#aboriginal gangs

[christine-ye]

Kamen Rider Blade character name meanings

I was watching an anime lyric video on YouTube last night and recognized one of the kanji in the lyrics also being used for one of the main characters' names in Blade and ended up falling down a rabbit hole (aka Jisho.org) so I made a guide breaking down the Blade cast's names because 1. when do I ever not think about this show and 2. language stuff is fun to look into (also included Shiori and Kotaro because why not, slight spoilers incoming)

♠ Kazuma Kenzaki (剣崎一真)/Kamen Rider Blade ♠

Kenzaki (剣崎): ken (剣) - sword (spade itself also derives from the Spanish and Italian spada meaning 'sword'); zaki (崎) - small peninsula, promontory

Kazuma (一真): kazu (一) - one; ma (真) - true/truth, reality, genuineness (could refer to Kenzaki's genuine love for humanity and eventually Hajime); both characters together could mean "one truth" (could refer to Kenzaki seeking the one true way to allow Hajime to keep living without having the world be destroyed during the finale) or "one reality" (could refer to the current nature of the Battle Fight preventing Kenzaki and Hajime from seeing each other again despite them defying their fates)

Blade: the main part of a sword whose name is derived from the Old English blæd meaning 'leaf' (also hence why the spade is replaced with the leaf in German playing cards), related to the Suit of Swords (Spades) in the Minor Arcana

♦ Sakuya Tachibana (橘朔也)/Kamen Rider Garren ♦

Tachibana (橘): mandarin orange (specifically the Citrus tachibana, also explains why one of his themed drinks from the Kamen Rider Diner was orange-flavored)

Sakuya (朔也): saku (朔) - new moon (symbolizes new beginnings in astrology, which ties into Tachibana's return to being Garren again after initially trying to quit and his character song literally being called Rebirth), the first day of the lunar calendar; ya (也) - to be (classical form), also a common suffix in Japanese male names

Garren: either a corruption of the English word 'currency' in Japanese or phonetically sounds similar to the French carreau meaning 'diamond' (might be a stretch though), related to the Suit of Coins (Diamonds) in the Minor Arcana

♥ Hajime Aikawa (相川始)/Kamen Rider Chalice ♥

Aikawa (相川): ai (相) - mutuality, togetherness (also phonetically sounds the same as the Japanese word for love, which ties into Hajime's character arc and Chalice's heart motif); kawa (川) - river, stream; both characters together could mean "river of mutuality" or "river of togetherness"

Hajime (始): beginning (ironically contrasts his true role as humanity's destroyer)

Chalice: holy cup or goblet whose name is derived from the Latin calix meaning 'cup', related to the Suit of Cups (Hearts) in the Minor Arcana (also symbolic of Hajime's growing love and humanness throughout the show)

♣ Mutsuki Kamijo (上条睦月)/Kamen Rider Leangle ♣

Kamijō (上条): kami (上) - above, up; jō (条) - article, clause

Mutsuki (睦月): mutsu (睦) - intimate, friendly, harmonious (could refer to Mutsuki learning to control the Spider Undead's power with Tachibana's help); tsuki (月) - moon, month; both characters together mean the ancient Japanese name for January

Leangle: an Aboriginal club/polearm-type weapon, related to the Suit of Wands (Clubs) in the Minor Arcana

💻 Shiori Hirose (広瀬栞) 💻

Hirose (広瀬): hiro (広) - vast, broad, spacious; se (瀬) - rapids

Shiori (栞): bookmark, guidebook (could refer to her role as the gang's resident Undead tracker and Kenzaki's closest ally at BOARD)

🥛 Kotaro Shirai (白井虎太郎) 🥛

Shirai (白井): shira (白) - white (callback to his love for milk mayhaps /j); i (井) - well, town, community (could refer to him befriending and providing hospitality for Kenzaki and Shiori after BOARD kicks the bucket, also farmhouse trio ftw)

Kotarō (虎太郎): ko (虎) - tiger, drunkard (for milk obviously /j); ta (太) - thick; rō (郎) - common suffix in Japanese male names

[voidbirds]

The Gang-Gang Cockatoo! One of the only species I've covered to be known commonly by its actual Aboriginal Name! (either from the Ngunnawal or Wiradjuri people, although it's possible both called them this).

