A weekend spent at the movies is not a rare event for most SF State students. However some are opting to skip the Metreon or AMC and instead choosing to spend their weekend at McKenna Theatre on campus. And here’s the kicker—they are earning units for their viewings.

Students are signing up to take what professors, advisors and students have deemed one of the most entertaining and easiest ways to earn units towards graduation.

“It can be a lifesaver for students who come in and need extra units for financial aid, housing or insurance purposes,” SF State advisor Joseph Benjamin said. “[Students] need random units—so first thing I say is Cinema 325.”

Cinema 325 is a one unit film course with different topics that is offered year round, even through the winter semester and for the College of Extended Learning. The class is completed in one weekend. The course can be taken a maximum of three times for credit, according to Benjamin, who has been an advisor at SF State for eight years.

Benjamin advised that students following the freshmen pattern can satisfy category B of the humanities and creative arts by taking the course repeatedly.

Another perk is that Cinema 325 is strictly a credit/no credit course. Credit/no credit is a university grading policy that allows students to receive credit for their work, but not in the form of a letter grade. Therefore, whether students pass or fail, their grade point average does not change.

“The nice thing is [since the class is credit/no credit], it doesn’t affect your GPA one way or the other,” said Benjamin with a coy smile that highlighted his deep set dimpled cheeks.

The two-day course begins on a Friday afternoon, continues into the evening and concludes Saturday afternoon. During this time, students view upwards of five films and participate in lecture discussions. The course includes wide array of topics, which in the past have included films by directors Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese. Other times, genres such as melodrama and horror are explored.

This semester’s six sections are just as versatile.

According to cinema professor Steve Kovacs, students who choose to only attend one 325 class this semester should opt for Contemporary Filmmakers, which he described as a very special one unit class that is essentially a mini film festival. The class will showcase approximately four films that will be presented at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October before the general public gets to view them.

“These are films that have never been seen before, not been seen anywhere,” explained Kovacs as he sat in his office. Movie posters of Hitchcock’s classics and recent flicks like “Atonement” decorate the walls around him.

After each film there will be a discussion period with the director, so students may ask questions and learn the film's background and inspiration. “For the director to come and talk about how he raised the money, how he made the film, the problems he had—it’s going to be fascinating,” Kovacs said.

For students who would like to explore in depth the familiar names in film history, the "Four Movie Goddesses" section of the Cinema 325 may be just what they are looking for. Britta Sjogren, who will be teaching this section, has decided to devote the entire weekend course to one goddess—Marilyn Monroe. According to Sjogren, the class will be showing some of Monroe’s best films and talk about her persona as the ultimate objectified female movie icon.

The first Cinema 325 course to take place this semester was titled, “Science Fiction.” The course focused on the chronological development of science fiction with films from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. The objective of the class was to portray the progression in technology and ideology.

Sophomore Kasra Jessop-Shakikhan chose to take this section due to his interest in science fiction and his desire to have 15 units each semester. According to Jessop-Shakikhan, the university's admittance of so many freshman this semester complicated acquiring 15 units. After reviewing the one and two unit class options, he decided to take Cinema 325.

Jessop-Shakikhan said that the class covered a lot of material for a two-day course. “I learned specific examples, like how history and science fiction parallel one another,” said the 20-year-old psychology major.

Unlike other courses offered at SF State, Cinema 325 allows students the convenience of crashing the class the day it takes place.

Professors teaching the course advise students to obtain pre-registration for any desired section before the September 23 deadline for two reasons. One reason is that the university receives its funding based on the number of students enrolled in classes before the deadline. Any students adding after the deadline are not incorporated into the equation.

The second reason is that late add students will need to fill out a form explaining why they did not pre-register.

But whether they receive a late add or not, students have a high chance of taking any section they’d like. The maximum amount of students for each course is equal to the size of McKenna Theatre — 400.

Although the course has been described as “easy” by students and staff, it does require students to do a minimal amount of work. According to Kovacs and Sjogren, students will either be tested with an exam or they must write an essay that is due in class or within the following week.

“It’s pretty easy to pass—but not automatic,” Kovacs said. “To not pass, you have to really not make any sense [on the essay], or just refuse to say anything—then I’ll fail them.”

Self proclaimed sci-fi geek, Luke Neu described the opinion essay at the conclusion of the first course as easy—advising students to just be confident in their writing. The 22-year-old theatre major decided to take the course not because he needed the units, but rather because he had the time.

“[The class is] pretty easy,” said Neu chuckling during a phone interview. “You sit and watch movies all day, and woo-hoo, you get a unit!”