During weeks one and two of this course, I honestly wasn’t completely sure what to expect. The first thing we had to do was post a discussion about a film that reminded us of our childhood, and I settled on Space Jam as it was one of my favorites growing up and shaped my love for the game of basketball. There was just so much nostalgia wrapped up with that movie for me, which is also where I made that connection of reminiscing to Cinema Paradiso. 

Cinema Paradiso was a fantastic movie in my opinion, and what really drove it home for me was that feeling of reminiscing as the plot continued throughout the film. Seeing the film and that connection between Alfredo and Toto as Toto grew up got me thinking about what I have done so far in my life. It was those scenes that came up every so often in the film with the projector room where you really felt that connection between the two and how strong their bond grew over time. Even uses of those camera angles while overlooking the square gave a sense that “the world is yours” and to do something with your life that you love. It really puts into perspective the changes that happen as a person grows up and how even the smallest influences can change the course of life for better or worse and to live life with no regrets. In the film when Alfredo is blind and explains to Toto to leave and never come back because that’s what he regrets not doing, it got me thinking about previous choices I made and how I got to where I am. Never in a million years did I think that I was going to end up at the University of Oregon studying for a degree in business because up until high school my goal was to do engineering at a school in California. It’s not so much as leave and don’t come back as it was in the film, but leaving California to go to a school in Oregon was one of the best choices I ever made. 

As for the reading we did, Wagstaff’s commentary on film and Italian cinema was quite interesting to me. What really got me thinking was when Wagstaff wrote, “Films are not audio-visual recordings of reality; they are structured discourses which use a careful selection of images and sounds to convey a narrative, evoke a response, and encode a message” (Wagstaff 222). It made me realize how important films are, especially from this time, in accordance with the history of the time period as well as how we can connect it to ourselves. The purpose of film goes beyond the scope of our little bubble that we place ourselves in to gain a better understanding of the historical context and why the film was put together the way that it was. Without film, we would lack this perspective and walk away from the opportunity to further our knowledge. In terms of Cinema Paradiso, the film was carefully put together in specific locations in order to send two messages, dreaming and believing that you can do what you want to find happiness as the plot throughout the life of Toto reflected. Like I said, putting that into my own perspective of choosing University of Oregon over other schools was not the path that I planned, but I believe that this choice will eventually lead to the place I want to be at in life.