OTL has learned that agents of the Department of Homeland Insecurity along with the FBI will be in Montreal on Saturday, November 7th to track illegal aliens.  They need to be stopped and the aliens need to be protected at all costs.  You can help us by infiltrating the bureau.

In a secret communiqué obtained by OTL, the bureau is recruiting locals and offering a pay-what-you-can training session to give you the tools to help them track and apprehend aliens like this one:

We feel that this is a blatant attempt at discrimination and scapegoating.  After all, these supposed aliens aren’t evil.  They aren’t harming anyone.  They’re just trying to get by and aren’t even a drain.  They eat the food that the rest of us throw away or don’t even consider to be food in the first place as this photo suggests:

If you want to help us, here’s the plan.  Sign up for the bureau’s “training sessions” by phoning 514-699-3378.  You’ll need to have the password, which we have learned is “sparrowdove.”  These sessions are for three people at a time and leaving every 30 minutes or so between 3pm and 8pm on Saturday, November 7th, so you’ll need to reserve a spot in advance.

Then, at the appropriate time, go to the bureau’s Montreal headquarters which, due to budget cuts, are located inside Bar Bifteck, 3702 St-Laurent and look for this man:

Tell him you want to help, but always remember your mission.  You may get some help along the way from other more high-placed infiltrators in the bureau.  It’s a tough job, but please remember why you’re doing it, so the “aliens” can live free.

We’re counting on you, but more importantly, they’re counting on you

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Car Stories: Alien Invasion continues a tradition that has been described as “the most fun you might ever have in the backseat of a car” (Ottawa Citizen).  Three spect-actors at a time are invited to witness and take part in Montreal’s longest-running theatrical experiment by going on a guided theatrical joyride through the Urban Wonderland and its alleyways, cars and parking lots.

The 2009 edition won six Iffy awards at this year’s Buffalo infringement Festival where it premiered and now returns to Montreal for one day only.  Please call 514-699-3378 or e-mail carstories@optative.net to see the show or check out our site for more info.

If you saw us in June at the 2009 Montreal infringement Festival, this is a completely different show but it is still PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN at the end, so hop in and enjoy the ride!

*** Please FWD widely and re-post

From May 28th – 31st the Société de Développement du Boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL) hosted a four day party known as the Mainfest. Despite bad weather reports, the sun shone radiantly throughout most of the festival. This was wonderful for local merchants, musicians, performers, and pedestrians who converged at the Mainfest to participate in a multitude of activities. This was also fantastic for the Schering-Plough Corporation because their brand Coppertone set up a promotional stand at the festival to distribute sunscreen and inform pedestrians about Coppertone products as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign. An entire weekend of rain would have put a damper on Coppertone’s sunscreen publicity.

Under the bright sun, Coppertone promoters gave pedestrians free samples of sunscreen while warning them about the problems caused by the sun’s ultra violet rays. They also invited people to have a free evaluation of their facial skin to test for existing sun damage. The test was administered by a man in a white laboratory coat in the shade beneath a Coppertone branded umbrella. He performed his test with a “diagnostic camera” which took one picture, developed it in two different ways laid out side by side. On the left, the picture appeared overexposed and hid any skin blemish and on the right, the picture was underexposed revealing every wrinkle and spot on one’s face. The diagnosis was performed by comparing the two pictures. The man pointed out skin abnormalities from the underexposed picture. If he found skin problems participants were told that they could prevent further harm by using Coppertone products. If he found no damage, people were told to use Coppertone to prevent future skin problems.

Instead of thanking Coppertone for caring so much about my well being, I approached the Coppertone display to ask some very important questions. Why was Coppertone so concerned about my skin? Do they truly care or is this another marketing ploy to brand the Coppertone name? Is their diagnosis real or is it a sales tactic? How qualified is the man giving the diagnosis? I know that sun exposure can cause skin damage, but can Coppertone really protect me? Does Coppertone contain any ingredients which cause skin damage? These questions induced a little panic in the Coppertone promotion team. I guess the presence of my camera man didn’t help. Though, I didn’t get to the bottom of all these questions, I did discover some awful truths about their campaign.

Since the promoters didn’t work for Coppertone it was hard to find out anything about their products. Coppertone paid actors and event organizers from New Ad, a marketing company who delivers young people to corporations, and a nurse from Quality Health Services LTD. The nurse alleged that he could not make any formal diagnoses because he was not a doctor. In fact, none of the promotional staff could not answer any questions about how the product worked, how it was made, what ingredients were in the sunscreen or if any ingredients used in the sunscreen were harmful.

