Blog Post #1

Reading Summary:

In “It’s just a movie,” Smith discusses the importance of analyzing film and television in response to questions from students in his introductory media class. Smith begins by acknowledging that many people are tempted to compare films to everyday life. In doing so, they often associate little things in movies to be random occurrences as they would be in everyday life. However, according to Smith, these individuals are looking past the fact that it costs millions of dollars to produce a movie and each detail is highly scrutinized by many different people. As a result, each seemingly random occurrence likely has an importance in the bigger picture of the film. Smith follows this up by illustrating that movies are a joint experience for both the director and the audience. The audience interprets the movie based on their own past experiences and many different interpretations can be drawn from the same movie. Smith depicts the idea that film depends on the audience to make inferences and use their prior knowledge to help them interpret a movie. Finally, Smith responds to those who argue that one cannot enjoy film and TV if they are analyzing it. Smith contends that he now feels a more complex enjoyment as he is able to appreciate the movie for entertainment purposes and find pleasure in the creative techniques bestowed in the film.

Outside Example:

During my senior year of high school, I took the role of being one of three rally leaders for the school. Rally leaders are assigned with the job of putting on a performance to create more school spirit in the student body and the task of bringing awareness to school events ranging from sports to concerts. Our “rallies” took place in front of the entire administration and school body and included teacher vs student games, skits, and other forms of entertainment. We began each rally with a short video that served as a segway into the actual event. As a rally leader, we occupied all the roles of being the director, actor, and producer of the short video. 

Reading Connection:

Through this process of making videos for the rally I saw first hand the importance of details in something as small as a short film. We would bring 5 to 10 outfits for the video and would shrink over 3 hours of content into a 5-6 minute video. We would only keep the best videos and take multiple shots for each scene. Through this experience, I was able to realize that every shot has a purpose. Judging from my experience making these short rally videos, I realized just how difficult and long the process of making a movie is. Additionally, I found a newfound appreciation for movies and the techniques utilized in film. I am now better aware of the director’s position in relation to the actor and the use of angles in film as well. Overall, my experience as a rally leader confirms what Smith says throughout his piece. I am able to enjoy movies for the sake of entertainment while simultaneously appreciating the technique of the film and all of the hard work put into the details.