First and foremost, I would like to say that I feel extremely grateful & priveleged to be currently enrolled as part of the newly ceated "Film History" class. Fortunately, this course was recently re-established after being having been removed from the school's program offerings for quite a while now... I would love to know the exact reasoning underlying the administration's complete 180 degree turn-around in regards to this issue. Whatever the cause may be, it can only be regarded as a positive. To make things even better, I have the class during 7th period - which is towards the end of the day. Looking at my current schedule, I would not be able to find a better way to finish off the never-changing pattern of a slew of demanding Advanced Placement courses than sitting in a familiar room analyzing & philosophizing about both famous & infamous films. To top it off, the class is tought by an Old Friend ;-)
To be truly honest, I can say that I know very little about Film. Many aspects of the whole film industry seem very imcomprehendible and alien to me as of now... Over 90 percent of the time, my movie tastes are not very compatible with the preferences of the professional critics. For as long as I can remember, completely disregarded the movie reviews put out by professional critics mainly since I know that the way I see the world is radically different from the worldview that is imposed on us by the mainstream media (quite cynical, I must agree). Both in the past and up until know, I decided whether or not a certain movie was deserving of my time & money based on the 30-second highlight reel shown during the commercials. Although this may seem overly simplistic and quite low-brow, it seems to be the only thing that has worked for me over these years.
One more thing that puzzles media about the whole film industry is the elusive idea of what actually constitutes a "good" actor or actress. From an objective point of view, it seems to me that the vast majority of people hold almost no independent ideas of what constitutes as a good performer. Most just label those who they read about in the daily gossip columns as "really good actors" - hence spitting back exactly what it drilled into them by various media outlets. To this day, I have not yet one individual my age who sufficiently explained the specific reasons why they like a certain actor. Although this may seem like complete blasphemy in a Film Class (please excuse my heretical tendencies), I think that a good actor is just a man who follows his director's instructions to a "t". On the other hand, a person who doesn't follow the orders of the director falls out of character - therefore abonding bringing down the believability of the movie as a whole. Objectively, I do see how much artistic license many of these actors can take if they have to follow scripts and directions already established for them.
Maybe a wise man such as Bennett can shine some light on these seldomly-asked questions ;-)
In addition to finding out the answers to the questions posed above, I hope that this unique Film Class will be able to expose me to fresh and different ways to look at the world. Currently my juvenile "us versus them" attitude is being infused by all the new philosophies brought about by varius films such as existentialism, nihilism, humanism & post-modernism (disregarding the fact that I still have no idea whatsoever on what the last one actually means). I also expect this class to broaden the spectrum of kinds of movies I have an affinity for. Currently, there is not much variation in the movies I consider to be my favorites of all time: 300, Fight Club, and American History X.
In summary, I am really blithe about the fact that I was able to take this class. I could not picture a better way to finish off my high school career (after a strenous & demanding four years at SI Tech) than by ending my last semester in secondary school, with a unique, low-pressure course taught by one of the most entertaining & original teachers I have ever met! =D
But for now, we can only wait and see what the future may bring.....
