Photo by Freddrell Green: CTEMS Department logo

By Freddrell Green, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies (CTEMS) program has produced many graduates who have gone on to prosperous careers in the film industry. Led by Dr. Stephane Dunn and professor Avery Williams ‘86, the CTEMS major was created to give students the opportunity to pursue a career in film through proper training in the fundamentals of storytelling. 

Despite this mission, students on the campus of Morehouse College are divided on its utility as a gateway to creative expression.

Senior communication studies major Jonathan Baker left the CTEMS program after being accepted his sophomore year. He cited an overload of course work and lack of focus on production work.

“They pile up so much work,” Baker said. “I feel like we don’t really have the time to really be as creative.”

Baker’s method to gaining knowledge on the film industry is through experiential learning. He feels as though practical experience is something anyone can gain, regardless of their major.

“I know math majors that work in finance at these businesses,” he said. “You don’t need CTEMS. In all reality, you don’t need any of these majors for the film industry.”

Kyle Walker ‘24, a graduate of the CTEMS program, presented a different view. He feels as though the screenwriting focus of CTEMS was put in place to weed out students who aren’t committed to a career in film.

“What CTEMS is trying to do is imbue into students what the art and what the craft of storytelling is less than it is just making images on screen and putting it out there,” Walker said.

Contrary to any alleged drop in retention, Dunn states that the turnover rate for majors isn’t even 1%. According to Dunn, CTEMS has continued to be one of the most sought after academic disciplines across Atlanta University Center.

“We have students from Spelman all the time going like ‘When are we going to be able to major in CTEMS,’” Dunn said. “There’s not a year that I don’t get those questions and those emails.”

Despite differing student opinion, sophomore pre-CTEMS major Khalil Gantt hopes to capitalize off his nascent storytelling capabilities and produce quality works of art as a CTEMS major.

“One of my hopes is that I can improve writing about these ideas, flushing these ideas out and communicating with like-minded individuals as we create an amazing project,” Gantt said.

Copy Edited by Editor-in-Chief, Colin Royal