I have often spoke of the wonders of Pixar and their films. I have yet to be disappointed in a story line or their animation. I am amazed at the skill that goes into that kind of computer animation and you can tell that they take time to make the perfect picture. This summer I saw Monsters University (read it here) and tonight I watched Monsters, Inc. I love this story! It is so sweet and creative. Just like Toy Story their movies often highlight things that some of us thought about as children. What did our toys do when we were not around? Is that monster under our bed or in the closet real? Monsters, Inc does a great job of showing how monsters are not so scary. They just have a job to do like the rest of us!
Screams are a form of energy in Monstropolis and monsters get those screams from the scarers at Monsters Inc and their efforts to share children at night. Mike and Sully, our two main characters, learn that screams do not produce the maximum joules or watts or whatever they are referred to in the Pixar universe. Their adventures in learning that and about how wonderful small children really can be is just wonderful. The 93 minutes of film pass by so quick you are actually sad for it to be over.
Once I studied off campus in Washington DC, I was so excited to get there but we came early. Now, since I was an RA in college I knew that early arrivals were quite the headache and that it was ridiculous to ask for such permission. But the window to get me to Washington DC on American University's time table did not work for my transportation, i.e. my father. So I called and gained the proper permission to arrive earlier than anticipated. But once I got there- it seems that no one was expecting me. They did not have anything ready for me to check in, including a keycard to have access to the doors of the building. So once I had access to the residence hall I was sort of stuck there for the 4 days before everyone else moved in.
My family stocked my window sill (it was winter and one of my other roommates was bringing the fridge so I did not have one yet) will some food and drink and left to go back to MI. In those days I had one possession- a computer built by my boyfriend at the time. I had that, two DVDs (Monsters, Inc. and Amelie), and some John Grisham novels. So in order to pass the time in this room alone, I would watch a feature film one day and all of the special features the next. Needless to say I learned a lot of things about working at Pixar and the making of Monsters, Inc through those special features. I am not sure I ever fully appreciated those features until those fateful days along in our Nation's capitol. Side note: Is it possible to say "Our Nation's Capitol" without thinking of Forrest Gump?
If I were an RA using this film there are a couple different options for this film. One- you could take the eco route and program about energy conservation in the halls. Most colleges and universities have student organizations that you could partner with or a college initiative for sustainability that could help provide resources for a program like this. Two-you could also take the "fear of the unknown" angle as well. The monsters in Monstropolis are afraid of children and have been taught their whole like that they are toxic and dangerous. How similar are those lessons to what we are taught as children or even as adults to fear the unknown? This program could introduce or continue to educate your residents about the Muslim faith or another culture that we might have developed a fear of the unknown in our lives. Hopefully the lesson will be the same in that type of learning as it is in this great film!
