I like movies. That is why I'm a (striving) RTF major. To be honest, I never even CONSIDERED it as a major until my sophomore year. I came in as an undergraduate in the Business School, but quickly learned that finance was NOT for me. It hit me one day in my accounting class while people were so enthralled in the lecture and asking questions about. I looked around and thought, "these people are WAY more interested in this than I am, maybe I'm in the wrong major." And it was true. Ever since I've been taking RTF/Comm classes, grades have improved, I enjoy my lectures, and homework isn't such a pain in the ass anymore.
So once I had decided what major I did NOT like, it was time to find one that actually did suit me. I took a couple career assessment tests by my parents request, and even though those were helpful, it was the day my mom told me that most everything I do, buy, and ultimately revolve around involves things with some cinematic qualities. In my LRO I talked about my days of looking up movie scripts and reading them when I was young. Even before I took any film classes, I've taken an analytical approach to watching movies. The composition of shots, the camera position, the sound, the editing, etc. It's all so wonderful and reminds me of a puzzle with many pieces that come together to form one big picture.
One of my favorite films, Pulp Fiction, embodies this ' puzzle-piece' aspect of movies that I love so much. The different storylines, characters, and editing make it such a fun movie to watch. Other movies like Crash and Snatch do the same thing. That's what a film is to me, a story brought to life, and the best movies are those that make you forget that you're watching one. (Another example can be seen here, a counter dictionary definition of what a TV is to me.)
In my History of Narrative Film class, which I am currently taking, we get a chance to learn the history and evolution of film. The advancements in the craft are amazing, considering the first actual screening of a film was in 1895. As we learn more and more about movies and the minutia associated with bringing it all together, my appreciation for different genres and styles is growing broader. I used to have a notion that silent films were dated, uninteresting movies that could not compete with the complex plots and special effects of modern Hollywood. I was gravely mistaken. Some of the best films ever made were pre-1960, before anyone even knew what a blockbuster was.
Honestly, I don't even know what I want to do with film. Right now, it could be anything because each job has a huge role in the creation of such a wonderful work of art. I could see myself being perhaps a screenwriter, creating characters and throwing obstacles their way. Or maybe I could be an editor. The power of editing can be seen in this classic excerpt from the movie Battleship Potemkin, a Russian film directed by Sergei Eisenstein.