Friday Flix, March 30

Here is the info Your Humble Blogger received regarding tomorrow's screening of 'Brazil.'

SCREENING FRIDAY, MARCH 30, AT FRIDAY FLIX!
12:30 p.m., San Gabriel 334

"BRAZIL" (1985)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Starring Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Katherine Helmond, Robert DeNiro, Michael Palin
Also with Bob Hoskins and Ian Holm
Running time: 143 min.


Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert DeNiro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm. John Scalzi's Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies describes the film as a "dystopian satire".

The film centres on Sam Lowry, a man trying to find a woman who appears in his dreams while he is working in a mind-numbing job and living a life in a small apartment, set in a dystopian world in which there is an over-reliance on poorly maintained (and rather whimsical) machines. Brazil's bureaucratic, totalitarian government is reminiscent of the government depicted in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four except that it has a buffoonish, slapstick quality and lacks a Big Brother figure.

Jack Mathews, film critic and author of The Battle of Brazil (1987), described the film as "satirizing the bureaucratic, largely dysfunctional industrial world that had been driving Gilliam crazy all his life". Though a success in Europe, the film was unsuccessful in its initial North America release. It has since become a cult film.

The film is named after the recurrent theme song, "Aquarela Do Brasil".

Gilliam sometimes refers to this film as the second in his "Trilogy of Imagination" films, starting with Time Bandits (1981) and ending with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989). All are about the "craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible." All three movies focus on these struggles and attempts to escape them through imagination—Time Bandits, through the eyes of a child, Brazil, through the eyes of a man in his thirties, and Munchausen, through the eyes of an elderly man.

Gilliam has stated that Brazil was inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four—which he has admitted never having read—but is written from a contemporary perspective rather than looking to the future as Orwell did. In Gilliam's words, his film was "the Nineteen Eighty-Four for 1984." Critics and analysts have pointed out many similarities and differences between the two, an example being that contrary to Winston Smith, Sam Lowry's spirit did not capitulate as he sunk into complete catatonia.

Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan described Brazil as "the most potent piece of satiric political cinema since Dr. Strangelove". Janet Maslin of The New York Times was very positive towards the film upon its release, stating "Terry Gilliam's Brazil, a jaunty, wittily observed vision of an extremely bleak future, is a superb example of the power of comedy to underscore serious ideas, even solemn ones."

In 2004, Total Film named Brazil the 20th greatest British movie of all time. In 2005, Time film reviewers Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel named Brazil in an unordered list of the 100 best films of all time. In 2006, Channel 4 voted Brazil one of the "50 Films to See Before You Die", shortly before its broadcast on FilmFour. The film also ranks at number 83 in Empire magazines list of the 500 Greatest Films of All Time.

Wired ranked Brazil number 5 in its list of the top 20 sci-fi movies. Entertainment Weekly listed Brazil as the sixth best science-fiction piece of media released since 1982. The magazine also ranked the film #13 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".

Brazil was nominated for two Academy Awards; for Original Screenplay and Best Art Direction (Norman Garwood, Maggie Gray) According to Gilliam in an interview with Clive James in his online programme Talking in the Library, to his surprise Brazil is apparently a favorite film of the far Right in America.


DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW

ALL STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE WELCOME
Two hours Flex credit will be granted for GCC staff if both film and discussion are attended.
(GCC Flex Note: Not eligible for CPGUs unless work related. Total Flex hours from film and book clubs limited to 20% of obligation)


FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 12:30 p.m., San Gabriel 334

Student Activities Calendar

Your Humble Blogger received the Student Activities Calendar today. Click on it to expand to a readable size...

Is the MPAA the Real Bully?

It is unusual to see parents groups complain that a movie with crude language has gotten too strict of a rating. But that is what has happened with the documentary "Bully," which depicts the physical and emotional abuses that some kids face. "Bully," which takes on a serious real-world problem in a graphic and realistic way, received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, a non-governmental group backed by the six largest movie studios. This rating makes it difficult for "Bully" to reach the audience that could actually benefit from seeing it. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•Do you and your parents pay attention to the movie ratings? How do you (or they) use them?
•Do the ratings seem too strict, to permissive, or just about right?
•How should the ratings be changed, if at all?
•Should a movie's topic be a consideration in determining its rating? Why or why not?

