Ever since my freshman year, I have been trying to take a Film Studies course as just a fun class and something that was completely different from my major. However, for the first three years I was at Miami I either couldn’t fit it into my schedule or it was completely filled up by the time I was registering. It wasn’t until the fall semester of my senior year that I was finally able to get into FST 201, which is Film History and Analysis.
My professor was Dr. Kerry Hegarty. From the very first day of class, you could just tell how passionate she is about film and analyzing film aesthetics. After that first meeting, you know that this isn’t going to be a class where you can just zone out because there is so much information to absorb. But what we were learning about is so interesting and fascinating that there is no reason to want to zone out.
When you analyze film there is no wrong way to look at it. Dr. Hegarty teaches you all of the basic ways to analyze film that, as a normal viewer, you wouldn’t realize. It puts film into a whole new perspective. Every single angle, cut, clothing choice, edit, etc. is thoroughly thought out by the director and all of those involved. No part of the edited film is by accident. However, the finished culmination of those aesthetics might cause some to interpret themes that were brought out by accident. The director might have one view of the film and the spectators have a whole other interpretation, but neither interpretation is wrong.
I have always loved watching film, but getting to take this class and being introduced to film classics, that I otherwise would have normally never watched on my own, has given me a new, deeper love for film. I watch films differently now. I notice every shot, every angle, every cut. While some might find this annoying, I find that it makes watching films so much more rewarding.
This course impacted me so much that I decided to go into a arts and film program for my graduate studies. I am even taking another one of Dr. Hegarty’s FST courses during my last semester because I enjoyed her enthusiasm and the way she teaches so much. So, if you are still unsure of what you want to do when you graduate from Miami, I strongly suggest taking classes outside of your comfort zone because you might realize what you really want to do.