Originally published February 19
Why does the prospect of movie night make us smile? Looking past the buttered popcorn and sugary snacks, filmmakers can make us laugh, cry, scream, and most importantly feel. Transferring this power to students yields influential results. In an interview with our founder and CEO, Dr. Kurth, shared that UpGrade focuses on “amplifying the socially conscious student voice through film, television, radio, recording arts and online media.”
She describes that film gives students the opportunity to express themselves and their stories through their own experiences. They can amplify a situation in their community, a situation they had in their life or a group of people or a situation that means something to them, and they want to explore more deeply. These are all things they can do creatively. Through the arts, expressions can come out more naturally because of the ability to be more creative in how we approach the expression of things.
Film is an enjoyable and cleansing way to entertain and inform in a non-threatening way when we are talking about subjects that are heavier.