JMC GROUP MEMORY: I & E Movies

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1965

1979

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JMC Group Memory: I & E Movies

Here is a listing of movies believed to have been screened for JMC Inquiry and Expression.
The ordering of the list is arbitrary, and it is not intended to connote (e.g.) chronological appearance or any ranking.
Clicking on a movie's title (in all but one case) will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) or a similar Webpage for that particular film.
If you can specify corrections, additions, etc., to this I & E movie listing, please Contact the Editor.

One of the core requirements of the JMC Curriculum was "Inquiry and Expression (I & E)" - a multi-term sequence emphasizing analytical, critical, writing, and presentation skills.

Some of the I & E work involved discussion and analysis of selected films typically shown once per week throughout a term.

The I & E 'movie night' quickly became a general College event, and it was common to see a loose-knit mass of a hundred or more JMC folks migrating across the MSU campus to Anthony Hall. We'd gambol down that dour agriculture building's main hall past the display case holding the world's largest bovine hairball and populate an auditorium for the evening's entertainment.

The I & E film series was (at least at times) organized around a given theme or topic (e.g., "Values" / Fall 1968; "Man and Warfare" / Winter 1969).

16 in Webster Groves (See entry following this list)
39 Steps, The
400 Blows, The (Quatre cents coups, Les)
Andalusian Dog (Un Chien Andalou)
Antonio das Mortes ( Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro, O)
Battle of Algiers, The (La Battaglia di Algeri)
Belle de Jour
Bicycle Thief, The (Ladri di biciclette)
Blow Up
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
Clockwork Orange, A
Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och Rop)
De Düva (The Dove)
Deliverance
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The (Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Le)
Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, The (Animated short)
General, The
Gold Rush, The
Grand Illusion (La Grande illusion)
Great Dictator, The
Great Expectations
Harold and Maude
He Who Must Die (Celui qui doit mourir)
Hiroshima, mon amour
Ikiru
Inquiring Nuns (See entry following this list)
Jules et Jim
Juliet of the Spirits (Giulietta degli spiriti)
Kind Hearts and Coronets
King of Hearts (Le Roi de coeur)
La Strada
Last Picture Show, The
Last Summer
Last Year at Marienbad
Law and Order
Lord of the Flies
Magician, The (Ansiktet)
Mon Oncle
Paths of Glory
Pawnbroker, The
Persona
Point, The
Rachel, Rachel
Rashomon
Satyricon
Seventh Seal, The
Shameless Old Lady (La Vieille dame indigne)
Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le pianiste)
Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze)
Simon of the Desert (Simón del desierto)
Subject was Roses, The
Thomas Crown Affair, The
Thousand Clowns, A
Through a Glass Darkly (Såsom i en spegel)
Tom Jones
Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan)
Viridiana
Walkabout
War Game, The
Why Man Creates
Wild Strawberries (Smültronstället)
Z
Zagreb Bits (See entry following this list)

Anthony Hall: JMC's Bijou
...and home of the world's largest bovine hairball

"I know many of you, upon hearing the words "Michigan State University," immediately think of The World's Largest Hairball. Everywhere I go these days, it seems people want to know about The World's Largest Hairball: "How big was it? Did it smell? Was it grey or like, greenish?" Unfortunately, Elroy and I were unable to pay homage to TWLH because it has mysteriously disappeared from the Animal Husbandry building. I suspect a sinister plot because when we went to buy ice cream from the MSU dairy, not steps away from the Animal Husbandry building, the cashier claimed to have NO KNOWLEDGE of The World's Largest Hairball. But how could that possibly be? Surely everyone has heard of the basketball sized curiosity which was fished from one of the stomachs of a deceased Michigan cow long, long ago."

LSD Tabloid: Schmoozemagazine of Love's Supreme Desire XXX
New Moon, August, 1997

"[I]t is the little things that stick with me -- the long column of people trudging through the snow back from Anthony Hall to SnyPhi to try to get some dinner before the rest of the dorm ate it all."

- Nancy Snyder

"The Gold Rush (and some other Chaplin, the Hitler movie, and some shorts shown with a Buster Keaton film and labeled something like A Pair of Shorts from I&E - our feeble attempt to provide some comic relief to the Bergman films, which we didn't stop showing..."

- Keven Bridge

"Alas, the idea of showing movies to I&E classes did not catch on until after I had taken the course. We listened, however, to fascinating and provocative lectures from LeRoy Augenstein and others. I remember taking part in a panel discussion at Erikson Kiva on a film Augenstein made about his 'learning disabled' brother."

