I spent my first couple years at WSU perfecting the art of being a high-functioning hermit. I was never one to leave my door open in the residence halls or to seek out those who did. I made a comfortable amount of new friends, but for the most part I existed in a fairly narrow bubble of college life. Now, as a senior in my final semester, I look back on those two years and lament my unwillingness to push myself in new directions. College is a perfect environment for expanding your bubble, and luckily for us our campus provides a plethora of bubble-expanding activities, one such being the Frozen River Film Festival.
I attended the FRFF as a class assignment a couple years ago and since then have eagerly awaited its arrival on campus each winter. Every year the festival features a wide range of films and documentaries that cover issues surrounding politics, philosophy, nature and in general how we can connect with our world in more rewarding ways.
Since my first visit to the festival I’ve seen a film highlighting the hidden side of the New York underground, the culturally fascinating story of a Japanese family of famous Sushi chefs, a cautionary documentary about the state of honey bees in our country, and a heartwarming piece about a high school class performing Shakespeare. At each of these films I found myself participating in discussion with strangers I’d just met and asking questions I’d never even considered before. I got something completely different out of each film.
Film Festivals such as FRFF are perfect for us as students because we are able to see in countless ways how to expand our own bubbles. Maybe a film on kayaking will inspire you to conquer one of our lakes when spring comes (“Cascada” by Skip Armstrong and Anson Fogel). A film on northern Uganda could push you to participate in our global community in a new way (Forgive Me Mother by Heidi Lindvall). Or perhaps an animated short about procrastination will encourage you to finally finish that story you’ve been working on (Silent Voices by David O’Brien). Each film brings something different to the table. This coming week, I recommend going to see at least one film that sounds interesting to you.
The next step is to go to one that doesn’t sound interesting at all.
A significant portion of college life is structured around the idea of discovering yourself and what you value in life. The film makers who will be on campus this week have, for the most part, already figured that out for themselves. I’d say it’s worth a go to see what exactly they’ve discovered and see how exactly you can apply it to yourself.
The Frozen River Film Festival will be on campus from January 22-26. Go forth and expand that bubble!
