1/2/19 - 2018 Reflections

Today's class started off with a look into what is to come, since we are three weeks away from the end of the second marking period, soon approaching the midpoint of the year. This reminder showed a focus around the start of our senior papers. This didn't mean that we are starting drafts of those soon, don't worry, but focused more on calling for us to get ideas for what we'd be writing about. Mr. Rivers asked that everybody had an idea of a film (or films), lens(es), and an academic question, problem, solution, or connection that would be the focus of said paper. These do not have to be final, as they are mainly for giving a direction for us to start. The other main reminder was about our final exam, which we are exempt from as long as you hold an 89.5 average for the entire year (all four MP averages combined are 89.5).

With that, we moved into our main focus- a reflection of 2018 in film. We started by asking two questions - "What was the best thing you watched during break?" and "How many movies did you watch over break?" We discussed this in our groups, and came together to mainly share about the first question. All sorts of different titles came up, from Aquaman to Bird Box, to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Bohemian Rhapsody. A variety of titles were mentioned, showing the range of films we all saw in just under two weeks. To emphasize this further, this question was expanded to all of 2018, which was further discussed in groups. This range went even further, and while we did not share as a class, Mr. Rivers directed us all to a document which showed every movie, old or new, that he saw for the first time or repeated in this last year. As we all read through it, he showed us a page on Classroom where he had posted a few top 5 lists he had made, asking all of us to add our own below. These had a variety of focuses, and can still be seen on Classroom.

To end the class, Mr. Rivers brought up the horrible video that is the 2018 YouTube Rewind, which he wanted to review portions of with the class. We dove into the first minute and a half, and a 30 second clip in the middle which focused on showing those who made a positive impact on the service. However, as we all picked up, the tone of this portion came off as ingenuine, and was quickly bashed by the class. It really does deserve it.

Reflecting like this works well for film, but can really be applied to all aspects of life. Let's say that you are a manager at a business. Reflecting every aspect of what your business has done in the last year can be beneficial, as it allows you to ask "what was good about what we did?" or "what could we have done better?". By changing the focus from finding film preferences to evaluating performance, one could help create a better plan for their future by fixing what they are already doing.