Johnny Hockin

Biography

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Johnny Hockin grew up listening to hip-hop classics and hard-hitting dance beats. Johnny studied music at McGill University in Montreal, and film at Ryerson University in Toronto. This musician at heart scratches records as a DJ and started a small record label called More Proof.

Hockin is currently MTV’s resident movie buff, and impresses with his extensive knowledge as host, producer, and writer for MTV’S MOVIE NIGHT, giving viewers the inside scoop on the must-see blockbusters and the hidden gems on the screen. When he isn’t giving the lowdown on the greatest flicks and cult classics, Hockin is also a reporter and segment producer for MTV NEWS, which features in-depth music interviews and breaking news from the world of music and celebrity.

Hockin also has covered star-studded events including THE JUNO AWARDS, THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS, MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, the POLARIS PRIZE and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he covered the fun of the games and China’s environmental reform for the event.

Interview

What music are you listening to these days?

I like weird stuff. I’ve been listening to a lot of techno lately. For some reason, techno is where some of the most weird and interesting stuff is happening. I love Flying Lotus, and I collect vinyl, so there’s this new record that came out with Thom Yorke doing dance music, and that’s probably my favourite thing out right now?

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

I think everyone should vote. Obviously, once you reach voting age, it’s so important to represent yourself, and even if you’re not necessarily that interested in politics or civics, at a certain point you will be and it’s almost like you have to invest in that side of yourself so that you’re more and more knowledgeable throughout your life, and to me, even if you’re coming from a different place, from your parents or from all your other influences, you gotta assert yourself and put your stamp on the political landscape. It seems like a lot of that stuff doesn’t relate to us, especially when we’re young and there’s really not a lot that can be done, but if more youth came out and voted, then that would send such a message. There would be such a different outcome, and I think that people would start taking it a lot more seriously. I mean the youth vote is like a small part of the issues to the politicians right now, and it could be so much more if we just got out there and voted, because the numbers are too low.

Do you think that is there a connection between art and democracy? If so, what might that look like?

I do feel that art and politics can mix; there’s something political about taking an action that says something either pro-democracy or individualistic, there’s all these actions and whether you mean them to or not, if you’re making an artistic action, then it becomes political, because you have your viewpoints, you have your statements. I think voting is so the farthest thing from an artistic action, but there is so much power in democracy, and to make art - that’s what I do at work, I make tv, and creating things is so much fun, and voting doesn’t necessarily feel like you’re creating something, but it really says a lot, and in that way, where you put your vote, where you put your X could be considered an artistic statement in itself.

Why do you care about your community when it’s so easy not to?

Is it easy not to care about your community? I went on vacation a couple of times this year to smaller communities in other parts of the world, and the sense of who your neighbors were was so much stronger there, and it’s kind of one of those things where you go like: at home, I don’t know the people who live next to me, I see them leave their house, but I don’t know them, and I’m like: Geez, that’s terrible. That’s so bad. I really think that it’s easy to get disconnected from your community from the things around you. There’s so many virtual places where you can inhabit, and there’s so many safe places you can go in the city, and only hang out with your friends, and only see your work folk, and just not mingle with your community, and I think that that’s kind of a problem in our part of the world, and to me, communities should be a really strong focus, and its hard to interact with your community. When’s the last time you played a game with your neighbor? People don’t play with each other any more, and people don’t talk to their neighbors, and people don’t laugh with their neighbors. And it’s important to keep up relationships with your friends, but I live right next door to my neighbors that are there, near me all the time, and I only know their names, right? Community is so much. These are the people that surround you, and I think that that is really important.

What do you look for in a politician, and what do you expect from your MP?

That’s a tough question, because what I see is not what I look for. One thing that I half-joke about, specifically related to the upcoming election, is which politician would I be least embarrassed about if they were in power. Because silly mustache man is yelling crazy stuff at the world’s most boring Dad guy, and you just think: these are the guys? I think it’s important to be able to inspire people, and I think that’s probably the biggest problem with the federal candidates here in Canada, that I have to measure them on which one is least embarrassing.

What causes do you actively support?

There’s some amazing organizations in Toronto that speak to something that I really believe in. I really think it’s important to organize and get behind causes and do something about something that you believe in, and it’s inspiring to see people I know like Rob Dyer, an old friend of mine, who does Skate 4 Cancer. He basically started by expressing himself, trying to do something with these feelings he had, and other friends of mine that I’ve gotten involved with through MTV, like the remix project, they help youth who want to be creative but don’t know how yet, to express themselves, and it’s so inspiring to see these things come together, and to see people actually doing stuff, and that’s a specific cause, but I think it’s so inspiring that they’re actually doing those things. That’s what’s truly inspiring to me: those kinds of causes are great, but even if these guys didn’t already have those resources, the resources that go to groups who we’re working with right now which are already quite large, they were already doing it; they were using whatever resources they had to help whoever they could help. I think that just making that first step is incredible.

What’s a simple action that you recommend youth take to make a difference?

This may be a weird one for some, but I’m really big on talking. I think that it’s important to talk about important stuff - life stuff, issues, politics - with someone who is a lot older than you. The elderly are amazing and they have so much to offer, and a lot of people leave them marginalized, and think they’re completely out of touch. In reality, you get through a certain amount of experience in life, and you stop sweating the small stuff, and maybe that’s a large reason we can’t relate to our grandparents’ generation, but if you talk to them about the political stuff we’re dealing with right now, you’d be amazed at how much experience they draw from and how much they have to offer.

I will vote because__________?

I will vote because I have a voice.