Propaganda Through the Ages

My students wrote an analysis of a WWII propaganda film, and one of them decided to put it in historical perspective:  "In the distant past, propaganda was spread through oration, as well as intimidation.  Rulers would put the heads of their enemies on pikes as a display of power."  

That's telling 'em!

Wide-Eyed

My students were so cute today.  They are all aerospace engineering majors, and my course is all about films/stories/art on aviation and space-travel themes.  I was showing them a series of film clips related to the idea of "the technological sublime", i.e. the feeling of exhilaration mixed with fear that one has when in the presence of powerful and mysterious machines (rockets, atom bombs, etc.) The first clip was from Apocalypse Now - the scene where the helicopters are equipped with speakers that play Wagner to terrorize the Vietnamese.  My 11am class, who are always rowdy, started singing along with Die Walkure, which, while amusing, was not the response I was looking for.  I followed that up with a scene from October Sky, which is based on a true story about American high school kids who start building rockets in the early days of the space race.  The scene occurs near the beginning of the film, when people are watching the night sky to see Sputnik flying overhead.  Most of the characters are muttering about how the Russians are watching them with spy cameras and the bombs are sure to follow, but the main character stands apart, awestruck and visibly inspired.  Watching my students watch the clip was a most endearing sight.  My usually giddy students fell silent, obviously identifying with the young would-be engineer, entranced by the sublime machine.  

The Piano Teacher

Today I had a job interview at a liberal arts college in Minnesota.  As part of the process, I taught a film studies class, where I gave a lecture on sound in science fiction movies.  Then, after meetings with various administrators, there was "meet-and-greet" where students would have a chance to chat with me and eat free cookies.  Two girls, both archetypal film students (one with the bright red lipstick/1940s hairdo look, the other sporting Buddy Holly glasses and bleach blonde pigtails beneath a pageboy cap), showed up at the reception.  They marched over, told me they really liked my lecture, and asked "Will you be in our movie?  We're filming upstairs right now."  I said "Sure!... What do you want me to do?"  They confessed that when I walked into their class to start my lecture, the first thing they said to one another was "She would be perfect to play the piano teacher."  I told them that I have a remarkable lack of musical talent, but would be happy to pass myself off as a piano teacher for the sake of cinema. We hustled upstairs, they put me on my mark and gave me my lines, and soon it was all "Quiet on set...Action!"  

Later, at dinner, one of the faculty members said the students were very impressed at my performance, and are already spreading the word that I'm a cool professor. 

Local Topiary

You might well ask, "Is that a gigantic topiary cat, full of Christmas lights, and wearing a hat?  Is it wearing a ribbon around its neck?  Is it dangling a big white rat from its mouth? Is it in front of an otherwise unremarkable house in Atlanta?"  The answer is "Yes!" on all counts.  The white spidery bit is, I believe, a set of whiskers.  

Halifax

The Atlantic Ocean was kind enough to pose for a group shot with me and some local boats.  

Mortification of the Flesh

A couple of classes ago, I was showing my students a film from 1909 of Wilbur Wright and his airplane.  They mounted the camera on the plane to get what would be the first aerial shots.  One of the students confessed that while watching, he secretly wanted to see the plane crash, explaining "I guess I'm just a Jackass fan".  I took the opportunity to share my theory that the appeal of Jackass is similar to that of the martyrdom of saints - so you can suffer agonies by proxy.  That made the whole class wake up and pay attention.  They wanted to hear more, but then the bell rang.  It's fun to be the professor who is full of surprises.

The Self-Portrait

I tried really hard to make it look like the palm tree was growing out of my head, but I don't think it was successful.  Better luck next time.