As students walked around The Quad with the smell of food trucks all around and surrounding chatter from booths, there was just so much to explore! On one side of The Quad, there was Cinema Club with their poster board covered in beloved movies, and Film Club on the other side with their lovely crafted hand-held signs.
By: Madalynn Martinez
Club Day for Redwood students, especially freshmen, was a very important day, a day to explore more of what else this school has to offer. Omar Azghoul ‘27 and Julius Corvera ‘27 are the proud president and vice president of RHS Film Club. Camryn “Cami” Lewis ‘27 and Haley Tierce ‘27 are the excited president and vice president of RHS Cinema Club.
Both clubs care deeply about movies and messages they can share, but although both are movie-based clubs, they still have different purposes for what they have chosen for their clubs.
The purposes of the two clubs are overall very similar, with them being very focused on connecting students with movies and connecting students to the movies themselves. The clubs just structure the way they prioritize these goals differently.
Lewis is focused on bringing people to watch and experience movies together with movie nights at the Quad. She said, “My goal is more [to have everyone] hang out, meet new people, and connect with film with your friends. Movies are something that everybody loves.”
Azghoul’s main idea is to have his club members watch the chosen film on their own and then come together to discuss their perspectives on the film. His love for lesser-known movies really influences his plans for Film Club; he said, “…We’re trying to discover more niche films but other films that other people can tell other people about. [For] everyone on campus to know more about movies.”
Film and Cinema Club both would like to introduce movies that can stick with students and what they think their members would enjoy. They are not sticking directly with one genre but with diverse types of films.
Tierce said, “We’re gonna implement whatever the…national month is, [we] will try to put that represent[ation].” They do not watch just the officer’s picks but also take recommendations from their members.
Film club does not want to involve Marvel movies or other films as part of a large franchise due to the focus on watching the next film in the “timeline” rather than a separate film that will expand their taste in film.
Corvera said, “We’re trying to get films that will push people out of their comfort zone. So more like experimental.
With the Motion Picture Association (MPA) rating system, it can be difficult to try connecting and educating high school students with a film that may be limited in what it can show and say. Not that all PG-13 movies can’t be realistic, but in some aspects, it can confine what Film Club wants to share with its members.
Film Club is willing to consider some possible Rated R films but is aware of what their members may or may not be comfortable with and whether those Rated R scenes are necessary to the message.
Azghoul said, ”I’m going to be shying away from [inappropriate scenes] a little but also to get people more comfortable with it…because people need to get introduced to these things.”
For a majority of the films that they believe are still important to cinema but are also rated R, they will be suggested for a personal watch rather than a club-advised movie.
Since Cinema Club will be showing a majority of their movies for the members on school grounds, Lewis and Tierce do not feel very comfortable presenting anything above a PG-13 rating to freshmen and sophomores without parental consent.
Being the President and Vice President of these clubs comes with lots of passion and knowledge about the film industry. Whether they had always grown up watching movies or had one specific film impact them and spark their interest, all members have had their own origins with cinema.
Writing or even playing video games can share messages just like movies do, but it’s the way the messages are represented that separates them from each other. Corvera said, “I love all kinds of media,…like seeing all these characters,…it really tells you more about yourself…and are very important to society.”
Movies can be used for an escape from reality and to a new and enchanting world or even to pull a person closer to the world and what is going on. Tierce said, “I always liked music and the arts. I really think it’s cool to immerse yourself in a different world…[to] be able to be in someone else’s reality by watching a movie or show.”
These two unique clubs are not just for fun but offer so much more to the students of Redwood.
Cinema Club has made it clear that they want to show representation in the movies they choose to watch. Lewis said, ”Depending on the film, [if it] represent[s] everyday issues that may not be represented so often, hanging out with all your friends, watching this movie, connecting with it can make the message that more impactful.”
Madalynn Martinez
Madalynn Martinez '30 is starting journalism for her first year and is a writer for the Arts & Entertainment section. She hopes to write many stories this year involving theater, music, and the student opinion on art.
Tags: Art & Entertaiment, Cinema Club, club, Film Club, movie club, rangers, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers
