All posts by Carolyn Potts

Teacher. Writer. Mom. Masters' Candidate, Faculty of Education, Western University. Studying Pop Culture Media as a Decolonizer of Education Policy and Practice. I also volunteer as a Girl Guide leader in my spare time.
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Four in the Morning: A Day in the Life

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Well that episode was quite the poser! Creator Ira Parker asks us the loaded question, “What if…?” and we buzz off on a trip as our madcap foursome experience the same.

A sober cold open showcases a set of parents, Donna and Martin, (Deborah Day, who I was fortunate to see play Marina/Thaisa in last summer’s The Adventures of Pericles at The Stratford Festival, and Sergio Di Zio, who most recently played Patrick Finnegan in the series Rogue) as they abandon their newborn children. However, Parker is just using this scenario to set up his philosophical exercise. He is really asking us all to examine life, death, our legacies, and the consequences of life choices.

As it happens these two “children,” Margaret and Gogol (also played by Day and Di Zio), are “day kids”; apparently an oft experienced condition at the Patrician Grill. They live their entire lifetime in a single day. The evening includes frat parties, a first kiss in the rain, and wasted opportunities. We even face grief due to chronic illness.

The show is laced with quiet moments of inquiry, absent of any guile. Jamie (Michelle Mylett) appears to be the one most affected, but then again Mitzi (Lola Tash) is still contemplating whether or not to terminate her unforeseen pregnancy.

It is also Mitzi who delivers our most profound statement: “Whether you live for one day or 100 years, your legacy is not for you but for the people you leave behind.” But Gogol poses the most intriguing question: “Is it possible to spend a butt load of time with the same people but not be really close with any of them?”

These types of philosophical questions have always been more of a focus thing. They force you to strip away the trivialities of life. They make us look at our core values: who we are, what we want in life, and what pleases us. Parker takes us all by the hand on this little romp and we watch our foursome go through this exercise, digging deep and figuring out what is important in their/our lives.

I started to watch this show because it just looked quirky enough to be really fun. Instead, I found this  to be a surreal little gem, perfect in its simplicity.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Four in the Morning

Four in the Morning boasts humour and bittersweet-ness in debut

In this premiere episode of Four in the Morning, created by Ira Parker, we are treated to a bit of magic realism: a talking pig named Albert a.k.a. Buzz. More on that later.

Four in the Morning is being touted as a comedy. I would, however, describe this as a surreal dream that definitely takes itself seriously.  The dialogue flies by and the puns are delivered so deadpan that if you are not listening, you might not catch them all. But this is not a laugh-a-minute show. It delves a little deeper despite the many f-bombs and a few other liberal-isms that we  typically do not see on the CBC.  It features four (get it? FOUR!) twentysomethings experiencing life at 4 a.m..

Parker himself describes the series: “Four in the Morning is about that feeling you get after a long night of drinking with your friends, fluctuating somewhere between euphoria and misery. It’s about the things we say to each other that we couldn’t during our more sober hours. This is the world our show lives in.”

We open with a quick walking tour through the Patrician Grill—the 219 over the door should be a dead giveaway to Torontonians—and land downstairs in the the ladies’ room with Mitzi (Lola Tash, formerly of Republic of Doyle) sharing the news with her best friend Jamie (Michelle Mylett, “Katy” of Letterkenny) that her talking pet pig has died. See, I really wasn’t kidding about the pig.

Meanwhile, back in the booth, Bondurant (Daniel Maslany, whose credits include Corner Gas), confesses his love for Jamie to Jamie’s boyfriend William (Mazin Elsadig). Eventually, the foursome reunite in a scene reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally—we all remember that  “famous” scene in Katz’s Delicatessen—and the whole thing comes together like you would imagine a Seinfeld episode if it were written by David Lynch. Quirky is a bit of an understatement.

