Everything below here is from the Flux Issue, put out in March 2007.

Capitalmag's Megan Cole interviews Sol Guy, host of 4REAL, highlighting how young people around the world are using art and culture to deal with pressing social issues. Sol discusses the participation of celebrities including Joaquim Pheonix, K'naan, Sam Roberts and Mos Def.

4REAL will be airing this fall on MTV Canada. They are also planning an interactive web component that will allow the audience to have their opinions voiced and heard about the issues covered on the show. For more information, check out Direct Current Media.

The 79th annual Academy Awards will be handed out once again on February 25th and early indications show that they are bound to be as predictable as ever. Despite some strong and compelling nominations, the majority of those in line for the top prize fall comfortably into the Academyí¢â‚¬â„¢s notorious history of playing it safe. The Best Picture Oscar is the top honor that any film can receive, holding more prestige than any other award in the industry. It is an award that can propel the winning film into a new dimension: increasing its ticket sales, amplifying the amount of DVD revenue and securing it a place in the annuls of film history. It allows directors and stars to call their own shots, demand multi million dollar salaries and gain creative control in Hollywood. However, since 9/11, a more conservative Oscar ceremony has emerged, one that is less about rewarding the art of cinema and more about expensive promotional campaigns and popularity within the industry.

Jesus Camp, the newest documentary from Oscar nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, explores the growing relationship between religion and politics in America, centering on the í¢â‚¬ËœKids on Fireí¢â‚¬â„¢ Summer Camp set up by the evangelical Christian preacher Becky Fischer. Initially designed to engage a new generation of evangelical Christians to play an active role in American politics, the camp encouraged its young attendees to í¢â‚¬Å“become dedicated Christian soldiers in Godí¢â‚¬â„¢s armyí¢â‚¬  and to í¢â‚¬Å“take back America for Christí¢â‚¬ . These powerful mission statements are reflected throughout the film in scenes ranging from an anti-abortionist handing out tiny embryos for children to pray over, to a room full of children blessing and praising a cardboard cut-out of George W. Bush. It becomes clear that these evangelicals are not only raising their kids with a strong religious ideology, but also a political one.

Since the genre was created decades ago, horror films have fallen under intense scrutiny for their gratuitous violence and controversial plots. Nevertheless, what some may consider cheap thrills others consider justifiable entertainment. The genre has seen its ups and downs, but in 1996, audiences flocked to theatres to witness what would become the unofficial resurrection of the genre: Wes Cravení¢â‚¬â„¢s Scream. Although scary movies had never disappeared altogether, it was this film that pushed them to the forefront of the Hollywood dream machine.

í¢â‚¬Å“Fictionsí¢â‚¬  is the word of the month here at Capital. A darling of a concept to the creative writer, fiction(s) is a dirty yet enticing word for journalists. Ask Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post writer Janet Cooke about embellishing the truth to make the story sing. Everyone condemns it, but show me a writer who hasní¢â‚¬â„¢t thought of omitting certain facts or conveniently ignoring contrary opinions in order to build a story.

Theyí¢â‚¬â„¢re entering the first truly adult phase of their lives, that part where, sooner than they imagined it, thereí¢â‚¬â„¢s another generation behind them, ready to hog the spotlight. What to do? Resent these gate-crashing barbarians because they personify the ravages of time, or tap into their energy and help them to find their way?

Documentary film has never had it better, so to speak. If there is any doubt that the last five years have witnessed a transformation in the way that we watch this genre of cinema, take a look at the list of top grossing documentaries of all time: 8 out of 10 were released in 2002 or later.

In Sierra Leone, the lines that are supposed to lie between rebel and civilian, sister and enemy, child and combatant, have, in this small countryí¢â‚¬â„¢s tumultuous history, become difficult to identify with any certainty. The country continually manages to slip through the dichotomous í¢â‚¬Ëœwar and peaceí¢â‚¬â„¢ categories with which the international community attempts to define it with. Most often, it feels as though this patch of land exists in a space in-between.

Much like any encyclopaedic endeavour, Wikipedia.org has the best of intentions. Ití¢â‚¬â„¢s the peopleí¢â‚¬â„¢s resource, edited by people for other people to debate over. This isní¢â‚¬â„¢t necessarily a bad thing, as it forces readers to re-evaluate and question the accuracy of the facts they are presented with. No matter how solid the information seems, nothing found in Wikipedia is beyond dispute. Just sign up for an account and you too can have a say in defining the world around you í¢â‚¬“ though you will probably find yourself battling with other devoted users.