Now that my course is over, I guess I can reflect upon it. The old adage that one should never study the books you love does not hold: I have an increased love of both writing and film now I have finished my course. I can probably also appreciate them more. Take Heimat, for instance: in all probability, I would once have dismissed it as boring. It is afterall 15 hours long and in German, but now that I’ve seen it I’ve done the background reading which goes with it, I find myself really liking it. It is problematic in its relationship to the war and the Holocaust and I can see how some can accuse Edgar Reitz of revisionism. But at the same time I can also see his problem – how can you represent the Holocaust paradoxically, you cannot and yet you have to. This is, I think, quite a profound and interesting debate.

Thus I find myself loving films more than I ever did; I wish to know more about them. I also love learning more than I ever did, be it science, or art, or history. At school I met kids who turned their backs on learning completely; while this is a great shame, it also represents a worrying trend more and more I see kids claiming that it is uncool to learn. They value ignorance over learning, they are only interested in Playstations, and ironically films. It is only now that I see the extent to which they are missing out – both academically and socially (for the two go hand in hand) university is great fun.

I was recently asked to prepare a paper on my experiences of uni. I think I’ll write it along these lines. It is vital that we re-envigour the enthusiasm of the youth, both for their sake and that of the country.