Grammatica WHAT S IN THIS ISSUE?

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1 BLUE BARLOW AND THE GRAMMATICA TEAM Grammatica Issue 15 24/Feb/2017 WHAT S IN THIS ISSUE? Oscars Cheat Sheet by Riley Landfear on page 2. Difficult number crossword if you can solve it, your name will appear in the next issue! Turn to page 6. William Chen writes about Nation or religion on page 4. A review of Stardew Valley by LJC Turpin on page 7. ALSO: To kick off a new idea in Grammatica, we now have a would you rather question which can be found on Page 7. It s tough decision! 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 1 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

2 Oscars Cheat Sheets Riley Landfear On February the 26th of 2017, the Oscar winners will be announced in one of the most closely tied races in history, with the giant La La Land (with 14 nominations, a record) trying to beat out the more dark-horse like Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea. To help you through the many possibilities, I have decided to put together a handy cheat-sheet of the films that were nominated, should've been nominated, will win, could win and should win in each of the four most major categories. Also check out Brendon Chen s predictions in the next issue. So, without further ado, here are my predictions for the 2017 Academy Awards. BEST PICTURE The nominees are Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. I think there are three very clear frontrunners here: La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Arrival and Hidden Figures, while very entertaining, are not the kinds of films the Academy looks for to give its top prize to (no science fiction film (like Arrival) has ever won Best Picture in 89 years). Fences, Lion and Hacksaw Ridge, simply put, are just not nearly as good as some of the other films on this list (but are still excellent). The only film outside of the three frontrunners that I think has a chance is Hell or High Water, which is supported by an excellent script and great acting by Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. But a Western has not won since 1993's Unforgiven, and since the Golden Age of that genre is past, it doesn t have much of a chance. So that brings us back to the top three. Out of these, I feel that they have fairly 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 2 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

3 similar chances, but I think La La Land will win. It's our favourite film of the three, and also the most optimistic, which is usually something the Academy awards (see The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King over Lost In Translation, or Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction). Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Could Win: Moonlight Should've Been Nominated: A few of our favourites this year, including Silence, Jackie, Loving, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Zootopia, and especially Deadpool. BEST ACTOR The nominees are Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic) and Denzel Washington (Fences). Once again there are three clear frontrunners: Affleck, Gosling and Washington. The other two don t really have a chance: not many people have seen Captain Fantastic and Andrew Garfield's performance in Hacksaw Ridge is mainly carried by the strengths of the film. Ryan Gosling could win, but La La Land has 14 nominations, a record, and categories where it isn't certain of a win are the Academy's chance to reward something else. Casey Affleck has won all of the awards for acting except the one that usually predicts the Oscar winner, the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) award. In the four major acting awards at the SAG, at least three have won the Oscar every year since 2008, with all four winning every year since Although Denzel probably will win, that doesn't mean he should. Casey Affleck's performance is much subtler and more difficult to pull off, and for that reason we think he should win. Will Win: Denzel Wahington, Fences Should Win: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Could Win: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Should've Been Nominated: Probably Joel Edgerton for Loving in place of Viggo Mortensen or Andrew Garfield, but otherwise we're fairly happy. BEST ACTRESS The nominees are Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Emma Stone (La La Land) and Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins). This is Meryl Streep's 20th nomination, however this time we doubt that she'll win compared to some of the other performances. And Loving just isn't high-profile enough to get a win (it wasn t nominated for anything else). Isabelle Huppert could win (she won the Golden Globe, to the shock of everyone), but once again, it's Elle's only nomination. It comes down to Natalie Portman and Emma Stone, and we think Emma Stone will win. Emma Stone won the SAG and the Golden Globe as opposed to Natalie Portman who won neither, and already has an Oscar. Will Win: Emma Stone, La La Land Should Win: Emma Stone, La La Land 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 3 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

4 Could Win: Natalie Portman, Jackie Should've Been Nominated: Amy Adams' performance in Arrival is brilliant and definitely should have scored a nomination, and the same goes for Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen. BEST DIRECTOR The nominees are Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) and Denis Villeneuve (Arrival). It's great to see Denis Villeneuve up here, after Sicario was so badly snubbed last year, but we doubt either he or Mel Gibson will win. Once again it's a race between the top three films, and we think the result will be the same as it will be in best picture: La La Land wins. Once again though, at least one of us doesn t think it should, as Moonlight is a much more subtle, difficult film to direct and it would be nice to see that rewarded somewhere. Will Win: Damien Chazelle, La La Land Should Win: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Could Win: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Should've Been Nominated: Once again, we're pretty happy, but Martin Scorsese (Silence) and Garth Davis (Lion) probably deserved recognition. Nation or Religion William Chen A public high school in Hurstville, namely the Hurstville Boys Campus of Georges River College, has adopted a protocol allowing Muslim male students to decline to shake the hands of females. A similar situation had occurred in Switzerland, although it was put to a stop immediately. The refusal of a male to shake the hands of a female comes from the hadith, which, according to The Australian, is a report describing the actions of the Prophet Mohammed. The quote in particular states that: it is better to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle than to touch the hand of a woman who is not permissible to you. Interestingly, the Department of Education has defended the school, stating that, the Department of Education requires its schools to recognise and respect the cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds of all students, with the intent to promote an open and tolerant attitude towards a diverse Australian community. While we need to demonstrate respect for different religions, has this gone too far in the name of cultural diversity and tolerance? Firstly of all, we must ask ourselves, what do we value more? A minority religion in this country which is only represented by 2.2 percent of the country's population or the values of the country we live in? It should be obvious to anyone who holds citizenship in this country that our values, such as gender equality, must come first before a religion that only accounts for 2.2 percent of the country. While there are some Muslim men who will put their hand across the chest, there are many Muslim men and women who simply ignore the rule completely. Even within the Muslim 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 4 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

