Each quarter, several organizations on campus bring film screenings to students for little to no cost.
The Entertainment Council, a branch of ASUCD, as well as the Sexual Harassment Education Program, strive to screen movies that are fun, relevant and even controversial. Both organizations have working relationships with production companies that have licenses to screen the movies before they are made available to the rental market or released on DVD. Film screenings usually cost about $800.
“We like to bring relevant movies that students will enjoy,” said Anna Hossnieh, the cinema coordinator for the Entertainment Council. “Harry Potter is a good example of this. We knew the DVD was not out yet so we figured being able to see the film in a lecture hall before the DVD release would excite Harry Potter fans on campus.”
Entertainment Council showed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last week in 123 Science Lecture.
“It’s definitely a good and cheap way to spend a random weekday evening,” said junior chemical engineering major Kent Ly, who attended the Harry Potter screening. “Go with the right people, and you get good company. You get to be around a group of other college students.”
In the past, the Entertainment Council has screened such pre-released films as 500 Days of Summer and Twilight, as well as classics such as Pulp Fiction, Raiders of the Lost Ark and 10 Things I Hate About You. A free screening of the cult classic A Clockwork Orange will take place tonight. The Entertainment Council receives funding from ASUCD and is usually able to bring screenings to students free of charge.
“For movies like Harry Potter, it costs more for the screening rights, so we charge a small fee, usually around $1 to $2,” Hossnieh said.
The Sexual Harassment Education Program will screen one movie per quarter through its Sex & the Cinema series. Films are chosen to be controversial and stimulate discussion.
“The main purpose is to show a popular movie that has some type of gender and/or sexuality issue in order to attract a large student audience,” said Moira Delgado, the education specialist for the Sexual Harassment Education Program. “We want to get the word out that our program exists for students. We feel that students are the most vulnerable population and tend to know the least about their rights and responsibilities.”
In the past, films such as Black Swan, Milk, Precious and Juno have been screened. Tonight, the Sexual Harassment Education Program will screen The Help. Following the screening, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will co-facilitate a discussion on Wednesday in 325 North Hall at noon.
“[The purpose is to] talk about the gender and race issues in the film, including the controversy of the race of the author,” Delgado said.
The program funds the screenings with help from its co-sponsors, including CAPS, Health Educators Program, Student Health and Wellness Center, Cross Cultural Center, Women’s Resources and Research Center, Campus Recreation and the Office of Campus Community Relations.
Sex & the Cinema presents: The Help
Tonight, 8 p.m. at 123 Science Lecture
The Entertainment Council presents: A Clockwork Orange
Tonight, 7:30 p.m. at 194 Chemistry
STEPHANIE B. NGUYEN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
