Welcome to college! For some, you’ll be well equipped to handle the halls and various dorm rooms of the college life here at Longwood University. For others, this may be your first time stepping onto a campus for realsies. If you don’t know when the dining hall opens or closes, where the post office is or which of the delicious dining options downtown takes you bonus dollars, then congratulations, you’re a freshman!
However, if you do need the answers to those questions, you’ll have to look elsewhere. This is the place to show you what the fake colleges you may have seen on the big screen can teach you about real college. Because underneath all of the panty raids, mascots being stolen and ridiculous parties, there is actually some valuable information to be learned.
Accepted
“Accepted” is not a perfect film. It has quite a few problems with jokes, pacing and plot. It manages to be entertaining overall, which is due, in large part, to its message. This is a movie about a group of slackers who make up a college after they get rejected from all the ones they applied to. While completely illogical, the movie carries a strong message about following your own passion. This is something that every student should keep in mind while at college. Maybe after two years of learning psychology, you realize that you’d rather learn English. That’s okay. It makes no sense to study something for four years if you aren’t invested or passionate about it.
22 Jump Street
After the success of the first reboot, Jonah Hill, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Channing Tatum created an equally funny sequel to the 2012 film. In that film, there is an important message about spending some time in another person’s shoes, but this film has a message (and a plot) more specific to college. Many people come to college with roommates or friends from home, and then get worried or upset when thing don’t work out. “22” reminds us that, often it’s our differences that make our relationships work, and just because you disagree with someone, doesn’t mean you should completely shut them out. Especially if it’s a roommate.
Monster’s University
After the monstrous success of the first film, Pixar returned to the world through the closet doors to tell the story of a monster’s college. While the film wasn’t as close to perfect as the original, it was still funny and engaging with great animation, a heartfelt story and some well-timed jabs at college film clichés. The message of the film also rings true for anyone college-aged; sometimes things don’t work out the way you’d planned. You may make mistakes, fail a class or not get the internship you wanted. But, like “Accepted” before it, “MU” still encourages you to roll with the punches, to dust yourself off and get back up again.
Revenge of the Nerds
It’s impossible to mention college films without mentioning “Revenge of the Nerds.” The first film is a classic, and manages to have a strong moral and lesson, despite being filled with the same type of debaucherous content that one can also find in “Animal House.” The film and characters encourage the audience to embrace themselves for who they are. If you’re a nerd, then be a nerd. Don’t let the world tell you who you should be, even if they try to with violence or mockery. It’s a strong message for an R-rated college film and probably the strongest and most important on this list.
Despite these messages, the most important thing to remember is that college is a new chapter of your life, and you should embrace it. Maybe this is your first time on your own, maybe it isn’t. Either way, you should welcome the changes and new opportunities with open arms. But always remember what “An Extremely Goofy Movie,” another classic college film taught us: parents can and will show up at any time.
