My name is Yamato O’Connell and I am an Undecided General Studies Major. I chose this class because I have an interest in film and want to incorporate it into whatever I choose as a profession. I was born and raised in New Orleans and went to high school down the street at Lusher Charter School. I commute to school by car and live with my parents downtown in the Marigny. I chose to go to Loyola because my mother is an immigration lawyer at the Loyola Law Clinic. I have a little sister who is a sophomore in high school. My mother is from southern Japan and my father is from Minnesota, I am bilingual in both Japanese and English. I usually visit Japan every summer for a month and a half to visit my grandparents and the rest of my family on my mother’s side.  In my spare time I love to watch a wide range of films. I also draw and listen to music. I was in the visual arts program at my high school for two years before I realized it was not something I wanted to pursue. My favorite types of movies are independent films that don’t reach mainstream theaters and I am also very intrigued by foreign films. I especially like Hispanic and Asian films. My favorite genre is horror. This is due to the fact that the first big film I remember watching is Poltergeist from a very young age. I love a lot of Tim Burton’s films including Beetle Juice and Ed Wood but I think he could really benefit from taking a break from making movies with Johnny Depp. My least favorite type of genre is musicals because I prefer dialogue to singing. My favorite directors at the moment include Quentin Tarantino, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Christopher Nolan. My interest in film began when I would watch many different films with my father starting from a young age and I had a movie rental store within walking distance from my house. I hope this class with help me to understand how I want to incorporate film in to my profession.