History in Film takes field trip to AMC theater, watches ‘Amsterdam’

November 9, 2022 — by Zack Zhang
Photo by Eric Shi
Students spent their class period watching “Amsterdam” in the theater.
History in Film class is a unique elective where students can learn filmmaking techniques and interpret messages from movies to learn history. 

The History in Film class embarked on a miniature field trip to the local AMC theater on Oct. 7 afternoon to watch the film “Amsterdam.”

The class, which is taught by Margarita Morelle and offered to only upperclassmen, follows the timeline of the regular U.S. history course while introducing students to basic filmmaking concepts, techniques and interpretations. After discovering that “Amsterdam” aligned with the current genre and time period the class was studying, comedies in the 1930s, Morelle decided to bring students to the big screen for a half-day excursion. The group left during the lunch break and spent their sixth-period class at the theater. 

Morelle said the class is a great enrichment to the history curriculum and encourages students who may be interested in history, visual arts and filmmaking to enroll.

“Our course discussions mainly revolve around the analysis of the films we watch,” Morelle said. “Students are asked to look beyond just the entertainment value of a movie and instead really attempt to understand the filmmaker’s message.” 

The overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and parents also highlighted Morelle’s dedication to the course. Junior Avik Belenje said the course is an underrated visual arts elective, and enjoys the relaxing yet engaging classroom environment.

“When I first looked at the course’s curriculum, it covered a lot of iconic movies that I’ve missed out on,” Belenje said. “We study various filmmaking techniques such as color, angle, lighting and framing to help see beyond the surface [of a movie].” 

Although the duration of the film was over three hours long, senior Emma O’Reilly enjoyed the camaraderie of the entire experience.

“A lot of the movies we watched in class are definitely really good, but you’re sitting in a classroom and it feels like a regular class lesson,” O’Reilly said. “Going out to watch a movie in the theater just feels like a whole event where I can relax and not think of it as serious class work.”

Since Morelle is currently on maternity leave, the class will not have another field trip for the rest of the semester. However, Morelle has planned several more field trips for the second semester when she returns. 

“Parents have always been thrilled that their children will be watching some of their favorite films in this class,” Morelle said. “Overall, taking History in Film is a wonderful way to build a fun and engaging environment in an otherwise stressful school year.”

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