Being in college can be a stressful time. So when Brendan Hogan, a sophomore studying finance, was approached by his friends to make a club dedicated to watching movies, he said yes.
“I thought it would be a good chance to hang out with some friends in a non-stressful environment and just watch some movies together,” Hogan, the treasurer of the organization, said.
The Animated Movie Club is a newly-formed club on campus celebrates animated films. The organization currently has a weekly screening every weekend as well as a discussion meeting on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in Baker 231. In the past, the club has screened films such as Anastasia and The Iron Giant.
Sarah Speck, a freshman studying interior architecture, said she loves animated films and was “excited to have a really cozy, comfortable club.”
Speck said she preferred animated movies as they do not have “harsh action CGI-scenes like you see in a lot of blockbuster films.”
“It’s a lot more comfortable (and) I can put it on the background when I’m doing other things,” she said.
Max Wagner, a sophomore studying screenwriting and producing, said the club’s “chill” atmosphere was one of the main reasons why he decided to join. Wagner said many of the groups he had joined previously had strict rules requiring members to attend every meeting.
“I wanted to be a part of (the clubs I joined) but if I missed a week it was like, ‘oh I guess I’m out of the club,” he said.
Speck said she agreed with Wagner and said the organization's flexible policies allowed people to choose to either attend the weekly screenings or not to according to their schedules without any consequences.
“The whole point is that we’re watching it as an experience,” she said. “It’s so much fun (because) there’ll be some universal reactions like we’ll all applaud (or cringe) at something (on screen).”
Wagner said he believes the appeal of animated movies is due to the nostalgia factor.
“(It’s) like I saw this when I was a kid and it’s like I’m a kid again,” he said.
