Investigations on cinematic representations of higher education have sought to provide a deeper understanding of popular culture images and how they intersect with real-life academia. Moreover, such projects have examined how such mass communication texts may influence popular opinion surrounding colleges and universities. The existing literature on specific depictions of college professors in American films has explored a number of themes from various perspectives. Many scholars claim that such cinematic representations of higher education and faculty are negative and reinforce cultural stereotypes. Yet, little has been written about how filmmakers create such images. This article examines cinematic college professors from the viewpoint of the filmmaker by completing a case study of a recently produced college professor film and members of its creative team. Interviews with the screenwriter/director, production designer, and costume designer of a pseudonymously titled film investigates how the work of these film professionals was influenced by a number of factors, including their own experiences in higher education, their personal conceptions of college professors, previously viewed college-themed films, and existing stereotypes about professors.
AndersonW.AnselmoR.BaileyM.CorwinC.JohnsonG.LaurenA.(Producers). , & BaumbachN.(Director). (2005). The squid and the whale [Motion Picture]. USA: Sony Pictures International.
3.
AppelleL.BaldwinD.BrownJ.GeorgesE.KofflerP.LutzusL.(Producers). , GlatzerR. & WestmorelandW.(Directors). (2014). Still Alice [Motion Picture]. USA: Lutzus-Brown.
ArmstrongS.BenderL.GordonJ.MooreC.MosierS.SmithK.(Producers). , DamonM. & AffleckB.(Directors). (1997). Good will hunting [Motion Picture]. USA: Lawrence Bender Productions.
6.
AustinD.BourneT. M.FinermanW.GersonJ.MooradianG.(Producers) & Stone IIIC.(Director). (2002). Drumline [Motion Picture]. USA: Fox 2000 Productions.
BrownD.CalleyJ.GrazerB.HallowellT.HowardR.McGillK.(Producers). , & HowardR.(Director). (2006). The da Vinci code [Motion Picture]. USA: Columbia Pictures.
18.
BrubakerJ. D.GrazerB.SherwoodK. K.LewisJ.LipskyM.SimmonsR.(Producers) & ShadyacT.(Director). (1996). The Nutty Professor [Motion Picture]. USA: Imagine Entertainment.
19.
CampbellJ. (1949). The hero with a thousand faces (Bollingen series; 17). New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
ConklinJ. E. (2008). Campus life in the movies: A critical survey from the silent era to the present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
23.
CreswellJ. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
24.
DeresiewiczW. (2007). Love on campus: Why we should understand, and even encourage, a certain sort of erotic intensity between student and professor. The American Scholar, 76(3) 36–46.
25.
DiPaoloM. (2015). How movies stereotype and demonize college professors. Sequart magazine. Retrieved from http://sequart.org/magazine/56422/how-movies-stereotype-and-demonize-college-professors/
DyerR. (1999). The role of stereotypes. In MarrisP. & ThornhamS. (Eds.), Media studies (2nd ed.). Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press.
28.
EdelmanL. F.WallisH. B.WarnerJ. L.(Producers) & KeighleyW.(Director). (1937). Varsity show [Motion Picture]. USA: Warner Brothers.
29.
FeaginJ. R.OrumA. M. & SjobergG. (Eds.). (1991). A case for the case study. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press Books.
30.
FishS. E. (1980). Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
31.
GerbnerG.GrossL.MorganM.SignorielliN. & ShanahanJ. (2002). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, 2, 43–67.
32.
GilgunJ. F. (1994). A case for case studies in social work research. Social Work, 39(4), 371–380.
33.
GlaserB. G.StraussA. L. & StrutzelE. (1968). The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative research. Nursing Research, 17(4), 364.
34.
GuillermoE. (2015). ‘San Andreas’ movie stereotypes academics. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://diverseeducation.com/article/73649/
35.
GurdjieffG. (2008). The herald of coming good. Encinitas, CA: Book Studio.
HamelJ. (1992). The case study method in sociology [whole issue]. Current Sociology, 40(1), 1–88.
38.
HeftS.HendersonD.WittP. J.(Producers) & WeirP.(Director). (1989). Dead poets society [Motion Picture]. USA: Touchstone Pictures.
39.
HintonD. B. (1994). Celluloid ivy: Higher education in the movies 1960–1990. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
40.
HolubR. C. (2013). Reception theory. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
41.
HughesJ.MestresR.MeyersC.NicksayD.PolaireM.Rodis-JameroN.RyanB.(Producers) & MayfieldL.(Director). (1997). Flubber. USA: Walt Disney.
