Rant

My confusion for the past couple weeks has been about the Centenary posters around campus. , The banners are photos of various students doing a variety of things, from studying in a group, to reading a book, working with a beaker, or rock climbing (which by the way has not been used in 3 years because the school lacks a certified instructor). These images are supposed to put Centenary on the map, and to advertise the school's quality education and learning atmosphere. If this is so, then why on earth are these on campus? The students already know what the college is like, there's no need for these gigantic reminders.
The banners use is being ill used, in order to recruit funds and students these should be placed around the city and not at home. No effect will be made in making Centenary more known if they don't branch out and advertise beyond this one mile radius campus. And then there's the issue with the images themselves. Its been discussed in class what makes an ad effective, and how its message is perceived by the public. If the goal of these banners is to show a quality education at Centenary, I dont think that that goal has been meet as well as it could be. I'm sure it's hard to effectively showcase Centenary with just a few images, but the one's chosen seem to miss it entirely. The rockwall climbing picture for one, well why is something that cant even be used advertised? Its misleading, and false advertisement is the last thing a college wants. The group photo is fine, we all can collectively work together, great. But what about showing students and professors together, that is something truly unique to Centenary. I've been to visit friends at their schools, and no one is as close with their professors as here. And then there's the staged look to the photos. They just all look very cliche and posed. A kid reading a book on a nice lawn, the science photo; just branching out and doing something different with the advertisements would better Centenary I personally think. What about photos of students debating, that could show the progressive nature on campus, or college students interacting with the community.
It just seems that doing the same thing makes Centenary another one of those small, liberal arts colleges. Less staged photos, and ones of a different nature would better suit the college. Also, they need to be placed off campus where they would be put to their actual use, honestly we dont need a reminder of where we are.

Dedication

This past weekend I watched and indie film named "Dedication," which is incorrectly termed a romantic comedy. Yes, there are comedic elements, but for the most part the film shows the character growth the main character makes from an inconsiderate writer, to a more caring and compassionated man. The film is about Henry, played by Billy Crudup, who is a children's writer and his illustrator, played by Rudy Wilkinson, whom he is very close with. A basic plot is Henry is left lost when Rudy dies, until his boss pairs him up with Lucy, played by Mandy Moore, to be his illustrator and she teaches him how to loosen up and live life enjoyably. Lucy herself is struggling with getting over a cheating fiancee, and a crazy landlord who happens to be her own mother. The boss has given Lucy a 200,000 dollar pay if she can get Henry to produce the book at the end of 3 weeks. When Henry finds this out, (after having fallen in love with Lucy) he must choose whether to hold a grudge against someone without knowing the full truth, or to forgive for the first time and love without holding back.
The film begins showing Henry as a bitter, sarcastic, and pessimistic young man who goes around the city with Rudy judging the inhabitants as they people watch. When Henry goes to visit Rudy in the hospital, whose dying of cancer, Rudy tells him to find a girl and to grow up, that he isnt living life that he's just going through the motions. He's trying to keep Henry from ending up alone, and unhappy. Shrugging to advice to the side, when he meets Lucy at first he belittles her, and makes Lucy feel inferior by comparing her to the waitress' life story and then saying she isnt even half as pathetic. Quickly realizing if she's going to get Henry to write, she returns the behavior and Henry falls in love with Lucy. Henry has a lot of quirks that make him endearing but also exhaustive. Terrified of cars, he rides (with a helmet on) to the beach only because he realizes he has to show Lucy his love for her by showing he cares. She had said she loves looking at stars at the beach, and he buys her a telescope also.
Despite the issues Henry has to deal with, Lucy overlooks them and also falls in love with him. The acting in the film is great, not the usual cheesy acting done by Moore, however Crudup is amazing as always. The film techniques used are also great. Rudy continuously appears to Henry throughout the film as a guide, acting on his conscience. Also, there are rewind and forward scenes that happen frequently, usually between the times Rudy visits Henry and when he leaves. Shot on what seems like a low budget, this sleeper film is definitely a hit and a dark comdey about growing up and finding love.

Pink Flamingos

So, I went with a friend to the viewing of Pink Flamingos, shown by the Centenary Film Society. I wasnt sure of what to expect, but was told that it was crazy. I was prett weirded out by the film. John Water's 1973 film is apparently a cult classic among some, and classified as extreme cinema. The basic plot is about a woman by the name Divine, a drag queen with awfully intense makeup, and her feud with a couple, Connie and Raymond, which is just a fight over who is the most foul or "filthy." Each side has, what I'll politely call quirks. Divine has two kids, Cotton and Crackers, and a mother who has an obsession with eggs and the egg man (an egg salesperson) and stays in a baby pen. Divine has the reputation as the filthiest person alive, and she's ver adamant about maintaining that title. In town,Connie and Raymond would like to be titled "the filthiest people" so their goal is to destroy Divine. Their profession? They steal girls hitch hiking, who are then raped by their "butler" (not sure about his title), and then sell the babies to lesbian couples. Raymond goes around town freaking girls out, wearing a trenchcoat which he pulls off to reveal himself. The film is full of just plain oddities and Waters doesnt hold back any modesty, everyone is very sexual. There is an incestuous scene between Divine and Crackers, between Crackers and Cookie (a spy for the couple), and then there's the perverse Raymond as well as the "dancer" at Divine's birthday bash. Connie and Raymond call the police, which sets Divine off and she then sets out to find them. When she returns home, she finds her trailer burnt to the ground (by Connie and Raymond). The movie ends with the first public homicide, Divine murders the perpetrators (after a "fair" trial; which consisted of her witnesses as Crackers and Cotton) with a couple of reporters as witnesses, after which she and her family run off to Boyse. I found it to be awkwardly comedic but more uncomfortable than anything else. And it wasnt the open sexuality of the movie, but really the crudity that made it painful to watch. Following the film I stayed for Dr. Clark's lecture explaining his thoughts on the film. I really enjoyed this because what I saw as a crass, without talent, awful movie, greatly contrasted with his views. Also he drew some connections in the film that I hadnt seen. Dr. Clark pointed out Pink Flamingo is a satire on the theme of "fame" and connected that with "feud" and "family." Fame and its excess leads to feuds on one anothers popularity, and that stretches out to families. He was able to give some sense to the film. The film was not anything like I had seen before, and I'm not quite sure if there's really any deeper meaning to Pink Flamingos but that its just a freak cult classic. I just wasnt able to really see the purpose, or unique quality of the movie...I dont think I'm able to get past the crudeness.