|
Post by utraquehoya on May 1, 2006 14:32:13 GMT -5
I enjoyed the movie. Perhaps I came with low expectations. It dragged horribly at times (what was the deal with the solitary lacrosse practice?!), the acting wasn’t consistently stellar (to put it generously), and the battle scenes looked more like goofy street fights. It bordered on the campy, but never quite successfully.
But when the movie worked, it was a sheer delight. The insider jokes were great (e.g., the university message announcing the president’s kidnapping and ending with the standard “we remind students to take the following precautions when…” had me howling). The soundtrack was pretty amazing, all things considering. The story line was very clever. It must have taken an enormous amount of work. It’s not obvious to me what the organizers got out of it besides bringing together a lot of people around a movie about an institution they all love… a pretty good thing. The movie used real people (i.e., the GERMS people were GERMS people, the Jesuits were Jesuits, the professors were professors, etc.). That was a risk (i.e., bad acting), but I liked the sentiment it expressed: this is the real Georgetown.
It’s a first stab at something. It seems silly to Edited on it. Maybe we can ask how can something like this be done better next time. I hope there’s a (better) Georgetownforever2, but given the grief and criticism, I guess there won’t be. But if there’s a feeling that this worked, may be next time it'll be easier to get the “troops” out.
The theme/message of the movie (“we-want-to-be-Georgetown-and-not-someone-else”) was a great insight into something to be proud of at Georgetown. Boston College is working hard to be the new Notre Dame; George Washington wants to be Georgetown, etc. In G’town’s best moments, it’s not trying to be someone else, it’s just trying to be its best (unique) self. I had never really thought of that before watching the movie.
a big thanks to those who made the movie.
|
|
|
Post by AustinHoya03 on May 1, 2006 14:34:44 GMT -5
Also, I would encourage the other folks that haven't seen it or know about the actual process to learn more before jumping into the fray. Yes, it started out in GUSA but ended up invlolving large amounts of students not normally involved with GUSA. So it actually helped others to get involved in a way that they haven't done in the past. Part of GUSA's charter is to build community amongst the student body and this is done in a variety of ways, along with their work in representing the student body. So GUSA built up the campus community by: a) doing a project totally unrelated to student government b) including "large amounts" (which I assume is actually a miniscule percentage of GU students) of non-GUSA students in said project. If the HOYA starts selling hamburgers, and 200 non-HOYA students buy those hamburgers (or help cook those hamburgers), how does that build the Georgetown community? Not trying to be critical, just trying to understand GUSA's thought process, because it does not make sense to me.
|
|
Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
|
Post by Jack on May 1, 2006 15:16:44 GMT -5
Will reserve comment on the movie, but I really hope some of you click on Velvet Elvis' Yacht Rock link- it has changed my life.
|
|
|
Post by SoCal Hoya85 on May 1, 2006 15:53:52 GMT -5
By the way, the next time you paint yourself up for a basketball game could you actually use the correct Pantone colors because I hate it when people don't have enough pride in Georgetown to use the correct blue (that goes for the HoyaBlue website as well ... and does anybody use Tripod anymore to host a website). Thank you for your comments, Hoya Blue appreciates all feedback both positive and negative as it helps us produce a better product. We have thoughtfully examined your claims and believe that the color we use to paint our faces is as close to the correct Georgetown colors that the market allows. However if you have any suggestions or ideas we would be glad to hear them so that we can get better colors. You can contact our communications officer in regards to the web site, I am sure he would be interested in your ideas in how to improve it. Once again thank you for the thoughtful criticism as it only makes us stronger, improves our product, and enables us to better serve the Georgetown community.
|
|
miamihoya
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 698
|
Post by miamihoya on May 1, 2006 16:05:32 GMT -5
GUSA can claim this was an attempt to bring the campus community closer together all it wants, but at the end of the day, they know as well as I do, that it did nothing of that sort. Again, many students didnt even know about it, and majority of those who did see it as a waste of GUSA resources. Beating undefeated Duke in basketball brings the campus community together. Watching "The Exorcist" on Halloween brings the campus community together. Spending the day out on the lawn for Georgetown Day brings the campus community together. Producing a film about campus traditions is a waste of money.
|
|
FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
|
Post by FLHoya on May 1, 2006 16:16:20 GMT -5
I think the appropriate solution would be to vote for NODAK for President of GUSA next go 'round. That'd straighten a lot of things out I figure.
|
|
|
Post by utraquehoya on May 1, 2006 16:20:14 GMT -5
I think SoCal missed saxacal's point (see the earlier comment "see how stupid that stuff sounds). It would be easy to criticize anything done on this campus (including Hoya Blue). Another example: Murph's video was poor production quality and his singing stunk. But we all know what he was trying to do and we judged it in that light.
