The story of my life...
Liking movies is another no-no in the Academy. “Films” are OK, as long as they’re depressing or foreign. Documentaries are even better. But nothing too fun, mind you.
When I was a kid in the eighties, I adored slasher flicks. Don’t ask me why or how. My parents (responsible as ever) did everything they could to shield me from such meaningless gore. Nevertheless, I managed to see Friday the 13th (all of ‘em!), Nightmare on Elm Street (ditto), Silent Night, Prom Night, Hellraiser, Deadly Friend and all the rest. I delighted in them.
Fast forward to about a year ago, right when I’m trying to decide what in God’s name I’m doing in this job. I’m up on a Friday night and I can’t sleep. Flipping through the channels, I find the original Halloween and I can’t help but watch. Suddenly, I’m back in the eighties. I know, I know I should be offended by the movie’s glee in stalking women (John Carpenter’s cinematic brilliance set off a plethora of misogynistic imitators). I know Jamie Lee Curtis’ character is slow and passive. I don’t care. It’s fun. A thousand feminist film critics can’t take that away.
That’s what I remember, looking back to my youth, the fun. There was no gender theory in my mind, only the moment when the psychopathic stalker would scare the bejeezus out of you by popping out of a closet. That was it. That was what it was all about. And I think I’d like return to that innocent state, even though I’m sure I can’t.
Elle: "No more trying to be something I’m not." Emmet: "What if you’re trying to be something you are?" This exchange is brilliantly zen.
I’ll see the occasional costume drama if it’s pretty enough, but really I just want to be entertained. That’s why I what I really love are comedies – and not sophisticated comedies, either. Dumb comedies. “Guy” comedies. Black comedies. And yes, even the much-maligned rom-com. Legally Blonde is one my favorite movies ever, not only because of its stellar cast, but also because I’ve been made to feel like Elle Woods more times than I can count.[1]
After I became a professor, I became obsessed with how professors were portrayed in comedies. I absolutely hate movies that do the stuffy intellectual thing – I mean, they’re correct in the sense that there are still an unfortunate number of these people operating, but I don’t think we should celebrate it.
I, predictably, prefer not-so-grownup movies. There’s Animal House, of course, which sees all profs as inherently evil, a view that many movies have followed.
But lately, I’ve noticed some glimmers of hope – movies that see professors as downers, sure, but sometimes OK. I really like Van Wilder, and not just because Ryan Reynolds gets nekked in it. We also find out at the end that Van Wilder’s econ professor has been rooting for him all along, just waiting for him to work up to his damned potential. If you’ve taught, you’ve been there.
Accepted is my favorite, though. First of all, Lewis Black plays the funniest PhD ever. And the movie has a brilliant scene where our protagonist Bartleby (Justin Long), who has started a fake college, visits a “real” university to see what it’s like. What he sees: apathetic students texting in class, apathetic teachers teaching useless information, and in general, a campus full of people with no idea why they’re there. The montage builds as Bartleby looks around in horror and confusion at this ridiculous process, and that moment encapsulates everything that’s really wrong with education today. It’s awesome.
Otherwise, TV and movies get academia totally, hilariously wrong. I put this down to most writers and directors never having been on the teaching side of things. They approach the topic from the only view they know, that of a student. But man, do they miss out on the real drama.[2]
[1] Look, I really wanted to be Professor Stromwell (played by the fantabulous Holland Taylor), but it clearly wasn’t meant to be.
[2] Hint, hint, TNT or FX.
Good point on the film vs. movies issue. When you get a bit older, its like its assumed you’ll want to watch Bergman films and look down on movies like Animal House. In reality, most people I know feel the opposite. I freaking LOVE Animal House, and Blues Brothers, and most random 80s films, so props on some of your choices
It’s true that people seem to expect “grownups” to watch sophisticated entertainment — ha! And the Blues Brothers is AWESOME, even if it did get approved by the Vatican.
I’m with you on the bizarre portrayals of professors on screen. A Single Man was interesting for that — the main character had a little of the stereotypical Captain-My-Captain type (breaking off a lecture on literature to suddenly try to get through to the students about big questions) but was also a bereaved gay man in 1950s California trying not to succumb to a student’s advances. Probably my favorite thing about that portrayal of teaching was that it reflected that feeling of having to pull it all together to teach when you are falling apart. In that way there was some real humanity in the depiction. It made me think how almost all the other representations are a student fantasy – the view of the professor from the seat in the lecture hall.
So, are there *any* female professors on film? I can think of high school teachers (Dangerous Minds, e.g.), which is typical of the gendering of education and also, I guess, why so many of my students reflexively call me “Miss”…
Then there’s the prof. from Community…
Don’t forget, there’s Professor Minerva McGonagall of Harry Potter fame
True, and Maggie Smith has played one kick-ass teacher ever since The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie!
Other than McGonagall, all I can think of is Sally Kellerman as the “hot prof” in Back to School. There was a movie called Tenure, which I didn’t see. It had a female prof but I think she was the evil antagonist to Luke Wilson’s hapless prof. How original.
I’ll have to see A Single Man. I’d really like to see more stories from the prof’s point of view; I’m just imagining how the kiddies would like our version of them…
Then there’s my new favorite role model, Sue Sylvester.
You should watch Tenure. The female professor (played by Gretchen Mol) is not evil. Very funny movie that pokes fun at academia in an original way.
Writers, too, often don’t get academe, and even if they do, they don’t get parts of it. I thought Jane Smiley’s Moo was pretty good about undergrads, faculty, and administrators, but she didn’t have a clue about grad students.
I can’t remember if I read Moo or not…it sounds familiar. True that most authors don’t know what they’re talking about, but some do — I seem to remember Book: A Novel being an inside job. And of course Lucky Jim, my absolute favorite of all time!