Journals @ KPU (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
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Organizing the ZOO: Peter Greenaway’s A Zed & Two Noughts
Full text linkPeter Greenaway’s film, A Zed and Two Noughts (1985), examines the process of death and decay and how the cinematographicprocess can document the human experience. The film centres on Oswald and Oliver Deuce, grieving twin-brother zoologists,and their affair with Alba Bewick, a beautiful woman whose body is decomposing as a result of a series of amputations. She is alsothe woman responsible for the death of the twins’ wives. In order to process their wives’ deaths, Oliver and Oswald undertake aseries of pre-cinema-esque studies: photographing the decomposition of the zoo animals in their care. Like all Greenaway films,Z&OO subverts traditional narrative filmmaking. Greenaway’s films employ a visual organizing principle as cinematic structurerather than traditional movies motivated by story and plot. A Zed and Two Noughts derives its organization from EadweardMuybridge’s nineteenth-century locomotion studies, Animals in Motion. Muybridge’s pre-cinema photographic studies of humanand animal figures in the 1880s were meticulously organized, meticulously edited, and near pornographic. Greenaway hasexplained that his fascination with Muybridge’s work lies not only in the visual organization, but more in the peculiarity andperversion of the human activities documented in the studies. It can be argued that Muybridge’s work bridges the gap betweenart and science. It can also be argued that Muybridge’s work existed solely for the amusement of its maker. Greenaway’s useof Muybridge suggests both – art and science and the amusement of the maker. This article examines Muybridge’s organizingprinciples for his motion studies and how those same peculiar principles serve as the process for Oliver and Oswald Deuce tograpple with death in Peter Greenaway’s A Zed and Two Noughts
Enter Thy Neighbour: An Inland Empire Mise-en-scène Metonymy
Full text linkInspired by teaching films that challenge narrative conventions and comprehension, this featurette demonstrates the power of sustained mise-en-scène analysis as a tool for interpreting challenging texts like Inland Empire. The featurette brings granular attention to various formal elements at work in a vital scene early in the film when a neighbour arrives for an unannounced visit that unsettles the protagonist with a message that feels as urgent as it is cryptic. David Lynch uses camera angles and proximity to frame and shape spaces, faces, and objects in ways that align with the film's motifs and meanings. In this sequence, a mesh comes into view of wealth, light, passageways, hospitality, and marriage. Though the mesh retains gaps, it holds together as a unit that also works as a metonymy for connecting, though not containing, the disparate pieces of the film
Should APA remove Gender Dysphoria from the DSM? YES! But not Right Now…
Full text linkThe purpose of this critical analysis paper is to provide a response to the controversial issue of gender dysphoria, and whether it should remain in the DSM as a diagnostic category and a mental disorder. Various points of view will be analyzed around the issue, the history of this disorder, and its cultural and clinical significance for the communities it affects. The purpose of this paper is to highlight arguments both in favor and against removing the diagnosis and decide which course of action is best using existing evidence
David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and the Los Angeles Uncanny
Full text linkUnlike other American metropolises, Los Angeles’ identity is inextricably intertwined with moving images and postmodernism, thereby ascribing the city with an ahistorical character and evoking a sense of the uncanny—a subject rooted in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. An interdisciplinary study of various theories of the uncanny synthesizes a new Los Angeles Uncanny that acknowledges the complexities of urban experiences that are unique to the City of Angels. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is a film that fundamentally relies on its setting in Los Angeles for its metaexploration of the implications of the media and entertainment industry. Placing the synthesized theory in conversation with Lynch's film unveils the hidden histories and identities of Los Angeles—the suppression of which, this essay argues, is ultimately responsible for the uncanniness and horror experienced in Mulholland Drive
Cash Cows: Comedy Condensed
Full text linkThis is my film review of Shubham Chhabra's Cash Cows (2023) from my second year film class. This review has been read by Shubham himself and covers how Cash Cows is a compelling black comedy that pulled off a limited runtime while capturing the essence of the genre and shedding light on the issues important to the film. 
Tears Instead of Laughter: An Interview with Stop-Motion Animator Adam Elliot
Full text linkMemoir of a Snail premiered at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Connecting over Zoom for a virtual interview, Elliot explained that the film was only completed three weeks prior, and he was still in the process of trying to either learn or remember why he'd made it. He semi-jokes, "It was so long ago when we started, and now it's finished, I've got to articulate why I did it and what it means." During his conversation with MSJ, Elliot discussed intertwining reality and fiction, the role the audience play in filling in the gaps, and preferring to make his audience cry instead of laugh
Hard to Stomach: The Case of Steven Truscott
Full text linkOn September 30, 1959, Steven Truscott was declared guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Some of the critical evidence used in his case was provided from an analysis of stomach contents during the autopsy. This analysis was used to estimate time of death to a small window that overlapped with eyewitness testimonies, making Truscott seem undeniably guilty. Almost 50 years later, Truscott appealed his case and was acquitted. New evidence regarding the legitimacy of post-mortem stomach content analysis was presented, and the original testimony was determined to be insufficient evidence. This case became infamous in Canadian history and led to recommendations regarding the use of gastric evidence in the legal system.
Cultural Considerations in Counselling for South Asians
Full text linkSouth Asians (SA) comprise the largest visible minority group in Canada, yet they experience disproportionally higher rates of mood disorders compared to other groups (Naeem et al., 2023; 2024). Similar trends have been observed in the United States, which led to the development of the South Asian American Counseling and Psychology framework (SAACP). This framework examines individuals who identify as South Asian American, while considering the sociocultural, emotional, behavioural, and environmental factors that influence their mental health and wellbeing (Thakore-Dunlap et al., 2023). In recognition of these influences, the role of social determinants, and the significant mental health challenges faced by SAs, the Mental Health Commission of Canada developed Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CaCBT) for South Asians (Naeem et al., 2023; CAMH, 2024). This approach adapts Western CBT to provide culturally sensitive care tailored to the needs of South Asians, with the goal of improving mental health outcomes. The purpose of this poster is to examine the SAACP framework and CaCBT for SAs, compare their core principles and underlying themes, and explore the application of CaCBT for SAs in North America