Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, also known as my digital diary. I'm majoring in Asian Studies modified with Business, a new program here at Dartmouth, so feel free to ask me anything related to that. Beyond the classroom, I love the Dartmouth sunsets, the traditions, the classes, the merch, and the people, of course. Come along with me as I explore the ins and outs of life in the woods.
A course that definitely surprised me, I did not know what to expect and had very little philosophical knowledge before taking this course. It was a mixture of current and past readings, with the final project to make a group video, testing my technological ability. Professor Bumpus was amazing, and I got to know her more when I took her to breakfast at Pine through the Take Your Professor to Lunch Program.
I was recommended to take a history course, specifically a history course with Professor Lu, and it has not disappointed! This course is cross listed with Asian Studies, my major, but it has made me consider a history minor... We start every class off with a song relating to the topic of that class, and then we move on to discussion based activities.
So far, the Dartmouth classes I have taken have been all based around discussion and essay writing. As an Asian Studies and Government major, I expected that the rest of my time at Dartmouth would follow a similar pattern, but in fact a pre-requisite for the Government major is a Political Analysis class. This class involves coding, analyzing survey samples, and other quantitative methods. The professor is amazing—a friend and I got to know him better by taking him out to breakfast at Pine through the 'Take Your Professor to Lunch' program. The final group project involves making projections for the 2024 elections using past data. Although, obviously, this election already happened, some of our predictions were more accurate than the polls! It is super interesting to take a class that I can see the themes in real world news outlets.
Telluride is a world-renowned film festival held annually in the mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. It features films from more than 60 different countries, showing everything from short films to throw back films. Every year, there is a smaller, albeit much smaller, version of Telluride Film Festival held in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Born of a long-standing relationship between the Festival and the College, this partnership began almost 40 years ago. Hosted by The Hop, around six films a year come for special advanced screenings. This year, it was held from the 17th – 21st of September, in the newly renovated Hopkins Center for the Arts. These screenings are available to both the Dartmouth student body, as well as the general public, however Dartmouth students and employees enjoy $8 discounted tickets. A pretty good deal to see an unreleased, award-winning movie.
We love the new Hop!
Over five days, there was an incredibly diverse slate of six films, ranging from Cannes award winners to stunning performances by Jodie Foster and George Clooney. The films included a French dark humor whodunnit, an Adam Sandler x George Clooney comedy, a thriller set in Brazil and a Norwegian family drama.
As soon as the announcement that tickets were on sale arrived in our inboxes, a couple friends and I immediately decided that we had to go. Week one of classes is always incredibly busy, but we all wanted to find a time to see an unreleased film. Luckily, the festival was spread out over five days, with a variety of timings to choose from. The only question was what film we would see.
We initially wanted to watch 'Jay Kelly,' a coming-of-age comedy drama film, featuring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, however it was unfortunately sold out. In the end, it was between 'Nouvelle Vague' and 'A Private Life,' which would be in French. Ultimately, we chose the latter, as we were intrigued by the debate as to whether this was a dark humor or psychological horror film. So, our decision was partly made for us, as there were only two films with three seats together, reflecting how hugely popular this event is not only for the Dartmouth community, but also the surrounding, local community.
We were fortunate enough to see the film in the newly renovated Spaulding Auditorium. The auditorium was packed—I saw everyone from students to local folk to my history professor. My friends and I had come prepared, with popcorn and snacks at the ready. We had no options but literally the last three available seats, we were in the very last row.
The premise of the movie was about a psychoanalyst who takes the investigation of her patient's suspicious death into her own hands, and it was truly wonderful. Jodie Foster delivered a powerful French performance, which we determined was eerily haunting rather than darkly humorous. The movie truly had us on the edge of our seats, and we never could guess in what direction the plot was going to go next.
All in all, Telluride at Dartmouth was a wonderful experience. It was amazing that we were able to participate in this film festival from more than 2,000 miles away. We are already looking forward to attending next year's iteration, and seeing what films feature then.
My off-term in Hanover full of winter magic: I'm already daydreaming about the annual snowball fight, hot-cocoa fueled Woccoms (walks around Occom Pond), and cozying up in the Tower Room with a good book.