GangGangs are a pretty interesting cockatoo, as you can see their crest is rather wispy and fluffy rather than the straight feathers you find on most Cockies. The ladies of this species are quite similar but are missing the red face and crest of the gentlemen presented here. Instead they have an adorable grey miniature crest

[cosmogyros]

I don’t think I’ll ever be over the weirdness of looking at somebody’s list of favorite music and realizing it’s all artists from like… the past 10 years, at best? It’s like a chill runs down my spine.

What good was the entire development of recording technology and the incredible archival resources of libraries and the Internet if people don’t use them? (Not the mention the truly astounding efforts of field musicologists… Alan Lomax must be turning in his grave.)

We have over a century of recorded music to listen to from around the world, innumerable genres and types of delight for the ears. Why limit oneself?

“But I already know what I like–”

Really? You’ve listened to all this stuff already, and determined that you don’t like any of it? 60s American garage bands and 30s hobo songs and polyphonic Georgian music and early calypso and Russian singer-songwriters and the glorious 60s and 70s big bands of West Africa and Arvo Pärt’s meditative compositions and the Celtic ballads so old no one remembers who wrote them anymore and Appalachian folk and Raï music and Turkish psychedelic rock and Aboriginal Australian singers and English Music Hall and Schumann’s Kinderszenen and all the Great American Songbook writers and Ostrock and Bach’s cantatas and Canadian sea shanties and Native American chants that preserve languages now extinct and the Warhol Factory gang and Malaysian communist music and Corsican pulifunie and rocksteady and chanson française and the spirituals that evolved from work songs sung by enslaved people in the fields and jazz fusion and the morin khuur and the Alphorn and Bollywood songs and Umm Kulthum?

I certainly haven’t even begun to make a dent in the wonderful buffet of music available to me, but as long as I keep exploring music that’s not just “new” but “new to ME”, I keep discovering more stuff I love. You might not… but you also might!

Wikipedia is free, and it will tell you who influenced whom, and where and when all these types of music come from. YouTube is free, and it will let you listen to them all. Radiooooo is free, and it's a fantastic way to expand your horizons. Don’t let the entire musical history of humankind be forgotten, I implore you.

[squidbian-ink]

OCtober Day 2- New OC

These two designs were done for my character design class last year at Uni! I never posted them here, so I thought I'd pick them for today's prompt :)

Our assignment was to pick a group of characters from folklore, history or mythology that had been overlooked or misunderstood. I chose lady bushrangers, but with a 'sci-fi meets mad max' twist. I also designed them with the idea that they'd be used in a megaman-style action platformer game.

LEFT: "Lucky Lizzy", loosly based on bushranger Jessie Hickman. She's cocky, impulsive, and seemingly can't feel pain (maybe due to nerve damage from living in the wasteland?). She's famous for performing dangerous circus stunts on her motorcyle, but also for her propensity for gambling.

RIGHT: "Mrs Winter", based on bushrangers Mary Heard and Mary Cockerill. She's a mechanical engineer who was forced to hide in the bush many years ago after she got chased out of Australia's futuristic eco-capital. As a bushranger, she was injured and betrayed by her former gang leader. The incident left her with a weak right arm, so she used her skills to fashion herself a gauntlet that basically gives her ice powers. Currently on a missions to use said ice powers to exact her revenge. She also happens to be Aboriginal, from the Awabakal nation.

[kwojciechowicz]

Hello, Everyone! I just finished my newest seventh graphic. This time I drew Gang Gang Cockatoos. :)

The gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum) is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland.

Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping (more pronounced and buffy in females), the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest. It ranges throughout south-eastern Australia. The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. It is easily identified by its distinctive call, which is described as resembling a creaky gate, or the sound of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle.

The name gang-gang comes from a New South Wales Aboriginal language, probably from one of the coastal languages, although possibly from Wiradjuri.

[bethanythebogwitch]

More Australian Fakemon

More Pokemon from by region based on Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand (mostly Australia though). This time I'm going to show off some (but not all) of the early game standards. Also, I have finally named my region. It will be the Goorda region, which is the word for "island" in the aboriginal Noongar language.

Previous entries: starters, regional starters, misc 1, and misc 2

The early-game mammal is Sleepossum, the sleepy Pokemon, normal type. It's based on a bush tail possum with some traits of opossums, the only extant marsupial of the Americas. Possums are a large group of arboreal marsupials and it's only fitting that such a common critter should be the Rattata equivalent of this region. Sleepossum spends most of its time asleep and has learned to fight and move even without waking up, though it prefers to flee. It cuddles its own tail while sleeping. Because they are cute and docile, they are a popular choice for new trainers. Its name comes from "sleep" and "possum". The sleeping trait is an exaggeration of the opossum adaptation of playing dead.

Sleepossum evolves to Somnossum, the sleepwalker Pokemon, normal/psychic type. It spends its entire life asleep, but it dreams about the world around it, letting it move and act as though awake. Some say its dreams are connected to the dream world, allowing it to gain insight on the past and future. Its tail acts like a cushion for it to sleep on. Its name comes from "possum" and "somnambulist", which is the technical term for a sleepwalker. Sleepossum and Somnossum inherit the Comatose ability formerly unique to Komala.

The Pikachu clone is Bilbolt, the bilby Pokemon, electric type. Its based on bilbies, a type of animal related to bandicoots that are endangered I mostly picked the bilby because it's cute. Bilbolt is very much based on Pikachu, mostly being "what if Pikachu were a bilby". Bilbolt is a shy and reclusive herbivore that can electrify it muscles to give itself a sudden burst of speed when in danger. Its fur channels a slight electric current, which can cause tingling and numbness if touched for too long. Bilbolt comes from "bilby" and "bolt".

Since SV gave the green light for Pikachu clones to evolve, Bilbolt will evolve into Cerebulb, the mad scientist Pokemon, electric/psychic type. Cerebulb is very obviously based on a mad scientist, with its poof of Einstein hair, fur that looks like a lab coat, and eyes that look like big glasses. It is also based on the trope of a lightbulb appearing over someone's head when they get an idea. Cerebulb can electrify its hair to stimulate its brain, increasing its intelligence while decreasing its inhibitions and sanity. It will often perform strange experiments during this time. You can tell it's stimulating its brain because its hair will glow brightly like a lightbulb. Its name comes from "cerebellum" or "cerebral" and "lightbulb".

For the early game dark type (think Poochyena, Purrloin, or Nickit) we have a regional form of Buneary, the rabbit Pokemon, dark type. Rabbits are one of the worst invasive species in Australia, ranked as most destructive in one study. Alolan Meowth and Rattata also set a precedent for Pokemon based on invasive species to be dark type. When Buneary were introduced to Goorda by foreign trade, they flourished in a land with fewer predators and started outcompeting native Pokemon, becoming an invasive species. They lost their timid and shy nature, instead becoming ruffians and bullies.

Goordan Buneary evolves to Goordan Lopunny, the rabbit Pokemon, dark type. It takes command of gangs of Goordan Buneary, leading them to find food and bully other Pokemon. While it is a bully and a ruffian, it does care for its subordinates and seeks to protect them. It is based on sukebans, female gang leaders in Japan. Its design makes it look like it's wearing a long coat and sarashi, a design often seen in fictional sukeban. It being based on a Japanese concept is a nod to the Buneary line originating in the Japan-based Sinnoh region.

