Man I think its got to be up there. The film maker misses the mark so badly, its laughable. To compound this, the film takes itself so seriously. This one makes my top-5 list.
shareDefinitely one of the worst and most racist.
share[deleted]
Oh, I laughed throughout the film, but I don't think the film was meant to be funny. PCU was a satire about politcal correctness run amok. This film is every PC, bleeding heart's wet dream come to life. But yeah, you are right the whole thing about being a freshman college being like being like your first day in the prison yard is hilarious. The scene where Tyra Banks spits blood is hysterical.
You need to look up the definition of satire.
This is not a satire.
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That's some bizarre logic, dude. It's not a satire at all, and should be viewed as it was intended to be viewed, as a serious drama. The movie doesn't work today cause the subject matter no longer has as much impact. Just like some 80's movies or 70's movies. Doesn't negate the fact that, at one time, it was important.
It's a sad thing that your adventures have ended here
That's correct the film is not satire at all. And you can't view it as such.
The only thing I disagree with is that it didn't work in the 90s either.
It was laughable back then.
I just watched the movie why so serious??? its a movie!!!! you think this is bad....i was already being called names in primary school back in 1997 in London England....obviously what can you do....
shareThe problem was that it inadvertently came off as a laughable parody. This was not Singleton's intent when he made it, of course. Did it make people think or reconsider their actions or attitudes? By the response on these message boards, I would say not.
It's a far cry from his earlier work, "Boyz in the Hood" which was phenomenally written and directed. I think Singleton was trying to say too much in "Higher learning" and as a result, he used too broad of brushstrokes to paint the characters and events which lacked any depth or subtlety. When the "manipulation of thought" is presented obviously, most intelligent people recognize it as manipulation and reject it, even though they might still subscribe to that school of thought.
It's like those ads on TV for the ChildFund ("just 35-cents a day") or those ASPCA ads with "sad doggies" in cages. Tell me what you're thinking. But don't try to guilt and manipulate me into what you're thinking. It's offensive to think I am that easy to control.
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The characterization of all the dramatis personae had the depth of a brochure on date rape. Yet a "Take Back the Night" rally was more entertaining than "Higher Learning" because the script made Valley of the Dolls read like Anna Karenina, and the plot was premised on straw man after straw man—the most egregious of which was Remy.
Per aspera ad astra--dum spiro, spero! Ivi vi via.
I saw this film back in 1995 and thought it was good. I saw it in 1999 and thought it was silly. I saw it 2 years ago and thought it was downright hysterical.
First, if a white director had made this, he would be called a racist and would probably be blacklisted and never allowed to make a studio film again.
Second, this film is preachy in a hammer to the head kind of way.
Third, are there any good white people??
Fourth, every cop is racist.
Fifth, every African American is in the right, every white person - in the wrong.
Sixth, I get what Singleton is trying to say and that the college campus is meant as an allegory where it represents the US as a whole. The problem is - its hammy and over the top.
Singleton had 2 good movies (Boyz and Poetic) then he made this...which is awful. Rosewood is good. But since then, he has made studio crap - with the exception of Baby Boy - he has nothing to say and is a director 4 hire.
it's up there
so many movies, so little time