For every piece of art there is a critic. I have naturally assumed this role of art critic in my intellectual and emotional passion for film, music and writing.
To begin, I am a film geek. Before joining my school’s Film Society as a freshman, my favorite movies were chick-flicks. Then films like Fight Club, Crimes and Misdemeanors and Chinatown, and the ensuing lectures my film advisor gave, changed everything for me. My advisor taught me that films could create art when put in the hands of the right auteur. These cinematic stories revealed so much more about humanity and raw emotion than those carefully packaged tales of amusement ever did.
Film is not the only art form that has ignited my artistic passion. Music, too, has seduced me. One of my claims to fame is knowing a lot of useless junk about music. Luckily, this penchant for rock triviality helped me, as a sophomore, land the coveted spot of music columnist for my school paper. With my last name and red hair, there was little choice but to dub my column Strawberry Fields. With 26 letters and a few punctuations, I compose my orchestrations in a monthly article that includes album and concert reviews, music recommendations and personal essays.
My column is only one aspect of my literary interests. For the last two years I have immersed myself in an independent humanities research project on the 1960s counterculture literary movement. This enthusiasm for the written word began in my freshman year when I started attending the weekly meetings of my school’s literary magazine, Student Prints. At first, the poems were gibberish to me. As I read more poems each week my confidence grew, and by sophomore year I was able to recognize the vision and heart of previously mystifying works. Now, as one of three editors for the publication, I run the very discussions that once baffled me.
Utilizing what I’ve learned through Film Society, Student Prints, and my column, I hope to continue my role as art critic by becoming an active member of the Cornell Cinema, Ink or Rainy Day, and The Cornell Daily Sun.