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Kelly
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Fri, Dec 5 2003 ..... 12:32 AM
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"A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking." -Anonymous
And that we are. "Techies'" Take on College Movies" has spent the last month analyzing and dissecting some of the best (and possibly worst) college movies. There was laughing, tears, but most of all, good times had by all. Each "Techie" has different views of each of the films, conveying discussion and in-depth scrutiny amongst each of the five members.
Animal House (1978)- each "Techie" stated that he or she could find a connection between their own life and the lives of the Delta House, mostly in the context of having fun with friends, or even at fraternities. Overall, the reviews of this classic were favorable, with the exception of one "Techie," who defended her reasoning by stating, "[Animal House] is a good comical movie, however, the antics in the movie did not amuse me all that much."
Good Will Hunting (1997)- once again, all the "Techies" were favorable toward this film, yet some discussed that the movie focused more on issues that occur in life during the early twenties, and not necessarily college age. Due to the fact that the film focuses mostly on personal growth and relationships, many individuals do not experience these milestone events until their post institutional era. One "Techie" even stated, "while Good Will Hunting is a great drama, it does in no way relate to my college life."
Old School (2003)- this was quite possibly "Techies'" favorite film viewed, collectively. One reviewer declared, "I am proud to say that Old School was the first movie ever to make me laugh hard enough that tears actually dripped off my face" when Will Ferrell shoots himself in the neck with a tranquilizer dart. Each member admitted that in some way he or she could relate to some of the crazy antics of this film as well.
Revenge of the Nerds (1984)- once again, "Techies" deemed this comedy worthy of good reviews. Most of the critics agreed that they were able to relate to the nerds, yet found the movie slightly embellished. One evaluator found the movie a tad bit absurd, admitting "if there were some jock conspiracy here at Tech to rid the campus of all the nerds, the only thing left would be tumbleweeds." It was agreed though, that this film was indeed entertaining and humorous.
Rudy (1993)- this was the one film that got the most diverse responses from the "Techies" group. Each member concurred that the film was about chasing down dreams, yet was at times corny. As one colleague puts it, "once you can sit back and look at a situation and say to yourself, 'I've given it my all. I've done my best,' then no matter what the outcome may be you can be proud of yourself." This is the film's message, and while not all of the crew agreed on the entertainment value of the movie, it was decided that Rudy is a film about heart.
"Techies" came together as a group, and took apart college films. While everyone did not share the same opinion, civilized conversation was held and opinions were stated. We beat our brains for the last month, and now we are all tired of thinking.
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Lynn
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Fri, Dec 5 2003 ..... 12:32 AM
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After blogging about college movies for the past month, I have seen a few connections between these type of movies. Also, I have noticed that there are really only two types of college movies. Either your typical Animal House/fraternity rival type college movies, or your growing/becoming an adult college movie. Three of the movies we watched were more party geared. These movies included Animal House, Old School and Revenge of the Nerds. The other two, Good Will Hunting and Rudy, were more serious and similar in some ways. Both movies were centered around male characters who came from poor backgrounds. Will Hunting, in Good Will Hunting, is a genius who does not use his brainpower for conventional purposes. He has so much talent and is offered a place at Harvard, but does not accept the offer because he is afraid of change and does not want to show off his genius. Rudy, was the exact opposite of Will Hunting. Rudy also came from a lower middle class family but was not very smart and did not have much athletic ability. However, he had a dream of going to Notre Dame and playing football. He had the will power and stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. Therefore Will Hunting had what it takes to be "successful" at life, but did not use it. Rudy did not have what it takes to be successful, but he went after it anyway.
So which movies were similar to us Techies? I would like to think it is a combination of both partying and pure Will Hunting genius. However, with finals coming up, I've been feeling a lot like Rudy. Hopefully we Techies learned from this blogging experience that we need a balance of partying and studying to make it at this place.
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Derek
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Fri, Dec 5 2003 ..... 3:43 AM
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When you watch a movie for fun you disregard the majority of the movie after you’ve watched it and you move on. One thing that I have really enjoyed about this project is that since I knew I was going to have to write a review of each movie I watched, I paid a lot closer attention to the movie then I normally would have and I noticed so many small details that I completely missed the first time I watched it. For example, I recently wrote a paper on the movie Fight Club so I watched the movie about a hundred times in the course of one week. The group then a few weeks later watched the movie Old School. When I went to blog about it after I watched it I sat there thinking to myself how similar it seemed to Fight Club in several areas. But I thought, “Oh, come on. It’s a comedy,” and moved on. Then, while reading the posts of the other members of my group I read Kelly’s entry on Old School and discovered that it was intended to be a spoof on Fight Club. It seemed cool to me that since I was paying a little more attention to the small details of the movie I picked up on something that I would have never noticed were it not for our project.
That same instance is an excellent example of another part of this project that I have really enjoyed, reading other people’s opinions on movies. Sure I’ve discussed movies with my friends before. But the conversations usually are only to the extent of, “That movie was funny” or “That action scene was awesome.” But to get to read the much more thought-out and articulate thoughts and opinions of my peers on movies that I had just seen as well was very interesting and educational for me. I discovered layers and details in movies that I had never noticed or contemplated before. This project has definitely encouraged me to pay a little more attention to the college movie genre as a whole.
