These Are The Posters In My Film Class

The title nearly says it all.

Since the first day of class in September, I've been pondering the significance is of the only five posters gracing the walls of the classroom which plays host to my film theory class, that over the course of the semester has taken us from Plato to Alberti, Lessing, Kant, Tanizaki, Lacan. One week left of the seminar and we have not watched one frame of film. It plays more like one of my English classes of yore than a film class, which is actually fine as I suppose the goal of the course is for me to carry this theoretical, philosophical knowledge home or into the cinema as may be appropriate-although, I have to say, I see far fewer films in the theater at this time in New York than at any other time in my life; yes, I'm terrified of bedbugs (see case-in-point.In any case, the choice to place posters of these five films on the wall has perplexed me to no end.

The easy and most likely answer is that each probably involves an alumni from the university's film program. Further adding to my sense of unease is the fact that I have not seen any of these films. My mind therefore makes the logical association: I am taking a film class in this room and this is the kind of art I have to aspire too-movies that have played no part in my personal history or burdgeoning creative aesthetic. What am I doing here? What are they teaching me? What kind of artist are they trying to make me?

I shouldn't judge. These could all be incredible films of which I have gone through life completely unaware-I have heard of Punch Drunk Love but have no predispositions thereof-though still none of them would scream "Rent me!" at the video store or "Queue me!" on Netflix. So, if you've seen any of these films, grant me some guidance and clarity of mind as to why these might be showcased so.

Are they worth adding to my queue? If you've seen them all, I'll even let you rank them for me.

Educate me!