>FROM:  KGABBARD
>I have been reading naive questions about what happened in Paris in the
1960s.
>I'm hoping that most of these questions were ironic.  If not, then there
really is cause
>for despair.  What's happened to Screen-L?
 
I apologize for causing you despair.
 
Although I was not one of the Screen-L subscribers who posted the naive
questions about Paris in the 1960s, I did *have* those questions.  I am not
a film scholar.  I am just someone who has seen a lot of movies and has
never really had the opportunity to address the subject of film on an
intellectual level.  I didn't take a lot of social studies in school -- my
focus was always on the math & science departments.  Maybe the fact that I
successfully avoided learning much about history in high school or college
*is* cause for despair, but rejoice!  I'm trying to learn now!
 
I originally subscribed to this list as an assignment for an Internet
class, but I chose it because I have an interest in film and I wanted to
take that interest to a higher level.  I was happy to find a list that was
a forum for the intellectual discussion of film and its social and cultural
significance.   I have since completed that Internet class, but I have
continued my subscription to Screen-L because I enjoy the lively and
informative discussions to be found here.   Over the last year, I have
learned a lot about the history and social impact of film, and I have heard
differing viewpoints on many social and academic issues, some related to
film and some not.  I am relatively new to the world of film study, and I
have enjoyed the discussions in this list because they have helped me
broaden my horizons.  I apologize for my ignorance re: major milestones in
social and cultural history, but I am still learning, and I've always felt
that the best way to learn was to ask questions, even if they are naive
questions.
 
I thought this list was for anyone interested in the study of film,
including those of us who are just discovering an interest in this field.
If Screen-L is meant to be for scholars only, maybe someone could recommend
another list to which I, and other non-scholars, could subscribe.
 
Sincerely,
 
Deborah Smith
 
----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite 
http://www.sa.ua.edu/screensite