First They Came for my College early screening
First they came for my college is a documentary directed by Patrick Bresnan. Bresnan describes his techniques as an attempt to get to know the people behind the story before creating the narrative of the film. He talks about filmmaking as a community based art form, something to be explored and put in the hands of people who are not solely filmmakers. This approach to the film process gives us a more balanced view of the entire issue, showing not just the bleak moments, but the joy as well. He says that this is essential when creating a documentary on such a bleak subject. The film itself speaks to the resilience of students in a time of great unrest. Between moments of immense grief over the hostile takeover, there are students partying, making friends, and continuing their education despite it all. There is a quote later on in the film, after the worst of the takeover, “People want to learn, and so on we soldier.” A key element of the film is talking about the human capacity for love. Many students insist that people are inherently good, even as their education and community is ravaged by the board of trustees. One of the students says in a voiceover “We have the incredible capacity for love and community.” These students show this by continuing their social action and continuing to show up for one another. Structurally the film employs a very interesting motif. There are beautiful landscapes and greenery shown either right after or right before shots of the empty meeting house of the trustees. These shots of the inside of the building are often paired with ominous and low music, as well as the hum of fluorescent lighting. These shots in contrast to the highly colorful ones of the scenery create a clear distinction between the students and the trustees. These shots also take us out of the flow of the movie a bit, but not to its detriment. Most of the film is shot by students on Iphones, and therefore have a jostled and intimate feel, but these other shots are still and cinematic. One of the most interesting aspects of the story in New College is the baseball players. The school essentially bribed baseball players to come to New College to receive their education, so as to “rebalance” the political and gender climate at the school. These are student athletes who are being offered lots of money to come to a very well respected school, but one that does not have a baseball program set up for them. This introduces a very nuanced narrative about how the new board is not just harming current students, but also students who are now being used as pawns to achieve the republicans goal. This storyline also brings up an underlying issue that many of the students are now facing. The climate of the school is forcing them to hide their queerness, when being queer had been a very acceptable way to show up to New College. The climate of the school was changing, and rapidly so. Bresnan commented in the Q&A after the screening that there were too many issues at the college for him to focus on it all. He mentioned the issue that students were barred from protesting for a free Palestine, and that though that's an issue he was passionate about, the documentary had to pick a story to hone in on. What is so interesting about documentary films however, is that these issues are happening even though the film isn’t directly highlighting them. The stories leak through and permeate throughout the shots. Towards the end of the film the students are at their graduation ceremony, and they begin to chant “Free Palestine” over the speaker. Even without the context that this was the first time they may have felt safe enough to protest, it is a powerful moment. The film is filled with moments like this, all of them together creating a powerful image of a student body united against tyranny within their higher education.