourable Mention by the Critics in the\nCamera D'Or category at the famed Cannes\nFilm Festival. Mehta went on to direct her\nsecond film, Camilla, in 19,93.\nMehta has no formal framing in filmmaking, though\u2014through her film distributor and theatre-owner father\u2014she grew up\non movies. This partially explains Mehta's\nglee towards Bollywood.\n\"I love Bollywood, I really do. The more\npeople that see it the better it is for all of\nus,\" she says. \"It's nice to see young kids\nreally proud of Bollywood and not put it\ndown. And realise that being a Canadian\ncan also mean that you can be who you\nwant to be.\"\nBut promoting Bollywood to the West is\nnot Mehta's goal in mating films. She\nwanted to challenge blind tradition in\nIndia. She says that she seriously wanted to\nbreak the stereotypes of that country.\n'Exotic' India of the Raj, the princes, the\nmysticism and the havelis (mansions) do\nnot exist anymore. Mehta hegan by wanting to show the India of now.\nMehta has definitely succeeded in showing present-day India and its social conditions. This is the loose basis of her trilogy\nofthe elements, Fire, Earth and Water. Fire\nspeaks on blind tradition, Earth on politics,\nand Water on religion-three ofthe driving\nforces of India. :\n\"Fire really taught me 'hat tradition is\nan evolving thing. It is a film about the\nimportance of finding an independent\nvoice under any circumstances,\" says\nMehta.\n\"It taught me the importance of having\nan identity and to speak out for what you\nwant, even if it's not a popular thing\u2014\nwhether it's with your family or anything. If\nyou really believe in it, you should really go\nfor it It's not easy to do but you should at\nleast tiy.\"\nThe 1996 film. Fire, is based around\ntwo sister-in-laws who face a patriarchal\nsociety that restricts their Eves. This society leads them to begin an affair\u2014with one\nanother. Fire received over 14 international awards, including the Air Canada\nPeople's Choice award at the Toronto\nInternational Film Festival. At the\nVancouver International Film Festival,\nviewers picked it for the award of Best\nCanadian Film. It was also one of 29 films,\nfrom over 1400 entries, to premiere at the\nprestigious New York International Film\nFestival.\nThe problems arose when it hit screens\nin India\u2014potentially life-threatening prob\nlems for Mehta. In January 1998, after its\nfirst screening at the International Film\nFestival of India, Mehta received a death\nthreat \"I am going to shoot you, madam,\"\nare the words Mehta heard at the festival\nfrom an enraged man. Mehta spent the\nnext year under 24-hour police protection.\nThe film hit screens in India later that\nyear. Although a box office success, it\nattracted violent protests from right wing\nextremists. Mobs of protesters stormed cinemas in Mumbai and New Delhi They\nsmashed windows and stormed theatres.\nSome even threw molotov cocktails at\nscreens where the film was showing. The\nfilm was censored, but restored five weeks\nlater, with no cuts, after Mehta fought passionately for her original film.\nAll this because Mehta dared to touch a\nsubject not even whispered about in India:\nlesbianism. According to the filmmaker,\nfundamentalists felt the film was giving\nwomen 'ideas.' \"This,\" (men wouldn't even\nsay the world 'lesbian'), \"is not in our\nIndian culture,\" is something Mehta heard\ntoo often. The slightest implication that\nwomen could make choices without reference to men angered many of India's religious conservatives.\nIronically, Mehta feels the film isn't even\nabout lesbianism. \"What really makes me\nlaugh [is] when people talk of Fire as a lesbian film,\" she says with a slight smile on\nher face. \"I just find it really weird, because\nit isn't [about lesbianism]. It is a film about\nthe importance of finding an independent\nvoice under any circumstances.\"\nThe second film of the trilogy, 1947-\nEarth, loosely based around Bapsi Sidhwa's\nnovel Cracking India, was released in\n1999. It tackled another sensitive subject\nin India: partition. Set in Lahore, Pakistan,\nthe Pakistani government didn't let her\nfilm there, so it was shot in New Delhi. The\nfilm attempts to show people what the\nlethal combination of religion, politics and\nhatred can drive people to do. Mehta has\nsaid the film is also an exploration of what\ncolonialism does to countries.\nMehta says she wanted to show \"how\nreligion when it's used by politicians also\ncan affect people, and how dangerous it is.\"\n\"We should be always vigilant about that, to\nnever create politicians who use religion to\nplan vengeance.\"\nThe film did not meet any controversy,\nor censors, when it hit screens in India. But\nthe bumpy ride was not yet over for Mehta.