1. For the love of cult cinema
6 A&E September 25, 2008 G
Mount Holyoke News
The
BY LARISA
SUNDERLAND ’11
Fast
BY EMILY CHOW ’12 According to co-director Hahn, “Though there has only been on
Talker
CONTRIBUTING WRITER campus movie screenings, the Film and Video Collective hopes to
plan larger double features, film lectures and workshops for the stu-
he first week back at classes is usually slow for most stu-
T dent organizations, but one group was already advertising
events with fliers. The Film and Video Collective is a group
ready to make their presence known on campus. During a discussion
dents.” As Hahn explained, “there are many great resources in the
valley that we want all students to be aware of and take advantage
of.” Ideally, the Film and Video Collective would provide film students
with the necessary resources for film productions.
of film, what comes to your mind? Many think of a plethora of block- I have a new favorite book
In addition, the Film and Video Collective intends to have and it’s called Yum Yum I Can’t
buster movies, glamorous female protagonists and an action-packed fundraising activities this semester, such as t-shirt making and a
sequence of events. But surely there is more to film than that, and Wait to Die, by a guy you’ve never
cookie bake sale. Hahn is also enthusiastic for the organization to be heard of—Sam Pink. I regularly
that is precisely what the Film and Video Collective is for. filled with students who want to watch and collaborate on films to-
About a decade ago, the Film and Video Collective was founded find new favorite books, fre-
gether and who are able to find community based on this common quently by care of the Barnes and
by a group of students who were bound together by a love for cult interest.
films. To expose students to the complex world of film, the Film and Nobles bestseller table, or by
Co-director Cuy1er Mitchell ’10 said the org is an exceptional one. word of mouth, or by my mother’s
Video Collective also aimed to organ- “It is rare to have education discussions about film in an academic
ize movie screenings and workshops mandates (“Read Love in the
environment with a group of friends on campus, and this organiza- Time of Cholera!” slipped in
for students in addition to organizing tion takes what film majors are doing inside the classroom and brings
and funding on-campus film produc- neatly between “Clean your
it to everyone who enjoys cinema,” she said. room!” and “Get a Ph.D!”) and,
tion. Previous achievements of the students in the Film and Video Col-
Ariel Hahn ’10 more recently, off of Jenny Pyke’s
lective have included winning a prize at the Five College Student Film course syllabus (as it turns out,
revived the dor- Festival. In the past, Mount Holyoke students have also collaborated
mant organiza- Robinson Crusoe is pretty baller.)
with students of Smith College and Hampshire College to work on But Yum Yum I Can’t Wait to Die
tion last spring films together, according to Robin Blaetz, advisor to the Film and
by holding didn’t exactly happen like that.
Video Collective. A friend and I were strolling
monthy meet- Members of the Film and Video Collective meet once a month to
ings and screen- through Thornes, when we hap-
discuss cult movies and from there, pick the favourites for screening pened upon an empty store—
ing movies such and also plan other organization activities. No film knowledge is re-
as Attack Of The 50 empty but for a couple of
quired of students who would like to be included in these meetings. paintings, a small pile of pam-
Foot Woman, An Affair To Those interested in joining Mount Holyoke’s Film and Video Collec-
Remember and Wet Hot American Sum- phlets and a very sleepy looking
tive can contact Ariel Hahn at hahn20a@mtholyoke.edu or Cuyler man slumped over a cardboard
mer. This semester, Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing was the most re-
Attention: Hollywood killed women’s films
Mitchell at mitch20c@mtholyoke.edu. table. It really could have been the
cent screening.
entrance to Diagon Alley—it was
just that surreal. As I began to se-
riously question the effects of
Herrell’s rainbow-sprinkled
chocolate-malted ice cream
(which I highly recommend, by
the way), my friend approached
In her acceptance speech at the 2008 which is evident by the release of The Women this September. the weary-eyed man and de-
BY JOANNA ARCIERI ’10
A&E CO-EDITOR Emmy Awards, Glenn Close made a profound The Women is a remake of the 1939 George Cukor film of the same manded, “I’m sorry, but what ex-
statement about the place of female ac- name, which is arguably the best woman’s film ever made. The story actly is this place?”
