So High School: The Case for More College Media
By Jordan DelFiugo
As a senior in college just a few months shy of graduating, I often find myself in a strange position where I yearn for a movie or television show that does not actually exist.
I crave the glittery, yet gritty party scenes of Euphoria (2019), I want the cozy, dark academia feel of the Dead Poets Society (1989), but most of all, I long to feel seen through coming of age narratives like Booksmart (2019) and Ladybird (2017). While these films and shows are great, unfortunately, like most coming-of-age stories, they are all anchored in high school.
College is an all but untapped world in film and television, not just as a setting, but as a complex, transformative experience. Though narratives set in college would seemingly allow for a more rich exploration of themes like sexuality, identity and social inequity, when it comes to coming-of-age media, filmmakers seem to be stuck in high school.
When imagining a “college film,” Neighbors (2014) and Old School (2003) are a few titles that immediately come to mind—films that feature frat boys in wife-beaters, their front lawns littered with red Solo cups the morning after a rager, house music still blaring. While partying and experimentation can certainly be a memorable part of the college experience, this hypersexual, exaggeratedly masculine portrayal never felt true to my own experiences.
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This kind of film is also usually limited to a white, heteronormative male perspective. Furthermore, when the “frat flick” genre dominates college media, it tends to overshadow the deeper, more meaningful aspects of university life.
Films like Liberal Arts (2012) and Miller’s Girl (2024) are also part of the problem with college media. They focus on romantic relationships between student and professor, often romanticizing these power imbalances and portraying them as meaningful connections. While on the surface, these narratives appear to explore more nuanced themes of intellectual connection or personal growth, they fail to acknowledge the power dynamics at play in a meaningful way. By glamorizing these relationships, they risk normalizing a problematic and unequal dynamic that undermines the importance of healthy, respectful mentorship within educational settings.
More commonly, we see healthy peer-student relationships explored in films set in high school, such as in the Edge of Seventeen (2016) where Nadine’s professor becomes a safe and almost parental figure that supports her in the wake of her father’s death while still maintaining appropriate boundaries.
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My favorite film set in college is Legally Blonde (2001). I loved watching the main character Elle Woods discover her passion in life and excel despite not being taken seriously by those around her because of her physical appearance and bubbly personality. Still, while the film is empowering in many ways, it often relies on stereotypes about femininity and intelligence, implying that Elle can only truly be taken seriously once she conforms to a more traditional, "academic" standard of success, which can reinforce limiting ideas about gender roles and what it means to be "smart."
It’s time to imagine more college stories that go beyond the party scenes and predictable arcs, stories that capture the full spectrum of the college experience.
Many shows set in high school such as Euphoria and Skins (2007) captivate audiences with their raw depictions of sex, drugs and identity exploration, but these themes would carry even more weight in a college context. Students in college are young adults; they therefore have more autonomy and the freedom to make mistakes and push boundaries.
Setting these narratives in college would also avoid the ethical concerns that arise when minors are depicted in these compromising scenarios. The college environment offers more opportunities to explore such themes without having minors (or actors portraying minors) in uncomfortable or predatory situations.
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There are a few films and shows that take place in college and still manage to feature diverse, compelling storylines, such as Dear White People (2017) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021), but these narratives are ultimately few and far between.
The complexities of college life are ultimately criminally underexplored in film and television, leaving a significant gap in coming-of-age media. With so much potential to explore nuanced, even taboo topics in a college setting, I simply can not fathom why creators keep falling back on high school narratives instead of creating something fresh that would appeal to an all new demographic.