[ditte-i-brisbane]

Turen går til Tasmanien part 1/3

Jeg har haft mid semester break, og denne blev brugt down under down under i Tassie. Her var jeg på grupperejse, hvor jeg var på en 5 day Tassie trip. Der er altså virkelig meget at skrive om, så det bliver nok spredt ud over et par opslag.

Søndag (Hobart - Bicheno):

I dag startede min roadtrip gennem Tassie! Vi startede klokken 7:00 og kørte fra Hobart til Wine Glass Bay, hvor vi vandrede vi på Mount Amos. Det var kun en 2 km retur vandretur, men den var omkring 350 højdemeter. Det var altså meget stejlt, men vildt fedt! På toppen var der en smuk udsigt over Wine Glass Bay, som har sit navn fra hvalfisker dagene. Her ville de rense hvalerne ved stranden, og breden ville fyldes med blodet. Derfor ville stranden altså være helt rød, og den lignede derfor rødvin. Heldigvis er der ikke mere hvalfiskeri i Tasmanien, så nu er vandet flot og blåt!

Efter stoppet ved Wine Glass Bay kørte vi til Bicheno, hvor vi spottede pingviner! Her kommer pingvinerne altså op efter solnedgang, for at komme tilbage til deres reder. Pingviner er meget bange dyr, så efter de havde fundet en sten på vejen de kunne gemme sig under, kom de ikke meget videre i den time vi kiggede på dem. Det var meget mørkt, men pingviner kan ikke se rødt lys, derfor kunne vi se dem med det røde lys. Pingvinerne bruger flere timer på at komme tilbage til deres redder hver aften, fordi de er de mest bange dyr. Vi sad og kiggede på dem under stenen i mindst en time, og det lykkedes altså kun en pingvin at bevæge sig videre mod sin redde. Meget fjollede dyr.

Mandag (Bicheno - Launceston):

I dag vågnede vi lige inden kl 5 for st se solopgangen i Bicheno på østkysten. Det var en virkelig dejlig måde at starte dagen på :))

Efter solopgang spiste vi morgenmad, drak kaffe også tog vi ned til Bichenos såkaldte blowhole. Dette er et hul i stenen, hvor der bliver “skudt” vand op, når bølgerne kommer. Det ligner altså lidt en hvals blåsthul. Her så vi også en sød krabbe, der gemte sig under stenene.

Vi tog derefter videre på vores tur langs østkysten, hvor vi kørte op til Bay of Fires. Bredden er kaldt dette, fordi europæerne kunne se røgen fra alle de Aboriginals bål, som altså lyste hele bredden op. Efter de så havde opkaldt området Bay of Fires, fandt de ud af, at hele bredden er fyldt med orange klædte sten. Navnet passer altså meget godt. Her stoppede vi på stranden Cosy Corner, hvor jeg fik mig en morgendukkert. Vandet her er noget at de smukkeste vand, jeg nogensinde har badet i. Det var helt fantastisk. Udover dyppeturen, fik vi set endnu en krabbe, og en flok delfiner der svømmede forbi. Meget dejlig strand :))

Efter stranden kørte vi forbi en østersfarm, hvor vi fik købt friske østers til frokost. Min frokost bestod altså af 6 friskt plukkede østers med citron og en æblesnegl (ligesom kanelsnegl, men med æble) til dessert. Det var 10/10.

Vi tog derefter videre fra østkysten og ind i landet. Vi kørte til Launceston, Tasmaniens anden største by med lige omkring 100.000 indbyggere, hvor vi skulle sove fra mandag til tirsdag. Inden solen gik ned havde vi tid til en gåtur ved Cataract Gorge. Her fik vi set en hel masse pademelon, små wallabies, og et par påfugle. Påfuglene blev introduceret af en indisk rigmand for mange år siden, der synes Cataract Gorge var virkelig flot, men kunne være flottere med nogle påfugle. Han sejlede hjem, hentede en kasse med påfugle, kom tilbage, og satte dem fri. Heldigvis har de ikke spredt sig ud fra det område, så de skaber ingen problemer for naturen på Tasmanien. Her fik jeg for anden gang den dag lov til at få et dyp, denne gang i ferskvand. Det var virkelig koldt, men det blev gjort, og jeg havde det rigtig rart bagefter!

