Chronicle 16-17 Issue 04

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca November 1 - 7, 2016 The Chronicle 5
Opinion
Hey Apple, we want the jack back
A classic phrase used by millennials
when driving is “pass the aux cord.”
This simple phrase lets the person
with the auxiliary cord know another
person wants to play music
through their phone. This is not
usually an issue, since all smart
phones have audio jacks. At least
they used to.
The new iPhone7, released in
September, has no audio jack.
This is a bad idea.
The new phone boasts two cameras
that take a photo as one, a new
and improved HD and a powerful
new chip said to be the best in a
smartphone yet, the cordless headphones
come at an unreasonably
Frank
Katradis
high price.
Say goodbye to using other headphones.
According to apple.com, if
you want to hear music you have to
pay $219.00 for AirPods: two cordless
headphones to hear your music
or talk handless. Now we can all
look like the guy on his Bluetooth
acting like he is busier than he already
is.
Apple likes to think about innovation,
however, this is not innovation.
This is about usability and
customer satisfaction, and Apple is
failing at satisfying their customers.
People do not want to pay extra
money for a specific pair of headphones.
There used to be freedom
of choice. If people wanted to
use Skullcandy headphones, they
could. If people wanted to use
Beats by Doctor Dre, they could.
If the person couldn’t afford expensive
headphones, they could use a
cheap dollar store pair. Now, if they
want headphones, they must pay
$219.00.
The AirPods are two small, cordless,
separate headphones that you
could easily lose. If you do lose
them, it will cost you $219.00 for
your mistake.
The worst part is the AirPods
aren’t even out yet. According to
apple.com the AirPods weren’t
available till mid-October. Now,
it’s looking like they won’t come
out till late October.
This means people who already
have the iPhone7 can’t listen to
music unless they are connected to
Bluetooth. Now it’s official, we’re
that “busy” guy on their Bluetooth.
With previous models, the iPhone
came with a set of headphones.
The iPhone7 costs $1,029.00 or
$1,559.00 depending on how many
gigabytes you buy. Add another
$219.00 to hear your music.
Many Android phones range
from $500 to $600, and they have
the same features and come with
headphones. If cost dictates, Android
wins. However, Androids
aren’t iPhones.
AirPods are easy to lose, and
not compatible with many devices,
making the iPhone7 not compatible
with many devices, especially those
that require an audio jack.
This is a major step down for
Apple.
The future seems rather pricey
thanks to these jack apples, or
should they be called jack-less.
To help rape victims, let’s focus on the victim
Even though it’s always in the news,
rape is difficult to talk about. According
to the Canadian Federation
of Students-Ontario, half of all
people in Ontario who are victims
of sexual assaults are between the
ages of 15 and 24. According to
the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National
Network (RAINN), 70 per cent
of rape victims suffer moderate or
severe distress and 33 per cent of
women who survive a rape contemplate
suicide. Seeing realistic
examples of sexual assault in visual
media can teach people about resources.
It can also serve to validate
victim’s experiences. Incorporating
rape into a story can be beneficial
to viewers, but only if done right.
The way rape is portrayed in
the media is poorly done. Instead
of looking at how a rape victim
copes and recovers from sexual assault,
often the story shifts towards
other characters. When stories
about rape focus on the survivor,
Kayano
Waite
and spend time with them during
their recovery, it makes for a more
rewarding viewing experience.
While big screen works like The
Birth of a Nation uses rape as a dramatic
tool to poor effect. Other
media such as Netflix original Jessica
Jones and ABC network’s American
Crime TV series are able to get
to the heart of the issue by having
a first-person perspective.
The film The Birth of a Nation uses
the rape of main character Nat
Turner’s wife as the motivation for
Turner to lead a slave rebellion.
The film also includes a second
rape of another slave, which leads
to her husband helping Nat with
the slave rebellion. Both of these
scenes focus on the men’s reaction
to these women being assaulted.
While one of the women voices
her pain over her assault, she is
not given as much screen time as
either of the two men. The problem
with this is that it takes the abuse
of female characters to make the
male lead react to them. This becomes
the main catalyst of conflict
with the slaves and their owners.
What’s also troubling about the
film is even though it’s based on an
actual person, the film’s writer and
main actor, Nate Parker, inserted
a rape that has not been historically
documented. What this means
is that the rapes in the story are
there solely for plot convenience.
Not out of necessity. Not out of history,
as with the main plot points
and themes.
