#OH YEAH ALSO INUKTITUT

[ai-dont-care]

im learning ktav ashuri and hangul on duolingo and im insane bc im finding ktav ashuri to be easier than hangul

[daincrediblegg]

lady terror question for you: 😊

do lady terror and francis ever argue with each other and how would they apologise/make up?

also how would you describe her relationship/interactions with the other characters, friendships etc.

OOOOOOOOH

OK OK ok... First? oh yeah. Without revealing too much, they have argued like HELL with each other throughout. And of course, as you can imagine, the worst of their arguments (with some of the most bleak and cutting words- from the both of them) occur during year 2 in the ice off king william land which... yeah. And I tell ya. Some anxieties and fears (and even love- weirdly and fucked up as the expression of it might be) are revealed through them (in fact- the "I have everything to fear of you" bit that I love hauling out all the time is the butt-end to one such argument. and it's so hot god damnit). As for making up? well... you'll see 😉(just know that it's sweet and tearful and cuddly). AS FOR OTHER RELATIONSHIPS??? OHHHHHH THANK YOU I'VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE FOR A WHILE!!!! Bc I love her relationship with Francis but I've written just as much dialogue with her and other characters as well.

Thomas Blanky is easily the person that she vibes with the most on either ship- bc he comes from a very similar sailing background that she does (more merchant ship/whaling stuff than naval expeditions) and she’s much more appreciative of his kind of sense of humor and general outlook on things. It sets her at ease somehow, and also reminds her of her father. Not to mention that he also treats her not just with respect but with the kind of camaraderie that she experienced on her father’s ship- like not a lot of people on these ships would just… hang out with her? And exchange filthy jokes and limericks while they work. And have a genuinely friendly rapport that isn’t marred with all the victorian social trappings- which is what she wants at the end of the day. If anyone is her true bestie on this expedition, it’s gotta be Mr. Blanky 🥰

The second most important relationship is with Jopson. He was a bit wary of her at first, but the more times she spends on Terror, and the more she sees both her and the captain warming up to each other? Not to mention her concern for his well-being (which is something that no one ever really shows him)??? He kindof ends up seeing her as the elder sister that he’d never had.

James Fitzjames is, of course, her natural frenemy. Kindof like a Darcy figure honestly (watch this space). But I think they have some of the most interesting conversations I've written honestly. I think she catches on fairly early that a lot of James is a front- and James is unsettled by that because the thing that masculinity has afforded him is adiquate cover, but to be confronted by the feminine and be seen? Scares the shit out of him, but he still respects and cares for her.

Goodsir is her little Inuktitut study buddy and confidante on Erebus. Their cabins are even right next to each other. They're both kind of in the same position (just in different disciplines, ofc) , and they do try to look after each other as best they can. This man will bring her a cherry stone heating pad when she's having cramps, the absolute king that he is, and also pass on information to her that others wouldn't deem suitable for her ears. She even helps him out in the surgery every now and again when Dr. Stanley can't be fucked! They're rational critical thought buddies.

AND SPEAKING OF BUDDIES!!! SILNA!!!! god there's a lot going on there and I don't want to reveal too much but they are nb gal pals and there's nothing none of these stuffy old british bitches can do about it and that's all I have to say on the matter. 1000% a part of the 'respect indiginous folks' defense squad.

there is so much more. but these are sort of the major ones for me that I've fleshed out so far. (honorable mention to Bridgens, who is her book club buddy and who she loves having conversations with about this stuff. she endears herself to old farts like that what can I say?) More to come ofc when I finish this damn enterprise but THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!!!!

[agerefandom]

Can I please have a moodboard for Canada from Hetalia? Also your moodboards are awesome, looking forward to seeing more of them in the future and keep being amazing

Best paired with some regressor!Canada headcanons and a few author’s notes: 

Possibly most important, an inukshuk (middle bottom) is not a symbol of Canada as a whole and you should always be dubious when corporations use it as a symbol of national pride (looking at you, Vancouver Olympics). I included it here because I associate regressed!Canada as shifting towards Inuit culture (probably because Inuktitut was the only indigenous language in my home growing up), and I thought they were good symbols of keeping grounded in regression, since they’re used to mark paths. When non-Inuit corporations use inuksuit as a symbol, it’s not good! 

