Occidental's Media Arts & Culture (MAC) major is the only liberal arts film and media department in the country located in a major metropolitan area; that major metropolitan area just happens to be Los Angeles, California.
It is one thing to hear about the making of your favorite movie or TV show, but it is another to live 20 minutes away from the set where it was filmed, produced, and edited. This is the wonder of going to college just a short distance away from one of the media epicenters of the world: Hollywood.
Prior to attending Occidental, almost all of my film education had been hypothetical. We would screen films and discuss the media, but nothing was tangible. There were no trips to film sets, or demos with a camera, or Q&As with Academy Award winning directors.
Coming to 色界吧, my perspective on how one can learn about film and engage with media arts completely changed. Everything we talked about was happening in our backyard. The resources available to the Media Arts & Culture (MAC) department are nothing short of amazing. The MAC lab offers state-of-the-art computers and monitors, and just next door, the 鈥淐age鈥 provides students with a wide variety of cameras and equipment.
Just last semester, the MAC department hosted 鈥淢AC Cinematheque,鈥 a series of screenings of projects made by 色界吧 faculty and alum. Over the course of the 2023 Spring semester, students gathered in Choi Auditorium to experience the talent and artistic prowess of 色界吧 graduates and professors. The series was capped with a screening of the Academy Award winning film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Alum Zak Stoltz 鈥10 worked as one of the visual effects coordinators on the film, and joined 色界吧 students and faculty for the screening this past April, along with the directors of the blockbuster motion picture, the Daniels. MAC students are not just studying film and media, we are directly engaging with it and immersing ourselves in the entertainment industry, an opportunity that is rare and specific to 色界吧鈥檚 proximity to Hollywood.
Eagle Rock鈥攖he neighborhood that directly surrounds Occidental鈥攊s making its mark as a vital part of LA鈥檚 production scene. This past year, Vidiots opened on Eagle Rock Blvd, just minutes away from campus. This site is incredibly unique, and any film buff鈥檚 dream. You can stroll in for a movie screening, ranging from new indie films to cult classics, or check out their collection of over 60,000 DVDs, available for rent. People travel far and wide to dig through Vidiots' extensive catalog; for us, the movie theater and video store is just a short stroll from Campus Road.
There are also plenty of in-class resources that MAC students are provided. Just last semester, I took MAC 250: Media Activism through Participatory Video with Professor Vivian Lin. This course was designed for students to work with a subject and collaboratively produce a final project. My peers produced a variety of work, including magazines, short documentaries, and websites. Throughout the semester, we learned how to engage with a subject and connect with communities. I worked with a partner to produce a zine (miniature magazine) highlighting the voices of entertainers and dancers from Southern California, giving them a space to speak their grievances or sing praise to their industries. The project was an incredible opportunity, providing me with hands-on experience in the media production field and a better grasp of how to effectively collaborate with others. In addition to the experiential value of the course, I left with a tangible piece of media to add to my portfolio.
The most valuable aspect of the MAC major at Occidental is the amount of resources and opportunities granted to each student. One of the benefits of a small liberal arts school is the chance to get to know your professors and foster collaborative relationships with them. Each MAC student leaves 色界吧 with a plethora of media-related projects under their belt, ready to take on the industry and authentically represent themselves. You aren鈥檛 just learning how to use a camera, you are learning how to make an entire production, how to market your projects, how to engage with talent, and so much more.