Thoughts on a surprising year
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
The world is more diverse than last year after the many protests related to the police handling of African Americans including George Floyd.
Originally, this year was the year where me and my family would go to Toronto for my sister’s graduation ceremony, go to the play Kim’s Convenience downtown, volunteer at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and go to Japan for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. The major events that happened this year forced me to stay in the Lower Mainland most of time, as the world was sliding out of control. The year began with a lot of snow falling outside and a few of the staff at the Other Press going to the NASH Convention in downtown Vancouver for a fun three days.
During the convention, we talked to other journalists in student newspapers across the country; we talked about the changing times just before an Iranian missile accidentally shot down a plane—causing a lot of Canadian casualties. The passing of legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter in a helicopter crash was the beginning of many famous people passing away this year including Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman and recently the original James Bond, Sean Connery. Also, the country lost the host of Jeopardy, Sudbury’s Alex Trebek who expanded viewers’ knowledge around the world.
When the coronavirus outbreak turned into a pandemic and arrived in the Lower Mainland, it made things more interesting. A lot of places during the first wave were closed including movie theatres. There were not a lot of films being released this year and the only big film that was released was Tenet. Hopefully I will still be able to see it in IMAX once the pandemic ends.
More people wore masks and learned a new type of social engagement called social distancing. Everyone stayed home and tried to do things by finding new hobbies, reviving pastimes, creating a lot of content and trends. I watched some of the Blu-rays of films from The Criterion Collection that I got and shows that I was behind on in the many streaming services that I have in my house.
Hand washing became more frequent when two men did a dance to a song about it on TikTok which John Oliver called a jam. While TikTok was almost banned in the United States, a lot of people were using it and it spread a lot of social awareness. The world is more diverse than last year after the many protests related to the police handling of black people including George Floyd.
The major events this year changed the way that we think about various people like Justin Trudeau’s handling of the WE Charity controversy and JK Rowling’s tweets that people considered transphobic. The outcome of the US election this year riveted our attention as voters decided (which some are contesting) to put Joe Biden in the White House to save not only the soul of the country but, in my opinion, the rest of the world as well.
One of the major holidays that is not cancelled this year is Christmas. We can still listen to holiday music, drink hot chocolate, have conversations during the big feast, and play in the snow. 2020 is one of those years that everyone will remember and while there is a chance that a vaccine will be available in the next few months, 2021 might make us feel like this year didn’t even happen. At least I hope so.
