Deconstructing the College Film Canon: We Can Do Anything We Want, We’re College Students!

Published April 17, 2007

By Erin Sullivan

Oh the college years. While we are supposed to be preparing ourselves for life in the real world as responsible adults, it is also a time when the most insane and ridiculous events in our life occur, or at least, that’s how it is according to movies.

The film largely responsible for that portrayal of college, a film that has invaded college dorm rooms via the poster of John Belushi drinking whiskey in front of an American flag, is the 1978 film National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Part of the film’s longstanding success can be attributed to the fact that the writers were young recent college graduates themselves. Animal House was one of the first major films targeted at and focused on the lifestyle of young adults.

Aside from the fact that the plot is ridiculous and most viewers come away understanding that John Belushi likes to pound Jack Daniel’s while wearing a “COLLEGE” sweatshirt, the film is historically significant. Animal House was the first movie produced by The National Lampoon, a humor magazine that was extremely popular on college campuses. The film glorified the act of rebelling against adults and meaningless acts of debauchery while referencing the political atmosphere of the time.

The United States Library of Congress considers Animal House “culturally significant,” and has selected it for preservation. It has been on countless lists of funniest films or best comedies and is considered to be one of the major films responsible for initiating the gross-out genre.

The gross-out genre is a sub-category of comedy, characterized by crude, vulgar, and strong sexual humor along with other disturbing or, for lack of a better word, “gross” material.

This genre saw an increase after the Motion Picture Production Code was abolished in the late 1960s. Today’s cinematic gems, such as American Pie and Road Trip, are ultimately indebted to the groundbreaking work of Animal House.

Although the characters in the film could be seen as slackers and complete slobs, we have come to know them as just a group of guys trying to protect their house and enjoy their college years. While doing this, the Deltas inspired our often-unrealistic expectations of college life. This has ultimately led to massive disappointment when expectant frosh find out that college life is in fact not as absurd as previously thought.

Animal House is a well-known and respected classic among many age groups. Its humor has stood the test of time and has been absorbed into popular culture. It became the definitive movie for the college experience and still maintains that status today.

This is the film that made the toga party popular, after all.

Print This Article

Comments