On Friday, November 5, Leesville’s newly-formed film club had their first meeting, led by advisor Mr. Robert Phillips.
Film Club is an extension of a new elective offered to students this year, called Cultural Media Literacy. Taught by Mr. Phillips and Ms. Fausch, the class focuses on how film reflects the culture of different social groups, as well as the cinematography and editing techniques employed by the director.
Meetings for the club are once a month on Friday afternoons and begin right after school. Depending on the length of the movie, meetings can last anywhere between two and three hours. Featured films include The Rear Window, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and other movies from the American Film Institutes’s Top 100 Movies list.
“I got involved because what we’ve learned in Mr. Phillips’ CML class is really interesting. It’s another opportunity to learn more, but also to think for ourselves without a teacher leading the discussion,” said James Murdock, senior. “It’s a really cool class and club where we watch everything from independent films no one has heard of to big award-winner films.”
Although many students’ involvement in Film Club stemmed from their Cultural Media Literacy class, anyone is welcome to attend.
“Film plays such a huge roll in our culture and it’s a shame that it is not addressed in school to the extent it should be,” said Cameren Dolecheck, senior. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is important to our culture, sure, but so are films. This club, as well as the CML course, is starting to open up that view to students and teachers alike.”
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