In Monday’s Seminar class, we finished up our poetry presentations. The final poem, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, was recited by Stephanie. It was an excellent end to the poetry recitations, as it ignites patriotism and pride in being an American. The poem signifies a new beginning for anyone coming to America and looking to start a free life for themselves. The poem describes the Statue of Liberty as welcoming the foreigners with open arms, unlike the conquering giant of Greek fame. She is opposed to the ancient lands and ways of thinking that are not free; rather, she says, “give me your tired, your poor.” She accepts everyone with open arms and does not try to oppress them, but helps them escape from their oppression.

After the poetry recitations were over, we spent the remainder of class speaking about movies, and everything that goes into making a film. Mise-en-scene, or putting on stage, is every aspect of the film. Set design can make us believe the actors are in a specific place, even a different country. Lighting affects how we see everything on the screen. For example, in Washington Square, even though we were indoors, we were made to believe that the time of day was changing periodically. The costume design, such as in Turandot, can be very colorful and vibrant to keep your eyes on the characters the entire time. I am excited to go further into talking about movies.