Getting through to students in the classroom continues to be one of the great mysteries of an educator's life. What will capture their attention, and, more important, what will transform their thinking? Film industry veteran and educator Barbara Tobolowsky returned to her roots in visual media to find answers. Using video clips to introduce a range of topics relevant to college students, then asking the students to analyze and write a three-to-five page paper on their findings, she found that even the most sophomoric films can provide very provocative and powerful messages about college. The richness of the students' papers proved to Tobolowsky that the films and videos had engaged all of the students, regardless of their learning preferences, and pushed them to use and develop their analytic skills. The lessons learned were about more than film or college success skills; they were about personal growth, and videos and films had helped them get there. (Contains 3 notes.)