[Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Warner Bros.] Superhero films —and blockbusters in general— are overwhelmed with stories about (mostly white) men. This doesn’t mean women are never in them; every so often they’re even allowed to star. However, modern outings of feminist blockbusters (with a few exceptions) have been tepid at best, and hollow “girl-boss”...
Source: Photo by: Edwin Hooper on Unsplash. In these strange times, when social interaction outside of our small social bubble is limited to virtual and socially-distanced spaces, creators of media are driven to experiment with more creative approaches. At the beginning of the pandemic, as we were sequestered inside our individual dwellings, a trend of...
ESA members, please vote for the election candidates you support by filling this form. Our voting form closes on April 25th, at 12 PM. *Only ESA members may vote in ESA’S elections* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our executive elections have transitioned online. This year, we have several candidates for the 2020-2021 executive team. Their...
Elections will take place at our Annual General Meeting. Due to health concerns and to ensure everyone’s safety, we will hold our Annual General Meeting online. Details to be Announced. Looking for a fun opportunity to get involved with the English undergraduate community while developing leadership skills? We are officially seeking executives for next year’s ESA team....
“Once upon a time, deep in the heart of the country,” begins Charles Perrault, “there lived a pretty little girl whose mother adored her, and her grandmother adored her even more. This good woman made her a red hood like the ones that fine ladies wear when they go riding. The hood suited the child...
Thinking beyond ourselves has become a dominant theme in my Canadian Environmental writing course that influences my decisions on a day-to-day basis. It is annie ross’ collection of poems from Pots and Other Living Beings(2019) that inspires me to reflect on my consumption of food, clothing, and other materialistic items. I am not insisting to start...
From my previous post “Literature to Life: We Eat Too Many Paper Plates,” I analyzed annie ross’ Pots and Other Living Beings (2019) to continue ongoing discussions pertaining to recent climate strikes. With the upcoming Black Friday sale and holidays next month, I want to suggest a few alternatives for everyone to think about when...
To say that Stephen King is a good writer would be an understatement. With nearly 100 books selling over 350 million copies and stories transformed into television series and movies that have left an indelible mark on our pop culture, Stephen King is a capital “G” Great writer. I paid a visit to one of...
Interested in gaining editing experience? Looking to take part in an enriching academic conference? The ESA is looking for editors to assist with the 2020 Colloquium! Editors will have a hand in selecting the pieces that will be presented at the conference, as well as work closely with those selected to refine their work. Some...
Both heroes and anti-heroes share a common goal in life to find his or her form of happiness by conquering any problem he or she faces to achieve his or her goal. In Todd Phillips’ film, Joker (2019), the audience is challenged to perceive the protagonist Arthur Fleck, a party clown and failed comedian, as an example...
Jacobean dramatist John Webster approached the taboo and the questionable with inexhaustible determination, plunging the contemporary reader into those dark, uncomfortable spaces we prefer to skirt around, never lingering for too long for fear of what we might uncover. For Webster, a preoccupation with the gruesome side of mortality manifests particularly strongly in his references...
Source: Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash. October is the month of stress for post-secondary students. You could be facing midterm exams and papers in addition to working during the long-weekend or preparing for Thanksgiving dinners with family and friends. While it seems there is never a dull moment, you barely have time to give...
“‘We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.’ “‘What is that, grandmother?’ “To understand other people.’” —George Macdonald, The Princess and the Goblin Elizabeth Goudge’s The Rosemary Tree is a story about many different things: about family, relationships, secrets,...
Redwall Abbey, image c. Christopher Denise (illustrator) The 1995 Studio Ghibli film Mimi wo Sumaseba (耳をすませば) (marketed in the West as Whisper of the Heart), directed by Yoshifumi Kondo and written by Hayao Miyazaki, follows a young girl named Tsukishima Shizuku on her journey to finding and dedicating herself to her dreams and ambitions. The...
The 1995 Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart, directed by Yoshifumi Kondo and written by Hayao Miyazaki, follows a young girl named Tsukishima Shizuku on her journey to finding and dedicating herself to her dreams and ambitions. The themes of struggling in school and navigating love for the first time lend themselves to the...