Secondly, I was so so stuck between province aesthetics. Do I lean totally to the Northern snowy aesthetic? Should I go for the fishing and lighthouse and early Newfoundland aesthetic? Do we want to go fully French/Quebecois? What about the wonderful redwood forests and all the years of history they hold? Oh!! The mountains!! The prairies, I didn’t think about the prairies! Shoot, the Great Lakes! So many different histories and traditions that I could honor with my moodboard... anyways, I tried to recenter myself based on my Canada headcanons: a little quiet, a little overwhelmed by the current world, and running off into the wild. So... yeah. It’s a little messy but I got overwhelmed by Canada. 

Last, for anyone who doesn’t know: the top center is a photo of maple taffy, which is the best treat served at a bunch of winter festivals in my area of Canada. You just pour boiled maple syrup into the snow, let it harden, then roll it up! Maple taffy and cheap hot chocolate are my favourite skating memories, they used to make it in the middle of a lake nearby when it froze over. It was a twenty-minute skate to the middle of the lake, and then you got a nice drink and skated back to shore. Childhood paradise. 

*gets off my Canadian soapbox and politely tucks it back into the corner* 

[aristotles-denial]

fallen embers name meanings pt 2

pt 1 - the crew

all of yong-yut’s names that can be found in chapter 3 🕺🏻 i included the original quotes as well. these ones i put a Lot of thought into

“Ichiro. A child proficient in firebending.”

japanese boy’s name; firstborn son

my friend frankie was texting me his reactions while reading tfeb and he was on chap 2 when i told him to keep in mind that ichiro means firstborn son it’ll help w/ understanding and he just replied ok. then like ten minutes or whatever later i get a text saying “AY YO YONG-YUT TRANS CHECK” shdgsjhsgjhd like hell yeah that was my intention

“Nozomi. A runaway who needed a job.”

japanese girl’s name; hope

idk if this was clear (whoops) but this is when she runs away from home, and bc she was in need of a job she was willing to become a spy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Muan Nang. A servant listening to noblewomen gossip about their recent investments and husbands’ plans.”

thai; ladylike

her first gig as an agent and she’s spying on her own people 😳

“Akane. A non-bending fighter training with other teenage girls.”

japanese; deep red

if i’m not mistaken, kyoshi island has a lotta inspiration from japanese culture + suki is a japanese name (fun fact! my family got a new dog a couple months ago and we named her suki 🥰). even though she was undercover in part of the earth kingdom her name Literally shows her true colors lmao

“Genji. A refugee girl on her way to a walled city.”

chinese; gold

again, color symbolism to stay true to her fire nation heritage. it’s also apparently a japanese boys’ name meaning “two beginnings” so there’s…Something there idk what lmao

“Siqiniq. A guard protecting a young princess from firebending assassins.”

inuit; the sun

most sources i’ve found for this say it’s an inuit name, one specified even more that it’s inuktitut. for all of these, i liked using names that either tied back to the fact that she’s fire nation or are connected to her specific assignment. this one’s a bit of both bc a) the sun –> fire nation and b) she’s protecting yue, who…yknow…later turns into the moon

“Zhaohui. A historian in search of a Spirit’s library.”

chinese; clear wisdom

“Xifeng. An architect observing renovations done to a previously abandoned temple.”

chinese; flourishing phoenix

sometimes i read over something that i wrote a bit ago and Connect The Dots. this is one of those cases. i chose this name bc a) it’s chinese, and everyone at the northern air temple is earth kingdom and b) phoenix –> fire nation. i am just now realizing that it coincidentally works even more that i picked this one for this specific assignment bc phoenixes are birds, and everyone at the northern air temple uses gliders to fly around…i’m a genius

“Nukilik. A trader[…] stopping for a week to sell her wares.”

inuit; strong

why tf she would take a water tribe name even when her alias’s backstory is Not water tribe, idk. i just like researching and using new names

“Winai. A highly skilled archer.”

thai; discipline

thai name bc she’s back in the fire nation with the yuyan archers 🕺🏻 i assume you gotta have a lotta discipline to be that good of an archer lol

“Daiyu. An etiquette teacher for the daughter of the Earth Kingdom’s most powerful family.”

chinese; black jade

“Qianru. An advisor to a king of a city of mountains.”

chinese; pretty smile

oh my goodness i forgot abt this one…bc this is when bumi catches her and she receives her glasgow smile scars…my mind… maybe that’s what makes bumi decide what her punishment is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[laissezferre]