Like the glare of the sun, light shed on the true intentions of Coppertone’s promotional spectacle. Coppertone’s campaign was not designed to help people but to scare them.  If someone is told that they may develop skin cancer because they are not well protected from the sun, they should be more likely to take advice from the street promoters and apply Coppertone sunscreen. Furthermore, if people are told they have skin problems from someone that resembles a doctor, they may be scared enough to use Coppertone more frequently so the ‘damage’ doesn’t escalate, especially if the Coppertone name is associated with cancer prevention. If Coppertone was really concerned about people’s skin, they would have hired real doctors to make real medical assessments instead of contracting a nurse from Quality Health Services LTD who can only provide an unprofessional opinion. He only told me he was a nurse and that he was not making an actual diagnosis after I inquired. Those who didn’t ask may have assumed he was a doctor giving valid evaluations, prescribing Coppertone to prevent skin cancer.

If Coppertone sunscreen really prevented skin cancer, my argument could be moot. Maybe a little scare for something healthy wouldn’t be so bad after all. These tactics are commonly used in anti-smoking and anti-drinking and driving commercials. The main problem is that Coppertone sunscreen does not do very well in research conducted by independent sources.

In 2008, the Environmental Working Group conducted an investigation of nearly 1 000 brand name sunscreens. This report concluded that none of Coppertone’s 41 sunscreens met the Environmental Working Group’s criteria for safety and effectiveness. Coppertone was accused of using dangerous ingredients including Oxybenzone, which is reported to be a possible cancer causing agent (for a comprehensive list of harmful ingredients used by Coppertone, follow this link).

The other sources of research on Coppertone products are conducted and/ or  sponsored by Coppertone themselves. The Coppertone Solar Research Center is responsible for testing Coppertone’s sunscreen for safety and effectiveness. This center was opened in 1971 and is described by Coppertone as the world’s largest state of the art facility for testing the quality of their sun-care products. In addition, the Coppertone Research Fund was established to provide financial support for dermatology research in Canada. Research on Coppertone sunscreen is mainly conducted by their research center through their charity fund, a blatant conflict of interest. In addition, they hire promoters, like those at the Mainfest, who cannot answer basic questions regarding the safety or effectiveness of their sunscreen.

Coppertone’s Mainfest masquerade came to an end when members of the Optative Theatrical Laboratories drew attention to the hypocrisy of associating Coppertone sunscreen to cancer prevention, especially by promoters who know nothing about the product. Since Coppertone paid actors to promote their sunscreen at the Mainfest, we intervened by sending in actors of our own. Because of the insincerity of their campaign, they were culture jammed. Here is what transpired:

Today is the beginning of “MainFest”, a 3 day “street fair” on St. Laurent Boulevard, or “The Main” Historic site. The boulevard will be completely closed to traffic and is expected to receive an estimated 300 000 visitors. According to The Société de développement du boulevard Saint-Laurent (SDBSL), organizers of “MainFest” and other “street fairs”:

“With summer on the way, everyone’s invited to come to Saint-Laurent Boulevard and check out the action. MainFest is the perfect occasion for the public to enjoy Saint-Laurent Boulevard’s great terrasses and discover the hot new summer trends in fashion, decor and music. It’s time to put those tuques and boots away for the season and revel in the warm weather! MainFest will be serving up a fabulous cocktail of beauty, fitness, sports, and music sessions that will appeal to all our visitors.”

Known for its capitalist approach and corporate connections, the SDBSL even promotes “guerrilla marketing” in the historic site where, according to the Canadian government at least, “intrusive elements must be minimal”. In the past the SDBSL has sold out the historic site to corporate interests on many occasions, including to unethical sponsors such as PartyPoker.Net, which prompted local citizens, heritage activists and culture-jammers to launch a campaign to Reclaim The Main!

Culture wars on the street are starting to heat up, and as the “MainFest” sets up shop, signs of corporate interference are already all over the place.

This beer company/sponsor, which has a mobile “DJ Booth” has co-opted anarchist colours (black and red) and revolutionary imagery to sell its brand of suds. Furthermore, a security force including private guards and police officers is enforcing “rules” in the corporate zone, while not actually following them themselves. For example, cycling is apparently prohibited.