Anyhow, William turns to his girlfriend Jamie in frustration, “I am starting to get why your parents abandoned you,” and with that, the foursome becomes two twosomes, setting up a series of back and forth, his and hers scenes. We learn through Bondurant’s confession to William that he has lied to everyone about his acceptance to Julliard. We also learn via Mitzi’s  own confession to Jamie that she is merely “transitorily pregnant” and plans to abort Bondurant’s child because it is her belief that he has been accepted to Julliard.

This sequence of bantering scenes feels more like a one-act play than television sitcom, giving 4 a.m. a very fresh charm. It crams in a good deal of background information with its fast-paced dialogue.  Parker even gets a bit meta with his dialogue; William calls Bondurant out for dropping a famous Carnegie/Massey Hall joke.

We close with  the knowledge that Mitzi’s pig squealed on Jamie and Bondurant, while Bondurant contemplates his future, sans trumpet,  from the stage of an empty and darkened Massey Hall.

This is truly a refreshing blend of humour and bittersweet-ness. Definitely a standing “O” to the CBC for allowing Parker free reign with his creation. This, I hope, will be a really fun ride!

Will Mitzi decide to keep Bondurant’s baby? What do you think will happen next? Do you have a favourite line from the show? Leave your ideas in the comments below!

Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Working It Out Together: Decolonization Dance

Season 3 ends on a high note featuring dance, and its ability to heal. Host Waneek Horn-Miller sums up the significance of dance: “Dance has always been an integral part of our ceremonies and traditions. It expresses our prayers, and our mythology, it celebrates our victories, and is a way to heal.”

However, colonization nearly destroyed dance. Policy forced dance underground, yet it survived and is seeing a resurgence across the land. Briana Olson, Manager, iHuman Youth Society, explains, “Our ceremonies were related, and central, and fully immersed in how we raised our children, how we engaged in trade, and through our language was how we were directly connected with how we viewed our land.” But to the colonizers, dance was viewed as a threat to the values they held. Thus the settlers created policy to ensure language, ceremonies and sacred dances were all banned. This form of colonization has facilitated  the culture of shame that, for many Indigenous people, has become a way of being.

Karen J. Pheasant, Cultural Knowledge Keeper, also speaks to the tradition and importance of dance in Indigenous culture: “We always gave first and foremost recognition to the powers that be, that brought these to us and we gave them with ceremony which was song, which was offerings, and celebrate the good life. What enabled us to do that was through our dance.”

James Jones, is a self described fusion dancer who, following a career altering knee injury, combined hip-hop with traditional dance styles. James, the official dancer with the popular band A Tribe Called Red, describes dancing as “food for the spirit.” When not touring, he has  been leading youth workshops, sharing his own experiences with multi-generational trauma and how that journey has affected his life. James was able to overcome personal tragedy and in so doing claims he was healed by the power of Hoop Dancing.

One interesting final note with respect to this episode: in the segment about James’ life in gangs on the streets of Edmonton,  there are a series of shots edited in, but never directly addressed. We see images from the Red Dress Campaign. This campaign was designed to draw attention to the plight of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls across Canada.

You can read more about James Jones here at WIOT Zine.

Overall, this season has  been incredibly instructive. Each episode, each facet explored, demonstrates how pervasive colonization has penetrated the lives of Indigenous people. If you are a student or a teacher wanting to understand colonization, particularly in light of the recent TRC Report and its Calls to Action, or if perhaps you are looking to add more content to your Social Studies units I HIGHLY recommend watching this season in its entirety. When viewed together, you get a real sense of the over arcing scope government and policy have played in the lives of Indigenous people in Canada. Additionally, there is a wealth of resources that could easily be adapted for classroom activities, located in the link listed above.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Working It Out Together: Two-Spirited Gifts

Series host Waneek Horn-Miller opens this episode with the statement: “Love is a special kind of magic that people have between them, and everyone is allowed to have that magic.” This is the theme that is repeated throughout as we explore what it means to be two-spirited, both in traditional communities and in today’s society.

Waneek continues: “Sexuality should be something that acts as a strength rather than a fear as we grow and mature.”

