Movies have been a major part of American culture since they first appeared in the late 1800s. As film changed and developed into how we see it  today, they became more and more prevalent in our society. With hundreds of movies made each year, it’s quite obvious that film is an art form that is here to stay.

Movies offer a way to escape from the day-to-day hassles of life for a few hours at a time. They provide entertainment, but can also be seen as more than just a distraction.

“Films aren’t purely entertainment. They are complex and encode social, economic and political content,” Assistant Professor of English Sean Cobb, who teaches Film As Art, said. “It is important to study film because it works to counteract the idea that films are passive entertainment. We get to work out social and political anxieties in films. They tell you something about the society in which they are produced.”

Over time, the subject matter and purpose of films has changed. “Very early films were based on attraction or spectacle. After 1906, films became based on narrative. Contemporary films have shifted more toward attraction and spectacle once again,” Cobb said.

The subject matter has changed because we, as an audience, have changed.
“Modern films have become much more complicated than the genre films of the ‘30s-’60s. As film audiences become more mature and increasingly complex they demand a greater narrative complexity,” Cobb said.

In a society so focused on the visual and technological advances, it seems only natural that movies would be one of the foremost forms of communication and entertainment.

“So much of the media is focused on visual elements. There is a trend towards visual culture in general, instead of print,” Cobb said.

In our own Gustavus subculture, film has created a nice little niche for itself. We’ve got weekly movies on campus, as well as semester classes and January Interim Experience courses about film. Students bring dozens upon dozens of movies with them each fall when they move in.

Junior Art History Major Emma Squire has, give or take, 112 movies with her on campus. “I enjoy a good flick, and I love a good film. I love cinema because it can be informative and thought provoking when need be or it can be hilarious, irrelevant and with a touch of regurgitation. The spectrum of emotions and ideas that movies can provoke is why I cannot get enough of them,” Squire said.

For screenings of more current movies at a reasonable price (free), the Campus Activities Board (CAB)has got the fix.

“We try to bring pre-home release movies to campus for the weekend showings.  This means we get movies that are out of theaters, but have not yet come out on DVD for the general public to buy or rent,” CAB Film Executive and Senior Public Accounting Major Eleanor Wood said.

The movies are shown at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in the Wallenburg Auditorium of Nobel Hall.

“I think the weekend movies are a good diversion for students and represent an entertaining weekend activity. They are very low-key and I think students enjoy coming, relaxing and just enjoying themselves for a few hours. Plus, I think the movies are usually well attended because they are a free way to see a new-ish movie in a theater-like environment,” Wood said.

This year, CAB is trying to get more student input and involvement in the movie selection process. “We have implemented a monthly movie survey, so we take the list of movies that will be released in a given month and ask students to vote on which ones they would like brought to campus,” Wood said.

The CAB films committee meets to analyze the results of the surveys and makes the final selection and schedule. The more help they get from fellow students, the more successful the on-campus movie program can be.
Success is also measured by how many people attend the films.

“Attendance really varies from movie to movie, but we do keep a tally at every movie showing. … I believe we had an average of about 100 people for each showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hangover and Up, but only an average of about 50 at some of the previous movies like Angels and Demons, Star Trek and Taking of Pelham 123,” Wood said.

No matter your favorite movie, genre of film, or actor—the silver screen has got something for everybody.

The Weekly movie suggestions

• Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
• Y Tu Mamá También
• The Princess Bride
• Pirates of the Caribbean I
• Real Genius
• The Shawshank Redemption
• The Maltese Falcon
• Hook
• Singin’ in the Rain
• 500 Days of Summer
• Big Fish
• The Untouchables
• Alice in Wonderland
• Roman Holiday
• Love Actually
• Life is Beautiful
• Dr. Strangelove
• Elf
• Metropolis
• Duck Soup
• Shaun of the Dead
• Sunset Boulevard
• Empire Records
• Wendy and Lucy
• Everything is Illuminated
• Science of Sleep
• Amélie
• Fight Club
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Out Cold
• City of God
• Harold and Maude
• Harvey
• Almost Famous
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• Animal House
• Il Postino
• The Big Lebowski
• Stranger than Fiction
• Legally Blonde
• Hocus Pocus
• Gran Torino
• Young Frankenstein
• The Seventh Seal
• Aliens
• V for Vendetta
• Diarios de Motocicleta
• Sanjuro
• Donnie Darko
• Super Troopers
• Puddle Cruiser
• Mighty Ducks I
• Life Aquatic
• Remember the Titans
• City of God
• The Italian Job (original)
• Boondock Saints
• Snatch
• Batman Begins
• Seven Samurai
• Koyaanisqatsi
• The Departed
• Anchorman
• Lord of the Rings
• Spinal Tap
• Indiana Jones
• Rushmore
• Help!
• Spice World
• Woodstock
• What About Bob?
• Toy Story
• Old School
• Princess Mononoke
• The Neverending Story
• Blazing Saddles
• Hello, Dolly!
• Double Indemnity