Editor’s note: This article is written as satire, and is not to be taken entirely seriously.
“In the beginning,” narrates Matthew Rolin ‘13, “there was just an idea.” This is the opening line to Connecticut College’s new Centennial Video, a short film reminding the campus community that our college’s “birthday” is coming up and that we’re barely older than Hugh Hefner.
The Centennial website hosts a long calendar of events in celebration of the Centennial. The video, however, has been far and away the most successful action taken by the college to capture interest. “Is that the video that starts with stars?” asked Mark Warburg ’13 referring to the random opening image of deep space. “Yeah, I think space and stars were a good choice.” Sara Kerney ’12 says she would love to see the video but is “waiting for the campus Internet to start working again.”
Rolin narrated the film under direction of Theater Department Chair Leah Lowe. “I’m pretty pleased with how the video came out,” said the golden voiced Rolin. “Some people have said it’s a little bit campy. I think the ultimate goal was to make a fun, upbeat video to get people excited.” As a result, campus excitement is at a record high, although many attribute it to the recent addition of pot-stickers to the Harris Menu. Campy, however, is something no one seems to agree with.
“Oh no, I don’t think it was campy, just very…Disney like. I think they show the same one on the tram at Disney world,” said Caroline Abbot ’12. “Yeah, the fireworks were a little much,” agreed Hannah Campbell ’12, referring to the fireworks display used to close out the video.
The campus now sits in anxious anticipation of Centennial fireworks.
Likewise, the depiction of young women in an archery class has caused campus uproar over the removal of archery as a requirement for the philosophy major.
Rolin was also sure to mention just how seriously the school took the making of the video. “At the end of the first recording, it was mentioned that the [animations] were going to be in a Monty Python style.” Rumors have since circulated that Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam was hired to work on the video, but his contract fell through when he was only offered Lazarus housing. Rolin also revealed the existence of a version in which he impersonated Sean Connery, perhaps to be one day included in a deleted scenes package. Connery could not be reached for comment.
The video was produced and edited by David Kahn ’06. “I approached College Relations a few months ago and said that I was interested in producing a video about the Centennial theme,” said Kahn, who was selected after no one else expressed interest. Kahn now runs eCastVideo, a video production company out of Boston. “I offered to donate the video production,” said Kahn. “I think of it as an alumni contribution.”
Student reactions to the Centennial video have varied. “How could anyone not want to visit Connecticut College after seeing this video?” asked Amy Falk ’11. Falk, who can be spotted twice in the video, said she is honored to be a part of the college’s history. “The video really shows how close we are as a community and how far we’ve come since 1911.” On the other hand, Andrew Savage ’14 said he watched the video twice but claims the only Centennial celebration he has seen was “tea in the KB common room.”
The Centennial celebration will continue throughout the year in an attempt to meet the Centennial Goals, all of which are listed on the Centennial Website. These goals primarily focus on “strategic initiatives” or “raising awareness,” code words for alumni donations. So although the student body may debate the motives of the film, there has been one universal consensus: we sure are glad it was free. •
[…] the reader comments on a New York Times blog posting by two of our administrators, and I enjoy a student editorial about our Centennial video. Good, bad or satirical, audience feedback is always […]