Get Those Resumes Updated!

The campus will have its Job Fair next month. If you are looking for employment, now or in the future, you might want to give it a look...

Hi GCC,

Please let students know that this years job fair is scheduled for April 18 and will be held on El Vaquero Plaza from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. I have posted up-to-date fair information on the Student Employment Services webpage at this address: http://www.glendale.edu/index.aspx?page=499 By using this link, students, alumni and other job seekers can research companies that are signed up to attend and come to the fair well-prepared. Students should bring updated copies of their resumes. Any student requiring assistance with their resume should contact the Career Center at ext. 5407 for the schedule of resume writing workshops.

Job Fair flyers will be ready for distribution tomorrow and I am happy to put some flyers in your mailbox, or email a copy to you, if you are willing to pass on the fair information.

You can also go to the Student Employment Services webpage here: http://www.glendale.edu/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=14276 and print a copy of the flyer.

I will advertise GCC's departments, programs and classes to job fair employers by giving the recruiters college information packets. If you would like your department or program to be represented, please put 35 copies of what you would like to include in the Job Placement mail box by Wednesday, April 11 and I'll see that your program/department's information gets distributed to the employers.

Also, we have invited Mr. Juan Perez, “The Taco Guy” to prepare his tasty tacos made of beef, chicken or pork. If you have eaten these tacos before you know that they are a culinary treat! Juan will be selling tacos for $1.00 each.

If you have questions please contact me at ext. 5403.

Thank you for your time,
Kathy Kostjal

Flight ... or Fake?

Imagine creating giant bird wings attached to small electric motors and some widely-available consumer technology. Then you strap on the device in a park, start running, flap your wings, and take flight. How cool would that be?

Jarno Smeets, an innovative guy in the Netherlands, has claimed to do just that. His blog and videos have attracted attention from across the world. But did he really fly, or was it just an elaborate hoax? The Sun in London and many others have asked that question.

Questions...

•How can you tell if this is real or fake? What are all the ways?
•What are other examples of things on the Internet that you can't quite tell if they are real or not?
•Is the old saying "Seeing Is Believing" still valid, or does it need to be updated?
•What should news organizations--newspapers, TV news shows, etc.--do when confronted with stories like this one?

Extra Credit Opportunity - Friday 3/23

Your Humble Blogger received an email from Mike Petros last night regarding this Friday's movie screening. It looks like a nice event...

SCREENING FRIDAY, MARCH 23, AT FRIDAY FLIX!
12:30 p.m., San Gabriel 334

"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" (1946)
Directed by Jean Cocteau
Starring Josette Day and Jean Marais
Running time: 93 min.


Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a 1946 French romantic fantasy film adaptation of the traditional fairy tale of the same name, written by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. Directed by French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, the film stars Josette Day as Belle and Jean Marais. It is widely considered one of the finest fantasy films of all time.

The plot of Cocteau's film revolves around Belle's father who is sentenced to death for picking a rose from Beast's garden. Belle offers to go back to the Beast in her father's place. Beast falls in love with her and proposes marriage on a nightly basis which she refuses. Belle eventually becomes more drawn to Beast, who tests her by letting her return home to her family telling her that if she doesn't return to him within a week, he will die of grief.

Upon Beauty and the Beast's December 1947 New York City release, critic Bosley Crowther called the film a "priceless fabric of subtle images,...a fabric of gorgeous visual metaphors, of undulating movements and rhythmic pace, of hypnotic sounds and music, of casually congealing ideas"; according to Crowther, "the dialogue, in French, is spare and simple, with the story largely told in pantomime, and the music of Georges Auric accompanies the dreamy, fitful moods. The settings are likewise expressive, many of the exteriors having been filmed for rare architectural vignettes at Raray, one of the most beautiful palaces and parks in all France. And the costumes, too, by Christian Berard and Escoffier, are exquisite affairs, glittering and imaginative." According to Time magazine, the film is a "wondrous spectacle for children of any language, and quite a treat for their parents, too".

