Last week, all four of my film classes screened Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952), which means I got to watch The Greatest Film Musical Ever Made three times in a 48-hour period. (For those doing the math, I also teach an online course which requires students to watch the film on their own.) In any event, what’s almost as entertaining as watching Singin’ in the Rain three times in a row is watching my students watch Singin’ in the Rain, especially since 90% of them have never seen the film. Here are some of their reactions via Twitter:
Pre-Show Excitement
I double-dare you!
Oh, I have some idea. ;o)
You and me both, Emily. Let’s do this thing!
The First Five Minutes…
It’s hard NOT to be hooked, my friend.
What about Elvira? (Wait. I’m guessing people born in 1992 don’t know Elvira…)
Yeah, Gene, you’re wearing WAY too much makeup in this scene…
For my “older” readers: boss.
Meeting Lina Lamont
That’s putting it mildly.
Lois Griffin, we assume?
Classical Film Bromance?
Agreed! Who wouldn’t want a friend to make ‘em laugh like that?
“Chester chooses chestnuts, cheddar cheese with chewy chives…”
Um, what’d you say, sir? You wanna rethink that before I grade your exam? ;o)
On My Man
Yep, I’d wear that.
And once more, “older” readers: swagger.
Nope, not in this class, sorry. I wish we were too…
And I’m not ashamed to admit it (as you all well know).
Singin’ in the Rain: It’ll Stay with You
Thanks for all the great Singin’ in the Rain tweets, gang. It’s always wonderful to know that a sixty-year film musical is still gettin’ it done! More Favorite Student Tweets…
Awesome! You have one of the coolest jobs in the world. Well, I guess I do too but I only get to reference SITR not show the thing. And my students don't really get it w/out seeing. These are phenomenal, but go easy on the guy who preferred O'Connor. I love Gene Kelly but some of us just know we are more Cosmo than Don.
[...] Dr. Kelli Marshall writes a blog on pop culture and teaching called Unmuzzled Thoughts. We found each other through our mutual adoration of Gene Kelly. From what I can tell she’s as funny as she is smart and–in a move that totally endears her to me–uses social networking technology like mad in her classes. One ongoing feature is “Favorite Student Tweets” where she gathers the best of what her students have to say on the movies they’re watching for class. Here’s the selections from Singing In The Rain week. [...]
I was waiting for a tweet about a guy where someone said "and I can't stan' em!" Love this movie! Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously.
Well, in his defense, Donald O'Conner was one of the only male partners Gene Kelly danced with who could ever keep up with him. Shall I mention any dance routine he had to do with Frank Sinatra, for example???
I adored Cosmo Brown, so much so that I named one of my parakeets after the character (and my first bird was named Macoco!), but as much as I enjoyed his performance, it just doesn't get better than Gene Kelly.
Teaching SITR must be what it's like for me to teach Hemingway. I can't help but think how absolutely awesome it is that I am getting PAID to talk about Hemingway! Now if only I could somehow manage to combine Hemingway and Gene Kelly movies in a pedagogically sound way…
Hi, Leonore: Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Re: Kelly's other male partners who could keep up (and potentially overshadow him), you might take a look at "Be A Clown" from The Pirate: the Nichols brothers = sheer brilliance!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that scene! The Nichols brothers were incredible and almost make Kelly look slightly…dare I say it?…ungainly.
This is just fabulous. I had to check out more of your blog after your post on Facebook. I think my dream job would be making students watch my favorite old movies with my favorite old menz.
It was fun, I’ve gotta admit.