English 356

English 356: The Art of Film

I took this class with Dr. McGee in the Fall of 2021. This class focused on various movies and the techniques they used to create their unique cinematic experience. This was an incredibly fun class because our homework was basically to watch movies and talk about what we thought was cool about them. While it was definitely a fun class with a relaxed atmosphere, I feel like I learned a lot about film technique and terminology and I watch movies from a different perspective compared to before taking the class.

Dr. McGee primarily showed horror/thriller movies in this class, and while that is not my favorite genre, I felt like I was introduced to a new world through these movies. I realized that, despite not being interested in slasher films with jump-scares, there is a lot to learn from watching these movies in regards to current and past social issues.

Throughout the semester, we were tasked with taking a genre or film terminology that we learned in the class and analyzing movies with them in an essay. I decided to write about sci-fi movies and the long-shot and how they reflect the social anxieties of the era they were produced. Overall, this was a really fun project and I enjoyed watching sci-fi movies from multiple different decades and delving into the history of the decade they were produced in.