In 1999, Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert added the Beauty and the Beast to his "Great Movies" list, calling it "one of the most magical of all films" and a "fantasy alive with trick shots and astonishing effects, giving us a Beast who is lonely like a man and misunderstood like an animal." A 2002 Village Voice review found the film's "visual opulence" "both appealing and problematic", saying "Full of baroque interiors, elegant costumes, and overwrought jewelry (even tears turn to diamonds), the film is all surface, and undermines its own don't-trust-a-pretty-face and anti-greed themes at every turn." In 2010, the film was ranked #26 in Empire magazines "100 Best Films of World Cinema".


DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW

ALL STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE WELCOME

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 12:30 p.m., San Gabriel 334

This Story Speaks Volumes

Not too many years ago, encyclopedias sold in profitable and reliable numbers. Parents bought them. So did schools and libraries. Some supermarkets even sold them a volume at a time.

But times have changed. The venerable Encyclopedia Britannica has stopped publication of its print edition after 243 years. It will try to survive as an online, expert-written, encyclopedia. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is Britannica doomed to extinction? Why or why not.
•Would you pay for a multimedia Britannica for smartphones and iPads?
•Are there ways that Britannica is better than Wikipedia?
•Are there ways that Wikipedia is better than Britannica?

New Field Trip Opportunity!

Mike Petros, who teaches television and digital media classes, will hold a series of film screenings (called "Friday Flix") on campus on Friday afternoons this spring. You can attend any ONE of the following screenings to get Mass Comm 101 field trip credit.

All screenings begin at 12:30 in San Gabriel 334.

FRIDAY FLIX SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2012

March 23 – Beauty and the Beast (1946)
March 30 – Brazil (1985)
April 6 – Amelie (2001)
April 13 – SPRING BREAK (NO FILM)
April 20 – Taxi Driver (1976)
April 27 – Wings of Desire (1987)
May 4 – Lolita (1961)
May 11 – The Three Musketeers (1973)
May 18 – The Wild Bunch (1969)
May 25 – Star Wars (1977)
June 1 – Network (1976)

Would You Let Your Child Play in a Brothel?

Imagine the route between your home and your child's school went past a casino, an adult bookstore and a neo-Nazi clubhouse. You'd probably drive your kid to school. Or, at the very least, you'd have some detailed parental advice about the perils of the real world.

The virtual world has all these things and more. But parents often don't do any parenting when it comes to the Internet because they have less experience with the Internet than their children do. However, children are still inexperienced about people even if they know how to start a Facebook account or post a YouTube video.

This Los Angeles Times article, written by a family therapist, urges parents to continue parenting when their children go online.

The author discusses a popular YouTube video where a pre-pubescent girl asks the world whether she is pretty or ugly. To this adult she seems painfully vulnerable and waaay too young to put herself in front of the anonymous millions online, some of whom entertain themselves by making anonymous cruel comments.

Here are the discussion questions...

•Have you ever seen a child get involved with Internet content that he or she is too young for?
•Have you ever seen a friend, relative or classmate post a video that you knew was a bad idea?
•What advice should parents give their children about the Internet?
•What should schools teach children about the perils of the Internet? Should they add it to health class?

Latest from the Transfer Center

Following Kevin Meza's Transfer Center presentation in class, Your Humble Blogger is posting the following email on upcoming Transfer Center activities...

I hope your spring semester is going well. I wanted to alert you and your students about a few events coming up in March and April. Our complete Transfer Center calendar can be found at http://vision.glendale.edu/index.aspx?page=1516

Nor Cal CollegeTrip
The participants have been selected and we are set to leave during spring break. We had 115 applications for 52 spots. Thank you all for helping us promote the trip.

