February 2025
By Nancy Perez, Assistant Editor
As a junior, I had heard about the newly added class to KAC, Film Studies. So, when it came time to draft my schedule for the upcoming year, I knew I had to take this unique course. Thankfully, I have now taken a full semester of this course, and can say it definitely fills the rank of one of my all time favorite classes, during my time at KAC.
Now, I may be biased in the sense that I personally really enjoy watching movies, therefore Film Studies holds high recognition in my perspective. However, watching a wide range of films as offered by this course intrigues me, and I am not even slightly joking when I say, I devote my full attention towards fully observing and analyzing each film.
Every day, I am elated to walk into Film Studies class, knowing that a film awaits me. In a less cliche tone, I am always greeted with a warm welcome from Ms. Garrighan, who brings a smile to my face and a spark of joy in my day.
This class is not just simply about watching movies however, we are also required to craft movie posters, write a letter to our future self, film a podcast, and more.
We are also given the opportunity to become creative and use our imagination to develop our own movies that may not make it to cinema but have been uniquely designed by KAC seniors.
Each month we enter a new genre of movies that we watch, currently, in the month of January, we are in the action world, where we view movies containing various fight scenes and have high-tension and fast paced moments, thrilling, nonetheless.
My personal favorite film we have watched so far this year would be, Good Will Hunting. I find that this film was highly educational and moving, not just entertaining. It held a strong message of resilience and the potential to grow and change as an individual.
In summary, this film follows the journey of a young man, Will, with a genius level IQ and troubling background, a MIT professor desires for Will to achieve his potential and supports him by pushing him to receive treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.
Perhaps my least favorite or less appealing genre would have to be horror, during the month of October. However, one specific film did stand out to me during this month, which was Get Out, which follows an interracial relationship, and when having reaching meet-the-parents milestone, Chris, the main character, discovers a horrifying truth, after confronting a series of disturbing events pertained by his girlfriend’s family. An eye-opening film that showcases the fight against racial oppression.
All, in all, I can truly only say great things about this course, and I highly encourage rising seniors to include it in their schedule. It has not only brought me joy and entertainment but has allowed me to be in an environment in which I am able to relax in the midst of a perhaps stressful senior year.
Lastly, I highly appreciate Ms. Garrighan for advocating for this course to be offered at KAC, and for bringing enthusiasm to each and every film we watch together.
The Cardinal Post 