We’ve covered a number of HE-related movies here in the past. Among the best is Monsters University which remains entertainingly daft.
Even better though is Dear White People, a sharp and funny film which tackles issues of both race and class in a US university in a very entertaining and often challenging way.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other HE themed films worth avoiding, including Murder University and Dead on Campus, as reported here.
More recently we have seen the release of Life of the Party, which should be an opportunity to reflect on the challenges faced by mature students, but instead goes for cheap laughs as a recently divorced mom decides to attend the same college as her daughter.
More interesting though is American Animals, a cinematic representation of true crime on campus.
The movie tells the story of an incredibly audacious and yet incompetent heist organised by a group of students intended to liberate some rare books from an American university library. It sounds very good indeed.
But the highlight of your HE autumn viewing has to be this one from MTV. ReFreshers Week is a reality TV show which is apparently like “The Apprentice but a bit sillier”. This “star-studded” programme features Gemma Collins and is generously supported by a major cider producer.
(The programme) will follow eight ReFreshers on a journey discovering new places, new people whilst fearlessly taking on new challenges. And it looks like it will be a barrel of laughs, considering that Towie’s Gemma appears as a university professor, sharing her academic gems with the eight contestants who all have their eye on being the ultimate winner bagging a cash prize of £25,000 – and the opportunity to refresh their lives.
Sounds great, doesn’t it.
The stars will be hosting uni-inspired tasks – one which includes cramming a presentation about all things GC – and they are sure to take many of us back to the days of our care-free student hall days. Gemma, who didn’t go to uni herself, loved filming the show so much she walked away inspired to kick-start a degree themed around herself. The Celebrity Big Brother star enthused: ‘As a natural diva, I absolutely love being in charge as a professor and I’m considering speaking to the Uni of Essex about launching an official degree in GC’.
We don’t have any information yet about the planned curricular developments at the University of Essex but it surely won’t be long.
All in all, HE at the movies and on TV looks unmissable this autumn.
