Al Gore vs Boyz II Men: Battle Royale

After Mr. Gore visited our campus a month or so ago, one of the students who is working with me on the terry.ubc.ca project wrote an interesting piece comparing his talk (of which his movie An Inconvenient Truth is based on) to a Boyz II Men concert she went to the same week. As the editor involved, I thought it was an interesting way to frame a discussion on the man of the hour, and creative to the point of definitely being worthy of highlighting. Enjoy:

POLITICIANS VERSUS POP STARS: THE END OF THE ROAD WITH AL GORE AND BOYZ II MEN

By Sarah Burch

There's recently been plenty of fodder for inspiration in the humble metropolis of Vancouver. On June 1st, Vancouver played host to that beacon of reason and planetary evangelism, Al Gore. A mere three days later, our fine city received the silky voices and slightly enlarged girths of 90s R&B legends (not to say has-beens), Boyz II Men. For those who shamefully admit to such a conflicted psyche as to include a shameful pop culture addiction and a more noble inclination towards global awareness, this was indeed a cornucopia of mental and emotional stimulation.

An evaluation of Gore's and Boyz II Men's respective performances would require the assembly of a collection of purely objective, value-free, and insightful criteria by which each performance might be assessed. What follows is a humble attempt at such an analysis, coloured only slightly by wistful memories of junior high dances.

(Click here to read the whole piece)

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