However, this regulation did not stop police officers from zipping through the crowd on their bikes, even blowing red lights, all the while warning others to dismount their bikes or face a ticket.

Faced with such hipocrisy, on the other side of the equation activists are working with culture-jammers on a movie documenting the corporate takeover of the historic site. Guerrilla Video Productions, Optative Theatrical Laboratories, and others are demanding change and inviting resisters to participate and Reclaim the Main. Contact optatif@gmail.com to get involved.

The next street “event” organized by the SDBSL is called “Club Main”, and runs June 18–21, 2009:

“We can’t bring Saint-Laurent to the beach, so we’re bringing the beach to Saint-Laurent! Everyone is invited to join the fun at Club Main, Montreal’s one-of-a-kind urban beach, where partying is the name of the game. No need to travel halfway round the world to soak up that holiday atmosphere. It will all be right here! Visitors will be able to stroll around, laze in the sun or underneath a palm tree, enjoy beach sports, volleyball, and Wake dans’rue, watch the performers, and in the evening, party under the stars!”

While corporate sponsorship deals have not been announced yet, the closure of “The Main” coincides with the opening of the Montreal infringement festival.

One act that is sure to participate in culture-jamming the corporate spam is the ninth edition of Montreal’s “longest-running theatre experiment”, Car Stories. Optative Theatrical Laboratories is seeking volunteers to participate and get involved. The show runs from June 19 – 21 during the street closure, and is open to all interested players. Interested players will bring it to the fifth annual Buffalo infringement festival in late July. The next meeting is Tuesday June 2 at 6pm at the Bifteck (3702 St. Laurent). All are welcome!

So get on down to “The Main” and witness the corporate SDBSL events theatrically clashing with heritage activism, concerned citizens, culture-jammers, and those demanding the protection of the historic site. Better yet, join in the action and help usher in a new era where people take precedence over corporations!

It looks like ripping up the ground to create open pit mines in places like Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala just isn’t enough for some Canadian mining companies: RoyalOr has gone local!  The Johannesburg, South Africa-registered organization has plans to turn Mount Royal into an open-pit mine.

“People always talk about buying local food and local produce,” argued RoyalOr CEO and director Alonse Barbe to people on the mountain yesterday, “so why are we taking our gold all the way from Mexico when we could be taking it here from Mount Royal?”

anticipated pit scope for the Mount Royal project

Barbe cited the activities of his firm and other Canadian mining companies in communities around the world and the lack of reaction in Canada as an example of Canadians’ acceptance of the practice of open-pit mining.  He also hopes that protests against and opposition to RoyalOr’s plans can be quashed in a similar manner to how dissent is dealt with in the developing world: through bribery of officials and silence in the media.

The RoyalOr plan involves digging up an area which goes from around Dawson College to St-Urbain Street on the Plateau.  This would gut most of the mountain and also prompt the forced relocation of residents, many of them currently living in Upper Westmount.  Barbe hopes that the company’s generous offer of moving everyone affected to places like Longueil and Laval for free will help to offset potentially litigious opposition.

There is also oppositon brewing against the project by community organization and citizens in general.  It has also started generating buzz in the media, with articles appearing in the Montreal Mirror and Rue Frontenac.

It was with this in mind that Barbe and a team of surveyors, geologists and marketers went to the weekly Tam Tams celebration on the mountain yesterday to explain their project to members of the community.  They were met with some skepticism, but support as well.  Here is a video of some of what happened:

Representatives of RoyalOr will make their claim official today as they hammer in the last stake as part of a press conference.  You are invited to join them at 1:30pm by the gazebo.

With the Tax Day Tea Party, it looks like Fox News and the Republicans have now embraced a form of activism: the theatrical culture jam.  Now co-opting activist tools for corporate purposes is nothing new, in fact stealth marketers have been doing it for years, but using an activist technique to bolster a right-wing message or in this case protest a tax hike for the wealthiest people in society is new.

early cultural appropriation: the Boston Tea party

This event taking place in several cities around the US today, is scheduled to coincide with American tax day and is modeled on the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773 where a group of colonists threw tea into the waters of Boston Harbor in protest of the British Parliament’s desire to tax them.  Not only was this an early example of cultural appropriation (the colonists who threw the tea overboard were dressed in Native garb) but the event that many consider sparked the American Revolution and eventually led to independence from Britain.

