Movies about academia
These are movies that have an element connected to professional academic life, that is, teaching and research in higher education (colleges, universities) or private research institution. The structure, purpose, and dynamics of academia as a professional field is often extremely poorly understand even by the people working in it, let alone by the general public. Most movies focus exclusively on the teaching mission of academia, very few actually deal with the conflicting pressures of teaching, research and service. Many also tend to portray pot-smoking, womanizing, english literature professors in huge wood-paneled offices, as opposed to STEM researchers working in labs, probably reflecting the training of Hollywood screenwriters.
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- DirectorSpike LeeStarsLaurence FishburneGiancarlo EspositoTisha CampbellA not so popular young man wants to pledge to a popular fraternity at his historically black college.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsOmar EppsKristy SwansonMichael RapaportPeople from all different walks of life, encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus.
- DirectorHal HartleyStarsMartin DonovanMatt MalloyRebecca NelsonJude, a college literature professor, falls for one of his students. She is more interested in the empirical experience of a relationship with a man whose life is ruled by the themes of the Russian literature he extols in class. Jude shows an interesting side of the stigmas associated with transgenerational relationships and how to deal with the inevitable pain of a love doomed to failure.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxQuincy Adams Wagstaff, Huxley University's new president, accidentally hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against their rival, Darwin University.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsEmma ThompsonChristopher LloydEileen AtkinsA renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.
- DirectorCarole RifkindRichard RifkindStarsSharon BillingtonKil CarrollLawrence ShapiroThree irrepressible graduate students are in a race to beat the competition to discover the switch that controls appetite in the human body. The pressure is on, as they each have to deal with their own personal challenges. Rob, a perennial dropout, dares himself to stay the course. Kilpatrick has to choose between the easy life and academic success. Gabriele hovers between high aspirations and self-doubt. Their guide and mentor, Larry, is a young professor deeply committed to passing on the baton of science. He urges his students to apply their creativity to solve problems, while encouraging them to embrace the emotional roller coaster of doing science. Over three years of filming, scenes of intense hands-on research reveal the ups and downs of the mentor-student relationship, the collaboration that science depends on, and the self-knowledge that success requires. Gabriele finally admits that she prefers to work in a team rather than put herself on the line and quits the PhD program. Kilpatrick, having battled Larry to get him through the PhD quickly, takes a job in business. Rob comes close to dropping out, but driven by his passion to make an impact and sustained by Larry's unreserved confidence in him, scores a breakthrough success and discovers himself as a scientist.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
- CreatorAmanda PeetAnnie Julia WymanStarsSandra OhJay DuplassBob BalabanAt a major university, the first woman of color to become chair tries to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department.This is widely considered to be one of the best portrayal of academia in television. While it does feature the clichés of an English department, in a liberal arts college with lots of wood paneling, the personal and institutional dynamics are spot-on...
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsMichael StuhlbargRichard KindSari LennickLarry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
- DirectorRajkumar HiraniStarsAamir KhanMadhavanMona SinghTwo friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".
- DirectorRajkumar HiraniSham KaushalShantanu MoitraStarsMartha HigaredaAlfonso DosalChristian VazquezA group of friends embark on a fun adventure determined to find a college roommate who disappeared without a trace on graduation day.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsCarolyn FarinaEdward ClementsChris EigemanA group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.
- DirectorAlek KeshishianStarsJoe PesciBrendan FraserMoira KellyConvinced his thesis will have him graduate with honors from Harvard University, a stuffy student finds himself at the mercy of a homeless man's demands when he holds the papers hostage.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsKeanu ReevesMorgan FreemanRachel WeiszTwo researchers in a green alternative energy project are put on the run when they are framed for murder and treason.
- DirectorHart BochnerStarsJeremy PivenChris YoungMegan WardA high school senior visits college for the weekend, and stays at the wildest house on campus.Not necessarily inaccurate in its portrayal of fraternity life and a certain approach to college in the US.
- DirectorNicholas StollerStarsJason SegelEmily BluntChris PrattOne year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.
- DirectorJemaine ClementTaika WaititiStarsJonny BrughTaika WaititiJemaine ClementThree male vampires who share an apartment are interviewed by a TV crew.
- DirectorAngela RobinsonStarsLuke EvansRebecca HallBella HeathcoteThe story of psychologist William Moulton Marston, and his polyamorous relationship with his wife and their mistress who would inspire his creation of the superheroine, Wonder Woman.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.It's easy to forget that Indiana is also a professor at a posh college ... He does seem to balance teaching, service, and fieldwork very elegantly :)
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsBenedict CumberbatchKeira KnightleyMatthew GoodeDuring World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsCliff McMullenYasiin BeyLuray CooperA dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.The movie is primarily focused on the personal, cultural, and institutional racism that held back Vivien Thomas every step of his career. It does feature other interesting aspects of academic life: the tinkering and creativity that research entails; the brutal competition and jealousy of peers; and the primacy of apprenticeship over theoretical learning in fields such as medicine.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsJulia RobertsKirsten DunstJulia StilesA free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiDa'Vine Joy RandolphDominic SessaA cranky history teacher at a prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook and a troubled student who has no place to go.Anyone who has worked in academia has met someone like the main character --- a brilliant but bitter professor, whose career has not risen to the level of his/her talent and/or effort.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsCharles AdamsJonathan AlterRobert BalfanzAn examination of the current state of education in America today.