Sometimes I wish I didn't go to Northeastern University for college...or at least waited a few years. After all, the university totally missed capitalizing on the blaze of pop culture sweeping the nation! While I was busy taking the most mundane Japanese film class you could ever imagine (it was so bad), someone out there will be learning about zombies!
Yes, you read that right. Zombies!
I'm talking about University of Baltimore's newest class offering: English 333. Studying society by utilizing the undead, students get to watch 16 classic zombie movies, read comics involving the monsters (*cough* "The Walking Dead" *cough*) and, for a final, have to write a script for their own zombie projects. The worst part (for me) is that they aren't the only school doing something like this.
Columbia University has been teaching a similar course for years, and the Harvard Extension School will be offering a course this fall about vampires in popular culture. Their class, English 212 (aka The Vampire in Literature and Film), includes reading the works of Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris and—you guessed it—Stephenie Meyer.
Since universities are on such a binge creating classes that are actually culturally significant but sound totally ridiculous at the offset, here are a couple of our own suggestions:
The History of the Teen Movie
From "The Breakfast Club" to "Easy A," teen flicks have gone through various incarnations with the same general goal: to show the trials and tribulations of adolescence on the big screen. This class would examine all of major teen flicks, including "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Mean Girls," to see how the view of teenagers and their lifestyles has changed over time.
The Making of the Disney Princess
No, we're not talking about Cinderella and Snow White. From Justin Timberlake to Miley Cyrus, Disney has had their stamp on some of the most important young figures in recent history. This course would dive into the method behind the Mouse House's star-making machine.
The Modern Woman Through The Eyes Of Josh Schwartz:
He's the man behind "Gossip Girl" and "The OC," and between those two shows, has definitely revolutionized and influenced the way teens girls are shown in pop culture (don't believe me? Watch a couple of the shows on the CW). The way he places them in outlandish adult roles while the adults are relegated to acting like teenagers has definitely changed the way girls and their mothers act in real life.
Do you wish your school taught courses on zombies and vampires? Which of our suggestions would you like to enroll in?
** Hollywood Crush Twitter