Prior to colonization, Two-spiritedness—one body containing both the male and the female spirit—was held in high esteem. Gina Metallic, Social Worker, explains that two-spirited people were medicine people, pipe carriers, marriage counsellors and teachers. “They especially made good social workers and counselors because they were able to see both the male and female sides equally.”

Traditionally, Indigenous people saw sexuality and gender  as something that constantly evolves during the lifetime. However,  at the time of colonization, the settlers sought to destroy this practice, using the influence  of the Jesuits. Christian indoctrination removed the influence of the two-spirited advisors within the community, effectively breaking down the social structures. This  attitude was perpetuated for generations within the Residential School System; children who exhibited non-normative behaviours grew up ostracized.

Ms. Metallic also discusses how today, those who are two-spirited continue to feel  like an outsider in their home communities due to homo and trans phobias and oftentimes gravitate to larger urban areas in order to find acceptance. However, many times those who do seek refuge and find anonymity in larger centres then encounter racism. As a result, two-spirited people often turn to sex work to survive and “have the highest rate of suicide of any population.”

Robbie Masden shares his journey as he comes to accept and learn to celebrate his two-spirited self.  Growing up, Robbie was subjected to “gay bashing” and turned to alcohol and drug abuse as a means to escape himself. It was not until Robbie returned to his home community and explored the history of two-spiritedness that he began to understand and recognize the gifts he had been given, and began to heal himself.

This episode also features Pasha Partridge. Pasha shares her experiences as a bisexual, and is currently in a serious relationship with a woman. Pasha and her girlfriend left their remote northern community and now reside in her father’s community,  Kanahwa:ke, QC in order to avoid social persecution.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Working It Out Together: Wayne Rabbitskin–The Long Road Home

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Prior to colonization, Indigenous men and women treated each other as equals. They had different roles to fulfill but they still regarded each other with equal respect. But at the time of colonization, governmental policies created social dysfunction, essentially crippling the role of the men within traditional communities, even criminalizing their role as warrior within their families.  This has left men without a role to fill and has ultimately disconnected them from the land and their culture.

Throughout this episode we accompany Wayne Rabbitskin, Chisasibi, QC, as he travels his own journey of reconciliation. Wayne suffers from multi-generational trauma as a result of his parents’ experiences at Residential School. Included in footage are his heart felt words of apology for the pain he caused. He admits to alcohol and drug abuse. He also admits to abusing his former wife and destroying his marriage. This form of dysfunctional behaviour is commonly  referred to as lateral violence. Lateral violence refers to acts of destructive aggression against one’s peers rather than bullying to establish a sense of superiority. It is a means to share pain in order to alleviate pain rather than exerting force to create a social hierarchy.

Wayne is now working to end lateral violence in communities. Following his stay in a treatment centre, where he re-learned his role as a man and came to understand that women are sacred, Wayne committed himself to a 1000 mile walk, visiting other communities like his own to share his testimony. His own admissions are acting to expose lateral violence and inter-generational trauma, and allowing others to heal, while hecontinues to make amends for his own actions.

Traditional Story-teller Isaac Murdoch explains that prior to colonization, ” Women were literally a walking ceremony. They were the water carriers.  And because water is our first teacher, our first medicine, it’s the very thing that gives us life there was a high respect of women because of their strong connection of the land.” Because of this there was a balance in order to preserve life for the generations to come. However, with the arrival of the settlers came the arrival of both sickness and alcohol. Since the men were the ones who traded goods, it was the men who fell prey to the effects of alcohol, destroying the accord between men and women. Isaac believes that men must look back to the days before the settlers arrived and reconnect to the traditional ways in order to heal.

Shawn Iserhoff, Mistissini Youth Chief, also shares his experiences on the land and describes how this connection brings humility and harmony to his life, contrary to his experiences in the city.

Having participated in healing circles myself, witnessing the bravery of Mr. Rabbitskin admissions in order to make amends was particularly moving.

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