003 for MACCA

How I feel about this character: macca macca macca, he just feels so… safe???? like he would keep me safe and warm and give me free dental. charles edwards is friend-shaped. he cares about the men naturally, but he is also very much willing to “run a man through” for screwing them over. oh to see that kind of macdonald…

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: i dont really ship him hard with anyone, but if it had to be someone, probably goodsir because they had one (1) decent conversation and that was enough

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: macca/his forelock that will be the death of me. it drapes on his forehead so gracefully, am i crying… yes i am

My unpopular opinion about this character: not really a polarizing opinion, but only barely discussed to be considered unpopular. i think when charles edwards read for macca, the casting director just went “yeah, i know he’s the assistant surgeon, but really can you just give him all the senior surgeon’s lines, he’s too good to waste” and that is how john smart peddie got demoted

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: yeah there’s that bit where he gets eviscerated in half, can that…. not happen anymore? ktnx. also i wish he and stanley had a proper conversation, just to figure out the power dynamics between a senior surgeon on the flagship and one on the spare. i feel like there’s so much untold, just from how they discussed heather’s treatment and how they shared a glance during the meeting led by jfj.

Favorite friendship for this character: crozier&macca&blanky arctic ot3! i want them throwing shade at the erebites in accented inuktitut. they’re not actually fluent but they invent words and make emphatic hand gestures and throw side glances, just enough to make other people uncomfortable. silna is like… you keep saying 8^5$*#… i do not think it means what you think it means.

My crossover ship: he would be a very good mentor role for joly tbh. anxiety-ridden medical student meets level-headed licensed surgeon is something i can get by

send me a fandom/ship/character and i’ll tell you

[meloncubemag-blog]

Asinnajaq Weetaluktuk talks about curating ‘Channel 51: Igloolik’ exhibitions at Humber Galleries

This morning, I had the opportunity to interview Asinnajaq  (also known as Isabella Weetaluktuk) who is currently a guest curator at North Space; one of the two Humber Galleries located in Etobicoke. North Space, along with its sister gallery L Space (located on the lakeshore campus), are currently exhibiting film paraphernelia, historical objects, and artworks from the making of the film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, directed by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. 

Atanarjuat was released in 2002 and won Camera D’Or (Golden Camera) at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as Best Film Award by the Canadian Screen Award; gaining huge critical success at a global level. Toronto International Film Festival named it ‘greatest Canadian film of all time’. Atanarjuat was made by Kunuk’s company Isuma Igloolik Productions, which employs Inuit actors and staff to create films made in Inuktitut language.  

Honoring the past while adapting to modernity, Kunuk turns a camera on histories that has been passed down by Inuit elders throughout generations of oral storytelling, employing many different voices to preserve culture through the media of filmmaking. 

Read my interview with Asinnajaq  below, as the young curator discusses with me the process of curating the shows, Zacharias Kunuk’s unique approach to filmmaking, her own experience with handling cultural history and identity, and contemporary lifestyles and traditions of the North. 

Could you tell me a bit about your background, growing up in Montreal, and how you came to be curator and filmmaker today?

My family is from Inukjuak, that is where all my family lives, but I was raised for the most part in Montreal with my brothers and parents. I guess they would say that I was always an artist. Eventually I went to an art school (NASCAD) and I remember some of my friends were getting into curating, and I thought to myself ��I would never do that”. I think it is important with curating to be an artist as well, and I think I just became a curator because of Isuma. 

What was your experience working with Isuma Video Collective? 

I owe a lot of things to Isuma to figure out who I was, and learning about myself. I was able to work with them and they trusted me with their work. Isuma as a collective makes films and has never had an exhibition in an art gallery until last year, which was the first exhibition I did for them. I’m Inuk, and it is all Inuk content, and I am a filmmaker. I study film, I make film, and I understand film, which is where their work comes from. So I think on their part they wanted to celebrate the past 30 years of work they did, and it seemed it came naturally to do so at an art gallery. Films have lots of byproducts; including beautiful materials, photographs, and lots of things that are perfectly suited to have exhibitions in galleries, and to be shared. I became a curator because they asked me to.

What was your role as the guest curator of Channel 51: Igloolik at both North Space and L Space galleries? How did you see your suggestions and input play out? 

