There's a new movie coming out. You might or might not have seen ads for it, it's called "Man of the House." The general plot is a bunch of University of Texas cheerleaders are witness to some assasination, and Tommy Lee Jones, a Texas ranger, must protect them and keep them in a safehouse. Hilarious antics ensue, some of which involve feminine hygiene and makeovers.
I attend University of Texas. Whist there are cheerleaders, and yes, there are drunken football fans, there might also be an academic program somewhere on campus, I believe. I'm pretty sure at least once I went to some sort of thing called "crass" or "glass" or "grass," maybe, where there was a person who was old who stood up and talked at a bunch of kids my age.
Seriously, though, we celebrate football and drunken antics no more than the next school, only we wear cowboy hats when we do it. And, yeah, we got the usual smattering of Barbie-esque gals but not much more than other schools (I actually usually hear this is the case, here). However, this movie seems to sell UT on that idea: get blitzed and get to know ditzy but endearing cheerleaders at University of Texas, wahoo (fires pistols into air).
PS: However, my friend is an extra in the movie.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I think it's pretty common to portray all universities this way. What's the college stereotype? Frat boys and beer parties.
Sadly, there are a lot of students who come to college fully expecting higher education to be just that. Posted by AntiCool (Member # 7386) on :
quote:Seriously, though, we celebrate football and drunken antics no more than the next school, only we wear cowboy hats when we do it.
I know that high school football is far more important down in Texas than in most other parts of the country. Are you saying this doesn't translate into a greater importance for university footaball as well?
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Good point, mph. High school cheerleading, too, is a bigger deal and I'm sure that carries on into College.
And the weird thing with mums... I'm afraid I will never fully understand my native state.
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
I can't wait to see this. I think it's hysterical. I love that Texas is in it.
No one could possibly think that's how it really is - anymore than Pretty Woman is a documentary of the life of a prostitute.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Go Aggies.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
When I saw "Remember the Titans" I learned that apparently people in Virginia get more exicted about football than other places. :shrug: I grew up there, maybe that's why my hatred of football and competitive sports seems pathological to some.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
You realize that a pathological hatred of ANYTHING is . . . not good.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
I was horrified when I heard UNL did this (it's my alma mater)
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
sarahdipity - UNL= University Nebraska-Lincoln? I have been thinking about going there for my PhD. What did you study while you were there?
About the movie- I think it look hilarious! I can't wait to see it. If they'd wanted to really portray the football/party school they should have used Texas Tech A&M would have been funny, since they don't actually have girl cheerleaders.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
In retrospect, what I should've changed it to is I Am Ashamed FOR My School.
And yes, Texas high school football is incredibly important down here. I lived in a fairly urban and, let's face it, white upper class neighborhood, so it wasn't as bad in other places, if being fairly rich could be a reason for that. But athletes still got away with quite a bit of stuff, and all the principles were coaches from several types of sports. Their take on misbehavior was, "We don't want to know about it." For instance, they didn't come down on sex in the fire exit stairwells until there was a big scandal about it at my school. Also there was a big uproar when one of the journalism kids I knew wrote an article about being a homosexual, and boy howdy, did they ever rip that out of there fast. They even reissued the senior yearbook with about 70% of the original content and mailed it to us when we were in college. Like anyone actually cared.
[ February 25, 2005, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:Sadly, there are a lot of students who come to college fully expecting higher education to be just that.
So. True. And I see them all over campus every day.
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
As an alumni of Texas Tech, I have to say that Cocinelle is probably right about needing to base it there. Would have been a good fit, but no one wants to set a major motion picture in Lubbock. That'd be the cinematographic equivalent of the kiss of death.
Almost all universities have two sides, particularly public ones. One is their dominant image, and the other the underground culture that usually struggles in vain to be recognized. Sadly, at most universities in Texas athletics and social scene tend to vie for the latter. Academics is relegated to the latter, no matter how proficient their programs might be.
Alright, I meant to post in here as a joke, and now I've gone and ranted.
Feyd Baron, DoC Who is still wondering if "cinematographic" is a valid word.
Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
quote: Sadly, there are a lot of students who come to college fully expecting higher education to be just that.
You mean it's not?
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
gah. We've got a reality show filming on campus next term (link) (spring, we're on quarters.)
I feel your pain.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
Heheh. Well, just take a look at BYU-Idaho's honor code and see if you can figure out how much we party here Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Heh heh...
Last year, the people behind the "Gilligan's Island" reality show phoned my school asking if we had any young, attractive professors.
The school replied "No, we don't have anyone of that discription."
Posted by Risuena (Member # 2924) on :
Even though I'm a UT student, I'm not bothered by the movie. I figure that the portrayal of UT and its students will have very little grounding in reality. I'll probably even go see it eventually (although I will have to debate whether it's worth spending money on).
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
I go to Wellesley. We just LOVE the way "Mona Lisa Smile" portrays our entire student body as rich, ultra-conservative, unfeeling, man-catching, conniving ... not nice women. When one of my friends saw the movie, Miss Manners (an alumna from that era) was at the theater. She was cursing the entire time. My own friends were extrememly confused at my choice in colleges. Needless to say, I feel your pain. At least we take pride in the pretty job they did with the exterior, on location shots.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
Coccinelle yup that's right University of Nebraska Lincoln. I was in the cs department as a ugrad. Which department are you applying to? I used to work in the graduate admission's office so I can tell you a little about the process and how to make your life easier.
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A&M would have been funny, since they don't actually have girl cheerleaders.
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