“Moma, don’t let your children grow up to study (only) TV & film . . .”
Did you happen to catch a recent Washington Post article about the young man who as a college freshman about four years ago dropped out of media-centric Emerson College in Boston http://www.emerson.edu/ . . . and whose career has since “taken off” in the music video realm?
If you haven’t read the article, here’s a link to it: http://tinyurl.com/lgp6zw
The young filmmaker is Cutter Hodierne. He grew up in the DC region. It appears that he made some good connections and concluded that staying in college was just going to hinder his progress in the career.
The point of the article seemed to be that given the unrelenting difficulty in obtaining employment in the media field, Cutter’s decision to drop out was a smarter play than staying in school. In fact, some of his colleagues who did stay and graduate now seem to regret their decision.
At the risk of seeming like a “fuddy-duddy,” I would disagree. If the purpose of going to college were to be a trade school, then I understand their regret.
But if the purpose of an undergraduate degree is also to help expose one to other ways of thought, analysis and an appreciation for history, sciences and art, then regretting that experience, which cost $40,000+ a year, is in my mind a very immature reaction.
There are some practical realities as well. For example, I was VP/GM at a K-St. production company for seven years, and in that position I did about 60% of the staff hiring. We had a philosophy that even when hiring for the front desk reception position, we required a BA.
The thought was that we wanted to promote from within. We had quite a successful track record in that regard, with our receptionists often later ending up as editors, multimedia specialists and producers on our staff.
Another point. I have found that the best video editors I hired also had a good solid liberal arts foundation. Here’s why: Yes, they had to master the complex technical challenges that came with the job, but they also had to establish a relationship with the client during those long edit sessions.
A good editor needs to not only translate the client’s instructions from a technical standpoint, but they also need to understand the subject matter. And here in the mid-Atlantic region, many of the clients are well-educated, working in corporate, government or advocacy situations. So you can see why I valued a strong liberal arts background as well as excellent editing credentials when hiring an editor.
Don’t get me wrong. Not that I have done things perfectly in my career, but I would be the first one to admit that approaching media studies as a tech training school does have its place. That was my attitude when I did my graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. I had a solid liberal arts background from my undergraduate studies at William & Mary. In fact, I was so unfamiliar with film and tv that I literally didn’t know the difference between videotape and film when I started at UT. (They made me make up a semester of undergraduate studies.)
I fully appreciate the media foundation I got from my graduate studies at UT (and I got a MA out of it as well, although I really did treat the program as a trade school) but time and again, throughout my career in media, I have called upon the undergraduate liberal arts education I received.
Whether it was directing a history series re-enacting Civil War events, or being able to speak Spanish with Latino clients, or having an understanding of the Capitol Hill lobbying efforts of a particular client, my undergraduate liberal arts studies have proven to be invaluable.
Now, I will not pass judgement on other parents. And we’re talking no slouch for a mom in Cutter’s case. The article points out the his mother is “Alicia Shepard, the ombudsman at NPR.”
But I have a daughter who will be a junior in high school next year. Knock-on-wood, she is doing well in her studies. And as I mentioned in a recent blog, she has expressed some interest in journalism. http://tinyurl.com/cy5yck Despite the present dreadful state of employment within the journalism field, I am not freaking out, and I mention in my blog about being rather sanguine about her career wishes. But again, following my logic stated above, I advise her to major in English (with its exposure to world lit, analysis and writing) rather than specifically Journalism. And I also advise her to keep up her study of Spanish and other liberal arts subjects.
Again, I’m not going to rain on Cutter Hodierne’s parade. Who knows, he may turn out to be the next Spielberg (need any DVDs replicated?) But I believe his dropping out should not be seen as something to emulate or a decision that was smarter than those who finished their undergraduate careers.
And in fact, I think the article’s writer might agree with me. I sense he did a little editorializing of his own near the end of the story when he wrote, “Finally, after five hours of waiting, a vintage car arrived at the shoot. Rashad’s mother had ponied up $160 to rent a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado.”
I welcome your thoughts on this. Please feel free to write a comment below.
UPDATE: Here is a New Yorker article that touches on this subject: http://tinyurl.com/2usb5df sent to me by my good friend, Jack Hirschfeld.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also be interested in reading contributor Susanne Stahley’s blog, “Effective Writing, Think Like the Fox.” http://tinyurl.com/4w47mn
And remember who to contact if you need CD, DVD or videotape duplication and multimedia services. dryan@videolabs.net or 301-217-0000 x104.
Also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DRMediaSolution (and look for exclusive Twitter-only time-sensitive discounts)
education exists everywhere.
to think it’s limited to college is a disappointing mistake.
