Psychology and Literature student, Alissa Maria Lopez has been selected as the recipient of the 2019-2020 Dr. Helen Connell Film Essay Award. Her entry, “The Devouring Women: Norma Bates and Alex Forrest,” will be published in the next issue of What Oft Was Thought, the Department of English and Foreign Languages’ award-winning literary journal.
“I wrote this paper because the film aspect truly stood out to me! I spend most of my free time watching films. The two women in my paper, Alex and Norma, are two intricate and complex characters. They exhibit qualities that relate to the devouring women archetype and it was an honor to explore this. Movies and film have always been an interest to me, so this writing prompt truly intrigued and inspired me.”
The competition, which intends to promote the study of film as an art form, was created in honor of Dr. Helen Connell, Associate Professor and Chair of the English and Foreign Languages department for many years. Dr. Connell’s passion for film led her to integrate the artistic medium into many of her World Literature and Humanities courses. Dr. Connell was a scholar, historian, and critic of film, and she maintained a small compendium of facts, legends, and trivia about the medium. In addition to receiving the respected award, winners receive a $50 prize, and their work is published in the What Oft Was Thought award-winning literary journal, which dates back to 1985. The biannual publication consisted of the best entries to the annual writing contest sponsored by the Sigma Tau Delta chapter at Barry as well as photographs produced by Barry students. The journal received first-place awards four times and second-place awards twice in national competitions.