Now, the GOP is using this historic example of cultural appropriation as the basis for their appropriation of viral media and culture-jamming. This “collaborative grassroots effort” (yes, that’s what they’re actually calling it) involves people dumping the contents of coolers labeled “TEA” (stands for Taxed Enough Already) into bodies of water around the US.  Online, it almost looks like the real deal: there are several blogs all linking to a main page, viral YouTube videos, a live streaming broadcast and they’re even on Twitter and Facebook.

viral marketing for old ideas

When you look a little deeper, though, you’ll discover that this “new movement” is actually run by old Republican bosses and an attempt to slam Obama’s economic policies which actually cut taxes for all except the wealthy and make it look like he’s taking money away from your average American.  There’s even a YouTube video that ends with a little white girl pleading with the president to not steal from her piggy-bank.

That hasn’t stopped Fox News from jumping on the bandwagon, even to the point of denying that they are promoting the event and then, immediately following that assertion, promoting it, have a look:

While their bias in this case is not surprising, it is funny given their unconditional support of the Bush administration’s suppression of individual freedoms.

Regardless of your view on Obama and his policies, it is clear that this “rebellion” is one for more status quo, no matter how it looks online.  Let’s only hope that people can see through the façade.

March 15th marked the 13th International Day Against Police Brutality, and in Montreal the mood was tense after an unusually brutal year whereby police officers killed a young man after they found him playing dice with his friends. Early in the evening on August 9th, 2008, 18 year old Fredy Villanueva was shot dead at point-blank range by Constable Jean-Loup Lapointe, as his accomplice, Stéphanie Pilotte, looked on. After killing the unarmed Villanueva, Lapointe went on to shoot two of the other youth present, one of them in the back. In Montreal police abuse is systemic, and there are special concerns about racial profiling, harassment of the disadvantaged, and police brutality in general.

Protest Against Police Brutality

Protesters met at 2 p.m. in front of Mount Royal metro station to express their displeasure with the Montreal police and their brutal ways. Organized by the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP), the protesters are demanding justice for victims of police brutality and the end of police oppression. The COPB also provides legal information for people who are threatened by police.

Unfortunately most years in Montreal the International Day Against Police Brutality turns violent once police begin attacking protesters. Ironically by instigating violence against those opposing police brutality, the police actually highlight the message that they are, in fact, brutal. Last year there were over 30 arrests after police turned violent.

Dramatically-speaking, it has been a farcical year in Montreal with the police attempting to control the theatre in the streets, demanding the banning of masks and even attempting to make illegal certain types of discourse, script or language. Exacerbating these problems is the fact that the police not only want to curtail critical drama on the streets, but they have also upped the stakes of their own intimidating performance;  allegedly as a form of protest for higher wages, police have altered their uniform/costume by dressing up in military fatigues. Despite the fact that the mayor of Montreal has asked police to act professionally and not to wear the camoflage pants at the protest, the police refused, essentially creating provocative recipe for violence.

The protest began at 2 p.m. at Mount Royal metro station. Usually a bustling square, the public space was transformed into a huge carnivalesque gathering place, with protesters preparing to march as the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble rehearsed.

Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble rehearsing

The crowd was thick with arts-activists and many people wore masks of all varieties, a reminder of the recent victory against the attempted mask-ban.

Lovely dramatic masks

One man even dressed up as a Taser to raise awareness about the deadly police weapons.

Taser costume

Visiting the fringes of the gathering was a surreal experience, as critical citizens and dramatic voices melted away to what resembled a police state. Hidden in alleyways were riot cops, two helicopters buzzed overhead, and vans full of police officers lined surrounding streets.

Police chopper overhead

More overtly, a few lines of riot cops were visible on most sides of the square. One officer belonging to the very police force that attempted to ban masks was actually spotted wearing two masks himself.

Officer wearing 2 masks

Even more bizarrely, the horses of the cavalry unit were actually outfitted with riot masks.

Even police horses wore masks

At 2:30 p.m. the crowd began to surge and move. The marching band started playing, vegetables were thrown and fireworks exploded in the air, adding to the festive atmosphere. The line of riot police had to get out of the way at 2:50 p.m. as the protest surged to the west towards the tony Saint Denis street, which was quickly inundated with protesters chanting “A qui la rue? A nous la rue!” The Reclaim the Streets action quickly shut down traffic in both directions, and the avenue of pricey consumerism was transformed into a theatre of protest, complete with activist couples dancing as the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble played on.

