I must admit that I wasn't too keen on my film class when it first started. It reminded me too much of the art classes I took when I was an art major, and I didn't think my mind was fit to think "artistically" --- when really, art and literature can be read in so much the same way. However, a few thought-provoking films later, I'm a film nut, and I'm afraid it's beginning to show...
I had a strange dream early in the hours of Wednesday morning. I dreamt that I had gathered a collective of friends to work on a giant, wall-sized piece of art work, reminiscent of Julian Schnabel. There was so much energy coming from this creative process, I decided to document it and then send the film to Cannes. So there I was, running around with an old-fashioned camera, taping every crucial step that went into production of this artwork. There was then some kind of odd transition in my dream, and I next remember sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for art supplies to be delivered. And then, I looked up, and lo!, Marc Jacobs was standing above me. I screamed and asked Marc if I could please have his autograph, but when I pulled out my notebook to have him sign a page, I couldn't find a blank piece of paper. I spent what felt like hours tearing through this notebook looking for a blank page, and finally, I turned to a frustrated Mr. Jacobs and had him sign my notebook.
I tried to analyze this dream online, but unfortunately, "film," "art," and "Marc Jacobs" are not listed in the dream dictionary. "Celebrity" was the only word I found that I thought pertained to my dream, and its possible meaning scared me. So, any dream analysis you might have is invited, but as of now, I'm taking this as a sign that I'm meant to be a successful director who will have wickedly talented fashion designers make the costumes/wardrobe.
Anyway, that dream is just one of the more recent examples of how film is taking over my life. I can no longer watch a movie, or even a music video, without analyzing it shot by shot. Actually, I don't have time to watch music videos thanks to my class workload this semester, but I fortunately caught the new White Stripes' video while preparing a bagel for myself this morning. The White Stripes always have innovative videos, but this new one for "The Hardest Button to Button" is actually pretty simple. It kind of reminds me of Ballet Mechanique. Oooh!
I guess the bottom line of all this is that I'm getting too wrapped up in this film stuff. All I know is that my parents will kill me if I decide to become a filmmaker. Shhh... I'll wait to spring this on them until I find out I've been accepted.
And now for some classic one-liners from last night's film class:
"That's the power of the copy/paste and what it can do to your work."-Julie
"Is there a lot more Rotwang is this film?"-the dry kid in the back, asking about the 30 minutes of extra footage in Metropolis
"He was the burglar in Home Alone -- Marv?"-the dry kid, once again
"I love Home Alone!"-I missed this one, but Julie elbowed me to write it down
"The -jeet jeet jeet!- noise!"-Dr. Arnzen, reproducing the background music in Psycho
"They have those, but... I mean a really wild one."-Dr. Arnzen, on hovercrafts
There were many, many more witticisms shared, but I was paying too much attention to my REAL notes to take them all down. And actually, Dr. Arnzen did a great job of illustrating last night's chapter in Giannetti's book for us. We were studying the use of "sound" in film, and I think Dr. A made more sound effects and weird noises in last night's class than I've ever heard him make before. Bravo, bravo!
Posted by Kate Cielinski at October 2, 2003 8:36 AMIs there some sort of webpage with collections of professors' quotes? I'm picturing something like the "Rate Your Professors" page. The reason I ask is that Dr. A. seems to be widely quoted by his students... he often gets scribbled into notebook margins, and he pops up in online chats, AOL profiles, away messages, and lately, in blogs. There must be a site where amused students like us could post our findings...
Posted by: Donna R. Hibbs at October 2, 2003 11:01 AMHey Donna! I'm not sure if anyone has started a page of professors' quotes, but last fall, I kept a section on my personal webpage with some of Dr. Atherton's more enlightening observations. I lost my webpage over the summer, but I could easily go back to my notebook and type them up again. The weird thing was, as odd as these quotes were, I had complete strangers e-mailing me and telling me how great they were... hmmm.
Posted by: Kate Cielinski at October 2, 2003 11:27 AMHmm, apparently Donna doesn't remember me emailing her this in the pre-blog dark ages: http://www.profquotes.com.
And I do have to say that my favorite Arnzen quote of all time is "If we're just words, erase me" from Lit Crit last year.
And so Jerz doesn't feel left out, I do believe he said, "Some people take crack cocaine. I keep a weblog" earlier this semester. So true.
Posted by: JulieYoung at October 2, 2003 9:46 PMYay, Julie! I knew I wasn't insane, and that there was such a site!
Posted by: Donna R. Hibbs at October 2, 2003 11:57 PMKate, that dream is absolutely crazy! However, I had a quote from one of my favorite teachers in high school I felt the need to share. The very first class I had with Mr. Doyle as a scared little freshy he said to us:
"Kids, don't cheat. If you get caught cheating in my class you might as well give your soul to God because you ass will be mine!"
Yea. He said that, and still says that to this day. (I checked with one of the kids in my brothers marching band.) Later!
Tiff
Posted by: Tiffany at October 3, 2003 9:38 AMGlad you shared that. I'm glad you're not going to become a filmmaker, Kate. As you know, I spent most of my summer sitting in a small freezing office in Pittsburgh known as the Pittsburgh Film Office, and I have to tell you, if you haven't been in that office, you have to go visit. It's so awesome, if you're a film buff. Movie posters adorn the walls, including the ones from Inspector Gadget, the Mothman Prophecies, and others.
Here's a quote from Dr. Manigaulte's email that he sent us in our world lit class:
"Oh! ---we will keep only your best scores on those "quizzes." [I've grown quite fond of you. It's hard to be tough, grumpy, and grouchy when
you guys keep acting so adorable in class."
you have to read the rest of that email. I'll show it to you later...
Posted by: Jen at October 3, 2003 9:45 AMBoop-bop-beep
Great post. Glad the film virus is coursing through your veins, infecting you from head to toe. Coupled with Olsen's book about photography, I bet the synapses are firing on multiple levels about the connections between film and literature. If you get into cultural criticism as a literary critic, you're "allowed" to study film the same way you study lit, so don't feel guilty for studying texts that are pleasant.
As for quotable quotes, I hadn't heard about "profquotes.com" but I thought it was cool because there were a ton of funny things there posted by Eric Rabkin, who is a fantasy scholar who I recognize and admire. And I got a kick out of reading what other profs at SHU say, too...it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one. As far as my own inane sayings go, please do take notes for the test.
Posted by: Mike Arnzen at October 5, 2003 9:50 PM