Aftenen sluttede af med en omgang bouldering, da storbyen Launceston har et bouldering gym. Her brugte vores tour guide Tim og jeg ca 2 timer på at klatre, hvorefter vi fik en god omgang maccas (Mac donalds) til aftensmad.

Alt i alt en virkelig god dag :))

[cherrynika]

invasion day march arrives at the aboriginal tent embassy led by indigenous biker gangs

[mishkwaagegekwereads]

The Outside Circle Review

The Outside Circle really forces the reader to look inward. It does not sugar coat anything, and the author and artist do an amazing job conveying the emotional journey of the main character, Pete, while he works to become a warrior.

“Pete, a young Aboriginal man wrapped up in gang violence, lives with his younger brother, Joey, and his mother who is a heroin addict. After returning home one evening, Pete and his mother's boyfriend, Dennis, get into a violent struggle, which sends Dennis to the morgue and Pete to jail. Initially maintaining his gang ties, a jail brawl forces Pete to realize the negative influence he has become on Joey and encourages him to begin a process of rehabilitation through a traditional Native healing circle.”

This book set out to remind us that no matter where you begin, you can always heal. It may not be an easy journey, and you may have to make sacrifices along the way, but with the help of others and through traditional teachings, we can learn to live The Good Life and walk the Red Road. 4/5 stars. I will definitely be adding this book to my shelf!

CW:  Drug abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Racism

[littlescaryinternetguy]

The first one I remember seeing was Prophecy, when I was 8. I was enrolled in this summer vacation thing where you got sent to wallow in ditches and eat lead paint while incredibly bored teens ignored you and didn't have cell phones because it was 1979. One day they were like, let's go to the movies, and we said MOVIES YAY. But instead of going to see The Apple Dumpling Gang Goes To Riker's Island or whatever Disney film was playing the dude took us to see Prophecy. Prophecy was an awful horror movie with an "environmental moral" because it was, again, 1979 and Reagan hadn't come along to tell us only pansies care about the environment. Also, there were Aboriginal Americans in there saying dire things about how people gonna regret dumping strontium-90 directly into the Ohio River because, AGAIN, it was 1979. The prophesied (hence the name of the film) monster was supposed to be all the animals in the forest glomped into one beast but basically it was an inside-out bear. It killed people because it was pissed off, but, I mean, who wouldn't be really. Anyway I was 8 and I saw this awful awful movie and we had to sit through the fucking thing TWICE because nobody cared and it traumatized me so severely I cannot watch either horror movies or movies about bears that have been turned inside-out. Anyway here's the trailer so, you know, I hope you're wearing diapers because you WILL soil yourself from blind hot fear.

what's the first movie you remember seeing in theaters? don't try and be all edgy and cool and say like tetsuo: the iron man. be honest.

Go!!

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

NED KELLY

NED KELLY

December 1854 – 11 November 1880

            Kelly’s father John ‘Red’ was born in Ireland who stole pigs and was transported to Van Diemen’s Land, Australia in 1841 as a convict. After his release he moved to Victoria and became lucky due to gold-digging and purchased a home and married Ellen in Ballarat. Kelly grew up in the bush and once saved a boy from drowning and was given a green sash by the boy’s family which he wore under his armour during the final showdown. Red stole cattle and died during his time of hard labour, which left Ellen alone with eight children. The Kelly family were also known for theft which led to Kelly’s bushranger lifestyle and led Australia’s most famous gang. After a series of offences, the police declared them wanted outlaws.