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Stephanie
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Fri, Dec 5 2003 ..... 3:22 AM
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I believe that after blogging about college movies for the last month has allowed me to learn and understand the stereotypes portrayed throughout the movies. You have you typical fraternity boys portrayed in Animal House. They are the ones that party real hard, play practical jokes, and don't take school very seriously. However, they soon realize that they need to shape up and pass their classes to remain in school. In Old School, they have a similar obstacle to pass. The men in the fraternity must pass an all around competition to remain a fraternity on the schools campus. They work extremely hard to remain in school and realize that their is more to a fraternity than parties. In Revenge of the Nerds they are made fun of because they do believe that studying is a crucial part of college, however, they have come to realize that they need a balance of fun and work. They work to become a fraternity and prove themselves to the "jocks." This is similar to Rudy, because Rudy has to prove to everyone that he can play football with the best of them despite his size and athletic ability. He strives to be something great, with all his heart and might he accomplishes his dreams and he gets to play football for Notre Dame. Not only does he get to play in the final game, he makes the play of the game. Where as in Good Will Hunting, Will Hunting has an amazing ability that he does not use to his advantage. He chooses to remain in his safety bubble until he meets someone, Sean who is willing to challenge him and push him to use his abilities to get the best out of life.
All the movies have something in common with one another, they all have to work to get what they want in life. To reiterate, in Animal House they have to work for the grades to remain a fraternity, in Old School they must prove themselves as a team to remain a fraternity, in Revenge of the Nerds they must prove themselves to the school to show that they are worthy of becoming a fraternity, in Rudy he shows that work and persistance pays off and that dreams do come true, and in Good Will Hunting they show that to succeed in life you have to use your ability and work for what you want. Even though these movies appear very different each proves worthy of being a 'college movie.' Hopefully each person takes away something from this project that makes them want to work harder for what they want in life.
Don't take life to seriously, If you do the rest of the world will pass by without you noticing. Get a good balance of life and knowledge.
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Kelly
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Fri, Dec 5 2003 ..... 3:43 AM
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“Lately it occurs to me, what a long, strange trip it’s been.” –Grateful Dead
To start with, I cannot believe that we have been blogging as a group for a month. The time just flew by. I truly enjoyed the time I spent working with “Techies” and reviewing college movies in all their glory. We laughed, some cried, and we had a great time. I not only thoroughly enjoyed the films we viewed, but also the people I worked with. Thanks for everything guys!
Okay, on to more of the “meat” of my post. One thing I discovered from watching these five very different college movies was that all of them have some truth to be found. Whether it be through the Greek life experiences of Animal House, the relationship and growth issues of Good Will Hunting, the brotherhood of Old School, the nerd uprising of Revenge of the Nerds, or the heart of Rudy, there is something that I could relate to in every film. While our three comedy movies (Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds) focused on fraternities and Greek life, each had its own individual twist of the system, and a unique sense of humor. Interestingly enough, each was also released in a different decade, yet can apply to any year. Our two serious movies, Good Will Hunting and Rudy, were quite different from one another. Good Will Hunting focused almost completely on intellect and life’s relationships, whereas Rudy concentrated on being able to achieve goals in life, despite a lack of intellect or skill. I agree whole heartedly with Lynn when she states that, “Will Hunting had what it takes to be "successful" at life, but did not use it. Rudy did not have what it takes to be successful, but he went after it anyway.” Another aspect Derek and I found interesting was that it is quite difficult to find serious college movies. Almost every college movie is a comedy, and between the two of us we were only able to come up with five or so that would fall under the drama genre.
I think somewhere in the crazy world of college film, each of us is able to relate in some way. We don’t necessarily follow the given stereotypes, but everybody has been able to make a connection in some way to the films we have viewed. We all found out that some things about college are true, and sometimes expected events in life turn out to be completely unexpected. That’s what college is all about though, and that is what makes it such a great blend between a learning environment (for both school and life’s lessons) and fun times with new friends.
Entertainment Rating: 10
Reality Rating: 10
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Ayyad
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Sat, Dec 6 2003 ..... 9:37 PM
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"Five movies and five weeks later, it is going to be all over", I told myself in a sort of optimistic manner. All I was thinking about was that this semester is going to be done with and I can start over from a new page. However, during that time I did not consider that I would miss working on this particular group project and with all the group members. Having to watch, discuss and have our difference of opinion on all those movies was a very healthy and enlightening process. Mainly because we are able to through one way or the other transfer our ideas and receive others. For example, I was able to look at the better aspects of some movies that I might have perceived as “cheesy”. Like Derek, I believe that this project has given me the opportunity to go back and watch those movies more closely and be able to pick up on little details that will contribute to the discussion. All in all we watched three comedy movies and two serious ones, and I enjoyed all of them. Even though the comedy ones had all had the same sort of general idea, they all portrayed it in their unique way. Now, whether these movies relate to our lives is more of an individual preference. Though for the most part I think that a bit of each movie is, at one point or another, what we look forward to or yearn for. Whether it is the determination and willingness of Rudy, or the relaxation and party centered world of Animal House and Old school. Stephanie also brings up a crucial point about how each of these movies have a common concept or moral, and that is having to work hard to achieve a certain goal or desire in life. This group project was definitely a great experience and most certainly fun, it is something that I will without a doubt truly miss.
I hope everyone enjoys their winter holiday :) !
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