Movie Review: Higher Learning

“How many people came here to change the world? How many people came here to learn how to make a lot of money?” Sounds like the typical first-day-of-college spiel address to the incoming class of freshman students who have many things on their minds other than the academics. However, for the students attending Columbus University, making money soon becomes the least of their worries as they are thrown into social situations where they must face real world violence, racism, and hatred.

The film, Higher Learning, directed by John Singleton, begins with a rally of students and a speech from an authoritative figure encouraging the students to fulfill their potential. The camera pans across the crowd to briefly introduce the main characters including Malik (Omar Epps), Kristen (Kristy Swanson), and Remy (Michael Rapaport). Each of these students has a goal to obtain an academic education, but throughout the movie each learns a hard lesson in life. While Kristen finds herself in the midst of a rape situation, Malik is struggling to balance his academics and athletics, and Remy has no social group to fit into until a group of Nazis take him in and make him feel at home.

The opening scene caught my attention because it reminded me of a familiar situation I was in a mere two months ago when I arrived to Penn State for the first time and President Rodney Erickson gave us, as a freshman class, a welcome speech much like the one in the beginning of the movie. As a college student, I felt a connection to the characters because I could understand some of the stress they were feeling with school work piling up and having to balance different aspects of college life.

With that being said, a great college movie must consist of characters that can relate to the audience, meaning college students. This was achieved because each of the characters in the movie fit into a different stereotype or “clique,” so many college students can relate to the feeling of fitting in or oppositely, not being able to find their group of friends.

A successful college film must also have a plot with issues that college students actually face. Unfortunately, rape, violence, drinking and fitting in are topics that most college students are faced with or know someone who faces these issues. By having a plot that is not to elementary or too adult, this movie brings about issues that college students are most likely to relate to. By doing this, the movie captures and successfully holds the attention of their audience.

One scene in the film that was especially relatable was towards the beginning when Kristen was invited to a party, drank a little too much, and ended up walking home to a boy’s frat house where they began to make out and things spiraled out of control. Kristen was raped by that boy who she thought she trusted, which, sadly happens all too often on college campuses.

The characters in this movie went to college thinking they wouldn't be learning anything more than just math and physics, but soon realized the had deeper issues in life to learn about. Overall, the students were constantly facing struggles and situations where they were forced to learn about themselves in a way that may have been uncomfortable for them, but turned out to be positive in the long run.

Although the main audience is college students, any moviegoer who is interested in learning a lesson outside of their own issues would be a perfect candidate to see this movie. Filled with dramatic, tense scenes to violent, heartbreaking scenes this movie will appeal to many audiences.

Through all the violence, discrimination, and segregation brought up in the movie, the film ends on a somewhat ironic note. The last song being the National Anthem, which suggests that even through all the issues that these students encountered they, and we as an audience, all can relate to one another in a common struggle to engage in a higher learning. 

A Garden of Thought

Having been at Penn State for over a month now, I have become incredibly accustomed to speed walking, rushing from class to class, and dodging bikers and other students roaming around campus. Homework and exams have been piling up, so the field trip to the Arboretum last Monday was a nice break from the constant busyness that encompasses my life as a college student. It was my first trip to the H.O. Botanical Gardens and will most definitely not be my last. Upon seeing the first bunch of flowers, I was mesmerized. I felt a sense of tranquility flowing through me as a wandered the gardens with a few of my classmates. The garden gave me a sense of peace and it was refreshing to experience the nature and sun since the main source of sunlight I usually receive is through my dorm window waking me up at 8am.

Many of the flowers were rich in color; there were purples, yellows, corals, and whites. There was a patch of red peppers that caught my eye because they seemed out of place in the sea of flowers. I wondered if they were edible, and if they were, would they be Spicy? Flavorful? Bland?

 

As I continued down the path of the garden, I came across a trellis of large, green leaves with a simple brown bench sitting in the middle. I was taken aback by the simplicity and romance of this structure. My cheesy girly-girl side was revealed when I mentioned to my classmates that I dreamt of being proposed to in a place like this. This place was magical. I walked under the canopy and looked up to find green gourds hanging from the roof of the trellis. I laughed at this because I thought it brought a sense of humor to such a romantic, calm place.

