There. I said it.
Please don't judge me.
After four years of countless sleepless nights spent skimming through notes and academic journals to gather adequate quotes to support my argument spanning over 14 pages in 12 pt Times New Roman font...
*deep breath*
...never did I ever think I would long for such a tedious process.
HOWEVER...
I don't miss writing just any type of essay.
I was a film student. Now, with my degree, some may even call me a film specialist, but let's not get carried away. After writing so many film essays I had my formula down to an art by the time I graduated. I was whipping up essays within a ten-hour span, including research, outline and the writing process. This was only possible because I was passionate about (most of) the topics I was discussing.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm not passionate about the public relations field. I really think it is a perfect fit for me. I was definitely not looking to become the next Robin Wood.
It's just that after so many years working on the same thing over and over, writing film essays became part of my ritual, especially last year when my entire second term was film courses.In a reminiscent daze the other evening, I decided to look at the film courses offered this year and see what I was missing. The massive slash in the Western Film Program's budget was obvious from the number of courses the program has kept, which is very few. One of my favourite full-year courses, European Movements, had been made into a half-year course. This is doing such a disservice to the students as many films pivotal to educating students on the topic have to be cut out completely. There are significantly less electives and the remaining courses aren't as inspiring as they were even a year ago.
The UWO film program has always been small in comparison to other faculties, but the professors are some of the most passionate and intelligent that Western has to offer. They really care about their students and are extremely engaged with their classes. I know that even with the cutbacks, students in the film program will have an enriching experience, it's just disappointing that Western does not want to embrace all the inspiring academic discoveries that take place in the dreary University College basement.
I fee
l very fortunate to have taken classes that changed me from someone who fell asleep during movies, to an astute film scholar who will never look at films the same way again, even rom-coms. Classes like Auteur: Hitchcock where we screened 14 films from the Master of Suspense, East Asian Horror, Contemporary Russian and Polish Cinema and Melodrama allowed me to not only grow as a student, but as a human. Films reveal far more than a superficial story; films reveal and explore particular cultures, history, politics and psychology. The knowledge I gained from my film degree was far more than I could have received in any other program.I sincerely hope that current students that are in the Western film program or who are taking the first year film course are still inspired to learn more, watch more films and to read more journals.
And although there are less class choices, which is not fair to the students, I hope that when the graduates leave school that they too miss writing film essays because that is a sign, to me, that our professors taught us well, even with limited resources.
As a fellow film studies graduate (and possible “film specialist”), I can’t help but agree with you. At the end of my studies, I felt completely content with not having to write another academic essay for as long as I lived.
ReplyDeleteNow, in a world of media kits and communications audits, I also feel a strange nostalgia for the days of cinematic academia. A desire for theory and visual media. A yearning for analysis and interpretation... not to mention those midnight screenings of Battle of Algiers.
At Queen’s, like Western, the Film and Media Department is small, has limited course options and a tiny operational budget. We had small class sizes, a small yet mighty arsenal of courses and an intimate connection with professors.
Looking back, I can really see how being “filmies” has made us into more conscious and perceptive people. The size and structure of our departments helped us identify with our prorams. As a result, we will always feel a deep connection with our undergrad film studies as we continue down our PR career paths.
Moving into careers in public relations, I think it’s important for us to still feel a connection with our film roots. Our views of the world, and our interpretations of its cultural and political histories, are valuable. As future communicators, it's important to take our understanding of others' experiences with us.