MovieChat Forums > The Paper Chase (1973) Discussion > In the end... In the elevator

In the end... In the elevator


Does Kingsfield really not know who Hart is? Or was he just trying to be a typical teacher and avoid bias?

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I'm not sure.

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I got the impression that Kingsfield didn't recognize Hart after the term was over. This is the main reason for his seating chart.

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It's obvious from his use of the seating chart from beginning to end of the class that he doesn't really know the names of any student.

I had a professor as a freshman (1970 at Utah State) who declared on the first day that he would learn everyone's name within the first week of class. This was a large class, about 130 students. He had each of us write down our name and our home town on a 3X5 card. By the end of the week, he had a name attached to every face. The class was Introductory Soils. He not only knew your name, he had also memorized your hometown and was well-enough traveled that he could discuss the soils and geology of the area where you lived. It was a required class which I dreaded taking, but after a bachelors, two masters and PhD studies, I still regard him as the most outstanding professor I ever had.

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In property class of probably 100 people or so, the professor seemed to know everyone's name really quickly. By the end of the first week, he certainly knew mine! He's kind of an old school professor (and the oldest among the faculty). I'm pretty impressed by the quickness of his ability to recall people's names. Pretty much one time of raising your hand, and he's got it. My torts professor wasn't far behind, although it's her first year teaching.

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Memorizing names does not a good professor make.

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I'd say he was just pretending to not know the name. He was too intelligent not to given their interactions. He was just putting keeping Hart in his place.

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Agreed.

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It was a required class which I dreaded taking, but after a bachelors, two masters and PhD studies, I still regard him as the most outstanding professor I ever had.


No insecurity masked by self-aggrandizement here. Nope. None at all. lol

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I think they call it "humblebrag". Or "humble brag". :) Check it on urbandictionary,com

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Cannot be a brag. He didn't say he completed the PhD. Master's is easy, bachelor's is super easy. They maybe meant something aeons ago, but now they are more like the baseline.

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Talk abut humble brag. No, it is not easy for most people to attain college degrees. And now students are sinking into hopeless debt trying to attain them.

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It's likely that Kingsfield didn't remember Hart's name.

Remember, the central character of this movie (and the TV series) is Hart, not Kingsfield. The sub-title to this movie could easily be "the trials and tribulations of James Hart, Law Student". The viewers are constantly shown Hart's point of view for the entire movie, and lulled into thinking "how could anyone NOT remember Hart's name?"

This is surely not Kingsfield's only class. As shown in the movie and TV series, he also hob-nobs with judges at all levels of government, congressmen, and all other manner of VIPs, so he has many other (more important?) people on his calendar than just the law students. It's also clear that he has no interest in forming personal relationships with any law student.


(Of course, he could just be knocking Hart down a notch.)

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I believe it's almost certain that Kingsfield knew Hart. How many of his students have shouted in his face, in front of the whole class that Kingsfield is an SOB? If Kingsfield didn't recognize Hart, he probably wouldn't recognize any of his students at all.

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[deleted]

I agree. I think Kingsfield just didn't want to give Hart the satisfaction of receiving personal recognition.

~~~~

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[deleted]

I think that the film should have ended with that scene.

It would have been a perfect ending.



"Mice work in mysterious ways."
"No, dear. That's God."

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It doesn't matter. If Kingsfield was just pretending to not know who Hart was, he was basically saying to Hart "I'll never let you get close to me so don't even try." If he didn't know Hart, that meant Hart spent a lot of time and energy in vain trying to impress him & get to know him. Personally I think he had to be just pretending to not know who Hart was. If a student in front of the whole class called him a "son of a bitch," my guess is he'd remember that student.

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[deleted]

Of course Kingsfield remembered him but he didn't want to give him that satisfaction of acknowledging him. Who wouldn't remember that electric static hair and mustache. He really did stand out in a crowd.

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