The garden offered many different types of plants and trees, but overall I think I loved this place so much because of the feeling I had while walking through the garden. It was so peaceful and I enjoyed stepping away from my busy life on campus to explore a place that I probably would never have if it weren’t for Ms. S! I was especially fond of the benches placed in corners of pathways because I could see myself perched for hours just drinking a cup of tea and thinking. Simply thinking. The arboretum is a place where people can go to just think. About life, flowers, school, pretty much anything. At the beginning of the trip, I walked around with classmates, commenting on various aspects of the garden, but towards the end of my stay, I realized I wanted to roam the garden alone next time I visit.

I usually don’t enjoy waking up on Monday mornings after a long football weekend, however, a trip to the arboretum made it little more bearable. I look forward to returning to this wonderful place in the future!

A Friday Morning Spent with the Arts

Affirmative Action

Jerry Kearns, American

1987

While I saw many beautifully crafted pieces of work in the Palmer, the piece that stood out most was a painting titled Affirmative Action created by Jerry Kearns. The red and yellow buildings faded in the background contrasted the main image of the woman in black and white, scooping piles of debris with a shovel. The woman is wearing a dress and heels, but is in no way a “girlie girl” because she has muscles and a look on her face that says, “Don’t mess with me.”

This painting, which was created by using acrylic paint on a canvas, was completed in 1987. This was only a mere twenty years after President John F. Kennedy signed the first Executive Order to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination in the workplace, also known as affirmative action. The piece clearly depicts a woman in the workforce and goes to show that women are just as capable as men to do any kind of work. I was also very pleased to see that the artist was a man who clearly supports women’s struggle for equality and acceptance in the workforce especially.

I think the most obvious reason I connected to this piece in particular is that I am a woman just like the one in the painting. I can relate to her because I, too, will one day be a working member of society and hoped to be treated equally with men and other women. I am a supporter of affirmative action because I believe everyone should have equal opportunity to show his or her capabilities. If a man can do a job, why shouldn’t a woman at least be given a chance to prove herself too?

The first way this painting gains credibility is through the title, Affirmative Action. Many people know the definition of this word, which automatically helps audiences understand the piece. Jerry Kearns, the artist, was a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which adds to his credibility because he is an expert on art and has contributed to the world of art in ways other than just creating paintings.

I think the piece of art is making a very obvious claim supporting affirmative action and the equality of women and men in the workplace. I think the artist was attempting to portray the physical and mental strength of the woman through her body language and facial expression in order to persuade audiences that women deserve the equality and respect the same way men do in the workplace.

Last Friday was my first time visiting the Palmer Museum and I had a very good first time experience. I have never been a museum fanatic, yet I am not completely opposed to museums either. I think my stance on museums is neutral until proven otherwise. This visit was different from most of my other museum visits because I am used to going on field trips or with family, thus experiencing the museum through a guided tour. This trip however was a self-guided tour and I enjoyed exploring the paintings and sculptures at my own pace. I don’t see myself going back to the museum voluntarily, but if I was assigned to go back for another class I wouldn’t dread the experience. 

Blog Post #1

When I was given the choice of templates, the first one that drew my eye was the simple yet sweet, peach-colored font and white background. My intent of this blog is to help my classmates and professor learn about who I am as a person and a writer. I want readers to be focused on my writing and what I have to say, not distracted by annoying pop-ups and wild colors.

I am a big fan of alliterated titles and catch phrases, so I wanted to incorporate that into my own blog’s title. I am also thoroughly enjoying my time in Stuart Halls as a freshman, so I wanted to play off of my building name for a true representation of my first year and first blog at Penn State.

It may seem boring to some, but to me Times New Roman is classy, timeless, and clean. I did not want to bombard my readers with overdone fonts or colors and felt that “Times” was the appropriate fit for my personality and the intent of my blog. I like to be very organized, so the clean font with a serif fit the bill.

In my “About Me” tab, I included some vital information about me such as my favorite shows and pig-out foods. I provided my readers with enough information to get a general idea about who I am, but not enough to let them know everything about me. I need to leave some things up for personal interpretation! 

The process of creating my blog was daunting at first, but once I began playing around with the different features it was less frightening. I have not yet added any other tabs to my blog because I'm not sure what else I would like to share with my readers.