- Tom Dale Keever

"If my memory is correct, the fall quarter that included "16 in Webster Groves" was the last one for I&E that included a mix of movies and lectures. Starting with the winter quarter 1969 (Man and Warfare) and from then on, it was pretty much just movies."

- Bill Trevarthen

"Great films, although I can't say I have any idea what some of them were about."

- Steve Johgart

"A personal note on Blow Up (Antonioni) -- I think we showed the film at least twice. In those days, I was teaching full time, so had 6-8 I&E sections. ... That meant every time we showed a film, I ended up discussing it 6-8 times with different classes. (I used to notice the arc of my performance -- the second discussion improved the first, I really hit stride on the third, and then things would usually slide downhill from there. But, of course, every class had a different spirit and dynamic, and took the discussions different ways, so that was often interesting.) But after seeing Blow Up at least 3 times discussing it perhaps 16 times with different people, I still didn't feel I ever understood the movie."

- Keven Bridge

16 in Webster Groves This documentary has been identified as something shown in the I & E film series. However, it's not available in general release. Below are the details I was able to locate on the Web...

Title: 16 in Webster Groves [also: "Sixteen in Webster Groves"]
Publisher: New York : Carousel Films, 1966.
Description: 1 videocassette (VHS) (47 min.) : sd., b&w
Telecast on the CBS-TV documentary show CBS Reports.
Based on a survey designed and administered by the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago.
Producer, Arthur Barron; reporter, Charles Kuralt; photographer, Walter Dombrow; film editors, Lora Hays, Luke Bennett.
Explores the attitudes toward self, parents, school, marriage, and society of sixteen-year-olds living in an affluent suburb of St. Louis. Considers tensions imposed by adult standards. Discusses the degree of conformity to parental values and preoccupation with status to the exclusion of a spirit of adventure or rebellion.

Inquiring Nuns
"I seem to remember, among the many good films (several Bergmans mostly like Wild Strawberries and Persona) that I was subjected to what I ordinarily would consider a radical departure from the quality of art we were generally shown. Who was responsible for this choice is beyond my memory, but the film, and its impact, remain fairly intact: nuns asking strangers if they were happy, and the resultant answers. Since this was 1968, the draft was in full force, political idols had been assassinated, free love had not yet hit campus (well, not everywhere, anyway), some guy was spray-painting the ecstasies of wearing rubber on the campus sidewalks, people were regularly freaking out on bad trips and paranoia was rampant, this particular documentary seemed more a slap in the face than a thought provoking little snippet. Anyone else remember any more about this, and particularly who chose to show it?"
- Gary Barnett, October 2003
"Inquiring Nuns (1967)
Synopsis:
Originally released in 1968, this documentary was re-released in 1992. The film is the humorous story of two socially conscious, peripatetic nuns who roam the densely populated streets of Chicago, randomly stopping pedestrians to ask them the question: " Are you happy?" The ensuing discussions make for delightful food for thought. Set in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam war, the interviews contain candid remarks about American involvement there. Also touched upon is the troubling problem of race relations and various other social issues. Pushing beyond the issues of the times, people are allowed to open their minds and hearts to reveal their deepest feelings. The Chicago Tribune called the film "a profound and moving experience for the viewer." Interviews are backed by an early soundtrack by "minimalist" composer and performer, Phillip Glass. While dated in some ways, the film still offers valuable insights into issues that continue to face America."
- Listing on Blockbuster.com website, October 2003

Zagreb Bits This was a collection of short animated features distributed in the USA.

Origin / Date: Yugoslavia 1960
Directed By: Dusan Vukotic, Milan Blazakovic, Rudolf Borosak
Format: 16mm, b/w and color
Length: 8 minutes
This sampler of brief bits by the celebrated Eastern European animator Dusan Vukotic (the first foreign animator to win an Oscar) and his colleagues showcases the satirical sensibility and innovative techniques characteristic of the "Zagreb School."

THANKS!
for helping to identify these films should go to:
Bill Trevarthen, Bob Walter, Deborah deHaan, Paul Lipsitz, Randy Austin-Cardona, Keven Bridge, Kathryn Gratop, Steve Johgart, Phil Nash, Nancy Snyder, Tom Dale Keever, Gary Steele, Gary Barnett, and Randy Whitaker.