Have you ever been sitting in class and wondered if there was anywhere else your class could be? Recently, there has been an increase in the number of clubs and classes utilizing movies to help inform and fundraise.
These screenings were a mere coincidence to occur all around the same time. Pre-K-12 Modern and Classical Languages Chair, Agnes Matheson has been trying to bring language students to the MInneapolis and St. Paul Film Festival, and was finally successful this year after having spoken with event organizers to help reserve this viewing. She says, “Things come and go and you have to try to take advantage of them when they happen.” Matheson was pleased with the alternative learning opportunities that could bring all Spanish classes, two social studies classes, and a film class together.
Elisa Lopez ‘19 takes AP Spanish and went to the screening of The World is My Country. Lopez noted the helpful learning opportunity that the film provided, but expressed a few concerns with it. Lopez says, “The problem with the movie, specifically in the sense that it’s a culture based curriculum, is that it was about an American guy doing things in France and Germany, so it wasn’t directly tied to what we were focusing on in class.”
This past weekend, He Named Me Malala was screened by the Girl Up club and it had less success than the club’s film last year. Club leader Fatiya Kedir ‘17 says “This is more than a club, it’s actually a UN organization and foundation, so we get a lot of our material from that foundation and we get a lot of our ideas from that. We thought that a movie screening especially last year could increase awareness and increase fundraising.” Part of the larger success the year before was due to the inclusion of more members of the Blake community, as this year’s PG 13 film prevented younger students and families from engaging in the experience as some did last year.
A group of seniors will be hosting the showing of the film I am Jane Doe at Pepito’s Parkway Theater, on April 29th from 2:00-5:00 p,m. to raise awareness about sex trafficking. Funds will be donated to The Link which has 19 programs across the Twin Cities area, employs over 150 adult and youth staff members and supports nearly 3,000 youth and young families each year offering programming in three areas: Housing, Juvenile Justice, and Safe Harbor.
