FICTIONAL FACADES OF HIGHER EDUCATION

FICTIONAL FACADES OF HIGHER EDUCATION

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.

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 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.

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!

While fictionalised representations of university can often be filled with misrepresentations, unrealistic expectations, stereotyping and clichés, there are films and other forms of media that provide inspiration and motivation to keep going. Gus Van Sant’s film Good Will Hunting is an incredible example of how a university backdrop can be a place for discovering yourself, friendship and love, and most importantly, development. It follows a young Matt Damon who works as a Janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is a self-taught mathematical genius.

In an arguably iconic scene in cinema history, Will and his friends are in a bar, and he intervenes with some students who are discussing their knowledge about the market economy, except one of the students is undermining his friend: “Of course, that’s your contention. You’re a first-year grad student. You just got finished readin’ some Marxian historian -- Pete Garrison probably…” I find this a really empowering moment for Will as he outsmarts the student who has an air of pretension and classism when he attempts to clap back at him and say “Yeah, but I will have a degree. And you’ll be serving my kids fries at a drive-through on our way to a skiing trip.” This comment is a highly classist attitude towards Will’s inaccessibility to higher education at a prestigious school in and around the Boston area. I think that Will’s ability to outwit a privately educated man is empowering to all: this film is a moving and poignant story and I think it is a must-watch for everyone!

Moving to the novel, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is a favourite but does not represent university fairly and realistically. I think it acts as more of an escape from reality rather than being representative of the student life and experience. It follows a group of hedonistic classics students who live lavishly and are driven to insanity when they decide to kill their friend, Bunny. It is not a book to inspire the university experience, but rather to be hyperbolic and satirical towards the types of people you may meet at university. As the book highly romanticises the toxic behaviours and traits that each character possesses, acting self-destructively without any repercussions is an example of something that is inaccurate yet still portrayed.

For some people, university is the first time they are far away from home without any restraints and new people that know nothing about them, therefore it is a time for personal reinvention: just do not aspire to reinvent yourself as a Henry Winter archetype. This book also has a huge lack of diversity with the characters coming from rich backgrounds, except from our unreliable narrator, Richard. Their privilege and family’s wealth enable them to indulge in their studies, something not every student can do due to the cost of living at university.

Overall, I think university as the location for books, film and television opens up the opportunity to explore self-development, a newfound independence as well as themes of friendship, love and of course, academia. I think whether they are relatable and cathartic or just provide a form of escapism or comedy from the realities of university, the university backdrop is entertaining and somewhat familiar for us students.