The Age of Unhinged-Professor Art
Luca Guadagnino’s latest psychodrama, After the Hunt, explores higher education’s complexities, particularly within Yale’s philosophy department. While ostensibly addressing a controversial sexual assault allegation, the film dives into broader themes of generational conflict, egotism, and the moral compromises of academia—often framed through the lens of its privileged elite.
Featuring stars like Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield, the timing of the film seems ironic, especially given the recent narrative surrounding the humanities’ decline on American campuses. Ian McEwan’s novel What We Can Know imagines a future where only two historians remain, reflecting ongoing worries highlighted by federal statistics showing a significant drop in English and foreign language majors.
Alongside After the Hunt, cultural works like Vladimir, a novel by Julia May Jonas, similarly critique academic life. With a narrative about a disillusioned literature professor, it paints a picture of the insular and narcissistic nature of academic environments. Meanwhile, series like The Chair and Lucky Hank offer darkly comedic insights into contemporary faculty dynamics, capturing the absurdities of minor disputes now elevated to serious moral quandaries.
This wave of media around academic life, often critical in tone, raises essential questions about the state of higher education in a period of intense scrutiny. Educators like Wesleyan University’s president Michael Roth argue that despite such critiques, these narratives might serve as reminders of the valuable educational pursuits still occurring in classrooms across the nation.
