FILM School: Day Two

9am again...everyone took turns to introduce themselves...which was in a form of survery handed out by p. Lindbergh the day before.

"My family descended from pirate..." went one.

"My family descended from pirates too!"

"Really...which family did you descend from? My family had a license..."

Wow...mouth agape...

"My greatgreatgreatgreatgreat uncle was Jesse James..."

Mouth even wider...Jesse James was this post civil war and legendary cowboy with many films made about him.

Lots of other interesting introductions...

Second Screening: by Martin Scorcese
"How did the director establish the location?" went the prof.

"By using close-up of toilet bowl, towel rack, toilet roll"

"What does the environment tell you?"

"Clean-cut, white, everything is right."

"Nice-looking, vanilla skin man shaving himself in a clean-cut toilet...set up a presumption about a nice healthy looking environment...then the twist comes..."

"The man cuts himself with the shaver. Blood flows and he started cutting himself all over the face...bloody, bloody..."

"The film was shot in 1967, during the Vietnam War. It was a bad year, white healthy young man were going awry and all..."

"Real beautiful film, nicely done."

So much for the class discussion. It was fantastic. Everyone took turns to make a comment. The class was teeming with interest and zeal. Top-quality stuff...makes me feel really good to be in the course for the start and it was certainly to continue.

During the break, some of my coursemates started chatting about Scorcese. About how his films always have mirrors, his style, him being an NYU alumni...

there is lots to know about film for me...and it's just going to get more interesting