The History of Film at Second Level
Words: Conor Murphy
One of the highlights of my school life was being asked to get the video trolley from its home in the central area, and roll it to class. A heavy cart with an incongruously balanced cathode ray television on the top bunk, underneath which was a VHS player the size of a concrete block, and just as aesthetically pleasing.
As you went around the corners you were always worried that the television would fall prey to the countervailing forces and take a tumble from its precarious perch. The physics of the video trolley were of a separate nature to those that ruled the natural world, though, and the television always remained secure. Maybe the concrete block helped.
Widescreen hadn’t taken hold yet so the television was 4:3 and the films played on it were always pan-and-scan, with ads. Without any budget for actual official VHS purchases the teachers of the 80s recorded everything from RTE and, if we were lucky, the British channels.
Memorably in Art class we were shown the animated version of Lord of The Rings, the sequels to which our teacher, Frankie, lamented would probably never be made. He was right. The only other film I can remember watching was one about the Holocaust, in religion. I remember many, many ads blurring past with a hyperactive whirr of the tape.