the history of our cinema history class part iii: where we are today

Updated: Corrected a movie title

This is the third and final installment in a series of posts about the cinema history class that Ethan and I take. In The first two posts were here and here. In those posts I described the class's origin story and how it evolved.

So where are things now?

In all the obvious ways, the class is still largely the same as when it started. There are, of course, a few superficial differences -- there are six of us now, for starters. And, in addition to Dave's death roll (mentioned in the last post) the class format has expanded to include a decent-length schmoozing session at the beginning. Sometimes I suspect that we'd go on all night if Keith didn't stop us to get things started.

And that's indicative of the fact that our little group has become more than just a film class; it's a film appreciation society. In fact, I think that's how Joe refers to it when he mentions it in his blog. Keith, Joe and I have all hosted extra-curricular get-together film-related get-togethers for the class; we've gelled into a pretty good social group.

But class is still a class first and foremost. Keith is an educator. It's not just about showing these movies. He clearly wants to share his knowledge with us and discuss our perspectives on the movies. Each of us has, at one time or another missed a class. Work happens. Life happens. And Keith understands that. But if any of us were to start simply missing classes because he was showing a movie we weren't interested in, he would be displeased.

Not that I would do such a thing. Even when I don't like the movie Keith is showing (Mantis Fists and Tiger Claws of Shaolin, I'm looking at you...), I still enjoy seeing it with the class, and I still get something out of it. Aside from that, it's hard to know in advance what movies I'll like. I had low expectations for movies such as Deranged and Cannibal Holocaust, but they blew me away.

I don't claim to remember all the information that Keith presents about these movies. I don't remember most of it. But I am gaining some insight into the broader trends and some of the more prominent names. And Ethan is also learning a lot -- not just about cinema history, but about film criticism and extemporaneous speech.

And Ethan no longer names the Saw movies as his favorites.