tresses and characters on television. She said, “I think we’re proving is updated to have more appeal to current audience. It tries to be like So I guess this guy takes over
that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy in high enter- Sex and the City, but without the appropriate dialogue or mem- empty Northampton commercial
tainment and can carry a show.” While Close’s obser- orable characters; there isn’t a Samantha or a Miranda in this spaces and uses them to promote
vation is very true for television shows, it couldn’t be group of friends. But above all, it tries desperately to be a few as-of-yet-glorified, but
further from a reality in mainstream Hollywood better than the original. wholly talented artists, like Sam
films. In fact, the woman’s film, a subset of the melo- Here lies the problem with the next decade of Pink, author du jour. Yum Yum I
drama, is dead and Hollywood is to blame. women’s films. They will try to be like Sex and the Can’t Wait to Die, should really
Considering the fact that women’s film, films City in order to be commercially successful, be titled Yum Yum I Can’t Wait to
with female protagonists, has been a mar- but as a result they will be nowhere near as Read This Over and Over and
ketable subgenre since the 1920s, it is rather good. So then they will attempt to be like Over Again! because the title is a
impressive that it has taken Hollywood more the classic woman’s films, updating seem- bit of a downer—bad advertising
than 80 years to wreck it. If I had to pinpoint ingly outdated stories. But the truth is, ear- for good material. Who could hate
the exact date this happened, it would be sometime in July, lier woman’s films such as The Women a line like: “Being alive on earth
after the release of Sex and the City and before the release or the soon-to-be-remade Midnight just makes me feel like a spoiled kid
of The Women. don’t translate well for today’s audi- on a sleepover at someone else’s
The Sex and the City movie, based on the immensely ences. house?”
popular television series, has been a huge box office suc- Hollywood needs to take a hint from It’s really about the messi-
cess. In many ways, the movie has been beneficial for the future of television, or maybe just Glenn Close. Female characters need to be ness and spontaneity of life—its
woman’s films by reminding Hollywood executives that the female complicated, powerful and mature in order for the modern female au- metaphors are vague, it’s diction
audience exists and that they want to see successful, complicated and dience to truly appreciate and relate to them. And maybe a little Sex is casual, the punctuation is to-
powerful female characters on screen. But the Sex and the City movie and the City thrown in wouldn’t hurt either. tally kaput, and so it feels com-
To p 5 P o d c a s t s
has also pushed women’s films in a new and disconcerting direction pletely appropriate that the find
was unanticipated. I really didn’t
go out looking for a new favorite
You can’t always listen to This American Life
book, just some ice cream. Its
shabby look and feel on the exte-
rior mirrors its content, which is
something that just works for me.
I guess when I feel that something
just works, it’s like I'm piggy-
1. Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (NPR) - You might have already caught Throw record label. Its recently recorded songs as well as lengthy
backing the artistic process by ap-
this hysterical weekly news quiz show on the radio, but its better DJ sets bythe artists signed onto the label. That means lots of in-
preciating the work all of my own
when can listen to whenever you want. Three panelists compete dependent hip hop, a little bit of dub step hailing out of southern
accord. And that really does make
in various trivia games about the weeks news, but the “Not my California.
me feel like a spoiled kid on a
Job” segment is the shows highlight, when notable people are
sleepover at someone else’s
quizzed about things they know nothing about. 5. Nardwuar Goes Podcasting (CITR) - Nardwuar, who has made a
house.
name for himself in his own right, interviews musicians, politi-
Sam Pink’s not really a part of
2.The Moth - These 15- minute stories told by the people who lived cians and the occaisonal movie star, but always someone famous.
the Great Literary Canon…yet.
them are a treat to listen to and the perfect time filler. The anec- Don’t stop listening just because of his high pitched, squeaky voice
Actually, I doubt he’ll ever be part
dotes are often funny and poignant looks at everyday life. and zany commentary, there is true journalistic ge-
of it, thank goodness, because his
nius behind the mayhem. His interview style is un-
book is beautiful in its shoddi-
3. Le Show With Harry Shearer (KCRW) - Shearer is an actor, matched by anyone, surprising the guests by
ness. The margins are incorrect
writer, satirist, director and comedian, although he is probably asking about such distant details from their
and so sometimes sentences get
best known for voicing at least 11 characters on the TV show The past that sometimes they don’t even remem-
spliced; it’s construction paper-
Simpsons. His radio podcast, Le Show, is a hodge-podge of ber. He is also a notable gonzo-journalist,
backed; it has yet to be reviewed
news,commentary, and the occasional comedy sketch where having snuck into press conferences, partic-
by The New Yorker (or whatever).
Shearer does all of the voices, usually of famous politicains. The ularly those of politicians, to get the scoop.
Sam Pink is only great because I
commentray all takes a definite liberal direction, so it may not be The interview with Snoop Dog is a partic-
say so. I really like the book—
the podcast for you if you are a Republican. However, if you can’t ularly good one if the huge backstock
just ’cause I do.
get enough Democratic commentary, or just really love The Simp- seems intimidating.
sons, you will enjoy Le Show.
4. Stones Throw Podcast - A radio recording from the Stones COMPILED BY JOANNA ARCIERI & ANNIKA YATES