Dave Shifren’s Film Course

Dave Shifren (right) and Ron Freeman after their class “A Close Look at Crime”

I’m happy to report that the ever popular Dave Shifren is back, teaching a film course with a twist — “Adaptation: When Fiction turns to Film”. The classroom, in the Frick(n) Fine Arts building, is fitted and equipped to handle audio-visual presentations, all the better to make our viewing experience more pleasurable. Why, one lady in the back row even adjusted the seat in front of her so that she could stretch her legs on it.

The first film we critiqued was “High Noon,” the classic western that spawned so many pale imitations. Initially, we discussed the short story on which the film was based. What surprised me was that the movie was so unlike the original story (and that’s a good thing–I thought the story was pretty lame). Then we settled in to watch the movie. I’ve seen this film at least a half dozen times, but this time, with Dave’s coaching, I noticed many of the directorial, photographic, acting and other touches that made it unique. When the film was over we had a far-ranging discussion that covered everything from the casting to mise-en-scène to the argument that the movie was an allegory for the socio-political climate in the McCarthy era. Plenty of food for thought here, for sure. And for sure, later this week, I’m looking forward to the showing of Hitchcock’s home run, “Rear Window”. Raise the window, Aunt Minnie!

New Classes

Our OLLI summer semester began last week without me; I was in Chicago. So, today was my first day of classes. I began with “Hidden Treasures of Pittsburgh.” Being new to the ‘burgh’ I’ve been taking many classes about Pittsburgh history and even Pittsburgh trivia. I also watch shows about Pittsburgh on local stations. This class is giving me the opportunity to see many of the shows I missed while I lived in New Jersey or Chicago. The teacher is KDKA-TV reporter Dave Cawley who has done more than 3000 of these shows. His focus today was the different ethnic groups living here in Western PA. I knew much of what he showed us, but discovered several places or events I would like to explore further: a pow wow at Dorseyville, an Indian (Krishna) temple in Moundsville, West Virginia and murals in a church in Millvale. Because I’m taking lots of classes this summer I’ll probably have to wait until August to do my exploring.

My second class on Monday is Tai Chi. I love this class. This is the second semester I’ve been taking it. The teacher is great at explaining everything and very patient. I’ve been able to learn the moves well enough so I can do them at home. I also sometimes take a different Tai Chi class at my health club. I enjoy it but I’ll never be able to do those moves by myself.

Tomorrow I’ll be auditing a college class on Ancient Chinese History that begins at 8:30 am on Tuesday and Thursday and goes on for 6 weeks. If I stick with it, you’ll know I really love it.

Ruthe

Hello from Pittsburgh!

We are anxiously awaiting our next classes, which begin next week. In addition to the great Tai Chi class, we are taking classes in film, the criminal justice system, crime reporting, treasures of Pittsburgh, conversational Chinese, ancient China, and Intro to Asian Art. A heavy load, you are thinking, but two of us are writing this post. Let us know if you have something to say about the upcoming learning sessions here in Pittsburgh.
Ruthe and Len