Fresh Faculty: Nathaniel Brennan

Nathaniel Brennan, a visiting professor in Amherst’s film and media studies and English departments, has a deep love for cinema that is rooted in his childhood. Alongside sharing this passion with the Amherst community in the three months he has been here so far, he has prioritized creating spaces where all students feel welcome and supported.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, a college town much like Amherst, Brennan gained an appreciation for academia from his father, who worked at the University of Delaware. His dad, “a huge cinephile,” introduced him to movies at an early age, sparking a lifelong passion for film. One of Brennan’s earliest movie memories is being taken to see the movie “Willow” (1988) around the age of five and finding it so scary that he and his family had to leave before it ended.

In high school, Brennan admits, academics were not usually his first priority. However, after high school he attended the University of Delaware with a more serious academic mindset. There, Brennan took a variety of classes before settling on English, a department that allowed him to study what he thought was most interesting: film. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in 2005, Brennan pursued graduate studies at New York University, eventually completing his Ph.D. in May 2023.

For Brennan, what makes film particularly captivating is its accessibility and versatility as a storytelling medium. He views film as “an interesting puzzle to try to figure out,” offering endless opportunities for learning. Brennan enjoys film as a medium because there is a shared common language and basic level of sophistication which he builds off of as an educator. In his classes, he enjoys introducing unique, off-beat films that his students have not seen before, provoking engagement and curiosity.

Brennan makes an interesting distinction between books and movies, suggesting that movies, even the ones that span four hours, provide limited time with a subject, while books allow readers more time to “let it sink in.” Despite this, he admits to favoring movies, finding it easier to “press play on something than convince [him]self to stay awake to read.” While he values the deep engagement that books provide, he prefers the ease and immediacy offered by film.

One thing Brennan wishes more people knew about film is there is often a false sense of having an enormous amount of content available to watch. He cautions that streaming platforms are less stable than they appear; with major corporations controlling media access, films can and have completely vanished from platforms due to licensing changes or corporate decisions. Brennan stresses the importance of physical media libraries in colleges, arguing that physical copies ensure films remain available for future viewing and study, even if they disappear online.

This semester, Brennan is teaching “Film and Writing” and “Intro to Film Studies,” with plans to teach more specialized courses like “Spectral Cinema” (exploring ghosts and liminality in film) and “Film Theory” (focusing on Siegfried Krakauer) in spring 2025. Despite his self-described introverted nature, Brennan brings a unique perspective to academic life. He admits teaching does not come naturally to him, but that he had to just get over it and embrace it like a performance, likening each class to “going up to an open mic” at a comedy club where you are not a comedian.

Brennan strives to develop a conversational classroom environment, one that tries to involve everyone and prioritizes student comfort and engagement. Despite experiencing pre-class anxiety, he has learned to embrace the performative aspects of teaching while also being his authentic self, which he describes as somewhat sardonic and sarcastic. Brennan says he is not much of a disciplinarian, instead focusing on problem-solving and how he can best support his students through challenges. His teaching philosophy partly stems from his own experience as a reserved and shy student, which has inspired him to make academic spaces that fit different personality types.

After asking Brennan the quintessential “favorite movie” question (which he also told me is the one question that people in film studies hate … sorry!) Brennan named “Robocop” (1987) for its blend of humor and intelligence, alongside “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) and “The Substance” (2024). The question is hard for him because he tends to view films academically. However, these selections stand out for being memorable and rewatchable experiences for him.

Brennan lives by two guiding mantras. The first comes from a massive red barrel hanging in the New York State Museum in Albany — which he often observed while writing his dissertation — marked with the words, “At least you try.” He applies this phrase to the classroom, encouraging students to try different things and wear a lot of different hats instead of converting them into fans or dedicators to academia. His second mantra comes from Warren Zevon’s last appearance on the David Letterman show: “Enjoy every sandwich,” a reminder to appreciate life’s simplest pleasures that often get taken for granted.