History of this Class 1991-present

I started teaching the Film class in the fall of '91 when the school needed an elective class for seniors. It was not truly elective since the seniors were dumped into it to fill out their schedule. This was in the old days when all students had a full schedule.

For whatever reason, the idea of only teaching film seemed somehow not kosher to me, so I taught a combination of film, poetry, literature and media stuff all dumped into general humanities course. The students were pretty tolerant of the whole affair, but there were one or two sour pusses I had to deal with. After all, their friends at New Dorp were going home at 11 and they were explicating Eliot's The Waste Land at 1:15, or reading Kafka's The Trial later that night. In year two, i decided to kick the other stuff to the curb and stick to film, but the films were going to have a historical component. Thus, All Quiet on the Western Front corresponded to the earlist period covered in American history part two, which we taugtht at the same time. In other words, I was teaching WW1 in my Am. His class and All Quiet in Film, to the same group of students.

It Happened One Night reveals some of the ideas and attitudes of the Great Depression, so I showed that. A unit on the Cold War included Dr. Strangelove, Atomic Cafe. Later on, I'd show Apocalypse Now as a Vietnam War movie, though it is really not about that in any meaningful way.

Over the years, though, the history imperative fell away, and I dropped the poetry, and just concentrated on great films, with great themes and showed them and analyzed them. I became interested in Existentialism around this time, probably because I had to teach it in a meaningful way in an AP European History class I was teaching. So, I started seeing existential themes in the films that I was already showing. I sometimes wonder if we can see whatever we want in a film, should our minds me leaning in that direction. Anyway, the idea of alienation, and finding meaning in a disordered universe started to jump out at me more and more from teh films I showed, and the ones that I saw and liked outside the class.

Here's the film list from the last time i taught the course. We may see most of these again, depending.

All Quiet
Citizen Kane
Midnight Cowboy
Runaway Train
The Seventh Seal
Unforgiven
Asphalt Jungle
Dark City
Memento
A Siimple Plan
Dr. Strangelove
Atomic Cafe

Other films that I've shown over the years:

Ed Wood
Apocalypse Now
Hearts of Darkness
It Happened one Night
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Truman Show
A Clockwork Orange
Full M etal Jacket
Battleship Potemkin
Top Hat
Signs

Thoughts on the class so far

I am very pleased that I am once again able to present my film class to yet another group of students.  I've taught the class  many times over 20 years, and it never fails to energize me.  This group, hopefully, will be another winner.  The level of discussion and interest in the first film is encouraging.  I'm a bit disappointed that about half the class has not yet created their blogs  It seems like a simple matter to me, but I guess people have their reasons. 

The geography of the class is less than ideal, as well.  This idea of having the desks facing one another is absurd.  Everyone has to turn to the left or right to watch the film or to listen to me, either of which will make up a majority of the class.  I can't say it helps with group cohesion, either, since we have 9 people sitting over there, and 11 over here, with a big space -- and Michelle -- between them.  I am not overjoyed with everyone sitting in the back, either, but I resist the obvious solution, which is to simply insist upon a forward migration.

I am currently debating whether to begin showing our next film, or spending the next two days introducing Existentialism, which will be the over-arching theme of the class.  I lean toward the former, but I won't be able to finish in two days.  I hate to continue a film after a hiatus of 10 days.   You may comment.

Arbitrary comments

In my latest viewing of AQonWF, I noticed one or two things.  And, I'll be sure rto get right back to you with them very soon.

Posts

As soon as you create your blog, please create a posting, even if it's one word.  That way you show up on  my dashboard.  Thanks.

New Film class

I would like to welcome those of you who are part of my latest iteration of the Film class.  And a fond wave to you alumni who still check out the blog.

Our first film -- again -- is All Quiet on the WEstern Front, by Louis Milestone.  While it requires a certain amount of patience, it always rewards my efforts.  For those of you who are wondering what on earth you are going to write about on your blogs, here are a few possible topics.

1. The meaning of the various leitmotifs within the film.  Doors, windows, boots, butterflies.

2.  The acting.  Is it bad acting, or just different?

3. Special effects.  I was struck, no pun intended, by the violence of some of the explosions.  I'm figuring a lot of guys got hurt making this film.

4. Dehumanization in AQoWF.  Shoot me a few examples of men being referred to as numbers.

5. In what way is it actually a pro-war film in spite of its obvious intent to the opposite?

6. Does the film argue that life is a positive or negative experience, on the whole?