Comment by mynameiscutter — July 29, 2009 @ 11:33 am
I was educated at a top ten college. For four years. A chronological study of the great books of western civilization. I have friends from that college and others, colleagues from that college and others, friends who didn’t graduate and colleagues who didn’t graduate.
My relationship with Cutter has basically been a series of intelligence tests since the first time I met him. My first field test was to ascertain whether he could recognize a quotation from Aristotle. “I think therefore I am.” He could not.
Then I wanted to know if he could recognize Socrates. “Don’t go into a church if you want to breath clean air.” He could not.
After that I moved into Aquinas. “Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything.” Blind as Teiresias he seemed.
Finally I said, let’s give something more contemporary a chance with Derrida. I hooked him to my intelligence test mechanism and read: “How many things we held yesterday as articles of faith which today we tell as fables.”
The meter read none.
What pisses me off most about Cutter is that despite these findings, I can speak with him on every level of intelligence, whether it be technical, philosophical, financial, academic, theoretic, whatever, and he still gets it, often with an alacrity I have no interest in keeping pace with.
His choice was his. Nothing should be emulated or copied in art or life lest you become stagnant in your ways. Nor should paths be criticized.
Above the fold that same day in the washington post was an article about a lot of happy graduates. Below the fold lay Cutter and his article (that never mentioned me). Should we be condemning the Post for showing the dc area the options of success? Or should we hush hush the unbeaten path for fear of the prickly pines?
Good questions, I say, I say. So I googled it.
http://siys1.fortunecity.com/images/tina_stevo_simonized_sm_1.6.08.jpg
visit my blog at soigoogledit.blogspot.com
Comment by INTERNET CELEBRITY J. HIBEY — July 29, 2009 @ 12:59 pm
Wow, you’re a major hater. Your daughter will **** eventually end up at the prestigious East Carolina University. Go screw, leave people that are chasing their dreams alone.
Comment by Othello Bouchareb — July 29, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
Mr. Ryan
You have been found guilty of misleading and perverting the young. I decree that you be hung by your underdeveloped ***** in front of a crowd of your peers.
- Zorro
On another note,
Mr. Hibey
You have attributed every one of your quotations incorrectly. Your total ignorance of that which you profess to teach merits the death penalty.
Zorro
Comment by Zorro — July 29, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
bitterness never tasted so sweet.
Comment by PHIL JAY — July 29, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
Hanging out with this cat is a college in itself…
With that said… The writer failed to realize the many travels Cutter has been on since birth (literally). He has visit the sites they are teaching in colleges (took a squat in their bathrooms). So why would he need college when he paid attention the first time.
Comment by Er'c Funk — July 29, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
Pardon the grammar.. But you get my point.
Comment by Er'c Funk — July 29, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
I agree with you, David. Job opportunities will come and go, but you really only get one chance at the undergraduate experience. It’s a mistake to pass it up for a job, even a very cool one.
Also, I’m very sorry that some of the commenters sunk to so low a level in response to your legitimate opinion (which was an opinion, by the way, and not a personal attack). Obviously, they did not learn how to express themselves well. This is why blogs should be moderated — because those obnoxious commenters are not adding anything to the conversation but noise.
Comment by Mary Fletcher Jones — July 31, 2009 @ 5:20 pm
David,
Great story. Reminds me of NCAA athletes leaving for the pros before they graduate.
I used to think that was wrong; that they should stay in school to get their degree instead of grabbing the big bucks. But as a parent now, if my kid were fortunate enough to be offered that kind of financial incentive, my advice would be this: take the offer, run with it, make the most of your gift, and most of all, be smart about your money. Don’t spend it; invest it with someone you can trust. When your playing days are over, which will be soon, you can always embark upon your second career, beginning with resuming your education.
While this young filmmaker may not be making NBA, NFL or MLB money, he’s doing what he loves, and undoubtedly getting better the more he does it. He could probably teach courses in film production at many colleges. I’d hope he would find it easy to get back in to a good school when the time comes.
But I do thinking he’s learning every day- perhaps not in the same way as in school, but invaluable lessons and experience nonetheless.
Your point is well-taken; not “fuddy-duddy” or elitist, but traditionalist. Tradition can be a wonderful thing. If given a choice, I might not have traded my experience at Syracuse U. for four years of making commercials and music videos, but each person’s situation is unique, and it’s unusual for this young man to have this kind of opportunity.
I wish Cutter all the luck in the world. As for the folks who left the derisive comments above, I’d like to know what they’ve done lately?
Comment by John Ringstad — August 1, 2009 @ 5:09 pm