Jim Munroe

Haunted by Ghosts With Shit Jobs

Nov 022022

Ten years ago we released a strange little lo-fi sci-fi feature called Ghosts With Shit Jobs.

In the future, jobs still suck — but in whole new ways. By 2040 the economy has flipped and North Americans are a cheap labor pool for wealthy eastern markets. (Trailer here.)

For those in Toronto we’re doing a small in person screening at the community-powered Eyesore Cinema (Fri. Nov. 11th, 8pm, $5 cash at the door) followed by a q&a chat with some directors and actors, hosted by Mike Wood of They Might Be Movies. If you’re out of town or not into enclosed spaces there will simultaneously be a watchalong where you can chime in with comments and such! After the watchalong it’ll live on YouTube for anyone to watch for free with English, French, and Spanish subtitles. Update: Watch it for free via http://ghostswithshitjobs.com.

Holding Hands with Anticipatory Grief

Writing 2 Responses »

Jun 162022

I was led to Men’s Work, as it is sometimes called, by my brother-in-law. He kept putting opportunities in front of me. More often than not I would sidestep them politely. Sometimes I would pick them up, quickly decide they weren’t for me, and set them back down — like the time I went to his men’s emotional support group meeting. As genuine and warm as everyone was, well, I was already doing therapy wasn’t I? The hugs and hippie philosophy was fine for other guys, just not my jam.

But back in the summer of ‘17, one of the men in the Mankind Project was hosting a Father/Daughter weekend.

Life Is Bigger

Fallow Essays, Writing 2 Responses »

Dec 152019

I didn’t get a circle A tattoo, but I might as well have.

One of the most influential things I discovered in books was anarchism: the idea that we could live without rulers. That it is our responsibility to resist the concentration of power in any single entity, be it corporate, governmental, or religious.

It’s a worldview that’s helped me understand the world and make decisions ever since I was seventeen. I was in the market for a new moral framework since Christianity was no longer working for me. My Catholic all-boys highschool was a stifling environment that I had been immersed in for years, but I remember the precise moment of my disenchantment: a grade twelve religion class taught by a gym teacher who didn’t even try to answer the questions I had.

In a way it was similar to why I set down fantasy novels in favour of science fiction — the hand-waving magical explanations weren’t as satisfying as complex rational ones. So I yanked out the RELIGION cartridge in my brain and chunked in the POLITICS one.

And there it remained for 30 years. Until now.

Seeding Utopias & Resisting Dystopias

Appearances, Inspiring Creators No Responses »

Sep 252019

After editing the sci-fi anthology Toronto 2033 for Spacing, the group of writers I’d brought together were interested in working on another project. We chose the name The Multiversity Collective and proposed a political sci-fi event series at the Toronto Public Library. A few days ago, we had our kickoff event that started a full season of workshops, talks, discussions and performances!

On the cusp of 2020, more than a dozen science fiction creators will be germinating wild ideas with free weekly events at the Oakwood Village Library. Novelists, hardware hackers, game creators, and more will be inspiring those who believe in social change and a diverse future.
Check out the schedule at multiversitycollective.net!

Nurturing, Or How I Like Starting Fires

Fallow Essays, Writing No Responses »

Jun 132019

Like lots of teenagers, I was obsessed with fire. I never smoked, but I always had a lighter. I would singe my (recently acquired) arm hair just to revel in the terrible smell. I had a pocket-sized can of hairspray I used as a mini-flamethrower, and one day after school I used it to set my World Famous canvas backpack alight. I used the charred remains for months until it fell apart.

At the age of fourteen, it was incredibly compelling to make wild things happen.

The Limits of Self-Discipline

Fallow Essays, Writing No Responses »

May 042019

I started to make movies out of spite. I had a number of exciting conversations around adapting my first novel that came to naught, and was left with an unsatisfied feeling. This idea of making a movie had been awakened in me, and then abruptly shut down. I’d never really seriously considered it before, but now the idea was a grain of sand in my brainfolds.

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