• Hi Professor! This is Dennis Sun. I am currently a Junior in CAS and I am majoring in Economy and Cinema Studies. I spent the first two years in college to finish the Liberal Studies Program, and I chose to declare a major in Cinema Studies because I want to become a film critic. The motivation behind this goal is relatively straightforward: I enjoy watching films and it’s easy for me to immerse myself in the stories or to have empathy with the characters, so I can’t help having some reflections after finishing a movie. What’s more, trying to read the allegories and cinema language of a great piece of work is somehow addictive, and I can always find relief by forming my own understanding. Finally, putting my thoughts in words and sharing them can ease that slight sense of solitude (not the best choice of word, ‘solitude’ is too serious) after I fall deep into the plot of a film, since there’s a chance for me to find an echo if my ideas were delivered. Simply put, I want to become a film critic because film criticism can connect the audience of a remarkable movie and make us feel less alone.
  • I really don’t have a favorite genre, but I do have three favorite films. They are Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu, The lives of others by Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck, and Center Stage by Jinpeng Guan. Here are the posters of these three movies

 

  • I am not familiar with Greek cinema, but I have watched German, Denmark, and French movies and they leave me a good impression on European films. This is one reason why I chose this course. Besides, a senior friend of mine told me last semester that “the instructor of this course is a really good mentor”. To be honest, the other reason why I chose this course is that I am really looking forward to your class Professor. Finally, I wish to learn how Greek economic and political contexts affect the film industry, and how filmmakers address these broad social issues in different ways, so as to see the big picture of how film industries work in different nations. More important, I wish to learn the skills to analyze a film and to write film papers academically.