Film Club
By Ethan Michael Piers
The very first meeting of Sturgis West Film Club took place on the 28th of November. The club was hosted by me and freshman, Johnny Travers. It was a great success. We had at least 16 students join us for this meeting and there seemed to be a lot of excitement at the meeting. During the time we spent together, we discussed what we love about the entire film industry. We discussed what we like, what we don’t like, what we would like to contribute, and most importantly what makes a movie good.
It takes a great deal more than a bunch of explosions and a lot of beautiful people to make an awesome film. Action might be fun to watch, but I can guarantee you that receiving good reviews will be a long shot for these films. What makes a movie special is good directing, talented writing, and good casting – there are many ways to make a movie great. What our new club decided that best defines a great film is: the morals.
The idea of morals in film was one of the most heated discussions of the first film club session. The morals behind ns entire film are essential because they define the full meaning of the storyline itself. Think of one of the films nominated for an Oscar in 2010. “The King’s Speech” was a historical British drama about a duke who had a stuttering problem. The duke was persuaded to see a speech therapist who taught him to become a great speaker. It was important that the duke speak publicly on behalf of Great Britain without stuttering as he declared war on Nazi Germany. This remarkable film won best picture for many reasons. We agreed that what makes it great is its moral content. The simple idea behind this film is that everyone has a voice. Other films that have good moral content are: “Forest Gump” (Best Picture in 1994),” Toy Story 3” (nominated 2010), “Silence of the Lambs” (best picture 1991) and even “The Exorcist” (nominated 1973).
The Film Club was formed so that we can explore the history of film making from where it began to where it is now. The history of film is more complex than we make it out to be. What is our goal? We are going to go to the theater, choose movies and critique them. We are also very excited to produce our own movie. Our goal is to make a great film, defined by its moral content. Before this school year ends, we hope to have a collection of films ranging from shorts, to parodies to dramas. This is our key motive. We look forward to seeing the talent and ideas that our club members have to offer.
We hope to have many more participants join our Film Club. Keep an eye out for the announcement of our next meeting.