Addressing members of the Class of 2023 as part of Northwestern Qatar’s traditional send-off, Professor Scott Curtis told the class to hold on to their memories and believe in themselves as they continue on their path of growth after graduation.
Each year, members of the senior class at Northwestern Qatar select a faculty member to deliver a Last Lecture and offer advice and guidance to the graduating class. This year the graduating class selected Curtis, who taught them a course in analyzing films and moving images in their first year at Northwestern Qatar.
In his lecture, titled “Everything I Know, I Learned from the Movies,” Curtis drew life lessons on time, memory, and change from a series of movies they studied in the class at the start of their undergraduate career and told them they will remain relevant as they reflect on the ways they have changed and evolved over the years.
Curtis began the lecture by referencing films such as Singin’ in the Rain, DDLJ, Cléo from 5 to 7, and It Happened One Night, to stress how characters in each change for the better due to an encounter with something overwhelming, such as love or death. “The romantic comedies that we have in this set of films are very optimistic about the power of change and about the capacity of people to change,” said Curtis, who asked the Class of 2023 to be flexible and adapt to change as they encounter it in their lives.
Each year, members of the senior class at Northwestern Qatar select a faculty member to deliver a Last Lecture and offer advice and guidance to the graduating class. This year the graduating class selected Curtis, who taught them a course in analyzing films and moving images in their first year at Northwestern Qatar.
In his lecture, titled “Everything I Know, I Learned from the Movies,” Curtis drew life lessons on time, memory, and change from a series of movies they studied in the class at the start of their undergraduate career and told them they will remain relevant as they reflect on the ways they have changed and evolved over the years.
Curtis began the lecture by referencing films such as Singin’ in the Rain, DDLJ, Cléo from 5 to 7, and It Happened One Night, to stress how characters in each change for the better due to an encounter with something overwhelming, such as love or death. “The romantic comedies that we have in this set of films are very optimistic about the power of change and about the capacity of people to change,” said Curtis, who asked the Class of 2023 to be flexible and adapt to change as they encounter it in their lives.
Reflecting on Citizen Kane and the struggles of the main character, Kane, with accepting change and being trapped in the past, Curtis warned the Class of 2023 about the danger of fixating on past failures and not adapting to change. “Don’t be like Kane!” said Curtis. “Don’t fixate on the past. Keep moving forward.”
Still, Curtis said memories are important on the road to change, telling the graduating class to use past experiences to shape the future. “Memories matter, both for how we conduct ourselves now and how we act for the future,” he noted, highlighting examples from The Square, a documentary about the Egyptian revolution, and how characters in the movie used memories to push themselves forward. Finally, he referenced Wajda, a film tacking the role of women in Saudi society, to emphasize the power of belief in oneself and others to effect change: “Be like Wajda! Belief in yourself is fundamental for change.”
Curtis joins a list of Northwestern Qatar faculty who have addressed the graduating classes at their annual Last Lecture, including Professors Dana Atrach, Christopher Sparshott, and Abraham Abusharif.
Curtis’ research focuses on the use of motion picture technology as a research tool or teaching aid for experts in science, medicine, and education. His book on this topic, The Shape of Spectatorship: Art, Science, and Early Cinema in Germany, explores the collision between expert vision and moving images in science, medicine, education, and aesthetics.
Still, Curtis said memories are important on the road to change, telling the graduating class to use past experiences to shape the future. “Memories matter, both for how we conduct ourselves now and how we act for the future,” he noted, highlighting examples from The Square, a documentary about the Egyptian revolution, and how characters in the movie used memories to push themselves forward. Finally, he referenced Wajda, a film tacking the role of women in Saudi society, to emphasize the power of belief in oneself and others to effect change: “Be like Wajda! Belief in yourself is fundamental for change.”
Curtis joins a list of Northwestern Qatar faculty who have addressed the graduating classes at their annual Last Lecture, including Professors Dana Atrach, Christopher Sparshott, and Abraham Abusharif.
Curtis’ research focuses on the use of motion picture technology as a research tool or teaching aid for experts in science, medicine, and education. His book on this topic, The Shape of Spectatorship: Art, Science, and Early Cinema in Germany, explores the collision between expert vision and moving images in science, medicine, education, and aesthetics.
