Students have opportunity to see American-classic film
ADAM HOLT
Staff Writer
bking@occc.edu
A screening of the 1941 film “The Maltese Falcon,” starring Humphrey Bogart will be free to students and faculty alike this week.
The event will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in CU 2 and 3.
Elizabeth Anthony, a film historian who runs the Web site www.ReelClassics.com, will be speaking briefly before the showing, said Barbara King, Library Services director.
The movie is being shown in conjunction with The Big Read, a program that aims to foster reading by influencing faculty and curriculum in the nation’s colleges.
The selection chosen for the spring semester is the 1930 detective novel “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett.
“It’s a classic American private investigation novel. It helped start that genre,” King said.“It’s a quick and easy read and brings exposure to the culture of the early 1900s.”
Professors are key to the success of The Big Read, King said.
“The primary focus is for the faculty to get familiar with the book, get the book to students, and incorporate it into the curriculum,” King said.
On Feb. 18, professors who had read the novel were to gather to discuss the book and familiarize themselves with other people’s views and opinions of it.
This is to help professors devise a way to use it in their classroom.
History professor Ray McCullar, along with English professor Marybeth McCauley, have partnered to use “The Maltese Falcon” in their curriculum.
McCullar and McCauley are not new to using The Big Read in the classroom.
In fall 2008, the selection was the 1953 dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.
“The students liked it,” McCauley said. “It helped create a learning community and helps students enjoy reading.”
The Big Read is a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts to “restore reading back to the center of American culture.”
Many colleges around the country participate in the program, which chooses a selection of books, usually classic titles, from which the school can choose.
OCCC and Rose State College have partnered in bringing this program to the area.
Students can pick up a free copy of the novel at the library.
For more information on the event e-mail King at , or visit occclibrary.wordpress.com/tag/bigread or www.neabigread.org.
