Mar
31
Not having taken a film course before, I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t know much about film theory nor do I have a technical background. That being said, I usually always watch films for entertainment. I think watching them in a classroom context definitely forced me to think deeper about the films. I began to recognize that even if I didn’t like a film I should try to understand its message or meaning. This was not always easy, however, the Thursday discussions greatly helped. I also found that many of the articles tended to express what I was trying to say (although much more concisely and eloquently), or for the most part the had the tendency to shed light on some aspects of the film I had not considered.
It was also interesting to learn how film can be used to look at a representation of a place, idea, etc. from different perspectives.
I personally enjoyed a number of the films, (Los Olvidads, El callejón de los milagros, Touch of Evil, The Wild Bunch, Thee amigos, and Traffic). I felt let down by Batalla en el cielo and Que Viva Mexico, however I think that’s because of my lack of understanding of the films, and I wasn’t able to gain much from the articles and discussions. I think they’re worth rewatching, though, because I’m sure they have something good to say.
I still have to put some thought into the themes and discussions we had in the class… I’m having trouble picking two movies for the paper.
