By Ava Mooney
Eagle Eye Staff Writer
Although the pandemic has stopped people from watching movies in theaters, it hasn’t stopped El Camino’s students from watching at home.
During this time of distance learning for most, teachers, students, and friends watch TV to share connections and curriculum from afar by watching and discussing what films they watched together. Movies and TV shows have always had a big impact in people’s lives, but now it has created new bonds spanning the distance between each other.
Teachers had to adjust to the limited sources they can use when viewing a film with the classroom. American Film Teacher Ray Marshall has dealt with many changes for his virtual lesson, including having a class discussion.
“I could call on students, so no one can hide, but the discussions are a little rough through Zoom,” Marshall said.
Due to the environmental changes of the class, it’s been troubling to feel comfortable to interact with one and other.
Not a lot of “movies from other studios” are available on Netflix, however, Marshall and his students have watched “Karate Kid, “Clueless”, “Lady Bird” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”.
Despite these difficulties, Marshall and his students have slowly grown more confident in participation and still find ways of staying connected through films. However, his students aren’t the only El Camino students who are bonding with other classmates and friends.
Based from a casual student survey, most EC students stream the Netflix series, “Stranger Things”, more by an average of 31% than “The Office” and “Vampire Diaries.” However, senior Maya Corral ‘21, has watched the supernatural drama series, “Vampire Diaries” during her quarantine and quickly became invested with the storyline.
“I actually got one of my close friends to watch it with me and we would talk about it over Snapchat after something important had happened.”
After watching the first season, Corral also understood the references on Instagram and Tiktok. Not only did she begin connecting with social media, but she was also bonding with her friend. There are a wide range of television and movie genres available for unique entertainment interests.
French teacher Joyce Bernhoft discovered a program that benefited her interests in foreign languages. Ms. Bernhoft spoke about the influence of the Italian drama “Il Commissario Montalbano” and Danish show “Dicite.” The shows have helped her practice her languages.
“I learned a lot of the Danish language and about the Danish language [from the show],” she said.
Although she watched these shows alone, Bernhoft, and a friend of hers who had lived in Denmark, talked about the show “Dicite,” and about the Danish language. Not only did she find both television series entertaining, but also beneficial as she explored more about culture and language.
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