Running Head: Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

Sarah Joy P. Sy
California State University, Sacramento

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

Abstract
This paper explores the ways in which the media portrays the subject of college life. It will also
contain comparisons between the medias perception of college life to that of my personal
experiences and observations at California State University, Sacramento. It will discuss the basic
plot of a film as well as address the similarities and differences between the medias portrayal to
reality. Lastly, it will explain the messages that are being emitted to the viewer about how college
is as well as the reasons as to why such portrayals are produced.
Keywords: media influences, comparisons of expectations vs. reality, personal
observations

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

For as long as motion pictures have been in existence, people have been largely
influenced by the captivating storylines and portrayals of real-life themes. However, movies have
a tendency to dramatize real events in order to keep its audiences paying attention until the end
or to appeal to a larger age range. One concept that is well-used in recent times would be the
depictions of college life and the behavior of college students. In many films such as Davis,
Karz, and Godfreys motion picture production, First Daughter (Davis et al., 2004), in which the
movie is primarily set on a college campus, the audiences can expect to see wild parties, wilder
students, and generally a lack of studies. However the reality is contrary to such cases.
In Davis et al. s (2004) production of First Daughter, the main character, Samantha
MacKenzie is the daughter of the current President of the United States, Jon MacKenzie. The
movie was first released on September 24, 2004 in the United States and is mostly set at a the
University of Redmond in California as well as Washington D.C. at times. Ill not bore you with
all the details, but suffice to say, the main character longs to be a normal college student and
chooses to go to a college far away from her fathers reputation in hopes to gain some sort of
personal freedom. However, her father refuses to leave her unattended and for the sake of her
safety of his daughter as well as his current re-election campaign, assigns secret service agents
with her as well as publicly announce her decision to attend college, effectively squashing any
chances in her having a normal college life. Throughout most of the movie, we see her daily
encounters at with her roommate, establish a romantic interest with a classmate who seems to
treat her as a normal college student and endure countless stares and questions from countless
people due to her notorious reputation that she had wanted to leave back home.

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

In Davis et al.s production, there are countless differences between what is portrayed to
reality. While it must have some similarities in order to somehow connect it with college life, the
movies is hardly relatable and almost idealistic. With the main character as the daughter of a
prominent figure, the nature of college would be different to that of a regular student. For
example, I have never seen an instance wherein a large body of people would pay attention to a
single figure more than a professor in class or walking on campus in general. In fact, I often feel
like I can blend in with the massive blob of human traffic on campus and would not expect for
someone to notice me. More so, I also notice that once classes start, the entire focus is on the
professor currently instructing his or her students.
Another difference is that while First Daughter (Davis et al., 2004) portrays parties
occurring at very frequent intervals, such as when Samantha and her roommate goes to fraternity
parties, bonfires, and a hill slip-and-slide (Davis et al., 2004), Ive realized that parties are not
that frequent. I remember that in my meager experience, parties usually occur mostly around the
beginning of a semester and during breaks. As midterms come closer, the less parties occur and
more study groups appear, dotting around areas throughout campus. I actually had the gall to
think that this particular movie portrayal was true only to find out that it was not the case once I
entered college. A unique characteristic that I found out at my campus is that since the campus
has a large amount of trees and mostly optimal weather recently, people prefer to conduct their
study groups outside rather than just in the library.
Another difference would be that the portrayals of class, with what little scenes the movie
shows an actual classroom, is that of a lecture hall filled with countless amounts of students
listening to one professor. While that may be the case in some classes, Ive found that I only had

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

one class that can remotely fit to the depiction. In actuality, most of my classes seem to have
around the same amount of students that you can find in a high school class. As most of my
classes hold approximately forty students per class, my classes do not require a huge lecture hall
as it would be a waste of space. Instead, the classes can range from staying at a constant room for
every class or in a different building depending on whether or not the instructor was approved to
use that classroom at a specific time. If the instructor wanted to, they could even hold class
outside.
Also, in the movie (Davis et al., 2004), most of the students are seen living on campus
with little mention of people who commute to school. However, although I personally dont live
in the dorms, I know that in my experience, most of my campus students actually commute to
school as living in dorms is more expensive than traveling between school and home. All of my
friends who live in dorms either come from out-of-state or from a location that was at least two
to three hours away.
On the other side of the spectrum, I have noticed some similarities in the movie about
real-life college experiences. For example, when Samamthas lecture instructor covered the
syllabus while students were not really paying attention, her classmate and future love interest
had made a joking question for the professor about the syllabus (Davis et al., 2004). At my first
day in all my classes being a freshman, I remember countless students not taking the professor
seriously and joking around when the professor would call for any questions. Some would not
even crack open the syllabus, instead picking at their nails or whispering to their neighboring
classmates. The first few days are actually nothing but going through the class requirements and
not actual classwork, so most treat it as just a day to relax and find their classes. Even some of

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

my professors do not take the first few days of instruction seriously, even going so far as to let
their class early since there was nothing else left for the students.
Another similarity in my case was that throughout First Daughter (Davis et al., 2004),
Samantha struggles with her parents and finding her own individual freedom at campus. (Davis
et al., 2004) Her father constantly reminds her that despite the fact that he is not near her college,
she cannot be normal and as such cannot participate in certain events like college parties.(Davis
et al., 2004) I have a similar experience in that my mother constantly reminds me that I cannot
join a sorority nor participate at most college events unless I am required to participate for a
grade. With all these limitations, I constantly battle between developing my own individuality
and submitting to my mothers orders.
Lastly, another similarity was in the scene in which two fraternity males invited
Samantha to a pool party saying that swimsuits are required, bikinis are preferred. (Davis et
al., 2004) Interestingly enough, during Rush Week, I had two people from the same fraternity
inviting me to a pool party saying that bikinis were preferred. It was hilarious to see that scene in
the movie as when I was watching it, I felt a sense of nostalgia. As such, I do think that his
happens regularly on campus during the first few weeks of a new semester.
In all honesty, I feel that the main reason as to why most movies involving colleges send
messages of wild parties and a lack of studying to its audiences is mostly due to capturing
appeal. If someone wanted to watch a movie about the reality of colleges, they would think of it
as more of a documentary, rather than something interesting. As such, it would not attract people
into watching the movie as most people want to watch something entertaining. That poses a
problem for producers and directors since they need to make profit off of it in order to offset the

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

cost of producing the actual movie. By dramatizing the idea of college and essentially sending a
message that college is about fun and adventure rather than an actual educational institute, it
catches more peoples attention in that they would focus more on the events happening than the
actual accuracy the movie portrays. More attention and popularity would then equal to more
profit. Unfortunately, it causes misconceptions about college for the viewer.
Despite the distortions movies create about higher educational institutions, I enjoy the
reality far more than the idealistic depictions shown on the big screens. I especially enjoy the
quirks that California State University, Sacramento has to offer. For example, I can choose to
study outside under a gigantic tree and make friends with almost everybody. The community on
campus is very active and lively, and I dont feel like I am alienated, but rather comfortable
anywhere I am on campus. My classmates as well as people in my major often say hello to each
other regardless of whether or not they know each other, so I have comfortably made my major
building my second home. The professors on campus have an immense interest in their
respected subjects and are often understanding, which makes me feel like I dont have to
immediately leave campus after my classes are over, but rather actually staying to talk with them
during office hours. Overall, I feel that the truth about college is infinitely better than any rowdy
party scene that a movie can create.

Medias Influence on the Perception of College Life

References

Davis, John, Karz, Mike, Godfrey, Wyck, & Whitaker, Forest. (2004). The First Daughter.
United States: 20th Century Fox