Dancing in the streets

As the carnivalesque march moved south, at around 3:25 p.m. it was greeted by a wall of riot cops on Saint Denis and Sherbrooke streets. Rather than let the dramatic march continue, police fired tear gas at the crowd, who responded by pelting their own projectiles such as vegetables, eggs, and paint bombs.

Police fire tear gas at activists

The police responded with more tear gas and strategies to divide and disperse the crowd. Activists broke into smaller groups and police played cat and mouse with many of them throughout the afternoon, with reports of rubber bullets being fired at demonstrators. How many people were injured by the police is the subject of speculation, but there is evidence that over 200 people were arrested, an unusually high number for a march of this nature. Shell casings retieved following the police tear gas attack revealled that the chemical weapon is actually called “Direct Impact”.

police chemical weapon casing

Upon reflection, this important protest was very theatrical in nature. As activists struggled for control of the street performance to get the critical message out, police cracked down on the show with their own brutal theatricality. It was empowering to see activists countering the police’s helicopters, cavalry units, tear gas shells, and military costumes – with fireworks, a DIY marching band, Reclaim the Streets, dramatic performances, and a strong, clear message that every Montrealer should heed - no more police brutality!

If you’re new to this blog, this site or OTL in general, you may have noticed the frequent use of pairs of coloured sunglasses in photos, videos and even in the graphics on our homepage. These serve one main purpose and it’s not to block bright sunshine from the eyes (though that function is helpful, too, because many of our performances take place outdoors in the daytime). The Optative Glasses (or OGs) serve, above all, as a licence to play.

We’re not suggesting that someone needs permission to play ever. Rather, we all have the right and some might argue the duty to, from time to time, see the world through theatrical eyes. This allows us to create our own scene or change the script of one that’s already been established.

In a more conventional sense, they can be used as a theatrical device, as they are in Car Stories, that lets the audience know when the show, which is staged in actual streets, alleys, parked cars and bars, starts and stops. Glasses down, glasses up becomes a replacement for curtain up, curtain down.

Car Stories players wearing Optative Glasses

In a socio-cultural sense, Optative Glasses allow us to change our perception of some of the corporate and cultural theatrics we are exposed to daily such as billboard ads, reality advertising and symbols of authority such as “officials” of corporate street fairs operating on public space, store security during a culture jam and even the police. Instead of seeing them as entities in fixed natural roles, they become theatrical players working with a script written by others for a specific purpose.

By wearing the Optative Glasses, we get the symbolic permission to interject ourselves into the scene as any character we wish and alter the script. They are not designed to change reality, but rather to allow us to re-interpret it and see it as it really is. Oppressive structures rely heavily on perception for their authority and by altering this perception, we take the authority, or authorship, of the scene back.

The corporate players play their part and we, as activist players play ours. Thanks to the Optative Glasses it becomes perfectly clear to us what is happening as it’s happening. Rather than level the playing field, OGs equalize the playing space.

If you thought that the City of Montreal postponing the vote on its controversial anti-mask bylaw would silence the amendment’s opponents, you’d only have to look to the streets Monday night to know how wrong you were.

Protesters clad in masks met at Berri Square and after a speech took to the streets, literally. This Reclaim the Streets action known as Manifesuprise and organized by Le gros bon sens blocked traffic as it made its way down the snowy streets of south central Montreal, through Chinatown and into Old Montreal.

The marchers chanted out questions about just who masks, hoods and the streets themselves belonged to, then answered those questions by saying in unison that they belonged “to us.”

Police cars finally caught up with the march as it headed down St-Laurent Boulevard and ended up blocking traffic themselves as the group finally stopped in front of City Hall where a truck was waiting.  Once the group arrived, the truck opened to reveal a sound system, DJ console and two sofas which were quickly brought to the street.  As music pumped out of the speakers people began to dance (video coming soon)

Inside a city council meeting was in full swing.  This is where the ban on all types of masks at public demonstrations was supposed to be voted into law.  With mounting opposition, the Tremblay administration had pulled the controversial measure from the agenda three days prior, claiming it had to be re-evaluated.