Of course it didn't bring everyone together... the basketball games didn't even do that. But it did generate real enthusiasm in some circles, maybe not the same circles that HoyaBlue travels in; that's fine. Everybody does their part.
Again, I think the movie deserves applause and gratitude.
|
|
GUHoya07
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,083
|
Post by GUHoya07 on May 1, 2006 16:32:38 GMT -5
Hold on, why is Hoya Blue being dragged into this? This is about SoCalHoya's opinion, it has nothing to do with Hoya Blue.
|
|
|
Post by TrueHoyaBlue on May 1, 2006 16:47:14 GMT -5
I think the point was somewhat like the point that had been raised in the eternal CD/BD thread. No student organization can claim perfect organization or execution, and it's a little annoying to hear students blast people who have other ways of working to build campus community.
--
As far as the movie, I got to see it this weekend, and while nobody would mistake it for a Hollywood blockbuster, I thought it did a great job of bringing together at least the 800+ people who saw it this weekend, and I thought it was a pretty funny movie on the whole, definitely cheesy at parts, may have dragged at other parts, but it brought out a lot of what people love about G.U.
It's my understanding that the vast majority of the funding for the movie did not come from GUSA's budget (and while people can certainly complain about allocation of funds, it may be good to know that student activity funding has grown by something like 400% since 1999-2000). It came from the sales of DVD's of the films, and from the sales of Georgetown t-shirts, which I'm not mistaken, are something that most people on this board -- as evidenced by Hoya Blue's t-shirt swap a couple months ago -- would appreciate seeing more of.
|
|
nodak89
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Roy Roy Royyyyy!!!
Posts: 1,881
|
Post by nodak89 on May 1, 2006 16:58:55 GMT -5
I am convinced by a preponderance of the evidence.
I have emailed via the Georgetown Forever website to get a copy of the DVD.
Now, I would also love to get a DVD of the "Ballroom Dancing??? Charlie Daniels??" performance.
|
|
|
Post by LizziebethHoya on May 1, 2006 22:37:21 GMT -5
I have to say that this thread has been the first negative response to the movie that I've heard of. I went to the movie just to support those I knew who had put so much time and effort into this, and I wasn't expecting to enjoy it. But, although I don't seeing it hit the Box Office anytime soon, I thought it was awesome. It's funny (has anyone mentioned that all they really did was make fun of GUSA the entire time....), and it really does a good job at highlighting some great parts of Georgetown. Granted, the plot line is a silly romantic comedy...but what makes it great is that its all about living the life as a student at Georgetown. Perfectly realistic? No, but it's not a documentary...it's a fictional film. You really won't understand it if you didn't go to Georgetown, but, that fact makes it all the better.
I didn't really read all of what SoCal or CT wrote, but in response to what I did read: 1) I've heard that the funding both came totally out of GUSA's pocket and totally from outside fundraising sources. No one really knows...and, seriously, do we need to debate about Gtown's fiscal responsibilities anymore? 2) It's just a funny little (well, 2 hour) movie that tries to showcase Georgetown. That's it. 3) Getting the support of more students would have been great for the battle scene....but lets be honest, no one really cared...most people thought it was a joke.
I bought the DVD....and I don't regret it at all. If you take it for what it is, it's amazing. Congrats to all those who worked on it!
