page 10 The Signal September 20, 2017
Opinions
Cinema inspires students to pursue their passions By Darian Scalamoni
Autumn is my favorite time of the year for many reasons, which includes preparing for the holidays and celebrating my birthday. But the biggest reason I enjoy fall is because it is also Oscar season, a period of time in which Hollywood studios releases their most critically-acclaimed films of the year. One of the most prestigious filmmakers of our time, Guillermo del Toro — most famous for being at the helm of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Hellboy” — had something to say to the audience at the Venice Film Festival. Within the closing moments of the festival, del Toro won the Golden Lion award, which is Italy’s equivalent to the Academy Awards for Best Picture. “I believe in life. I believe in love. And I believe in cinema,” del Toro said as he accepted the award. When I first read this quote on my Twitter timeline, I thought that it was such a nice thing to say. As the days went by, I began to think of the impact and importance of del Toro’s quote. I realized that his quote not only applies to young filmmakers, but to everyone. We currently live in a society where tragedy and natural disasters can take over our lives. In times of trouble, it’s important to remember that love and
Del Toro motivates the audience at the Venice Film Festival. happiness are the building blocks of society. Every now and again we must separate ourselves from real life through creative outlets and storytelling. Through my own personal experiences with depression and anxiety, as well as my eight years of education as a film student, I can honestly say that art is a blessing. Whether art is expressed through music, painting, drawing, photography, poetry, movies or television, all forms of art serve the same purpose — to inspire millions of people. The simple three sentence quote by
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del Toro has truly summed up the importance of cinema in our lives. Cinema can educate us on ourselves and others, teach us about love and happiness and give us a deeper understanding of life itself. Cinema is a reflection of what we have achieved, wish to achieve and will achieve in the future. Depending on how you look at it, cinema can be a thriving business or a dying business. While ticket prices for movie theaters go up, and more streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu begin to build ground, the once normal
theater watching experience is beginning to diminish rather quickly. Binging television shows has become a national pastime that many thought was only done by college students. However, a poll conducted in March 2016 revealed that 70 percent of Americans bingewatch television shows, averaging five episodes per marathon session, according to Variety. Whether we’re watching a movie in theaters or streaming it on our laptops, there is always a lesson that viewers can learn. Film is a form of expression that helps us open our own eyes to what we are passionate about, as well as what is hurting us in our personal lives. Film is an easy way for us to connect and relate to other people who come from different backgrounds, cultures and upbringings. Film helps us piece together our lives in ways that we never thought would be imaginable. When we’re feeling down about things that might be going on in the world around us, or in our personal lives, we must think about the three things that del Toro believes in: life — the thing that keeps us breathing, motivated and fighting for what we’re passionate about; love — the burning sensation in our gut that we can truly get for only a handful of people; cinema — stories that make us laugh, cry and feel certain emotions that will stick with us forever.
DACA’s near-recision causes concern among students
Students defend young immigrants by supporting DACA. By Megan Smith The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a policy from the Obama presidency focused on helping illegal young undocumented immigrants. The goal of DACA is to provide working permits and protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. On Sept. 5, the Trump Administration made the nonsensical decision to rescind DACA, according to the New York Times. DACA provides opportunities for nearly 800,000 individuals, according to the Los Angeles Times. Everyone who applies to DACA
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has to go through a tedious process of proving who they are in order to feel safe from the chance of being deported. The requirements to be eligible for DACA include the applicant to either be in high school, have graduated from high school or have their GED. The applicant must also be able to prove that he or she has continuously lived in the United States since June 15, 2007 and is under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012, among many other requirements, according to the Department of Homeland Security. One of the most significant requirements, in order to be approved for DACA, is that an
applicant must have committed no felonies or serious misdemeanors, according to the Department of Homeland Security. This means that everyone approved for DACA is not a threat to society and abides by the law. By ending DACA, the country would have been effectively hurting thousands of innocent children and adults whose only offense is assimilating into American society without having been born in the United States. On Sept. 14, the Trump Administration went back on its decision to end DACA, according to the New York Times. It is absurd that the Trump Administration was willing to end a program that has done nothing to put the United States in harm’s way. The worst part about the decision to end DACA is that there was no replacement plan. The Trump Administration was willing to leave it entirely up to Congress to devise a backup plan within six months, according to Fox News. DACA was put into place by executive action, which means that Congress played no role in crafting
the policy, according to USA Today. Congress has failed to pass any significant legislation to help the undocumented population — one of its most notable failures being the DREAM Act. By leaving the decision up to Congress, Trump forgoed any viable immigration plan to put in place of DACA. I cannot help but wonder why the Trump Administration felt that it was acceptable to leave the futures of 800,000 people up in the air. Beneficiaries of DACA have become contributing members of society by paying taxes and paying into government social programs,
not collecting any benefits such as social security and medicaid or medicare. Many DACA beneficiaries have been here since they were children, and to deport those who are as much of a U.S. citizen as we are would be inhumane. The decision to end DACA would have caused a lot of damage. Although we won this round, the fight is not over. I encourage everyone to take time out of their day and call up their U.S. representative, and speak out on this issue. The 800,000 individuals relying on DACA deserve a chance to continue living in the United States without fear.
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Trump insists Congress should be responsible for immigration.
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