Why did my professor call me out on the first day of class? He mocked my exact response to the question everyone asks as the credit roll down the screen – did you like the movie? My typical replies are either “I hated it” or “OMG I LOVED IT”, probably in the same voice that he used to mock girls like me. I decided that I want to learn the answer to my first question by the end of the semester. Why can’t I simply declare that I either like or dislike a film? According to my English professor, it isn’t that black and white. Why can I watch Beauty and the Beast over and over again, but my brother couldn’t pay me money to watch Napoleon Dynamite? I hope to gain the ability to evaluate my opinion of films more accurately and avoid being “that girl” that English 112 professors mock.
While learning to form more detailed opinions, I hope to discover more about myself and why my opinions are the way they are. Does being the oldest child have an affect on the way I look at art and film? Or do the experiences from the past 19 years of my life have a greater influence than my type A, oldest child nature? I hope English 112 gives me opportunities to step outside my comfort zone, because it is there that I will make the best discoveries. I hope to be pleasantly surprised with my findings, however I realize that can be a naïve outlook.
One of my only significant experiences with film was during football season of my senior year. Katy Perry announced on Good Morning America that she would be holding a contest for high schools across the country to find the school with the best school spirit. We had one month to submit a music video to Perry’s song “Roar”. The leaders of the student section and I went straight to the drawing board. Although I did not make any cuts or stand behind a camera, I take credit for being one of the co-directors, frantically trying to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time, doing what we envisioned.
We wanted to accurately depict Dublin Jerome’s sense of unity, all while creating unity with our peers. For the video, we asked that sports teams be present in their uniforms, along with members from the band, theater, Freshman Advisory Program, and any other students who wanted to be a part of the video. Because the student section is called “The Jerome Jungle” we also had students dress up in costumes from the Jungle. Then, we had a senior from theater walk through the Jungle starting with her freshman year and finally becoming acclimated in the “jungle”. The idea of the video parallels Katy Perry’s official music video as well.
The most impactful lesson that the video project taught me was how to efficiently create a successful film. I was challenged to accept ideas that were different from my own to create a better outcome, something that is often hard for me to due to my sometimes inflexible nature.
Again, I hope that English 112 offers me similar opportunities that allow me to grow as a student, as well as teach me to form solid opinions that I am confident to stand by.
Here is the link to the video we submitted if you are interested:
baicham 