Film, TV, Graduation, and Jobs

Hello my reader ([s] just in case there’s more than 1)! It should be said, that I’m officially one month away from Graduation. You’d think I’d be happier, but to tell you the truth, I’m even more scared than when I graduated from my Bachelor’s degree. It’s been an intense year and a half. And suddenly every time I start thinking about anything happening after Graduation, I get completely freaked out. Because I have absolutely NO idea what I am going to do afterwards. My classes are going more or less okay, and I have no way of stopping time from continuing on. I’ve been looking fro jobs through LinkedIn, or at least for companies in my area of interest, and so far it’s going as expected, seeing nothing that calls to my attention. Should I be so picky, when I have no idea what’s going to happen after all this is over? I know, I’m totally rambling, but this is the sort of subject that gets me on edge. I am a 27-year-old Master’s degree student that has absolutely no idea whatsoever what am going to happen to her after graduating from a post-graduate degree. Can any of you relate to that?

It can be so petty to feel as though I am the only one going through this right now, but, I can assure you, I’m not the only feeling like “I’m the only one going through that” nor “the only one under pressure for what’s yet to come”.

So, having rambled on for what seems like an eternity, I’m going to give you three pointers on what I think is the best thing you could do calm yourself down, and just get started on your future.

First of all: calm yourself down!

The pressure sometimes can help you out, but if you let it run your life, and your emotions you won’t be productive towards finding the job that you want or need (because, let’s face it, you’re not going to find the perfect job, immediately after you graduate, unless you’re the Dean’s kid). So, calm down, do your research, go to LinkedIn.com check out your industry on the Advanced link beside the search bar, and you’ll find so many people not only in your same situation, but also people that can help you out find the job that you’re looking for, and you can help them right back.

Second, if you’re about to graduate, talk to your academic advisor!

If there’s someone that understands what you’re going through right now, it’s him or her. They will give you the advice, support and help that you need to get your things settled, and ready to go out into the work force. Trust them! They know what they’re doing!

And third, cut yourself some slack:

Just because you’re entering the work force doesn’t mean that you’re going to lose yourself to the work. Remember to always be yourself, be strong in your convictions, and show those employers who you really are, and what you can bring to their company. The last thing employers are looking for are people whom they’ve worked with their entire lives. Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

I am personally looking for jobs in the film and television industry, so I already know that I need to focus on networking, and moving to a broader place. Because while I do want to open my own film and TV studio in my country, the truth of the matter is that I need to gain some experience before I jump that wagon of adventure.

We often forget that the people hiring, were at some point in time in our shoes. They didn’t know better than we do now, so, don’t be afraid.

Remember: Be authentic!

“Bully” v. the MPAA

We were here a couple of years ago with the Weinstein-distributed film “Blue Valentine”. 

And now we were here again a couple of months ago with “Bully”.

The problem here is that for the past 50+ years the MPAA has been deciding for us what we should watch and what we shouldn’t watch. The MPAA is not an association appointed by Congress to oversee the content that are featured in movies. But, in a sort of indirect way it has received its support. But let's start at the beginning, shall we! Jack Valenti was its president for 38 years. And just who is Jack Valenti, you ask? Well, he was a political opportunist. He just happened to be present at the swearing in of President Lyndon B. Johnson immediately after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During the run of his presidency over the association, he received full support from Washington D.C. And here is where we have the 'issue'. The 'issue' here is that the MPAA preaches religiously that they have no hidden agendas, other than to protect children from watching inappropriate material in theaters. Why, I just think that that’s very convenient, considering that every scene that is “frowned upon” by the members of the board of reviewers is a sex scene. But films with high content of violence are given a PG-13.

Can somebody explain that to me?

But here’s what really cooks me up inside. They claim that they are neutral in matters of religious beliefs, ethics, morals, blah, blah, blah. But when you watch the documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” it clearly shows when a movie is given a PG-13 rating and R rating. Violent movies tend to be favored more over than movies where there are intense sex scenes. Now let me be clear, I’m not vouching for movies to be explicit in sexual content, you can look that up online, if you know what I mean (and I think you do, *wink wink*).

Anyhoo, what I’m saying is that when the MPAA idolizes violence so much in place of a scene where two people are doing something that is so completely natural, loving each other in a physical way, a series of red flags come up in my radar.

Now what does that have to do with “Bully”?

Well, it has to do with “Bully”, in the sense that in a couple of scenes during the documentary, the bullies were cursing with F-bombs all over the place, and the association found that to be inappropriate for children to watch. Lord knows how many suicides occurred last year alone due to bullying. Everybody knows that bullying can have tragic consequences, and the way it happens is by degrading other human beings, treating them with disrespect, cursing them out and everything. If these kids, who already know this type of vocabulary and they are using it against others, why is it so harmful for them to watch it happen by people who practice it as they do, in a theater?

This has been a year of reflection on who really has your back. On who really has your child’s best interest at heart when it comes to “public servants”.

This documentary presented something so important to watch, and this organization has only been bullying not only the director, but the people who can benefit from watching such strong and emotional material as what “Bully”is presenting.

You know filmmaking isn’t only about making money, at least not to me. Sometimes people forget that filmmaking is an art. And art can be many things, among them a form of expression of a repressed truth, or a truth that has become lost in the day to day routine that is life, or simply because people refuse to see it. This film could’ve had such a strong-er impact had the association seen the truth in it.

And what a simple truth it was.