Analyzing college movies was not my idea. I used the basic scaffold of an assignment sequence presented in the appendix of From Inquiry To Academic Writing. The model suggested using movies that represent learning and education. I made the decision to let students choose any movie from any genre as long as it represented college education in some way: drama, comedy, farce, musical, horror, whatever. In the beginning I planned to have each student team choose a single movie. Already I was worried about students feeling pressured to choose some low-rent college party flick. Unexpectedly a female student from Pakistan declared that she already knew the movie that she would pick: 3 Idiots, a Bollywood film about college (IMDB 3 Idiots). I realized that I had to give individual students the freedom to situate their inquiries within the world that they inhabit. The students, more than me, would know what movies to choose.
We combed online lists of college movies. Students played trailer after trailer. In many cases, sheer economics and online availability shaped student decisions. If a movie wasn't available in soft copy, then it didn't make the cut. The students accessed the films through Cable On Demand, NetFlix, YouTube, and various movie streaming sites.The two most popular movie choices included Accepted and Neighbors. (IMDB Accepted , IMDB Neighbors).
The decision to let individuals choose a movie rather than one team movie. The tension between collaborative and individual composition.
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