|
|
RBHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,135
|
Post by RBHoya on May 2, 2006 0:21:31 GMT -5
Whatever happened to "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." It's so chic to criticize nowadays . Thank you for your comments, Hoya Blue appreciates all feedback both positive and negative as it helps us produce a better product. We have thoughtfully examined your claims and believe that the color we use to paint our faces is as close to the correct Georgetown colors that the market allows. However if you have any suggestions or ideas we would be glad to hear them so that we can get better colors. You can contact our communications officer in regards to the web site, I am sure he would be interested in your ideas in how to improve it. Once again thank you for the thoughtful criticism as it only makes us stronger, improves our product, and enables us to better serve the Georgetown community. Ya, you definitely missed his point, AND you ripped off SPH's smarmy schtick at the wrong time, AND you didn't do it as well as he does. Triple Whammy! The thing is that talking smack about GUSA and their movie has become "cool" in many circles on campus. There is a lot of groupthink/mob mentality type behavior there, and before you know it people are just insulting them for the sake of it. Half the people don't know a thing I'd bet, but they hear other people doing it and they just pile on. I know less about GUSA than anyone. But I think that a lot of the negative perception about them and their movie on campus are a result of the fact that it's become cool to make jokes about them. And that's fine, if that's how one wants to form opinions. But I think it's important to consider alternative perspectives. Clearly, some, nay, many people liked their movie. Isn't it possible that maybe GUSA and their movie aren't a joke like so many people say? For the record, I see their point, and I think making a movie about the school to show to students definitely could build school spirit. There's a ton of different ways to build school spirit. You can argue they could have thought of better or cheaper ways, but they went with this way and that's that. You can pick at their ideas and their execution all you want, but if you didn't like the movie, isn't it better for all parties involved to just say "whatever" and move on?
|
|
|
Post by jerseyhoya34 on May 2, 2006 0:26:17 GMT -5
I think we have another CD-BD thread in the works here.... Can we get this moved to the main board? I've just started reading, and this one has great potential already.
|
|
|
Post by saxacalhoya on May 2, 2006 3:33:10 GMT -5
I've heard that there will be some articles in the student newspapers that will provide more facts about the project, but wanted to clarify some mis-information: 1. GUSA did help start the project, but by the end of the project it was more of a community effort than a GUSA effort. Talking to those involved the thing that struck me the most is the fact many of them didn't even know each other before they started the project. I've even heard from some of them that at the end of the day GUGS participated more in the making of the film than GUSA. 2. The amount of money people think they spent is false ... I've heard people say numbers up to $10,000. Those involve have been up front about the amount of money spent on the project: www.georgetownforever.com/main/involve.htmSo if you really think GUSA's contribution of $500 to the making of the film (which came from the selling of spirit t-shirts and wouldn't even cover the cost of cookies from Marriott) is outrageous ... you probably drink PBR and think that's an expensive beer. And of the roughly $3,000 spent on marketing and making DVDs they've already made $2,700 of that back selling over 200 DVDs and soundtracks and they are about to pick-up another 200 DVDs to sell.
|
|
CAHoya07
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,598
|
Post by CAHoya07 on May 2, 2006 12:07:09 GMT -5
By the way, the next time you paint yourself up for a basketball game could you actually use the correct Pantone colors because I hate it when people don't have enough pride in Georgetown to use the correct blue (that goes for the HoyaBlue website as well ... and does anybody use Tripod anymore to host a website). All right, low blow on the website, my friend, probably in reaction to perceived low blows from CT. If you've got beef with the website, come talk with me. I realize that a Tripod hosted site isn't the most professional, but our Treasurer TBird set it up last summer and it's all we've had to work with this year. It's a million times better than Hoya Blue having NO website last year. I also contend its content is a million times better than any student group's website out there - Upcoming Events, Sports Updates, Nodak Songs, Photo Album, John's Recaps, Board Bios, Links, etc. Over the summer, it's my job to put that same content up onto a real, more legit website. Look for that come fall. And as far as the movie goes, I have no opinion, since I did not see it. I would be interested in seeing it just to see how it turned out. But I do think that GUSA's money should have been spent elsewhere. Then again, GUSA isn't really legitimate to me in the first place, so the movie doesn't alter my opinion of them at all. But overall, I think RB said it the best, as he often does: these people made the movie because they love Georgetown, and you can't fault them for that. (Just as a side note, the director is my next door neighbor.) We do Hoya Blue stuff because we love Georgetown, and you can't fault us for that. Regardless of our opinions on different matters, let's just embrace the campus community for what it is and do what we feel is right in promoting our school.
