Hey everyone! This week I want to chat a little bit about a class I’m taking purely for fun- Film Symposium. In this class, folks from the film industry bring in movies and screen them before the release date, and then afterwards we hold a Q & A with famous film critic Leonard Maltin. Read on for more about why I think this class is an awesome and unique experience for an engineer!
It might seem a little strange for a second semester senior to be taking a class completely unrelated to his degree, but for me, it makes total sense. I only have one class left to take for my undergraduate degree (EE 459, from my last post!) and that means I have some free units. This class became a no-brainer because it is a chance for me to take advantage of USC’s world-famous film school, and because I’m taking it for audit (essentially it won’t count for my degree), I get to take in brand new movies and enjoy my Thursday evening when the class is held.
In the two weeks we’ve had class so far, I’ve been impressed. The first movie we saw was Gimme Shelter, starring Vanessa Hudgens. Afterwards, Leonard Maltin (who as I mentioned is a well-respected film critic, and is the professor for this class) led a Q & A with the director who gave us some insight into how he made the movie and what he wanted to do with it. This past week we watched an upcoming rom-com called Cavemen– I thought it was a little heavier on the comedy side, because I couldn’t stop laughing!
This is all set in USC’s Norris theater, and to me it signifies one of my favorite parts of being an engineer at USC. While the engineering community here is tight-knit and cutting edge, we are also an integrated part of the larger campus, which adds so much diversity to the experience. If you come here, keep an eye on this class if you have free units.
-Rob