            The Siege at Glenrowan started on 27 June 1880, when the gang gathered inside a hotel with 62 hostages from the town. The gang treated the hostages well, providing them with drinks, music and entertainment. Kelly and his gang had bullet-repelling armour and helmets which weighed 44 kilos, but their legs remained exposed. Over the armour they wore grey coats. At 10pm, Kelly and some of his gang left to capture the local Constable and took him back to the hotel. Two trains from Melbourne carrying police and reporters were stopped by a local who told them about the Kelly Gang at the hotel. Some of the hostages were released except for the Constable who was able to escape and warn police.

            Police and Aboriginal trackers arrived at the hotel, where the police and gang fired at one another for an hour. The authorities then surrounded the hotel during the night, at 5am the next morning, and fire continued until more police arrived at the scene. The rest of the hostages were released. Kelly then approached the police wearing his iron armour, mask and overcoat, he fired at the police and hid behind trees during the attack. The Sergeant shot Kelly twice in the legs and feet, Kelly screamed out ‘I am done – I am done’. Kelly was carried away and his wounds were dressed, whilst his gang continued firing at the police from the hotel until it later ceased when fire was set to the hotel.

            Kelly stood trial and was charged with murder, bank robberies as well as other crimes. He was sentenced to hanging and was permitted to farewell his family members. Kelly was hanged on 11 November 1880 at Old Melbourne Gaol. On his way to his execution, he walked past flower beds which he remarked, ‘what a nice little garden’. Some say his last words was ‘Such is life’ or ‘Ah, well, I suppose it has come to this,’.

#nedkelly

[that-purple-creature]

gang kalisha's being racist girlypop assumed my classmate was being racist and joking about being indigeous/aboriginal because he looks white she keeps assuming that he's lying while not questioning anyone else its fucking weird kalisha is my english teacher by the way

[scentedchildnacho]

New clue about why the lower bunk lady freaks out and disturbs everyone.....this pale face lady that use to sleep on the bunk next to hers tried to start talking to her and she starts screaming about all her gang credentials and confessing all about herself that isnt a nice little old lady......but if the bunk next is a nice not high school diploma black lady she finally calms down and stops disturbing everyone ..

No i think the pale face is playing australian aboriginal demonism....stareing at some woman she doesn't knows heart attack...really getting in her face .....its the snitch

I kind of wondered if it's anglos she kind of hates and wants to go to the Islamic state as free of the white stain...on society ...

There will be no anglos in the islamic state but we will fund food cost guns

At first I thought she hated everyone but it is more gay .....if we aren't a wife character I can be threatened with being stabbed sometimes so

She is just old and demented.......and she doesn't mean nothing by it ...

Its not in my schedule to do..........anything about it....and I was told to forgive the Russian myth....aggravation is not a sustained physical ability and that lady will collapse herself however she prefers...

Implode

No I havent seen anyone do anything to the lower bunk little old lady.....most people around her do really shut up ..or the loud disturbing....calculated cursing....would just keep going and going and going...and keep everyone from sleeping so

She probably has a case worker who may really sedate her.....so people not appreciative of health advise dont have to be healthy

It keeps going and going and going so crack cocaine

Mexican prostitution insight....we all maybe have young relatives who have to stay strong through college athletic hazes....and it's sure attract the heart cannibal to us and not young students that can upkeep the family line....

[questionable-disarray]

In year 8 one of the guys in my media class blew up his calculator - he was fine but one of the teachers started crying thinking he was gonna die

For Halloween a bunch of teachers in the arts department (including the hod) all dressed up as students (in the uniform but not wearing it like you're meant to). One of these teachers was repeatedly mistaken for a student.

On a school camp there was a skit night & the yellow group's skit involved two of them dressed up as bananas where they proceeded to do a dirty dancing type thing and kissed on the mouth (they were both straight guys). The yellow group won.