|
|
|
Post by SoCal Hoya85 on May 2, 2006 12:45:28 GMT -5
My main concerns were with the budget and the focus of GUSA- much like St. Pete's point. I am glad to see that DVD sales are doing well, lowering the eventual cost. I would have kept my criticism of the overall product to myself had I not been concerned about the first two points and hadn't been asked for my opinion by Nodak. I already mentioned that I appreciate other avenues to raise school spirit and I was afraid this was going to have a low impact at a high cost not to mention distract Gusa from other issues. Although I do feel CT and I are entitled to discuss the merits of the movie and express our opinion. I would have kept my opinion to myself if I hadn't those other concerns, however if you want constant reinforcement of how well you did no matter what the result there is always preschool finger painting. I wish my professor and boss thought like you guys though. And by the way RB I didn't miss the point with that post but was making one of my own. And if you think I ripped off SPH and didn't do it as well then your entitled to your opinion, I'll try and improve it next time.
|
|
|
Post by dairishhoya on May 2, 2006 13:11:31 GMT -5
All right, low blow on the website, my friend, probably in reaction to perceived low blows from CT. If you've got beef with the website, come talk with me. I realize that a Tripod hosted site isn't the most professional, but our Treasurer TBird set it up last summer and it's all we've had to work with this year. It's a million times better than Hoya Blue having NO website last year. I also contend its content is a million times better than any student group's website out there - Upcoming Events, Sports Updates, Nodak Songs, Photo Album, John's Recaps, Board Bios, Links, etc. Definitely not a low blow, since SaxaCal was showing how stupid it was to criticize the way another group represents Georgetown when some could -- and do -- say the same for HoyaBlue. And, frankly, I know that I've posted for the past year on ways to improve your site ... just to recap: 1. Get advice from professionals on campus (e.g., university webmaster) 2. Use the tools and services provided by the University (e.g., free hosting, online calendar, etc). 3. Use the new ExploreGeorgetown tool developed for student organizations (the tool integrates into my.gtown -- www2.georgetown.edu/my/pages/index.cfm?Action=Life)4. Combine services like Flickr and University tools to create a site 5. Use KeyForm to set-up short surveys or forms on your site
|
|
|
Post by jerseyhoya34 on May 2, 2006 13:23:51 GMT -5
Dairish, I know TBird and CA have looked into some of those options. Obviously, website creation is a process, and wholesale changes are most likely to come over the summer, when the heat of having to attend events/meetings is not quite as strong. CA does not have prior website experience, if I am not mistaken, so any advanced features require research into what actually can be done and how to execute it before he can move on it operationally. He's done a fantastic job already of getting the essentials up so the website can be of service to HB members. I know he has looked into some of those suggestions, with mixed results, which reflect problems that are larger than HB was equipped to handle.
Is there room for improvement? Absolutely, but that must be weighed against issues of time and what is needed/essential at a particular time. I mean, an online calendar would make the website look more credible, but how does that add value over and above the regular e-mails and notices that CA posts on the website? Not much, so why not stick to the e-mails/info postings because they are a more efficient use of his time and get the info to folks' fingertips sooner?
As CA said, he's looking to upgrade the site over the summer, when he can devote the time/attention to doing so. He had exactly one semester to work on things this year, after the communications portfolio was moved from TBird, who also had to draw up budgets, funding requests, and the rest of it. I've heard some of CA's ideas offline, and I think we'll be happy with the outcome.
|
|
|
Post by dairishhoya on May 2, 2006 13:46:09 GMT -5
Glad to hear about the changes, my point was that people on this Board have offered suggestions and the University is full of resources and people that would be willing to sit down with members of HoyaBlue to discuss strategy and options. They're there you might as well use them. I mean, an online calendar would make the website look more credible, but how does that add value over and above the regular e-mails and notices that CA posts on the website? Not much, so why not stick to the e-mails/info postings because they are a more efficient use of his time and get the info to folks' fingertips sooner? Yes, that works for the true-believers but why not allow you events to be discovered by folks who may not know where to look. Your events could be posted on the main university's online calendar and now that they've integrated those events into my.georgetown and ExploreGeorgetown why not get the most eyeballs on the content? Nobody is saying to replace emails ... they're a great tool, but the calendar offers the ability to send out weekly emails to a listserv about upcoming events (the University also offers listserv software). Again, the tools are there why not use them?
|
|
Bahstin
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 624
|
Post by Bahstin on May 2, 2006 15:06:56 GMT -5
Man, everyone on this board is so damn sensitive. Listen, the movie svcked, Hoya Blue is full of a bunch of circle-jerking nerds, and ballroom dancing is for little fairy boys.
|
|