The doors of City Hall were locked, most likely due to what happened when protestors tried to enter and speak as part of the Bal Masqué during the previous council meeting.  Members of the Gros bon sens took to the steps instead and addressed the crowd:

While the protest had clearly turned festive, the celebration was both bold in the way it reclaimed public space and cautious in how it accepted the victory of the bylaw vote being postponed.  The city hadn’t buried the law but rather sent it to be discussed and re-written. If they successfully greenwash the language so it doesn’t sound as glaringly big brother and ridiculous, the amendment might pass without the broad public disgust that the earlier version wrought. Despite that, the core problem with the law, the fact that it is a clear violation of our charter right to free expression as well as our right to anonymity, would still be there. This inspired the protest/party’s theatrical portion (courtesy of OTL/infringement) where a “riot cop” with a helmet and shield announced to the crowd that it was good they were celebrating because it wasn’t the law that was being buried that evening, but their rights instead:

After the performance the party continued and before everyone left, the Gros bon sens issued a warning and an invitation that this fight wasn’t over and as long as the city keeps the proposition on the table, it is only just beginning.

Despite the presence of an RDI camera, media coverage on this event has been minimal.  It seems like the media have taken the city’s lead and buried the story, which is why now more than ever it is important to keep the protest alive and try and get the mask ban buried for good.

Now that the plan to re-enact the Plains of Abraham colonial war has been canned, a debate is brewing about what should replace the event that was designed to mark the 250 year anniversary. While the National Battlefield Commission is blaming “separatist threats of violence” for the cancellation, it is becoming increasingly clear that there was very little appetite in the first place for the pro-war event, as reported earlier . Ill-conceived from Day One and bound to stir up linguistic tensions and anger in Quebec,  the proposed re-enactment could only be described as difficult to stomach.

In an effort to steer the debate away from the Eurocentric “French versus English” hegemonic discourse, members of Quebec’s anglophone minority called for its cancellation and wrote letters to newspapers across the country, such this one (by yours truly) that appeared in the Toronto Star:

“As a member of Quebec’s anglophone minority, I was relieved to hear that the federal government is seriously considering cancelling the Plains of Abraham re-enactment. While many pundits are declaring this to be an English versus French conflict, I can assure you that many anglophones living in Quebec do not support re-enacting the Plains of Abraham battle.

Clearly, re-enacting military dominance over a historically oppressed group is both morally reprehensible and likely to cause anger, division, resentment and possibly violence. Why would Canada support, let alone fund and organize, such an offensive (and pro-war) activity? It is time for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to listen to all Quebecers, including anglophones, and cancel the re-enactment without further delay.

Donovan King, Montreal”

Other prominent Quebec anglos have also joined the debate, such as McGill university  military historian Desmond Morton, who described the attempted re-enactment as “folly”.

While the dust is only now starting to settle, skirmishes are still taking place over whether the federally-owned Plains of Abraham should be transferred to Quebec  and what should be done to replace the cancelled re-enactment.

The first replacement proposal came on February 18 from the Huron-Wendat First Nation near Quebec City, whose grand chief Konrad Sioui proposed a healing ceremony on the Plains of Abraham that would mark a “treaty of peace and friendship” among all participating nations who would “bury the hatchets” of past grievances. The hatchets would be buried on the Plains and a white pine would be planted over them in a spot where an underground river flows that would nurture the tree. “All nations wishing to join the alliance could benefit from the healing shadow of this protective pine,” according to grand chief Sioui, who modelled the ceremony on the 1701 Grande Paix de Montréal.

Sioui wishes to preside over the ceremony, smoke the peace pipe, and formalize an alliance “among all the parties wishing to join: First Nations, French, English, Scottish, Irish, new immigrants, sovereignists, federalists and so on…It’s our contribution, our way of doing things.” Sioui said the ceremony would be a “beautiful way” to put a stop to “European people who bring European wars to our territory.”

It appears that Grand Chief Sioui’s proposal may have fallen on deaf ears in Quebec, because several days later the predominantly-francophone Parti Québécois announced that it might hold its own commemoration, and later decided that a debate about the meaning of the Plains would be the best replacement for the cancelled battle re-enactment. Party leader Pauline Marois said other pro-sovereignty groups could also participate in the PQ debate, such as the Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois, the Société St-Jean-Baptiste and the Bloc Québécois. One dissenting voice at the weekend meeting was John Sewell, an anglophone delegate who disagreed with the motion and suggested that the PQ should take up the proposed Huron-Wendat ceremony. Sewell claimed a PQ-organized commemoration sends the following message: “We’re going to take control of the event and we’re going to make a political statement out of it.”

Which proposed commemoration is more appropriate? Should both be done? What issues are at play here?

