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Three life lessons from Ontario’s Celina Caesar-Chavannes’ memoir
Hear what advice Whitby, Ontario’s, MP has to share. Mother, wife, business owner, student, friend and change-maker are only a few ways to describe Celina-Caesar Chavannes. In 2019, Member of Parliament was added to that list, and as of 2021, so was published author. In her memoir, Can You Hear Me Now?, Caesar-Chavannes recounts her life, her mistakes, her triumphs and everything in-between prior to and following her role as a Member of Parliament for the riding of Whitby, Ont. Throughout her memoir, she intertwines her experiences and hardships with life lessons she learned along the way. Lesson #1: Stories are sticky Historically, storytelling has been a cherished means of…
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On-screen female relationships: The good, the bad and the ugly
A look at positive female friendships in the media and why they matter. Media can have an incredible influence, especially on young, impressionable minds. TV shows and movies teach young people what to wear, how to flirt, how to be funny and how to be in relationships of all kinds. The influence that TV and movies have on this susceptible demographic is remarkable, but potentially harmful. Consider, for example, the types of platonic female relationships we’ve seen on screen in the recent past and the fact that young girls subconsciously absorb the dynamics that are normalized in the media. In the media, female friendships have long been depicted as shallow,…
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Women-focused storytelling in “Turning Red”
How Domee Shi’s recent film normalizes womanhood Tamagotchis, boy bands, and unruly emotions take center stage in Turning Red, Chinese-born Canadian animator Domee Shi’s first feature-length Pixar film. Set in Toronto in the 90s, the animated film follows 13-year-old Meilin as she navigates the messy, confusing and sometimes scary milestone of reaching puberty. To add to the drama, Mei turns into a giant red panda whenever her emotions become overwhelming. On Feb. 21, 2021, Turning Red was released exclusively on Disney Plus and generated an overwhelming number of positive reviews. It received a 94 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 83 per cent on Metacritic and 70 per cent on…
