I continue to work on some posts for the coming weeks to encourage journalists to apply to be a Fellow-at-Large of the University of Toronto and Southam Fellow at Massey College. This adds to the community aspects of the role.
I write this on Wednesday night, as I watch A Midnight Clear on my tablet and enjoy chat discussion on my laptop. Wednesday nights are Kreigsfilme night in Massey College, we gather to watch war movies in the student lounge. During COVID, we gather online.
We even "watched" what is arguably the first known "war film", the Bayeux Tapestry which "depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings."
One of the graduate students narrated the Tapestry for us a few weeks ago. The narration was both entertaining and informative.
The members of Kreigsfilme, (regular attendees both current graduate students, visiting scholars, and alumni) meet every Wednesday night, and have for years without exception.
I might have bent the rules on December 25, 2019, when I showed an episode of Deep Space Nine as a "war movie".
The fascinating part of Kreigsfilme is the discussion around the movie. We've discussed films on the Afghanistan war with people who were there, historical films with experts who specialize in study of that conflict, and philosophy majors bringing their expertise.
There are other clubs. The graduate students love creating "committees" with acronyms.
There is the Committee for the Appreciation of Netflix and Television (CANT) on Tuesday nights. Always entertaining and unpredictable. One week there could be a drama with serious discussion, next week a Romantic Comedy with hilarious discussion, a Netflix series for pure entertainment, and even terrible musicals with a drinking game.
When applying to be a journalism fellow, the application focuses upon courses and projects. The opportunities to gain knowledge extends well beyond the classroom.