5 community, such a direct translation of the hadith, particularly in a school environment, has come as a surprise. According to one Muslim leader, he interprets the line more as to protect women from inappropriate touching and molesting. Keysar Trad, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said many Muslim scholars had come to interpret the hadith to be a reference to unwelcome harassment that should not be extended to a friendly greeting, such as a handshake. With this in mind, and also the fact that even specialist Islamic schools have no such policies on the handshake issue, why should, a public school, funded by Australian taxpayers, place the values of Australia that are demonstrated by handshaking, including respect, trust and equality. The school s decision is absolutely contradictory with the Australian government which, in its citizenship ceremony, requires all new citizens to make a public commitment to Australia and to accept the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. The exact wording of the pledge is that from this time forward pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey, as reported by The Daily Telegraph. Hence, by refusing to shake hands with a particular gender, it can be interpreted as a complete disregard of Australian values which, as one of its citizens, we have a duty to respect. It is as disrespectful and atrocious as the refusal to stand for the national flag, or, later in life, the refusal to stand for a judge, which can now be considered a crime. This is a school environment. We must, from the beginning, instil respect for a nation and its laws and values. Furthermore, this is a public government school, as such, it should reflect the fact that it is secular in nature, and the fact that the two genders are equal. Respect for national values and both genders should be taught from school. Thoughts from the CEO Blue Barlow All editorial mistakes are NOT the fault of the authors of articles. So, if you have any questions/comments/queries/complaints, please address them to me. My is: 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au With the articles, puzzle and would you rather question, this issue is designed to make you think. I strongly encourage you to form your own opinions. Please do not feel that you have to agree with the authors of the articles. Go ahead and take Grammatica home and discuss over dinner with your family. 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 5 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

6 Puzzle Kiran Apte This is a crossword where the words are replaced numbers. If you can solve the puzzle, your name will be published in next issue of Grammatica! The answers will be in the next issue as well. From 250 mixed puzzles 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 6 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

7 WOULD YOU RATHER Rafe Marlow a) Never be able to wear pants/shorts b) Have everyone able to read your mind A review of Stardew Valley? LJC Turpin Video games of the AAA industry are getting worse as time goes by, but this one man project, by Eric Barone (and Published by Chucklefish Games), is proof that not all of the industry have completely lost their brains. However you don t want to hear me chatter, so I shall get on with this review. To begin, I must mention the gameplay. When you first hear about it you may say something along the lines of, Farming and making relationships? I d rather eat a tennis ball. Or, Farming and making relationships? Yeah! While at first it seemed to be a rather daft concept to me, I was quickly enthralled by the slow-paced, yet addicting gameplay. I have by now, in fact, spent over 60 hours playing the game even though I have only owned the game for 2 weeks! I need mental help, but that is not the issue at hand. The reason behind my slightly chronic addiction is that the game allows you to play it in your own way, making an experience that is truly tailored to you. To summarise the plot; you have become bored with your regular life at corporate slavedrivers, Joja Corporation. You discover that your grandfather left you an estate in the country; you escape to it and find it in a mess. After cleaning it up you start farming and tending to animals. But, that s not all folks! You can farm, fish, forage and do other things starting with the letter f. These are all engaging and well done. You may also commit to a relationship with the villagers and even marry eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. However, this brings up a major flaw in the game- in that most of the bachelors aren t that well written. For example, there s Alex- your typical jock who only cares about himself and his body. Also, there are to men who enjoy brooding Enough said really. The graphics are simple yet look good and work very well in the setting and the music is definitely worth listening to. The game has released on PS4, Xbox 1 and will release on the Nintendo Switch. It is also purchasable on Steam for USD. All in all Stardew Valley is worth making into your master and putting a copy of in a shrine. The game is a solid 8/10 from me. Next time, I shall review Pokémon Channel Let s leave it at that, shall we? 21bj.barl@sydgrammar.nsw.edu.au 7 kag@sydgram.nsw.edu.au