In late 2006, the selection committee for HSU’s Book of the Year program decided to make the best-selling novel of the same name its featured text for 2007. So when organizers of the campus dialogue began considering themes for the event, which began Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 9, the book seemed like a natural focal point.
“It incorporates some important themes that are of interest to the community and the campus, including understanding Islam as a religion and a culture, the recent geopolitical history in this region of the world, what it means to be an immigrant in the United States, and the powerful father-son relationship,” says Rees Hughes, director of Student Life and the Career Center and a member of the book selection committee.
Hughes came up with the idea to screen the film, which has been in the headlines because of a controversial rape scene, during the campus dialogue when he learned the movie would be released in late 2007. It seemed a long shot, but Hughes contacted Coming Attractions Theatres, which operates the Minor Theatre in Arcata, and solicited their help.
Officials at Coming Attractions suggested the University write a letter to Paramount Vantage, the film’s distributor. In September, Hughes drafted a letter that mentioned the university’s selection of the novel as its Book of the Year, and suggested that showing the movie would help stimulate discussion and generate buzz for the film. President Rollin Richmond emailed the document to Paramount.
It worked. “They were willing to do a one-time screening,” Hughes says. “It feels pretty special to have this happen.”
Excitement for the showing on Nov. 6 was so strong that the free tickets were all handed out within a day of becoming available on Oct. 29. Students and faculty in English and literature classes at HSU and College of the Redwoods that incorporated the book into their lessons got first dibs on tickets.
Unfortunately, Hughes says, the Minor has seats for only about 300 people. “There was significantly more demand than we could accommodate, but that’s exactly what we anticipated. It would have been wonderful to screen the movie multiple times,” Hughes says, but Paramount Vantage, which will pay all costs associated with the showing, made the call.
Nevertheless, Hughes says the movie is a great way to raise awareness of the Book of the Year program, which began at HSU in 2005. The idea is to stimulate discussion by giving students and community members a shared text. Last year’s book was “A Lesson Before Dying,” a novel by Ernest Gaines about racial prejudice in the South during the Great Depression.
“In a society that is increasingly interested in sound bites and preoccupied with Google and MySpace and text messaging, I think it is important to remember the power of the eloquently crafted story,” Hughes says.
Campus dialogue organizers hoped to get author Khaled Hosseini, a Bay Area resident of Afghani descent, to attend. The author, however, is busy promoting the release of his new novel. But in what Hughes calls “an interesting bit of serendipity,” there will be an Afghani contingent on campus.
Afghanistan’s men’s national basketball team, which is touring the United States, plays the HSU men’s team in an exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 8. Hughes hoped to arrange an event for the Afghani players to speak about life in their war-torn homeland. “Their manager has expressed interest,” says Hughes.
Check the schedule for the campus dialogue for updates, and for a complete schedule of events.
Individuals who want to learn more about the Book of the Year program and “The Kite Runner” can find information and a link to the film’s trailer on the homepage of the HSU library. Hughes and members of the selection committee will begin considering candidates for the 2008 Book of the Year once the dialogue on race concludes. You can email suggestions to: Hughes@humboldt.edu.