Letter to the Editor: Response to last week’s letter

November 5th, 2009 | By Damian von Schoenborn ’10 SGA Films Chairman | Section: Opinion

Diversity is, unquestionably, a crucial aspect of the Grinnell community. As a representative body, SGA strives to meet the demand for multicultural events. Regarding films, selections are based purely on the merits of the movies themselves; directors’ and producers’ gender and ethnicity are, generally, not a part of our discussion. We certainly do not attempt to discriminate against any particular group, though it may be beneficial to broaden our discussions and diversify our selections.

For this to happen, we need more committee members and/or more input from students at large. That being said, over half of the films on this semester’s schedule did come from non-committee suggestions, and we are always open to hearing new ideas. Unfortunately, diverse input cannot be our only measure of success. In the past, when such independent and foreign films constituted a much larger segment of our schedule, Films was faced with overwhelming popular demand for more conventional “Hollywood blockbuster” works. If attendances are any indication of preferences, it appears that this predilection remains a part of our campus culture.

We are seeing relatively low attendance at many of the less well-known films. Since the rights for these are often as expensive as those of the more popular films, we necessarily must consider what sort of bang we get for our buck. Of course, if suggestions are made that show potential for drawing decent audiences, we will try to add them to our lineup, but we still need to find ways to boost attendances. If it is not possible to do this, the more unsung films will be left to the numerous alternate film groups (Cultural Films Committee, Zombie Movie Club, French Cinema Club, etc.).

Anyone can join the Committee, which meets biweekly on Monday nights. The next meeting is this coming Monday (Nov. 9) at 9 p.m. in the SGA offices (JRC 222). Everyone is also welcome and encouraged to leave comments or vote for future screenings on our website: GrinnellFilms.WordPress.com.

—Damian von Schoenborn ’10
SGA Films Chairman