[Montréal, Québec, Canada 18°C] When I heard that Stefan Christoff was preparing for his second photo exhibit, I knew I had to go. His first one displayed photos from a trip he made to Lebanon. I bought one of the photographs in the exhibit of an image of Yasser Arafat stencilled onto a decaying wall [...]
Posts under ‘reviews’
Africa, Canadian Mining Interests, Human Cargo and Re-education
[Montréal, Québec, Canada 18°C] Last night, I watched the five last episodes of the 2004 six-part television series, Human Cargo, directed by Brad Turner. I watched it on DVD borrowed from the well-stocked video library at La Grande Bibliothèque. The winner of seven Gemini Awards, including best director and best miniseries, the series follows parallel [...]
Global Video Games for ‘Serious’ Gamers
[MONTRÉAL] I’ve always been a fan of video games, sometimes spending hours scouring through medieval landscapes blasting the crap out grotesque monsters or evil sorcerers. But I’ve recently come across a few video games that have a purpose to them other than pure entertainment. Rather than divert a player’s attention from the real world, these ’serious’ video games attempt to bring a sense of reality to the screen.
One such gaming developer is Copenhagen-based Serious Games Interactive, which was founded in 2006 “to revolutionise the use of computer games for purposes beyond entertainment.” They initiated a series of video games called Global Conflicts that challenges 13- to 19-year-olds to be critical and reflective citizens (source: Serious Games Interactive)in a globalized world. They offer two versions of the game: one based in Palestine and the newer one in Latin America.