They’re very unique spaces.. Not a traditional gallery model... I felt the difficulty of crossing into the gallery spaces, from the university space. So the content we have for Isuma, we know what it’s going to be, and then we have to decide, is it photographs? Is it objects? Like we have jackets, if that included, is it not included? I prefer working that way, seeing the setting and deciding what goes in deciding on the setting. We can’t have the jackets because it’s not climate controlled…the jackets are fur, and they’ll start getting hot and falling apart and we don’t want them. 

The space at L is big and like a vitrine, and a transient space that you would walk through. So I decided that either you work with it, or try to challenge it. If we just have photographs, you move slowly through the space. So we have big photographs that you can kind of see from far, or you can come in closer and see them closer.

And you chose to enlarge the polaroids?  

We scanned them large because it makes them feel more like an art piece, and because there’s interesting writing on them, people want to come close to read them. The space feels like something you just want to move through, and maybe you want to have a large impact from far away.

Channel 51: Igloolik - Chill Zone at L Space is more cozy, and there are lots of students working... Sometimes you just need a space to linger...and I had the idea about the mediatheque. Often times, film festivals have mediatheques. If you can’t make it to the screening, that’s okay. You can still go to the mediatheque, and still go and watch it.

A mediatheque is similar to a library for films?

Yeah, if you really want to see a film, you don’t have to miss it. Also, the idea of autonomy and sovereignty…the viewers have their own choice, they have their own say in deciding what they want to see, and that they have the power. We also have books. Isuma has published maybe four or five books, and they’re also in the space. There’s an area, more than half the gallery, where you can come have tea, talk and read the books. There are a few art pieces in the space as well; there’s a blanket- or a wall hanging- which is made for a film that you can watch in the space, and also just a beautiful piece of artwork that shows different images that happened in stories of people who get adopted.

In Inuit culture, many people get adopted, it is a very regular part of life. It’s not unusual to have many family members who are adopted.

Speaking of family, what is your relationship with your name? And how do you envision your generation, and future ones, will carry forth the traditional Inuit ways of naming?

It is meant to keep those bonds, and though it may be different now, it still plays the same role. I think naming is really important to people in general.  I think in our family, the way of naming has changed a lot. I want to keep in line with all the people that lived before me, whereas many people are still doing that, but in a different way. For us, we would usually have one name, and lets say two hundred or three hundred years ago we had one name, and it is passed along in the family, but only after death. Now we have may names still honoring our family, but not one person, and not just after death. Part of it is different, part of it is the same.

What is the way they were naming in the past?

Let’s say you’re my grandma. When I have a kid, you would decide what the kid is named. Not the mother, not the father, you - the matriarch. The baby will be someone that is already been in the family, but has passed on. Maybe they passed away two years ago, or ten years ago, and you pick up the baby and go “Oh! It’s them”. Whomever is the head of the family decides, and nowadays babies are named two or three names. They may even be someone living in the family.

I was reading about the translation of the word ‘Isuma’ itself, which is the concept of the plurality of thought and rationality.  Each individual has their own Isuma, as opposed to the commonly objective, peer-reviewed Western philosophy of rationality. What is your personal definition of ‘Isuma’?

For me, it’s the cornerstone of the way I live my life. You always want to be thoughtful and thinking, and if you’re doing that then you’re always adapting. I think it’s about keeping yourself aware of your surroundings, and how to respond and behave in them in the most positive way. You have to be able to stay alert and figure out how to constantly empower yourself by staying …awake! (laughs). 

In Zachary Kunuk’s films, he uses a special approach of preserving culture through activating collective memory. For example, in The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, there is a reenactment of the switch from Shamanism to Christianity, and how that impacted Inuit communities. There are different voices in the film, sharing their authentic viewpoints. What do you think of this approach? Do you think collective memory prevents and protects the distortion of history?

I think part of the reason why he does it is because…It is memory on different levels. One level of it is for remembering and seeing the details of clothing or objects that surround us in our everyday life. In this instance, it’s not about a historical moment, but the way you sow your pants, and the way your pants connect with your boots. The second part is about relationships, what is the dynamic like, how does this father talk to the daughter, what is respect like. And then the last part is the historical event. Understanding what happened at this moment, what was going on in his life and his mind when he gave up his spirit guides? It touches all of us. The films have all of these levels, of our lives and our potential to be able to remember our history.