42.
JacobsW.(Producer) & HumberstoneH. B.(Director). (1952). She’s working her way through college [Motion Picture]. USA: Warner Brothers.
43.
JacobsM.(Producer) & RedfordR.(Director). (1994). Quiz show [Motion Picture]. USA: Hollywood Pictures.
44.
JaussH. R. (1982). Toward an aesthetic of reception. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
45.
JaussH. R. & BenzingerE. (1970). Literary history as a challenge to literary theory. New Literary History, 2(1), 7–37.
46.
JonesC. (1996). Careers in project networks: The case of the film industry. The Boundaryless Career: A New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era, 58, 75.
47.
JungC. G. (2014). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
48.
JungC. G. & Von FranzM. L. (1968). Man and his symbols. New York City, NY: Dell.
49.
KazanjianH. G.LucasG.MarshallF.WattsR.(Producers) & SpielbergS.(Director). (1981). Raiders of the lost ark [Motion Picture]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
50.
KennedyK.KriegerK. M.LucasG.MarshallF.StewardD. L.TambelliniF. R.(Producers) & SpielbergS.(Director). (2008). Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull [Motion Picture]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
51.
KvaleS. & BrinkmannS. (2008). Interviews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
52.
LeBaronW.(Producer) & RugglesW.(Director). (1933). College humor [Motion Picture]. USA: Paramount.
53.
LongC. D. (1996). It came from Hollywood: Popular culture casts professors in a negative light. Academe, 82(4), 32–36.
54.
MacAdamA. (2008). Long Duk Dong: Last of the Hollywood stereotypes?Transcript of Broadcast on National Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88591800
55.
MayesC. (1999). Reflecting on the archetypes of teaching. Teaching Education, 10(2), 3–16.
56.
MayesC. (2002). The teacher as an archetype of spirit. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 34(6), 699–718.
OlikerM. A. (1993). On the images of education in popular film. Educational Horizons, 71(2), 72–75.
60.
OverallC. (2010). Professorial stereotypes: We need to create a more realistic image of ourselves. University Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/professorial-stereotypes/
ReinhardtW.WallisH. B.(Producers) & NugentE.(Director). (1942). The male animal. USA: Warner Brothers.
63.
ReitmanI.SimmonsM.(Producers) & LandisJ.(Director). (1978). National Lampoon’s Animal house [Motion Picture]. USA: Universal Pictures.
64.
ReynoldsP. J. (2007). The ‘reel’ professoriate: The portrayal of professors in American film, 1930–1950. (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Indiana University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing (3278460).
65.
ReynoldsP. J. (2014). Representing ‘u’: Popular culture, media, and higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report, 40(4), 1–145.
66.
RobertsC. (2010). Breaking academic stereotypes: The alcoholic Horndog tenured professor stereotype on film. Post Academic. Retrieved from https://postacademic.org/category/breaking-academic-stereotypes/
67.
RobertsonR. (1995). Jungian archetypes: Jung, Gödel, and the history of archetypes. York Beach, ME: Nicolas-Hays.
68.
ShaheenJ. G. (2003). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 588(1), 171–193.
69.
SnyderB. (2005). Save the cat! The last book on screenwriting you’ll ever need. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions.
70.
StraussA. & CorbinJ. (1990). Basics of qualitative research (Vol. 15). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.
71.
ThomasB. A. (2009). Professors on film: Is perception reality? Study of American comedic film treatment of university faculty from 1925 to 1951 (Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)). Paper 1395. South Orange, NJ.
72.
ThomasG. (2010). Archetype and imagery in the Enneagram. The Enneagram Journal, 3(1), 59.
73.
TobolowskyB. F. & ReynoldsP. J. (Eds.). (2017). Anti-intellectual representations of American colleges and universities: Fictional higher education. New York City, NY: Palgrave Macmillan U.S.
74.
UmphlettW. L. (1984). The movies go to college: Hollywood and the world of the college-life film. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
75.
WilliamsJ. J. (2010). The thrill is gone: Recent films portray the malaise of academic life. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Just-Like-in-the-Movies/64109/
76.
YaffeD. (2015). The gropes of academe: Woody Allen’s college fantasies. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/The-Gropes-of-Academe/232367/
77.
YinR. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
78.
ZelenskiD. (2002). Talent agents, personal managers, and their conflicts in the new Hollywood. Southern California Law Review, 76, 979.
