Side Thoughts

Structural racism. Silent movies. White privilege. Gender roles in abuse. Never have I ever really felt so engaged in discussion than today in film studies. It would have been great to be personally involved by contributing (and I almost did contribute how the ridiculously over-the-top facial expressions of the actors in "Broken Blossoms"was to compensate for the lack of dialogue and easily convey to the audience what was going on. But I always dwell on my potential contribution, trying to perfect it so I kind of know what I am talking about, but when I finally pick up the courage to almost raise my hand, the moment has passed and we are on the next topic. Soon I will be able to get better at this, but for now, listening is what I am best at, and listen I must).

Anyway, the great questions and comments, and back and forth between the students was how a discussion section ought to be for every class, but I guess I'm just fortunate that the group of students I am with, truly care for the subject. And I absolutely love my TA for his radical opinions, open-minded perspective, social/political correctness, crazy hair, and readiness to admit his white privilege and mistakes. Week 4 of the quarter, and already I am bombarded with projects, assignments, papers, preparation for Pilipino Culture Night, and critical analysis of the world around me. As always, I continue to appreciate and truly love my privilege to learn, and not just learn, but learning what truly interests me.