Author: Emma Lodes
“Amos, our protagonist, grows tired of being a cog in the wheel,” reads the synopsis of the short film, “Bottled Up.” “He wants more. He lives in a world where people send their prayers, in glass bottles, down a red river – think Kool-Aid. His prayers never get answered. Then, Amos finally puts the glass down and stops drinking the Kool-Aid.”
The premise of “Bottled Up” stirs notions of hope, self-inspired agency and the potential of one’s ideas and dreams. Raffy Cortina ’13 wrote the screenplay for “Bottled Up” as his Media Arts and Culture senior thesis. Just like Amos, Cortina put his glass down, stopped drinking the Kool-Aid and chased his dreams.
He followed his lifelong goal of entering his senior thesis into the Student Academy Awards last summer and won gold. With a foot in the door of the film industry, Cortina landed a job working as a freelance screenwriter in Los Angeles. Although he didn’t graduate with a degree from a prestigious film school, Cortina tapped into skills gained from an Occidental education that emphasizes critical thinking and creative communication.
The Student Academy Awards is a prestigious competition whose previous winners have gone on to win dozens of Academy Award nominations and eight Academy Awards. The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all colleges and universities, so many submissions come from graduate students in their late 20s and early 30s with budgets nearing $100,000 for their film. Coming from a liberal arts school with limited resources, Cortina had the odds stacked against him.
“To break the mold you need to be creative in utilizing the resources at your disposal while having a bit of luck and good timing,” Cortina said.
He noted that his liberal arts education has given him certain advantages. At larger film schools, students focus on the technical side of film and learn to operate the instruments used in film production. At Occidental, Media Arts and Culture majors focus on the conceptual side of film – theory, critical thinking and the development of creative ideas.
“I’m a believer that you can learn all the technical skills in the world, but if you’ve got no ideas, what’s the point?” Cortina said. “The big film schools and conservatories certainly have more access to leading-edge technology but the Media Arts and Culture program at Oxy provides an environment where the study of self-expression and critical thinking can flourish.”
Technology, though, never stops changing, and it changes rapidly. Less than fifty years ago, there were no computers. The Internet did not become available to the public until the 80s. Today, handheld devices and smart phones seem to upgrade daily and the technological devices people used twenty years ago are now null and void. The leading-edge of technology is always one step ahead of what one is able to learn in a classroom.
“Learning how to use a certain camera or piece of equipment, which these programs are focusing on–– those things will change and evolve faster than we can keep up with,” Cortina said. “What’s more important is how to tell a story, and that’s what Occidental focuses on. Coming out of your degree you’re more versed on thinking critically and how to be a good story teller.”
When it comes to job hunting, the biggest advantage of having a degree from a venerable film school may simply be the name of the school. According to Cortina, the name of a school might get a person through the door in an interview but once he or she is in, the label on the diploma loses its clout. Employers place value on ideas, creative thinking and communication skills. At that point, one’s work speaks for itself.
To prepare himself for the “real world” of job hunting, interviews and his career, Cortina moved off campus junior year and landed a job in the film industry. His experience helped him gauge how he needed to prepare for film career once he graduated.
“No one is going to make network connections for you; you’ve got to go out and have a few lined up for your exit,” Cortina said. “Also, you make your own sandwiches, there aren’t any Kathy’s out here.”
Currently, Cortina is working in a small independent studio. Cortina and his team are developing ideas for a supernatural thriller that takes place in a world were technology is able to kill. Independently, he’s working on other projects and carving a place for himself in the creative industry.
Cortina’s advice to current students is empowering.
“I’m not big on advice, but I’m a true believer that people invent themselves,” Cortina said. “We are a figment of our own imagination, and every person has the ability to do whatever they want to do.”
In the end, the power of ideas, self expression and critical thinking may be the best preparation for today’s generation of college students who are looking for a job in a rapidly changing world.
The conclusion to the film’s synopsis says it all: “Amos puts the energy he used for prayer into energy that mobilized him. Most people know where they want to go. You don’t have to look up. You’ve just got to look forward. Stand on your two feet and push.”
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