By Mehdi Hami
Over the summer, I decided to take several summer school classes. Not only did I get to spend more time on this beautiful campus, but I was about to work on campus and boost my GPA. As a biology major, I was tired of all the science courses that I had to take throughout the year, so I was set on completing some of my perspectives over the summer.
I decided to take a Film class, The History of the 1980s. It was the perfect course for me. Since I wasn’t born here, I never understood any of the references to the culture of the 1980s. I really enjoyed the class because it wasn’t just a class on films, but it mixed politics with the overall culture of the country and how it was affected by and affected the film industry during that era.
I was able to see some movies that I knew were classics but never had the chance to watch, and now I could…because it was required for school! I saw movies from “Back to the Future” to “Dirty Dancing,” and even “Rambo.” I chose to write my essay at the end of the class on “Rambo” and how the series was affected by the attitude of the 1980s and how it even affected the post-Vietnam War United States. It was a blast researching for my essay and I was even able to elaborate on my essay for the class to be counted for Honors credit!
Sure, it was great taking a class that was different from anything I’d ever taken before at SMU and being able to receive Honors credit for it, but the most important part of the class for me was being able to understand from here on out every reference regarding Marty McFly from “Back to the Future” and the characters from “The Breakfast Club.”