Nursing
A Day in The Life of A Nurse (presented by National University)
Interested in Nursing? Want to learn more about BSN and RN programs? Come find out what it would take to transfer to a 4-year institution and what a typical day in the life of a nurse looks like. Thursday, March 22nd in LB 225 from 12:30pm-1:30pm. See you there!

Transfer College Fair
Tuesday, April 17 10:30am-1:30pm and 5:00pm-7:00pm
Four-year college representatives will on campus to provide information to Glendale College students about the educational opportunities available at their campuses

UCLA
The UCLA Student Transfer Opportunity and Mentorship Program (STOMP), in conjunction with Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, is hosting the 13th annual STOMP Conference. The conference will take place on Friday, April 27, 2012 from 8:30AM to 4:00PM in the Ackerman Union Grand Ballroom at UCLA. The goal of the event is to familiarize these students with the UCLA campus and the resources available to them. The program will include information on admissions and selection criteria, the application process and the corresponding deadlines. In addition, we want to inform students about the diverse academic, social and cultural opportunities at UCLA. We would also like to acquaint students with the many departments and majors available at UCLA. We encourage students to continue to utilize the many resources available to them throughout their college career beginning with our outreach efforts, continuing with our support services and culminating with their graduation. Beginning March 19th, students and staff will be able to RSVP at the following link: http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/stompconference/default.htm.

CSU International Fair
Date: 4/25/2012 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: GCC - SR Plaza
Various Cal State representatives will be on campus recruiting international students.

Make sure to add us on Facebook to stay informed about transfer events: http://vision.glendale.edu/index.aspx?page=150

Kevin A. Meza, PhD
Transfer Center Coordinator
Glendale Community College
1500 N. Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818) 240-1000 ext. 5820

Tough Times for Student Newspapers

Student newspapers often mimic professional newspapers: student journalists try to write and report like the pros, and for students the college newspaper is their community newspaper.

However, more and more student newspapers are also imitating their professional counterparts in a negative way: they are struggling to keep from going broke.

This NPR story looks at the efforts being made to protect the student newspaper at the University of Illinois.

Discussion Questions...

•What is the role of a student newspaper? What should it do?
•What types of events should an educated citizen know about?
•What can a student newspaper do online that it can't do on paper?

Behavioral Research: A Crash Course

The research behind this NPR story makes sense, sort of: People who watch a NASCAR race are more likely to get into car crashes over the next week. After all, media glamorizes things. A TV commercial glamorizes shoes, so we want shoes. A NASCAR race glamorizes aggressive driving, so we want to drive aggressively.

Or not. It's only one study. Other researchers may come up with a different result. But it's interesting, nevertheless.

Here's some discussion questions:

•In what ways do people imitate things they see in the media?
•Does the media ever give us cues about how we should act? What we should see as desirable? What we should see as undesirable?
•Do you find this study convincing? Why or why not?

Free Money

Your Humble Blogger received an email recently about the looming scholarship deadline. Here is something YHB has observed: Scholarships don't necessarily go to the most qualified students; they go to the most qualified students WHO APPLY.

Below is the email from Aida Avanousian of the Scholarship Office...

Dear colleagues,

Please encourage your students to apply for GCC scholarship. We have more than 500 scholarships and grants totaling over $300,000 to our students annually.

The Spring scholarship deadline is March 23rd, this means that both the application and recommendation must be submitted by this date. If you have promised a scholarship recommendation to a student, please do it as soon as possible. I would estimate about 40% of students who took the time to fill out the application have no recommendation. Students who do not have a recommendation won’t be considered for any scholarships.

In order to be eligible for all 500 of our GCC scholarships, students must have completed 12 units at GCC and have at least a 2.5 GPA. One simple application is all that needed. Applications are now done on-line at www.glendale.edu/scholarships. A recommendation is required from a teacher or counselor after submission of the application. The recommendation must be completed on-line as well.

Aida Avanousian [mailto:aidaa@glendale.edu]