So I've decided to take this blog in a different direction. Initially, I set out for it to be only about me reviewing films, but that didn't work out (no one was watching the films I was talking about), so I figured if no one was going to read it/talk to me about these films, I might as well just talk about what I want to and throw in a review every now and then. Hell, I love doing them. So here is something that I have discussed with my friends and family for a long time, but I still haven't reconciled anything, and I still have the same pent up rage that I have had for a while:
The American Education System
I'll start out by saying that, currently, I'm a Junior Year Film Studies major with a focus in Cinematography. Now onto my rant: I feel like the educational system, at least at every college I have attended thus far (University of Toledo, Columbus State Community College, and Ohio State University) has been, for lack of a better word, bullshit. Absolute bullshit. I have to take 10 hours of History credit, and essentially learn the exact same things that I learned in high school. It's like being a freshman in college is synonymous to being a freshman in high school (with the exception that there are more people who won't talk to me in classes and more parties I'm not invited too and the cute girl popular girl still won't talk to me and I am still failing every class because I can't get fuc- sorry, I'm digressing from the point).
Back on track, I'm learning everything I have been taught since high school, but now I'm paying more to do it. And as far as GEC's go, not a single shred of information will stay with me past my final exam, because nothing pertains to what I'm studying! If the school is requiring me to take a non-western history class, and I'm a film studies major, then why doesn't taking Cinema History and American Silent Film fill out my 10 credit hours? For sciences, why do I have to take an identical natural science class to the one I took freshman year of high school? If I forgot it by the time I reached college, what makes them think it's going to stick with me past graduation?
"But Kevin, you don't haaaaaaaaaaaave to take natural sciences. You can take physics of light and sound or something." And I will, but I have to learn intro physics first, and math has never been my strong suit. But I'm still going to do it anyway. Now, of all the physics I'm going to learn, how much do you think will pertain to being a film studies major? Probably about 10%. So I have to sift through all of this crap to find anything relative to what I'm focusing on.
This is why I think college is bullshit. For the most part, it's all theory and no practice. Like a chef being taught why potato chips are made, but not how to make them. Yet, in order to get any sort of job, I have to have a degree in something. So if I'm paying thousands of dollars per year WHY DO I STILL NOT KNOW HOW TO WORK A VIDEO CAMERA?!?!?!?!?!? I'm almost a edging into my senior year of college and I still haven't learned a single practical thing. It seems like I honestly could have taught myself how to do all of this.
Don't get me wrong, there are things I have learned in college that have been useful. Like what a dangling modifier is. I have seen plenty of films and have learned how to discuss them. But I learned all of that my freshman year. So for the past two years, every film class has been the same:
-What is the difference between an extreme close and an extreme long shot?
-What is the difference between Bird's eye view and Worm's eye view?
-What is the difference between Intellectual montage and the Kuleshov effect?
-What kind of meaning can we infer from a canted camera angle?
-What does kind of emotion does X angle create?
-Now let's watch Citizen Kane.
Honestly. I have seen Citizen Kane 7 times. That's 14 hours. But, since these professors aren't getting paid to collaborate on anything, I will watch it probably once a quarter until I graduate. Come to think of it, all of those are important to learn once. Maybe twice. But imagine learning it every film class I take.
The sad thing is that these professors had to go through much more schooling and are probably making a decent amount more than my high school teachers, but it's my high school teachers who do a far better job. I mean, the fact that I remember all of these things after 3-6 years really says something. They deserve way more credit than they get. I'm not improving at all as a student right now. All of the things I'm learning, I am teaching myself. And despite what some may say, I'm not resisting the education being provided for me. I took one of the hardest classes of my life last quarter, and it was an English class. It was infuriatingly labor intensive, but I learned a lot about writing (feel free to critique the way I write all you want).
Alright, I feel like I've said all I can say about this for the time being. I may make edits or if I think of other things I want to say, I'll add them. But that is my little momentary rant.
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