Assignment 8: "I never had to choose my subject-my subject rather chose me"--Amir Abou-Jaoude

Fears--being abducted by a stranger, losing my family and friends
Annoyances--people who cheat, people who are closed-minded, people who cannot respect others
Accomplishments--awards for the speech team, straight As
Confusions--I'm not sure I belong at the Academy
Dreams--to become a film director, to inspire and teach others, to change the world
Idiosyncrasies--I drool when I laugh, my reaction to tense situations is to break down completely
Risks--trying out new categories in speech this year, taking AP Physics
Beloved Possessions--books, writing tools, the cinema, my friends and family
Problems--organization, getting to activities on time

I would like to expand on the cinema. It seems to me that cinema is a combination of all the art forms. It combines the artifices of theater, the visual wizardry of painting and sculpture, and the frenzied movement of dance. The words of a writer illuminate the screen, and music can set the tone for on-screen action. Yet, if it is the newest and most complex of all art forms, it is also the most misunderstood. Film is seen by many, not as an art, but as an extremely efficient way to kill time. Audiences flock each summer to an onslaught of comic book movies. While these films are entertaining, they do not contribute to an appreciation of the art of cinema.

In school, each student should develop at least a rudimentary understanding of the arts. Students read plays like Romeo and Juliet and novels like Great Expectations. They learn the basics of  choreography, the works of Mozart, and examine the paintings of Da Vinci. Yet, the arts and humanities do not include the cinema. Why aren't students examining Ingmar Bergman's Persona or Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story during the school day? Martin Scorsese speaks of the need for visual literacy. We need to educate children about cinema in our schools, because a work like Tokyo Story is just as emotionally engaging and as beautifully composed as Romeo and Juliet.

Cinema is made up of two major components--light and movement. Color, sound, music, dialogue, special effects--these are merely extra tools used to tell a story. Great films remain great if the sound is muted, the color is drained from the image, and the music is silenced. Too often, when analyzing films, an emphasis is put on what a work means. Instead of searching for meaning among a horde of images, I propose appreciating the aesthetic beauty of the images before anything else. A great director can tell a story solely through images. An appreciation of the art of cinema begins by recognizing that the compositions of a great film director are just as carefully planned as those of Leonardo da Vinci.

Analysis is a vital part of visual literacy. Choices made by directors are deliberate, and they work to create a certain effect. The colors used, the sound heard, and the shots chosen all are used to exact an emotional effect from the audience. We tend to watch movies in large crowds, as a communal activity, but in actuality, a film is a conversation between the viewer and the director. The director uses all the tools at his disposal to speak to the viewer, and to communicate a unique vision. I value the cinema because it provides different perspectives on the challenges that face our world. These perspectives cannot be appreciated if the extent of our viewing is limited to The Avengers, Avatar, and The Walking Dead. After more than a century of artistry in the cinema, it is time for the art form to be viewed as more than entertainment for the masses. Cinema must be viewed as a personal form of expression.