Harry Benshoff: Studying film to learn more about life and humanity

	Harry Benshoff, assistant professor of radio, television and film, has turned his love of movies into a career and watches on average three or four films a week.

To say that Harry Benshoff, assistant professor of radio, television and film, likes movies may be an under-statement. The study of film is not only his hobby and his job — it is his passion.

In fact, he dropped out during his third year of medical school to study film.

Ultimately, he received his doctorate from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television and taught film for three years at the University of California at Santa Cruz before coming to UNT in 1999.

Benshoff's fascination with film began when he was young. As a kid he remembers being mesmerized by The Wizard of Oz.

"I was afraid of the witch so I kept running out of the room, but I was so fascinated by the film that I kept running back in," he says. "I was amazed by how it could arouse such an intense emotion."

Benshoff, who says he watches three or four films a week, believes that studying film is really a way of studying life.

"Since film is an art form that opens into all aspects of the human experience, I really study film as a way of studying human cultures and behaviors," he says.

Melinda Levin, associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Radio, Television and Film, says Benshoff is dedicated to the issues of multiculturalism and film.

"He takes seriously his responsibilities for outreach and education regarding issues of race and gender, particularly regarding their representations in mainstream media," Levin says.

Benshoff, a member of the Society for Cinema Studies, runs the global film series on campus and just co-wrote a textbook called America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality at the Movies. It is being used in classes around the nation to open up discussions about human diversity.

Although he has won numerous awards and grants, he considers the publishing of his books one of his biggest accomplishments.

"It is important to me to get my ideas out into the world," he says. "I am gratified to know that people all over the world are reading my work and finding it useful to their lives or to their own work."

Benshoff received the Student Government Association's Alton Thibodeaux Leadership in Diversity Award on Honors Day in April to recognize his service and commitment to leadership in the area of diversity at the university.

"We all need to overcome the biases and prejudices of the past," he says. "Studying film allows us to see and understand those biases, as well as monitor the images of today, and help shape future images."

BY MAGAN HENDON inhouse@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Implementation of Academic Plan begins
• Strategic Plan and Responsibility Center Management
• Work to create a UNT child-care facility is moving forward
• Summer benefits enrollment begins July 25
• Two UNT music students earn Fulbright grants to fund international study
• Sunday Fun Day volunteers needed
• Murphy Enterprise Center awards $30,000 to UNT students with winning business plans
• Nineteen students earn Mayborn scholarships

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