Back
to Film Festival
Rudy
Monday,
July 12, 2004 & Monday, July 11, 2005
MAC Playhouse - 1:00 pm-
4:00 PM
College Now Course - Student
Development
Hosted by: Dr. Robert Singer, Professor of English
College Now English Course Coordinator
Professor Jennifer White, College Now Student Development Course Coordinator
About
the Movie: Rudy
Director, David Anspaugh 1993 - Rating PG
Before he became a
Hobbit, Sean Astin played "Rudy". Rudy grew up in a steel mill town
where most people ended up working, but he wanted to play football at Notre
Dame. There were problems: low grades and poor athletic skills, and he was
half the size of other players. But he had the drive and spirit. Will he make
the team? This film will make you cheer.
About the Presenter: Professor
Jennifer White
Professor Jennifer White is the Assistant Director of the New
Start Program at Kingsborough. She also serves as the Student Development
Course Coordinator for College Now. Professor White received her BA in Psychology
from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in Counseling and Personnel Services
from Fordham University. Having worked with transfer students for the past
four years, Jennifer has seen, first hand, the struggles that students work
through while deciding on where to go to college and which major to choose.
According to Professor White, "Rudy is an encouraging film that clearly
demonstrates that there is more than one way to reach your goals."
Extra Credit Assignments
Writing
Assignments: Rudy
ACT-Prep
In the film Rudy, you saw a young man
adjust, with varying levels of difficulty, to the dreams and demands of college
life. Rudy's expectations, his vision of what college life would be for him,
were often at odds with the assessment of his abilities other people ungenerously
had made. He had to work harder than most to prove his "worth."
Rudy's short-term goal, success at college-level sports, was also consistent
with his implied long-term goal; hard work and application could lead to success
in his career and in his home life. For Rudy, success meant accepting some
setbacks, consistency, and not just "winning."
You have been asked to write a letter to a college admissions officer for
a campus you are interested in attending, in which you will discuss some of
your short and long-term personal goals, and how the college experience at
his or her particular campus could help you achieve these goals and ideals.
You want the college admissions officer to be interested in you, so in your
letter, focus on both your personal goals, which could involve areas of study
that interest you, professions you are considering, etc., and your public
or social goals such as how you might like to contribute to the family, neighborhood,
society, etc. You want the college admissions officer to conclude that, like
Rudy, you too can achieve, even when others may doubt you can succeed.
Mini-Research
Project
(NOTE:
THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH PAPER-IT IS A RESEARCH-ORIENTED EXPERIENCE IN
WHICH STUDENTS GATHER AND CATEGORIZE INFORMATION. THEY CAN PREPARE OUTLINES,
NOTE-CARDS AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY, CITE REFERENCES, OR PRACTICE ANY COMBINATION
OF THESE SKILLS ASSOCIATED WITH PREPARING A RESEARCH PAPER.)
Utilizing the library and its resources, and/or material from the Internet,
prepare an investigative project that focuses on any of these topics associated
with the film Rudy:
a-Careers related to sports (not professional athletes)
b-History of college football (contemporary, or by decade)
c-Notre Dame: admissions policy
d-Football movies
e-"The Ivy League"
Standard
College Essay
Many issues
arise from the analysis and discussion of the film Rudy. Some of the more
personal issues involve getting along, no matter how difficult, with your
teammates, the importance of having friends and support, believing in yourself,
and acting on your dreams. Some broader social issues discussed in the film
involve the importance of sports in our lives, the positive role of both the
individual and the "team," overcoming educational and personal obstacles,
and the belief that trying to succeed and to win does not always guarantee
a Hollywood "happy ending," but that serious personal effort can
make a difference.
In a full-length essay (approximately 400-500 words), later to be revised
for content and correctness, discuss any of the issues raised in the film
Rudy that you consider to be of special interest either for you, as a high
school student now, as a future college student, or for society in general.
Explain why and how these issues are significant not only in the film but
also in relationship to your own life and experience, as well as to society's
sense of success, or both.
Event Photos
Rudy - July 12, 2004
Students enjoy refreshments
in the lobby of the
Playhouse before the screening of Rudy.
Film Host, Dr. Robert Singer, presents an overview of the film
Dr. Singer conducts a pre-film interview with
SD Course Coordinator Professor Jennifer White
Lights Out!
The movie is set to begin.