Unexpected by Amanda

Unexpected by Amanda - June 2018 Scholarship Essay

“Well this one doesn’t seem too horrible.” I was talking to myself while I searched for the most interesting, low stress electives. “I’ll be spending a lot of time watching movies, how bad could that be?” I had no idea how much I would learn in Film Interpretation. It wasn’t a difficult class, nor was it stressful, but it was sufficiently mind opening. It was one of the best elective choices I ever made, and I believe that it would be beneficial for everyone to experience.
Films have a huge impact on how we see the world. They entertain, share ideas, and broaden our perspective without travel. We live vicariously through characters, experience the emotions, and are visually intrigued by different environments. This class showed me different things the director was using in the film that I may not have realized and how it influenced this watching experience. It’s the little and seemingly simple things that are happening on the screen that emphasis the content of the film. The use of light and shadow in a film noir signaling the good and evil sides of humanity, or how warm colors can be used to signify daylight or heat, or the use of a sweeping pan versus a sharp cut to not make the moment too jarring, all create an emotionally charged backdrop and boosts the story being created.
In this class we watched a lot of influential movies, not just in content but in artistic merit. After watching each film, we talked about the way film has evolved, different techniques used, content versus technique, what certain film pieces meant to us, and why they were important in society. In this awareness, I had a better idea of why I do and do not like a movie, different qualities to be aware of, and was taught a vocabulary that made it easier to convey my thoughts on a film and the techniques used. Having an appreciation for art is important, being a vehicle to a different perspective, creative thinking, and the ability to communicate about ambiguous topics. Since movies are an art form that has become very common place, Film Interpretation is great way to start appreciating the fine arts and how to communicate your thoughts and feelings without being overwhelmed by the haughty nature in which most fine arts tend to be portrayed.
Everyone has that movie that goes well with a pint of ice cream and a good cry, or that film that really “spoke” to you in your teenage crisis, or that one movie that is horrible but you love for it’s nostalgia. To have an art that has so throughly infiltrated in to society and is able to evoke such emotional responses universally, is a learning opportunity that not a lot of people really understand or realize. Film Interpretation made learning about an art form enjoyable and cultivated critical life skills that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life.