Punk isní¢â‚¬â„¢t dead. But I know it seems that way when you hear the latest generation of punk rockers. Punk revival and other post-post-punk genres aside, ití¢â‚¬â„¢s the spirit of the 70s punk movement thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s important, and thankfully, it has survived to this day. Forget My Chemical Romance, Blink, or whoever else is masquerading as real punk today. You caní¢â‚¬â„¢t get any more punk than Andy Dixon.

As a child growing up in the 1980s and watching such movies as Adventures in Babysitting, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, and Ninja Turtles, it was nearly impossible to not be afraid of subways. In the mind of a child, subways were filthy and graffiti covered, and rival gangs freely roamed between train cars, destined to clash in the car where YOU were sitting, at 3 PM of course. It was certainly no place for a white middle class kid from the suburbs. I remember having incredible anxiety the first time my father took me on the TTC. I must have been 6 or 7 at the time, going from Union Station to the Maple Leaf Gardens.

To celebrate International Womení¢â‚¬â„¢s Day, Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) organized a Short Film Showcase highlighting the work of women directors around the world. Eleven short films in total were screened in 15 cities around the world including: New York, Auckland, Washington, Atlanta, Denmark, and Toronto. Antoinette Karunaí¢â‚¬â„¢s film, The Broken Hearted, was one of the standouts.

Documentaries have, without dispute, seen a recent rise in their political nature. Noting this in her article from last monthí¢â‚¬â„¢s issue, Fictions, Capital film editor Leanne Welham asked, what effect does this have on those who view them? Do social critiques really have a place in the cinema, a traditional space of entertainment?

The struggle for the authority of authorship has entered new terrain. Upset with the í¢â‚¬Ëœanti-American, anti-Christian biasí¢â‚¬â„¢ of on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia (hereby known as the Wikis), a group of conservative Christians based in the U.S have founded a counter-reference. Behold Conservapedia (hereby referred to as the Cons): an on-line encyclopedia that lies politically to the right of Genghis Kahn and philosophically lock-stepped with the í¢â‚¬ËœAdam and Eve were at risk of being stepped on by a T-rexí¢â‚¬â„¢ school of thinkers.

The 2007 Birdí¢â‚¬â„¢s Eye View Film Festival, 8th í¢â‚¬“ 14th March

Last week saw the launch of the 2007 Birds Eye View Film Festival in London and for only its 3rd year in existence, the festival offered an impressive line up of films, events and workshops.

When Barack Obama announced he would be the keynote speaker at last weekí¢â‚¬â„¢s commemorative march in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march, a key moment in the struggle for civil rights in the southern United States, it was only a matter of time before rival Democratic hopeful Hilary Clinton countered with a keynote speech of her own.

I wake up and glance at the calendar; ití¢â‚¬â„¢s Monday. Usually, thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s cause for everyone to pull the covers over their heads and go back to sleep dreaming of Tuesday. But not for me: I spend Mondays with a smile on my face secure in the knowledge that in a few hours Ií¢â‚¬â„¢ll be watching another episode of my favourite show, 24.

Brocket 99 í¢â‚¬“ Rockiní¢â‚¬â„¢ the Country is a documentary that looks at the history of the infamous parody tape "Brocket 99", the attitudes of people towards the tape and the issues raise by the "humour" present within it. The tape itself was made by Lethbridge DJs (whose identities have never been confirmed) and has spread like wild fire from community to community, capitalizing on the many stereotypes that face Aboriginals today.

Everyone likes a blockbuster from time to time. Check out the Flux issue's Reviews: Just Because You're Arty Part 1 and Part 2 below.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006)

Richard Eyreí¢â‚¬â„¢s Notes On a Scandal, is the big-screen adaptation of Zoe Hellerí¢â‚¬â„¢s hit novel of the same name. It tells the story of Barbara Covett, a lonely and embittered teacher played with searing conviction by Dame Judi Dench, and her tumultuous relationship with the new teacher at her school, Cate Blanchettí¢â‚¬â„¢s Sheba Hart.