\nIn 2000, Mehta returned to India to\ncomplete the trilogy with the filming of\nWater. The film is based in the holy city of\nVaranasi (also referred to as Benaras) and\nthe main action is based around Indian\nwidows in the 1930s. Many women without husbands were forced to enter 'widow\nhouses,' they struggled to survive and\nmany entered prostitution. Some widow\nhouses still exist in India, including\nVaranasi\nAlthough granted permission by the\ngovernment to film, the film met fierce\nopposition from religious conservatives\nwho claimed the filrm was \"insulting religion.\" Thousands of protesters threatened\nthe crew and Mehta, and destroyed sets of\nthe film. One protester even went as far as\nattempting suicide by jumping into the\nGanges, India's holy river. He survived, but\nthe crew and Mehta were forced out of\nVaranasi. Mehta has no desire to film anywhere but India, and she plans to try again.\n\"It should be done in India when fundamentalists believe that it's not trying to\nprove something,\" she says. \"It's a film that\nI feel very passionately about I don't feel\nthat should be the reason to do the film. It's\na good film to do, not because I have to\nprove anything to anybody.\"\nPresently Mehta is stepping away from\nthe path of controversy.\nTm doing a film right now,\" she confirms. \"I'm about to shoot, it's called The\nRepublic of Love. It's based on the Carol\nShields [novel].\"\nIn the end Mehta admits all her films\nare made for herself and herself only. And\ndefinitely never with an audience ih mind.\n\"Doing the film for someone who is\nfaceless is impossible for me...I have to do\nit for myself. Then whether you fall flat on\nyour face or whether the film does well...at\nleast you know it's yours.\" \u2666\niVI7Mi!;.)7s tall tales telling\nBOLL YW00D\/H0LL YW00D\nopens Oct 25\nby Parminder Nizher\nCULTURE STAFF\nWhat happens when you pluck people from a culture defined by\nBollywood and place them into a culture dripping with Western\nsensibilities? This is what Deepa Mehta's latest film,\nBollywood\/Hollywood attempts to answer. Throw in Bollywood's\nfinest actors, add some song and dance, place the action in\nToronto, and you've got yourself a film about an average Indo-\nCanadian family.\nAlthough the plot is not exceptional it's the rest of the masala\nthat makes this film fun to watch. It opens with a dance sequence\n(surprise, surprise), where we meet Rahul Seth's (played by Rahul\nKhanna) white girlfriend. Needless to say, mummy dearest and\ngrandmaji are a little distressed at the thought of him wedding\nher. The girlfriend dies of a freak accident before the shock sinks\nin, and mom sees an opportunity. She threatens to call off Rahul's\nsister's wedding unless he finds himself a \"nice Indian girL* What\nto do? Enlist the services of Sue Singh (Canadian born Indian\nsupermodel Lisa Ray), an independent escort, whom Rahul\nbelieves is Hispanic. A few songs and sarcastic remarks later they\nfall in love (sigh). But she is (gasp) an escort\u2014will Rahul accept\nSue? Much more importantly, will conservative grandmaji?\nThis is a boisterously fun film, and you will find yourself laugh\ning a lot An Indian granny dressed in salwar kameez and quoting\nShakespeare is definitely an original. And any Indian vocab you\ndon't understand Mehta will clarify\u2014she has taglines explaining\nthings here and there. You will leaye the theatre knowing Devdas\nis a tragic Indian hero. Mehta also pokes fun at Bollywood sensibilities, such as the tagline 'the family who prays together stays\ntogether'.\nAlthough Bollywood\/Hollywood is a comedy, Mehta paints a\nvery real picture of Indo-Canadians. Mr Singhi (Sue's father) is an\nexcellent example of the patriotism many Non-Resident Indians\nfeel towards the motherland. Rahul and Sue are excellent exam-\npies of the opposing forces facing many first generation Indians.\nDo you do what you want to do (as you see your fellow Canadians\ndoing)? Do you follow tradition? They are examples of a quickly\ngrowing group of Indo-Canadians who blend both together, and if\nyou look beyond the jokes you see honest characterisations.\nAlthough this a fun film with true portrayals, there are a few\nflaws. The exaggerations, although they are fun, do reach a limit It\nis almost as if the film contains too many exaggerations to even\nconsider filtering them from more truthful portrayals. Secondly, it\nis a very noisy film; there is always a lot going on\u2014 enough to make\nyour head spin at times. And what is the point of portraying\nRahul's chauffeur as a cross-dresser? Mehta doesn't get around to\nexplaining that one.\nOne thing is guaranteed\u2014you will most definitely leave the theatre with a grin on your face. Who knows, you might even be\nenticed to catch the next Bollywood blockbluster. \u2666\nJi.