Posted by By Calvin Maher, Jiho Son, Gabe Festa, and Ashton McGregor, Staff Writers
Four sophomores head out to hear what some teacher’s favorite movies are.
The Shadow
On February 2nd, every year, Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his hole to see if he has a shadow. If he sees his shadow there are six more weeks of winter. This is just like the plot of one of Mrs. Mallory’s favorite comedies, Groundhog Day.
Mrs. Mallory also reported Saving Private Ryan as one of her favorite movies. One of the things that makes war movies stand out to Mallory is that they don’t glorify war. “Video games kind of make people immune to the fact that killing is finite, when it’s done it’s done, when you’re dead you’re dead, you don’t come back.”
“Earn this. People gave their lives for you. So go out and be a good person and earn it. The messages, they’re meaningful. And I don’t know if people really see that or hear that but that really made an impact.”
Fireside Chats
When asked his favorite movie, Mr. Cook responded that he does not have a final answer, but that he typically says The Shawshank Redemption. The story is of a man sentenced to life in prison, despite claiming to be innocent, and how he navigates his decades inside. Mr. Cook called it very thought provoking and well acted, and praised its important stance on incarceration as a corrective tool and how it affects those convicted, even after they’re released.
He also loves Spike Lee’s 1992 eponymous film Malcolm X, a biopic of the civil rights leader, explaining that the movie’s greatness comes from Malcolm X’s status as an underexposed and misunderstood figure. Cook appreciates the noble manner in which he was portrayed in both the film and biography by Alex Haley, on which the film is based. Mr. Cook added that books tend to move him more than movies because, any time, he can put down a book and ruminate on what he’s read, but movies move on after intense scenes, so there’s a little less room to process.
“The book shifted my consciousness and understanding, and the movie was an enrichment for me after having read it.”
Still, Cook said, “That doesn’t diminish their [movies’] importance.” Cook was in his twenties when he watched both of these movies, and they’ve remained favorites throughout his life.
Many a Moon Part 2
Unfortunately, for this particular interview with Mr. Thibideau, we hadn’t prepared any questions beforehand, making this much shorter than most of our later interviews. After asking the one question, “What is your favorite movie?,” I ran out of ideas, and there were few questions my fellow interviewers were able to come up with.
Although it was brief, Thibodeau said he recently enjoyed Good Will Hunting, and appreciated the importance of the message that you should follow your own path in life and not the path that is forced upon you.
The last question we asked was, “When you first watched this movie, was it at a time in your life when it was especially meaningful?”, Mr. Thibodeau replied, “No.”
Many a Moon Part 3
We stood outside Thibodeau’s door creating a game plan. Our strategy consisted of Gabe leading the interview. We walked into the room and started immediately, no time to waste. Gabe headed the interview asking “What’s your favorite movie?”, the basis of the article. Thibodeau responded with Good Will Hunting. We responded with silence. Seconds add on to seconds. I look at him urging him to say something. He gives me a blank stare. It was an everlasting battle. Eventually Gabe won and I threw in the towel asking Thibodeau something along the lines of “Why?” Although the pause seemed like a lifetime it was actually about 9 seconds. That very same night I woke up in a panic, screaming, in a pool of my own sweat. I walk a little bit faster past that room to this day.
Chad Foti
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou released to theaters in 2004. On a budget of $50,000,000, the movie bombed and failed to make immediate money. Although Chad Foti was not one of the few who watched it on the big screen, his later viewings led the film to become his favorite. I asked Chad Foti, “But why?,” which was the best I could do at the time when he said it was his favorite. If I’m being honest, I had spoken with him about this before so I really should have at least thought of a few deeper questions beforehand. Luckily, anything that Chad Foti utters has a knack for being immediately quotable.
“And again, why do we love anything? I mean, I think that’s what, and not to really wax philosophical, but I think whenever you truly love something… it’s often a requirement to not be able to put your finger quite on why, you know? I think there’s a beauty to that. I think? I don’t know, maybe not.”
Through a series of complex sentences, Foti conveyed the idea that when you truly love something, there is a quality to it that you cannot pinpoint. So back to the original question: why is this his favorite movie? Well I have to ask you, why do we love anything? How much of that monologue was true? Does he just say things to say things or is their meaning to what he’s saying? Something else we spoke about during our conversation was getting out of the normal comfort zone.
“I think it’s important for us to continue to challenge ourselves to see new things, even if we don’t think we’re gonna like them. Right? You owe it to yourself to continue to press and maintain forward pressure. Because that’s how you gain perspective and that’s how you continue to broaden who you are.”
Although this may sound fake and scripted, you could attempt to find some philosophical worth in it. If you want to know why it’s his favorite movie you could ask him, or watch the movie. Getting out of your comfort zone and whatnot.
7th Century BC
Sometime in between 1993 and the present, Joseph Dolan tuned into one of Conan O’Briens various shows. “I like offbeat kinda comedies” Dolan was caught saying. Although Conan is yet to make a Conan movie, Dolan did not hesitate to list it as his favorite.
The Hero’s Journey
On her way out, we asked Ms. Hayden about her favorite movies. Walking into the teachers lounge, she told us she avoids the word favorite and claims to have a tier of favorite movies instead. Still, on the spot she named A River Runs Through It. The story follows two brothers entering adulthood and getting to know each other better.
Hayden called it a very beautiful and personal film that will not only make you want to learn more about those around you, but will also make you want to move to Montana.
“It made me think about the people in my life, if I really knew them and what our relationships really meant.”
“When I went to college, that was the one VHS tape that I brought. It’s like a comfort movie for me.”
Hayden also spoke about how movies can be important expressions of people’s beliefs and favorites allow you to tell a lot about a person.
She watched it when she was pretty young, around late middle school or early high school, with her older sister, whom she said introduced her to a lot of cool movies, books and music. While she didn’t personally relate to the film, she claimed, “it exposed me to a line of emotional thinking I hadn’t tapped into yet.”
The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad
In the dark corridor between Mr. Eckert’s classroom and the science office, I interrogated Mr. Eckert for approximately 32 minutes and 51 seconds. The first 2 minutes and 34 seconds of this insightful, albeit a little grueling, interview was spent discussing his favorite movies. Mr. Eckert expressed his affection for both animated and live action films, saying that “they’re all movies, it’s not like all ‘this is for kids’ and ‘this is for adults’. It’s like, yeah, they’re all movies, and I enjoy them all starting from the same spot, so it either sinks or swims by its own merit.”
Eckert cited the classic Disney movie Atlantis as his favorite domestic animated feature, along with The Incredibles as a close competitor. In terms of foreign animated films, Castle in the Sky by Studio Ghibli, and Redline from Studio Madhouse.
“I think the art style of Redline is absolutely just crazy…I love the art style, the space opera sort of theme and the very exaggerated movements. Superb.” In a world where animated media and media with children as a target demographic are discarded as having no substantial value, Mr. Eckert is a beacon of hope for society.I have a dream that my children will live in a world where “children’s media” is universally accepted as having great value. This is a ridiculous stigma we need to shake. If you disagree, you should watch the movies Mr. Eckert talked about with an open mind. Or go watch Kung Fu Panda. It’s only 91 minutes.
Poesia
Mr. Knittel was unsure about whether the question, “what is your favorite movie?,” is an easy one. It used to be Dead Poets Society, Knittel reported, but in recent times, there are too many great movies. Dead Poets Society is “funny, it’s sad, it’s touching, it’s got everything right?” Above all, it’s inspiring and changed Mr. Knittel’s perspective on education, and has changed the way he teaches his class.
The Maroon 