This one white guy everybody hates said the n word and was gang bashed by several aboriginal students at the bus stop. The next day the aboriginal student population was calmly sat down by indigenous support staff about how while yes racism is a terrible thing to experience, reacting with violence is not an appropriate solution

There was like a solid month of two where there was a fight every week or so

The film & tv class from the year before us had an assignment where you make a two minute short film related to a social issue - half that class had investigations launched and social services called due to the content of their films

There's definitely more but these are the ones from the top of my head

[adamwatchesmovies]

Deaner '89 (2024)

Despite being Canadian, I’ve never seen Fubar and hadn’t heard of Paul Spence before receiving tickets to a screening of Deaner ’89, meaning I had no idea what to expect from the film. I went to see it because I had tickets, not because the plot synopsis sounded enticing or because the trailer made me think “This will be hilarious”. In fact, I went in with low expectations. To my surprise and delight, this is an excellent comedy. Beneath the big laughs, clever gags and memorable scenes, there are some poignant bits of drama; emotions so genuine I think Spence (who both writes and stars) should consider doing more than comedy in the future.

In this mockumentary, metalhead Dean “The Deaner” Murdoch (Paul Spence) looks back at his unlikely rise to fame. His story begins in 1989 when teenage Dean was a small-town hockey all-star poised for the big league. One day, he receives a trunk from his late father. Inside the trunk covered in pentagrams and 69s, Dean finds a cassette that introduces him to the music of Dokken and the world of heavy metal.

As the film begins, Dean tells us that he suffered from some overactive gland/hormonal imbalance as a child. This is why he looks like he’s in his late 40’s (complete with a mustache) despite being in high school. That’s a sign this movie really isn’t taking itself seriously - all for the better. The jokes throughout vary quite a bit, from wild overexaggerations (such as when Aunt May, played by Mary Walsh, introduces Deaner to the bass) to wordplay between Deaner and his girlfriend’s jealous ex (“I’d give you the finger, but I’m saving it for Kitty!”) to weird moments of father-son bonding and plenty of surprises from that trunk. A motorcycle gang wants Deaner to throw a big upcoming hockey game so they can make money off of the bets people make on it, which introduces danger (sort of) and car chases (surprisingly well done for a small production), Kevin McDonald has a small but memorable part as the school principal and the interactions between Deaner, his adoptive father, Glen (Will Sasso), his adoptive mother, Mirna (Lauren Cochrane) and adoptive sister, Jen (Star Slade) also provide many unexpected laughs.

The family scenes, in particular, are significant. Along with the many jokes the film has queued up, there’s a subtle undercurrent of sadness. Both Dean and Jen are adopted and neither know of their Aboriginal roots. Glen and Mirna aren’t being malicious when they tell their children “Just tell those kids who tease you that you’re not Indian”; they’re doing what they think is best. They would have continued with that attitude had Dean not received that trunk from his late father. You understand why; society told them that was ok and their adoptive children’s biological parents didn’t want them. Deaner ’89 talks about the heritage many metis or Aboriginal people have lost or don’t even know they have but it mixes it in with a lot of humor, which makes it ring true despite the ridiculous events within the story. This makes it a celebration of culture and an acknowledgment of Canadian First Nations people’s reality without being too heavy - we’ve got plenty of drama movies for that.

In terms of criticisms, I’ll point you towards some jokes that don’t quite work, or are funny, but don’t quite fit in. At one point, for example, we meet the leader of the motorcycle gang that’s constantly hounding Deaner and he always wears a Halloween mask. Why? So eventually, their identity can be revealed. When you realize who it was the whole time, you won’t believe it… but why were they wearing a mask? There aren’t a lot of headscratcher moments like that, but there are a few.

Deaner ’89 is one of the biggest surprises I’ve seen in a while and it ends on an epic note. There came a point where I was laughing, but unsure how the story would end. This is all told in flashbacks. We know Dean became a successful musician… but how? The answer is clever, it uses the running time to its advantage and will leave you laughing through the end credits. While there may be farts and other juvenile bits of humor in Deaner '89, there are plenty of clever moments too. Even if it doesn't sound like your kind of thing, I'd take a chance on it. Deaner '89 quickly won me over and I won't be the only one. (theatrical version on the big screen, August 22, 2024)