Imagine that over the summer you are at a family reunion. Your uncle Joe Bob starts to talk to you about what you did at college and you tell him you took a Film Criticism class. "You took a class about movies!?! In my day we had to walk up hill both ways 20 miles in the snow to earn college credit. How do you take a class about movies?! What's next? A class on Pokemon?"
We had to respond to Joe-Bob in either an essay or a script. I, of course, chose the script and my answer was very pertinent to this blog so I figured I would post it. Enjoy:
Shaun:
First off, Joe Bob, I'm pretty sure some college out there does offer a course on the cultural relevance of Pokemon. But let me address your question at hand. It is not a class on movies. It is a class on film. We didn't sit around and discuss what the director really meant by Dude, Where's My Car? We talked about films.
Joe Bob:
What's the difference?
Shaun:
The difference, Joe Bob, is all the difference. I agree with you that certain movies do not offer much to say and would be better dealt with in dorm rooms and/or coffee shops. The aforementioned Aston Kutcher debacle being one of them. However, there are films out there that have things to say that are relevant to culture and education. After all, we go to college to expand our horizons, to understand the world around us and to general become better educated people. Mostly we do so by reading books or analyzing poetry but some colleges are progressive and intelligent enough to do so through film as well. That is what this course did for me.
Joe Bob:
So you're telling me that watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High really expanded your horizons?
Shaun:
While I'm sure that Spicolli has much to say about American youth, we did not watch Fast Times. (Voice Over: But thanks for showing your age) The horizons I'm talking about are ones dealing with other film genres and movements. For example, we watched a film called Breathless. It is a part of what is called French New Wave. Now, before I took this class, I would have scoffed at the sound of it.
Joe Bob:
Sounds like a bunch of poets in berets eating scones, sipping wine and talking about painting or surrendering.
Shaun:
Well, that's kind of what I would have thought to. (Voice Over: If I was a xenophobic bigot.) But, through this class, I learned that I really enjoy the basic tenants of the French New Wave. Also, Breathless has become one of my favorite films. I mean if someone would have said to me that French New Wave was just thinly veiled plot with boringly cinematic two shots of dialogue-heavy scenes riddled with pop-culture references I would have said, "Sounds like a Kevin Smith movie! Where do I sign?"
Joe Bob:
Ok, Ok, but these 'films' don't make you any smarter or a better thinker.
Shaun:
Wrong again, Joe Bob. Certain films can help you understand larger topics that permeate all life, not just film or pop culture. Take, for instance, The Crying Game.
Joe Bob:
Nuh-uh. No Way! I ain't touchin' that penis. ... Uh- I mean picture.
Shaun:
Right. Well Freudian slips aside, Neil Jordan's film deals with topics like gender, sexuality and even race. These discussions can go way beyond films and pop culture. I mean whether you're learning about sexuality of transvestites (through Dill and Jimmy's relationship), or homo social bonding (through Fergus and Jody's ambiguous sexual tension), there are tons of discussions that start with film and end in our own lives. Films are just one way to relate theory or philosophy to our own feeble little existences.
Joe Bob:
Ok. So you learn about gay stuff in crappy British movies and not about movies themselves. I guess I can see that.
Shaun:
Well, unfortunately that's strike three. We did, in order to find the big topics and the director's voice, have to learn about aspects of mis-en-scene, cinematography, editing and other film making techniques. For instance, because of this class I can tell you how the cinematography in Run, Lola, Run was used to heighten tension, avoid budget and logistical issues, as well as create a visual style that supports the arguments of the film. Or, I can tell you how brilliant the editing was in Hitchcock's Psycho and how it was used to disorient and panic the audience during Janet Lee's infamous shower scene.
Joe Bob:
Janet Lee? Isn't she that karate star?
Shaun:
That's Bruce Lee.
Joe Bob:
Oh, the huge guy from Hairspray?
Shaun:
That's Bruce Valance
Joe Bob:
Oh, the musician that died with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper?
Shaun:
That's Ritchie Valins! Am I getting through to you at all?
Joe Bob:
I guess a little. But that last point made you sound like kind of a snob.
Shaun:
I must admit that that is one of the perks of the class. It's fun to wow people with your knowledge of film and get a couple more Jeopardy questions right. We are all entitled to our own fits of snobbishness every once in a while. After all, isn't that how this whole conversation got started?
Joe Bob:
Uh...
Shaun:
Exactly. Look my point is this, Joe Bob. Films are important to our culture. We are a pop culture driven society and we learn more news from the Daily Show and the Colbert Report than we do from CNN. This class showed us said importance by expanding our horizons, forcing us to think critically and by increasing our knowledge of films in general. Films are no different than literature as far as educational value goes. It's just a different type of text.
Joe Bob:
Ok, I guess you're right. I mean maybe films can be useful in a classroom setting.
Shaun:
Yup. Films and other pop culture are definitely worth exploring in college. Heck, I even wrote a handful of papers on comic books.
Joe Bob:
COMIC BOOKS!?!?!
Shaun:
(Voice Over: Here we go again...)
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