Firstly, the cancellation of the Plains re-enactment signifies a cultural evolution. Instead of blindly following prescribed Eurocentric colonial commemorations and re-enactments, society has turned the lens onto the very nature of these massive public spectacles. Many of these “celebrations” actually discriminate against historically oppressed groups such as the First Nations and francophones, and postcolonial resistance to them is becoming more and more prevalent. One need only look as far back as 2006 when the “400th anniversary of theatre in Canada” was cancelled due to the fact the first European play written in Canada, Marc Lescarbot’s Theatre of Neptune in New France, is a redface show. Going further back to 1992, the 500 year anniversary of Columbus witnessed postcolonial cultural resistance. Likewise, resistance is mounting to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, which are situated on stolen land.  All of these controversies speak to a cultural evolution whereby the society demands the end of “historical” Eurocentric performances, celebrations, commemorations, and re-enactments that degrade others.

Secondly, the battle cancellation signifies an exciting opportunity for re-evaluation. What should replace the offensive original?  Ideally, from a cultural theory point of view, the new creation emerging from the tatters of the cancelled Eurocentric project should critique the oppressive past while striving for a better, more just future. The cancelled Theatre of Neptune in New France was replaced with Sinking Neptune, a project that boldly deconstructed the original play and challenged audiences to look at the historical roots of racism in Canada and to re-evaluate Eurocentricity in the arts and media.

From these perspectives, it seems clear that the Huron-Wendat proposal is by far superior to that of the PQ. Firstly, it is inclusive, and invites all nations to participate, whereas the PQ’s debate is only open to francophone groups. Secondly it focuses on peace and healing through solemn ceremony, whereas the PQ debate, because it engages only francophones, is unlikely to lead to true resolution or healing. Thirdly, the First Nations proposal critiques Eurocentricity and colonization in present-day Quebec, whereas the PQ proposal concerns only francophone interests. Finally, if successful, the outcome of the Huron-Wendat ceremony will include buried grievances, the promotion of social harmony, and the showing of respect by listening to and learning from the First Nations.

Hopefully both the ceremony and the debate can go ahead, but it would be nice if the PQ opened up a bit of space for non-francophones to express their views as well.

In Armenia a very old rite called “The Red Apple” marks the woman’s loss of virginity following the night of her wedding. It can be argued that this symbolizes much more than simply a “loss of virginity”, indeed, the symbolism of the celebration is very violent.

Armenians celebrate weddings by chanting and dancing outside and inside their homes, brandishing cakes and foods and inviting the neighbors over.  During the The Red Apple, which is a similar celebration on the day following the wedding, the family of the groom brandishes a meter long sword topped by a Red Apple. They parade and dance in the street with the Apple and the sword.  While not everyone practices this tradition, as there are different types of classes, families, interests and localities in Armenia, everyone knows of The Red Apple.

When one thinks of it for a few seconds, this is the piercing of a “fruit” by a very phallic and deadly tool. This is a celebration of the woman loosing her hymen. At first when the women at Utopiana, a NGO for contemporary arts, told me of this celebration I was not sure what “an apple stuck on a sword” implied.  I said: “so what?” but quickly realized the red apple is the vulva/blood/flesh and the sword was a phallus, or masculine power. The rite itself may be “cute” but the symbols are clearly violent and patriarchal – for example, the sword has to be oversized (not just a regular knife) and of course, it is also a deadly tool.

Thus the Women’s Resource Center in Yerevan (Armenia’s largest city) will “Bury the Red Apple” on March 8th, International Women’s Day, by performing a funeral procession towards Republic Square, the town center.

The funeral rite will be stylized as Armenian. We will lead Mr. Apple, someone dressed in a 3D apple outfit, with chains, carrying flowers and a tombstone while a woman-priest (a teacher from the women’s center will dress up as one) will chant a modified reading of “funeral biblical scripts” replaced by verses about the end of the Apple. We will end the walk in a “lover’s park” in front of Congress Hotel where we will rip the Red Apple apart and bury the pieces in the ground. As a final celebration we will pour cement onto the spot and inscribe “Here lays the Red Apple” (“…..-2009). A party in the park will follow.

I am sure the priests ready to admit the positive side of our protest, are rare. Men here deny a lot to conserve what they see as national Armenian values. The point of such a colorful protest is the theatrical value of such an old issue- a lot of women will hear of this burial through the media (the modern theatrical component protesting the old traditions) and I am sure a lot of women will secretly agree with its powerful message which at once both a mockery and a pleasure filled comedy for change.