Other stories, like Netflix’s Jessica
Jones, have been able to incorporate
rape and expand on it in interesting
ways.
The original Netflix series focuses
on superhero Jessica Jones,
a woman traumatized by an abusive
relationship. Jessica was raped
and controlled by show’s villain.
Though the show takes place in
a superhero world, we see Jessica
struggle in her daily life with depression
and severe stress. Even
though she is a superhero.
While still in a relationship with
her abuser, Jessica is suicidal. By
the end of the story, she is able
to confront her abuser and grow.
While her story shows a more surreal
take on a rape story, others are
just as effective by looking at rape
through a realistic lens.
In ABC’s American Crime, main
character Taylor is a male high
school student who claims to have
been raped by a male classmate.
The show succeeds in its portrayal
of rape and the culture surrounding
it due to how the characters react
to the assault. The show explains
how a rape kit is used and reveals
how uncomfortable adults are talking
about rape, especially one that
includes minors. American Crime
also shows how people of varying
ages, races, and sexual identities
believe it’s impossible for a man to
be raped.
Media has the power to expand
people’s views on important issues
in society. But if writers are going to
use rape in their stories, they need
to avoid exploiting it. Nat’s does
not need a rape to motivate him
to freedom. To add a rape benefits
no one in the story if unexplored.
A character like Jessica Jones shows
how trauma can stay with a victim
long after assault despite superhero
strength. A story like Taylor’s shows
the result of questioning the truthfulness
of an assault.
A lot of truths can be fully realized
in media when the focus is on
the right character – the one fully
affected by the issue.
Trudeau one year later: Please get moving, Justin
A little over a year ago, a wave of
red swept the country. Justin Trudeau
and his Liberals triumphed
over Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
Despite conservative cries of
“he’s just not ready”, the general
consensus was Canadians wanted
change and felt it would happen
under Trudeau’s governance.
Canada allowed itself to fall in
love with its new leader, for a short
period of time. The honeymoon is
now over.
Promises are partly how elections
are won and Justin Trudeau’s campaign
was full of them. Trudeau
made promises he has yet to fulfill.
Granted, it takes time to implement
ideas and strategies, but many Canadians
see their PM as a man who
spends a lot of time travelling and
Tommy
Morais
attending public events, and not
enough running the country.
One only need look at the Prime
Minister’s Twitter account to notice
the numerous places he visits:
Washington, China and Ukraine
among others.
In between travels, Trudeau has
made assisted death legal, brought
31, 000 Syrian refugees to Canada
and raised taxes for the rich to ease
the burden on the middle-class and
low-income families.
A significant change to government
has been the creation of an
equal gender cabinet. Trudeau’s
31-member cabinet is comprised
of 16 men and 15 women.
When pressed by the media
about the equality in his cabinet,
Trudeau said, “It’s 2015.”
Some changes by the Trudeau
administration haven’t been positive,
however.
For instance, senior citizens have
seen their pensions cut, making it
more difficult for them to get by.
Many promises have yet to be fulfilled,
such as the legalization of marijuana
and changes to the veteran
charter.
The PM has been criticized for
spending large sums of money,
which from day one he made clear
would happen. He has spent $69
million for First Nations mental
health issues here, $64.5 million for
future humanitarian crises there.
It all adds up quickly. We have yet
to see results on the infrastructure
and job front.
During the 2015 campaign,
Trudeau announced he was going
to create jobs and infrastructure
to boost the country’s economy
by creating a deficit. And create a
deficit he did. As expressed during
the campaign, Trudeau and his Liberals
aren’t expecting the budget to
be balanced until 2019-2020.
Nonetheless, in the public’s eye,
the PM is certainly personable. He
isn’t afraid to embrace traditions
and heritage, even when they’re
not his own. Trudeau has taken
part in pride parades, prayed with
Muslims in mosques and worn aboriginal
regalia when he met with
First Nations.
“Sunny ways my friends,” said
Trudeau upon being elected Canada’s
new PM. “Sunny ways.” The
clouds have set in.
While competent on the surface,
the Trudeau government has so far
lacked production. It’s too early
to tell how effective Trudeau has
been or will be. Seeds have been
planted, money has been spent and
ideas have been thrown around. But
Trudeau would be well-advised to
put in a little more work at home
and spend a little less time on the
international scene.
Oh and Justin, please be mindful
of where the nation’s money goes.
Thanks.