This summer, superhero and action movies dominated theaters across the country. And as this school year begins, the student activities office (SAO) has also shown a preference for that genre.
Only a month into the school year, the SAO has already played “Divergent,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” with “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” yet to come.
Ken Heffner, director of the SAO, said that their office wants people to see movies, so they choose big blockbuster movies like “Spiderman” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
However, the SAO chooses movies for more than just their popularity. Heffner emphasizes the “discernment approach to the popular arts” that’s commonly taught at Calvin, encouraging students to watch movies for more than just entertainment. Heffner’s vision is that students learn how to view movies for their artistic and moralistic purposes.
“How do we love God and love the world at the same time? We want you to do that and watch the movie,” said Heffner.
Sophomore Lauren Vandezande agrees that the movies Calvin brings in aren’t simply fun to watch. She said about the SAO, “They choose the movies in which more thinking is involved.”
Vandezande added that she appreciates having movies on campus because she may not get a chance to see them otherwise.
Calvin purchases the rights to movies shown on campus, which allows them to show older films as well as ones that have not yet been released to DVD. Calvin buys the films in a bulk package and uses that collection for multiple campus events through the film arts committee, language departments and other organizations on campus.
Though the SAO has hosted many post-release films, from “Monster’s University” to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” to “Now You See Me,” many students are particularly excited about the pre-release ones, which are released out of theaters specifically for the college market.
In the upcoming season, students can purchase tickets for any film for $2 at the box office, or they can pay $8 for entry into five movies for the price of four.
Ken Heffner and the SAO hope that these tickets buy students more than a night’s entertainment.
“Movies dream up worlds for us,” said Heffner. “You get to go into imaginary places, but you still have to be wide awake.”
