Preview: SEE Cinema

The first of a new series of film screenings opens initially at the FYC, Church Street, on Tuesday, 4 February.

SEE, an independent education organisation, has arranged a season of sociological cinema, an eclectic mix of genres and films which seek to explore society with a critical eye. The films selected are not just your usual Hollywood crowd-pleasers of confusingly violent toy robots and sparkly vampires. Classics brush film shoulders with lesser known sci-fi and bodybuilding documentaries, but all are programmed with a specific sociological message inherent in each, this is part of the SEE mission statement:

SEE is about shifting perspective, altering a world view and empowering people to deconstruct society and culture, utilising the arts as a platform from which to interrogate sociological subjects.

Phew, lofty aspirations indeed, but ones that screening films such as They Live, Fried Green Tomatoes, Rosemary’s Baby and the classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, among others, quite adequately fulfil.

The tag line of SEE Cinema is ‘retro cinema with brains’. John Carpenter’s They Live which kicks off the season, for example, is rife with themes of consumerism, capitalism and greed, social inequality and the controlling power of the mass media. It also boasts one of the longest fist fights in film history as well as being a cracking sci-fi thriller, proving that cinema can have the weight of both critical social analysis  AND be entertaining to boot.

As the on-going series of films progresses, a rounded exploration of larger issues will be unveiled.  Arnie’s Pumping Iron, The Colour Purple, and Educating Rita jostle with each other to have us explore their cultural subtext.  As a ‘film buff’, as I’m sometimes politely referred to, I’m excited to be able to see some of these films on a big screen, and be able to watch them with a differing perspective than usual.

The evening’s screening starts at 7pm and costs £3 on the night. Film notes will be on hand to enrich your viewing experience and traditional cinema snacks are on offer as well.  For information visit the website, follow SEE on Twitter or email: [email protected].