This piece is part of a series of opinion columns written by Student Interest Groups at SPA.  Opinions expressed are those of the group or writer, and not of The Rubicon staff.  Inquiries should be sent to Thomas Toghramadjian, Columns Editor at [email protected].

When Riley Wheaton and I were selected to be presidents of Film Club, we had two main goals for our term: to increase membership amongst underclassmen, and to grow film club’s participation in film festivals and events occurring in the Twin Cities. The purpose of Film Club is to share the joy of film with a larger audience, and publicize influential films to the general SPA community through our movie series.

Although participation wasn’t declining last year, sophomores composed most of the club, making it seem exclusive. Film Club already had a pretentious connotation, and the lack of representation from various grades did not help. Riley and I knew that if we weren’t able to recruit a significant amount of underclassmen this year, it would take a long time to rebuild the group after the upperclassmen graduated.

Luckily, we’ve gained a large group of devoted freshmen who have been very active in Film Club events both in and outside of school. So far this year in Film Club, we have watched and discussed notable opening scenes, including those from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Magnolia. We’ve discussed how a narrative can be presented in many ways and how different styles can change the tone of the scene. The next event that we are focusing on is our annual movie marathon in January.

The debate over the theme of the marathon would rival those taking place at SPU. We have narrowed it down to two very different options: space movies or musicals. The marathons are usually six movies in a row, so it is essential that the movies are varied enough to keep people from getting bored. We try to pick a theme that could include varying genres and time periods. Last year’s marathon had a vampire theme (no, we didn’t show Twilight).

The theme was excellent because it allowed for a variety. The marathon included a foreign film, Mr. Vampire, a silent film, Nosferatu, and even Nicholas Cage’s famous train-wreck Vampire’s Kiss.

Even if you’re dedicated to another Thursday group, you can still attend the marathon and any of the Wednesday night movies that we show. If you sit through all 6 movies at the marathon, your name will be entered in a raffle for DVD’s and other prizes.

Film club is lucky to have access to the thriving arts community in the Twin Cities. This year Maggie Vliestra is our Film Club Developer, a new position created to get Film Club members involved in the film events going on around town. She coordinated an outing to the Walker Art Center’s showing of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Film Club strives to be an inclusive group where anyone who loves or wants to talk about movies can do so. Even if you’re just a casual movie watcher, it provides an environment to learn about different aspects of the filmmaking process. Attending an after school screening is just as casual as going to a neighborhood movie theater.