Less high than a G sharp

The aim of this course is to write a piece of film criticism as sharp and beautiful as, ‘No matter what they say’. This is not going to be easy, because that piece was written by one of the finest film critics of England’s most creative newspaper. We are going to get a lot closer to a lot more texts in this course than in previous courses. And we are going to look at a number of films. Some here, but one – crucially – in the dormitory. You have probably heard the rumour that these courses are extraordinary. Well they are: but the reason is as much the students as the teacher. If you want this one so to be, it can be. It all depends on you, but you must understand that I am not asking you for anything amazing, except that you develop a skill you once had but have now lost: that of being able to concentrate on what is in front of you. Because I can hear it when you are thinking about something else. That’s right, hear. It happens at a deeper level than my ‘musical’ ear, which is very acute. But it is a hearing thing, three levels in. For when all the students are working on something, if anyone walks into the room, this atmosphere of extremely clear, concentrated collective thinking hits them like a wave. You sometimes get it in the good sort of exams. Although I hate all kinds of exams, unless they can be made almost indistinguishable from the ‘real thing’, which is the act of study and contemplation in the first place. When I say this kind of collective thinking is a wave, I don’t think that word is just a metaphor. It is a wave. Physics tells us that there are many kinds of waves, even gravity produces a wave – incredibly difficult to detect, but it has now been detected. It was one of the discoveries of Stephen Hawking. As I typed this just now, I heard a strange sound. It was a clear musical note, a little sharper than a G5 but not quite the semitone above. It lasted about a minute, and I have no idea what produced it. It did not seem to be anything outside, in the cold, frosty morning; nor did it come from any equipment in the house. This was at about 05:10 in Georgia on 22 January. So it would be strange if your thinking did not produce an incredibly powerful wave. And we can prime our minds by a short meditation at the beginning of each session to make that wave more powerful still. I have just watched a most remarkable film. It is a life-changing film and it will define your era. With care and organization you will watch it too. And in the end, analyze it just as well as, ‘No matter what they say’. I will try to tell its story and stories in our next text, and ‘No matter what they say’ will guide at least some of our work.