Communicating College: The Depiction of Community College in Film and Television

• In Event: Watching “U”: The Representation of Higher Education in Film and Television

Abstract

Although higher education has been a frequent subject in film and television from Horse Feathers (1932) to Greek (2011), few films or television series have depicted the community college experience (e.g., Good Will Hunting, 1997; The Parkers, 1999-2001). With a majority of students attending community college at some point in their educational journey (Adelman, 2006), this qualitative study explores the community college portrait in film (Larry Crowne, 2011; Good Will Hunting, 1997) and television (The Parkers, 1999-2004; Community, 2009-present) where a significant part of the narrative is set on a community college campus.

Based on cultivation theory, which posits that media representations become integrated into the worldviews of the audience if the images are repeated and consistent, a textual analysis was conducted on two films and two television series that depicted community college in the late 1990s and the present. This analysis concentrated on identifying themes, characters, and ideas representing the community college experience at these two time points to determine if the representation has been consistent over time and what those messages may be.

Author

• Barbara F. Tobolowsky, The University of Texas - Arlington