My Thesis and Old Heads (IV)

By Francisco Castro

By the same token, what is normal at FAMCA (the audiovisual communications faculty) would be unusual in any other university.  Here, the lack of concern, the indifference, apathy, the non-identification, in addition to the mediocrity of most of its workers, teachers and leaders, succeeded in emotionally detached me from this institution emotionally after my second year of study.

Moreover, these conditions worsened over time.

However, my naiveté – or rather a utopian belief in human betterment and that over time the future has to be better – made me turn to its classrooms from time to time.  As a result, to top things off, I suffered from blood pressure problems, which forced me away from the faculty located in Miramar for almost the entire academic year.

I remember exclusively attending the classes of director Tomás Piard, who gave us important lessons in art direction; and Magda Gonzalez, who later became my tutor and audiovisual adviser for my thesis.

The day of the thesis discussion, it happened that the committee members were conspicuously absent: one, because he was not notified in advance; another, because he came down with a sudden illness; and the other…for some unknown reason.

Because of this, among other reasons, the thesis review took a long time because they had to form a new committee that was, being new, not prepared to evaluate the three bachelor-degree candidates (Ana Maria Gonzalez as film director, Laura Gonzalez as editor, and me.)

Once the thesis discussion was re-scheduled, the new dean of the faculty was invited by one of the new committee members.

After our defense, in the deliberations with the person who decides the grades of those graduating, there was crying and complaining, offended individualities, and even the opinion stated that we seemed to be in a production meeting more than a thesis discussion.  There were also, of course, adjustments.

Despite it not having been considered a “correct” or “typical” defense, especially those of Ana María and myself, we were each given the top grade of five (on a one to five scale) – though without best wishes.

Not without reason I made such recommendations, not without reason I arrived at such conclusions through my work, and not without reason I titled them “Walls.”