All Else Confusion

At my graduate school, the new social director (that's me) has started a monthly classic movie series. It all started with a Theology on Tap talk by Fr. James Searby entitled, Lights, Camera, Faith! A Catholic at the Movies. Fr. Searby talked about the importance of viewing good films and of developing our understanding of films by becoming involved, by relating to the story in they way that we do when we attend a theater performance. That is, we need to put something of ourselves into our viewing - not just passively absorb the images on the screen. Fr. Searby also asked who in the audience had seen some great old movies like Citizen Kane or The African Queen, which started some friends asking questions about those movies - questions that I was more than happy to answer! So, we came up with the monthly classic movie night. Each month I pick a classic movie to show connected to the previous month's movie by a supporting character. Before showing the movie I try to give some background into the making of the movie, the historical situation in which is was made, and the effect that the movie had when it was released on the culture.
Last month we watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. This month, following supporting actor Claude Rains, we're going to be watching Casablanca. Next month, following Peter Lorre from Casablanca, we're moving to zany comedy with Arsenic and Old Lace. I thought that I would share my research into the background, themes and effect of each movie. Hopefully, the next time you watch that movie, you'll be able to relate more and have a deeper appreciation for the movie.

Labels: movies