Popping the Queen’s Bubble
Written by: Sam Lee, QPID Campus and Community Director
I remember watching City of God in my grade 12 Economics class before the 2016 Summer Olympics. Categorized as a gangster film, City of God is shot with handheld cameras, providing viewers with a raw depiction of life in the favela (slum within urban areas of Rio de Janeiro). The movie is narrated through Rocket, an aspiring photographer who struggles to separate himself from the corruption and violence of gang wars. Interjected with stories of hope, violence and love, City of God shows the development of organized crime in the forgotten and neglected favela of Rio de Janeiro.
Located in Brazil, Rio is a resort city, notorious for its vibrant culture and beautiful beaches. It is surrounded by spectacular landscapes that attract travelers from all around the world. Unfortunately, there is more to the “marvelous city” aside from the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The juxtaposition of the favelas and affluent neighbourhoods is shocking, and City of God does a wonderful job of shining light into the darker side of Rio.
Just as there is more to Rio, there is more to wherever we are all from. For example, this juxtaposition is seen in downtown Toronto. You can drive for no more than 15 minutes and witness the city’s poorest neighbourhood on one end, and richest district on the other. I have learned the importance of remembering that measurements like GDP are not inclusive indicators of everyone; the spectrum is frighteningly startling within our very own communities. City of God taught me that I don’t need to look across the world to see poverty and hunger. Often times, poverty and hunger exists right in front of us, but we are too distracted and preoccupied by our own lives to notice.
I am so guilty of living in a Queen’s bubble, especially when I am in Kingston. I consider anything greater than a 15 minute walking distance way too far; I have definitely found comfort in this bubble that I speak of. Oftentimes, I forget that as a Queen’s student, I am also a member of the Kingston community. We reside here for the greater part of the year, making Kingston our home away from home. This is one of the reasons that motivated me to apply for the Campus and Community Director position with QPID; I did not want to turn a blind eye to the issues that were, and are still occurring in my home away from home.
On that note, if you want to learn about a prevalent issue amongst people our age and then help bring awareness to that, stay tuned for updates on our Five Days for Homelessness campaign here: www.qpidqueens.org/5-days-for-homelessness. If you want to invest some of your time into empowering and educating high school students in the Kingston community, then I urge you to volunteer for our High School Outreach Conference here: Volunteer Application Form. Lastly, if you don’t know where to start but you have even the slightest inkling to learn, come to forum every Thursday from 5:30 – 6:30 PM (more details can be found on our Facebook)!
Keep an eye out on Facebook for QPID events that go on throughout the year, and email qpid.marketingandpromotions@queensu.ca if you wish to be updated! There will also be many more blog posts to come, including weekly posts summarizing what we discuss at forum on Thursdays. Lastly, check out our Facebook page and website if you want to learn more about WHAT QPID is, WHO QPID is comprised of, and WHY we have chosen to be involved with QPID.