Can you decolonize a colour? What about punctuation?
Colonize this! John Greyson confronts the illusion of colonial gender norms and language rules in this short
"Pink:Diss" by John Greyson
As the country marks 150 years of Confederation, five of Canada's most distinguished filmmakers respond to Buffy Sainte-Marie's call to "Keep Calm and Decolonize" and offer an alternative vision. Watch all five films now.
A note from series curator Jesse Wente
Can you decolonize a colour? What about punctuation? Provocateur John Greyson asks these questions and more in his experimental "Pink:Diss," which is five minutes of weird and wonderful. Confronting not just the illusion of colonial gender norms but the language rules used to express them, Greyson uses the colour pink to link the political to the personal to the environmental. Featuring Mohawk artist Kiley May as Pynk, who is subjected to a punctuation lesson by Ms. Pryde (Alexander Chapman), "Pink:Diss" is unlike anything you've seen today, or will see tomorrow.
About the filmmaker, John Greyson
John Greyson is an award-winning Toronto film/video artist directing a wide-range of shorts, features and installations. In addition to his filmmaking, he co-edited Queer Looks, a critical anthology on gay/lesbian film and video, is the author of Urinal and Other Stories and has published essays and artists pieces in Alphabet City, Public, FUSE and twelve critical anthologies. Greyson is an associate professor in film production at York University.
From shadow puppets to documentary, Keep Calm and Decolonize explores what a "decolonized" Canada might look like, imagining a world no longer bound by the structures you know, where the circle of voices is larger. Watch all five films now.