(Article and photo by Yang Tingting)

More than 40 faculty members and students from SSDPP, the Faculty of Education and the School of Foreign Languages and Literature crammed Room 2026 in the New Main Building on the evening of March 28^th for the 2^nd of SSDPP’s Thursday Cultural Movie Nights for the movie Rainbow Troops.

Rounds of applause and animated discussion emanated from the room following the movie showing and during the post-movie sharing session.

The success of the movie night, as many expressed later to the organizers, was not only due to anecdotes explored in the movie—the fun fact that these kids looked at the world through rose-colored glasses, be it the puppy love for the girl at the grocery store that led the boy to volunteer to buy new chalk at every possible chance simply to see her more often; the boy who was obsessed with “Jazz” (the exotic Western music for “smart people only”), or the kid who projected his own life’s aspiration—to become strong and powerful—onto the crocodile whose strong jaws can protect itself from dangerous circumstances. Nor was the event’s success due solely to the fact that the movie provided such a refreshing respite for the audience as it was so different from other motion pictures which are either too intense, heavy or serious. Many empathized with the movie protagonists for the resilience and courage they displayed as they defended their ramshackle school against every conceivable scheme to get it closed. As the story unfolded, participants found it easy to relate to the kids as they discovered their strengths, built friendships, learnt courage and grace from their teachers and dream of a better future.

After the movie, students Rashed Uddin, Chen Xiaofeng and many others shared their own life stories and their personal aspirations. Their sincere and uplifting words won rounds of applause. What’s also worth notice is the participation of three Indonesian natives who helped the movie presenter of the night, Ms. Nova Doloksaribu, to answer the series questions raised about the Indonesian culture, costumes and religion.

Many students expressed their support for the bi-weekly Thursday Cultural Movie Nights event. Some even proposed to establish a student society based on this activity. Others offered suggestions for securing a more spacious location to accommodate the activity given its growing number of participants.

Upcoming Thursday Cultural Movie Nights: Boy from New Zealand

Daniel Hockenberry from the United States will present the New Zealand movie ‘Boy’.

Time: 18:30-20:30, 11 April 2013

Location: Room 2026, 20th floor, New Main Building

If you’re also interested in presenting a movie from your nation, please feel free to contact Ms. Tingting Yang through yangtingting@bnu.edu.cn.