A long week. A long COLD week.
Tuesday night was spent in WWW land...I'm working up an electronic version of the Collegian, and Wednesday was their first issue. It has a new site design (more functional, emphasis on content) and will eventually contain everything the print edition has (sans some small stuff that doesn't convert well to HTML.) I'm excited; its something that has been lacking on La Salle's site for a LONG time.
Wednesday was a tough day. 3 2 hour classes are tough. We watched "The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie" in Film Criticism class - a film that just annoyed me. We're studying reality by watching films that bend and shape perceptions of reality. I felt like THE FILM WOULDN'T END.
Example story line: a rich couple hires the local Bishop to be their gardener - he just happens to come to their door looking for work. He, of course, is treated well, and is invited to ALL of their dinner parties (dinner parties are a recurring device...) So. One day, an old woman comes to the house looking for a priest, because a man is dying and needs Extreme Unction. The priest goes. When they arrive at the barn where the old man is dying, the lady stops to say, "I have something to tell you Father. I have always hated Jesus Christ." (out of nowhere, extremely strange moment #1.) The priest goes in, asking the woman to come back later and they can talk about her hatred. The old man confesses that he killed two people many years ago. The people he killed are the priest's parents. The priest forgives the man, then as he walks out, shoots him with a loaded shotgun that just happens to be sitting by the door. (strange moment #2)
Intersperse that with some weird dream sequences, the rich people walking down a road motif, and lots of wine, martinis, port, and other liquor and you have "Discrete Charm..."
So that soured all of Wednesday. Shakespeare felt like it wouldn't end. Gothic Lit just felt like every word Prof. Millard was going over my head.
Thursday was better; finally had class with Cronin again, and we watched another "surrealist" film in Film Criticism - "An Andalusian Dog"...this one too defies commentary, beginning with shots of a man sharpening an old razor, and then drawing it across the open eye of a young girl.
Le sigh.
Cronin offered three great quotes from class today, which I leave you with: