Profile-Matt Usner

Usner in his office at LBCC on this past Valentine's Day.

As one of many English teachers on campus here at LBCC, Matt Usner displays a great sense of enthusiasm towards his work; and makes every effort to instill that feelings in his students.

The inspiration for this line of work stemmed from his own experiences in the past. “I was fortunate enough in high school that I had really good English teachers,” said Usner in a recent interview with him. “I don’t think it was my favorite subject initially, I was sort of drawn into the field and the discipline. Once I began teaching part time, I realized this was the right place for me.”

Usner currently teaches a class in difference, power and discrimination in film. One subject matter that came up was the current environment for certain groups, based on recent controversies such as the live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell. He replied “It’s a big question, I think things are better historically than they’ve ever been, it’s really filled voices and roles that have been largely excluded from mainstream cinema. I think you see more diversity these days in some streaming shows on Amazon and Netflix than in mainstream movies.” Usner also added that “Things are better, but we’re still not seeing a balanced representation.”

A related note discussed was where opportunities will be for other groups in the coming years; based on how popular series such as “Star Wars” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have cast roles in their new and future installments. Here is what Usner had to say on the matter: “ I think it’s going to continue to get better because the issue is more widely recognized as something that needs to be addressed.” Usner stated that while independent films have been able to catch on quicker in this regards, he added that “The true litmus test will be in mega blockbusters with Marvel such as “Black Panther.”

In regards to where Usner finds potential material to include in his class, he responded to this question as follows: “I’m looking to that class to start a conversation, any material I see can be useful. If we’re looking at material, I think that’s something to start a conversation about.”

He describes the class as “an opportunity to critically reflect on what they’re seeing and what they’re not.” Usner takes what is given to him as an opportunity to motivate his students, saying that “I really want to push them into seeing something they wouldn’t on their own.”

Lastly, there was the topic of why Usner considered film such a fascinating subject matter. “It’s an art form, art is interesting to me. It’s an art form that’s popular on the mass level. For good or bad, we live in a visual culture inundated with images every day and see a reflection of our larger society.” Usner concluded by saying “Its history compared to other art forms is shorter, that history feels manageable; we’re essentially looking at the 20th century.”