Overview

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You, coming to a theater near you.

Description

Before movies, what was there to talk about? We're only kind of joking here, but think about it. Take all the time you spend on the Internet, complaining about movies, complaining about the people who are complaining about movies, or, heaven forbid, actively looking forward to movies. Now take the whole idea away. What's left?

Plays? Sure, if you lived close enough to a theater. It wasn't like you were going to meet someone on the other end of the world, but if you did, they probably wouldn't have even heard of Macbeth, let alone share your opinions on it. If you were lucky, maybe they'd think it was a hamburger?

Books? You're getting a little closer here. It sounds crazy to modern ears, but there was a time when the next installment of a Charles Dickens novel like it was the next Avengers movie. Stop for a second and imagine how awesome A Tale of Two Cities would be if Charles Darnay had a suit of powered armor and Sidney Carton turned into a giant green monster.

As far a reach as these things have, nothing has the global, world-shaking pop cultural dominance of the movie. How could it? No matter how good a book is, it's not going to be shouting explosions at you from a screen the size of an apartment building.

Well, until Dan Brown hacks that particular code. For now, though, you're stuck reading.

Wait. No, you're not. You could major in film and video production, and that way you're not the one being shaped by movies. You're the one doing the shaping. You're the one getting complained about on the Internet. You're the one with an IMDB and a RottenTomatoes page.

Go you.

There isn't a lot that has to be done to sell this major. It's the dream of a large percentage of people, just because of how important the cinema is culturally. Why wouldn't you want to make movies about giant robots that punch mutant ninjas? That's practically the American dream.

The reality sets in if you want to be at the top—one of the big directors. One of the movers, shakers, and powerhouses. There are many more positions to fill in the movie industry, though, and just speaking statistically, there's a much better chance of filling other (lower hanging) shoes.

So don't get into this with the idea that it's the top or nothing. There are plenty of places for a young go-getter to develop a great career in the movie industry. With this major, you're learning the nuts and bolts—all the practical parts of the most influential medium on earth.

You've got skills is what we're saying.

Famous People who majored in Film and Video Production

• David Lynch, known for Twin Peaks and The Elephant Man
• Darren Aronofsky (with social anthropology), director of Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream
• George Lucas. Star Wars...that is all.
• Joel and Ethan Coen, known for The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men
• Francis Ford Coppola. He's responsible for such classics as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.

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