He also adds a touch of modernity to these depictions as well

Yeah, because that is definitely a part of our lives as well.

Do you believe adding an element of fiction in these films would be counterproductive or perhaps interfere with the message?

I think every film is fiction at some level, even documentaries…You are closing off a space and isolating yourself to reenact this. With these films they are doing their best to show things as they were and tell stories, so I’m not sure how fiction could fit into them. So I guess it would be difficult to add fiction, and also difficult to keep it out, at the same time.

How natural was it for you to learn about your cultural history while living in the city? Was it passed down to you by elders or did you have to seek it out?

I grew up with learning parts of it, but not as much as I’ve learned in the past five years. I’ve learned more about my cultural history and cultural presence now than I had for the rest of my life. At the same time, it was never hidden away from me, or never not a part of me. I always visit my home and family, but had not necessarily learned about singing or stuff that I may have learned about if I had grown up in the North.

At the same time, even if you had grown up in the North, in an Inuit village, you can still go without learning the language or anything really. You still have to seek it and have a family that teaches it. The thing about colonization is that it continues doing its job unless people stop it, and critically think about what is going on. There are people who have to still decolonize themselves, and are still removing themselves from their cultural beliefs. So it’s still possible to still grow up not learning anything.

What comes to your mind when you hear the words ‘decolonial filmmaking aesthetics’?

I have never described my work as such, though I do think some people are more theoretical and like to use the phrase. I think part of it is because…if you are just in the mindset and you know your cultural beliefs and live your life by them, then any part of your life will be guided by them. If it’s the way you eat, or dress, or the way you talk to someone, or make your films, it’s not something you think about. If it’s decolonial, it’s because my mind is in the mindset of addressing whatever needs to be decolonized.

Do you believe film documentation is headed down a direction where it will become as sacred as the word of an elder? Will the need to film our present selves for the future interfere with the tradition of sitting down with an elder and hearing these stories orally?

I think that people live in so many different ways…For the benefit for people who grow up in a myriad of possible circumstances and for the benefit of the understanding for outsiders, there’s always going to be something beneficial about making these videos and it’s also important to encourage being on the land, and talking to people- real, live people. I think they both have their space, and it’s a really good point to be aware of. How do I both make my film work, and encourage people to keep talking face-to-face? (laughs)

At a certain level you need both, at least at this time. I hope…it could be nice if in the future we didn’t have to make films… I mean I love making them, but we make them for a reason, because there’s a problem. And if the problem doesn’t exist, that’s also great.

Zacharias’s films bring Inuit lifestyles and stories to a global stage. What stereotypes have you personally encountered about the North, and would like to see addressed in future film projects?

The thing I’m confronted with most is people thinking we live in igloos, and have sled dogs, and it’s like…It wouldn’t be a bad thing if we live that way, but we just don’t…there’s internet. ‘Don’t you Google anything?’ You can see that we dress the same way as you. The hardest thing is people thinking we live in a different time... No, we’re living in the present time.

What advice would you give young emerging Inuit visual artists who want to transition from traditional media (drawing, prints, sculpture) to experimenting with moving image? 

I live in many different media in my life and with artworks, so I think format and media that you choose has to be in line with the message that you choose. Not everything is a film, some things are a film. Not everything is a painting, some things are a painting. Really try to pay attention to the media and the best way to get the idea across…Sometimes I see a film and I think, “That’s a play! Why didn’t you make it into a play?” or “That’s a film script, and that could’ve been a film, but it’s not reaching its full potential”. What is the best way to say it? I would tell someone, do it, but make sure it fits, because you need to maximize the potential.

This comes back to the idea of Isuma then, the concept of being mindful about what you are creating or doing?

Yeah, exactly.

Lastly, is there anything you would like to add in closing about your experience as the guest curator of the exhibitions?

Yeah, I’d like to acknowledge that it wasn’t just me curating the show, I bring the first initial idea and an idea for the setup, and then all of the staff at Humber is able to have their say, and their suggestions. We were all able to have input in it, and that was really special and that they agreed to do it that way, and I just wanted to acknowledge that collaboration. Also the collaboration with the Aboriginal resource center and helping to inform what content should be in the shows.

* * * * 

Isuma collective will be representing Canada at the Venice Biennale 2019!

Watch IsumaTv films here

Channel 51: Igloolik exhibitions will run at Humber Galleries from March 5th to April 12th