FICTIONAL FACADES By Natalie Howarth Impact’s Natalie Howarth explores the ways that university is portrayed in works of fiction, how this compares to university in real life and whether there are similarities and differences in these portrayals, focusing closely on class.
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University is a makeshift and closed environment that the media often misrepresents, specifically in fictitious contexts. As a backdrop to exploring themes of friendship, love and hardships faced, some fictional representations of university life often put a comedic or satirical spin on the types of people you may meet at university. There is a lot of romanticisation of university that does not truly represent or resonate with students; therefore, with the popularisation of the genre of the campus and academia novels and films, I fear that our perceptions of university have been skewed. However, more contemporary examples of university through different forms of media can enable students to find comfort in the shared experience with a character in a book, film or TV show. One of my favourite portrayals of university in the last ten years and one book and TV series I always revisit when I am feeling alone: Normal People. Published in 2018, followed by the adaptation TV series’ release in 2020, both the book and TV series follow the whirlwind of a relationship between Marianne and Connell, two students who later go on to study at Trinity College, Dublin, and how their experiences differ due to a divisive and prominent factor that poses barriers at university: class.
“there is a lot of romanticisation of the experiences of university that do not truly represent or resonate with students”
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There is a stark difference in the lives that Marianne and Connell live at university due to their differing socio-economic backgrounds and how this impacts their experiences: Marianne lives in a surprisingly beautiful student house on campus, while Connell is forced to live off campus as the housing on campus is not within his budget. At a highly prestigious and bourgeois institution, Connell seems to believe he does not fit in, and thus thinks lowly of himself. We see this in his mental deterioration, in his heartbreaking therapy scene in episode 10. I think this storyline of Connell’s battle with anxiety and depression is extremely important and allows us as readers and/or viewers to relate, while also raising awareness of men’s mental health, which remains stigmatised in modern society.
“fictionalised representations of university can often be filled with misrepresentations, unrealistic expectations, stereotyping and clichés” Connell Waldron’s isolation at Trinity College is something a lot of students can identify with. According to a 2022 study conducted by the BBC, almost one in four students are lonely most or all of the time. This is a heartbreaking statistic to find and I think that along with the unsettling nature of the first-year halls of residence experience, and the constant pressure to be making the most of ‘the best years of your life’, come so many expectations that are not reached. While trying to do the most to reach an unattainable, movie-esque experience of university life is not realistic or sustainable, Connell Waldron’s experience seems very real to me and something that students can relate to, unlike any of the characters from Donna Tartt’s The Secret History!
