Spring 2002 volume 98 issue 2 : features
Cover Story
Popular Culture: Vassar Steals the Spotlight
Marilyn
Monroe and Groucho Marx did it, and so did an animated Lisa Simpson:
talked up Vassar on-screen. They’re not alone — film and television
mentions of Vassar are, in fact, ubiquitous. And some Vassar alums are
keeping track. Class of ’95 grads Sara Bensman and David Ezer became so
interested in the plethora of Vassar references that they began
compiling a database of sorts. Ezer, a self-described "huge film buff,"
and Bensman, a former film critic for The Miscellany News who now works at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, are collecting and studying mentions for an ongoing project.
Though
it may be simple for an observer to catch Vassar utterances in the
media, how those mentions come to be is a more complex process.
Marshall Battani, who taught courses on popular culture at Vassar and
is now an assistant professor of sociology at Michigan’s Grand Valley
State University, said mentions like school names are often used
deliberately to represent what writers or producers believe the name
has come to symbolize. Screenwriter Neil Landau (who co-wrote Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,
a movie chock full of Vassar) said that deciding details like a
character’s alma mater is not done at random. "Specificity is what
gives life to characters," he said — and often what provides humor.
These
mentions could also develop simply because an alum is involved in the
production: It may be no coincidence that Vassar is mentioned on
popular sitcoms in which alumnae/i star. Justin Long ’99, of Ed, said he tries to give Vassar "little shout-outs" whenever possible. "The writers," he added, "give me a surprising amount of ad-libbing freedom." And though Lisa Kudrow ’85, of Friends,
said that the writers don’t usually acknowledge items in the show that
personally connect to the actors, both Vassar and Poughkeepsie have
been mentioned on her NBC fan-favorite.
Regardless of their origin or intent, Vassar mentions are all "an indication of the college’s prestige and ongoing capital," according to Sarah Kozloff, Vassar professor of film. And any mention in popular culture undoubtedly affects Vassar’s reputation. Assistant Director of Admissions Marivel Oropeza ’99 said she often meets prospective students whose initial association with Vassar was through The Simpsons or the Stephen King movie Dolores Claiborne. "A school’s reputation can certainly be affected by media references to it," Battani agreed, "especially if those references are repeated in a variety of media outlets."
But
do these references reflect Vassar’s historic image, or do they mold
the Vassar of the future? Battani believes they do a little of both.
"Media depictions both shape and are shaped by the ‘real’ world," he
said. "Think of the relationship between media and the world as a
complex feedback loop in which everyday people (audience members) have
influence because the producers want to please and entertain them, and
producers have power in that they ultimately control what images will
be (re)produced. Producers don’t want to seem out of touch, so they try
to respond to taken-for-granted meaning [such as the implications of
calling a character a "Vassar Girl"]; but their depiction will
inevitably narrow the range of cultural meanings that are always out
there in play."
"[These] references," Bensman said, "recycle persistent images of the ‘Vassar Girl’: famously unique students, boy-crazy girlie-girls, self-deluded scholars, alluring sophisticates, elitist bigots, strong trail-blazers, bored aristocrats, ravenous power-brokers, and outmoded ladies… Magically, at any given time, during any given social reality, ‘Vassar Girls’ stand for all of these extreme qualities and none of them."
Interestingly,
but perhaps not surprisingly, none of the references on Bensman’s and
Ezer’s list is about male Vassar students or alumni (other than the
historically inaccurate spoof Mafia!), which in many ways perpetuates
"Vassar Girl" impressions. Bensman said that most of the references
from the ’70s onward are consistently delivered by older generation
characters, who place value on the institution, or found in period
films. "I think ‘Vassar’ has been watered down as a concept during
[recent] decades, but remains a vivid reference point for older
generations and a major symbol of the past," she said. "This might be
because Vassar’s modern co-ed status has made it less original over
time, and women now have many colleges to choose from. Vassar faces
more competition now."
But Vassar remains in the mix today, partly because of its still-strong reputation and constantly evolving images, and partly because of the high number of its alums joining the entertainment industry every year. As this issue of the VQ was going to press, two new films — In the Bedroom and Kate and Leopold — featured Vassar mentions, reruns of Law & Order showed VC characters, Vassar alumnus and winner of Survivor Ethan Zohn ’96 completed an extensive talk show circuit as the reigning king of Reality TV, and Hollywood writer/actor/producer Dan Bucatinsky ’87 was awaiting a response from CBS on the pilot he submitted, in which one of the main characters is a Vassar grad.
A Day At the Races (1937)
According to Bensman’s and Ezer’s research, Vassar’s earliest on-screen
reference — in this Marx Brothers film — simply connected the school to
femininity, as a place for women. Groucho impersonates a psychiatrist
who claims to have gone to Vassar. Confused, someone remarks that
Vassar only accepts women, and Groucho replies, "I didn’t find that out
until my third year." Already, Vassar’s reputation was prominent enough
to appeal to the mass audiences of the silver screen.
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)
This Vassar film mention took on serious social relevance and
poignancy. Elia Kazan’s influential film about the social ills of
anti-Semitism reveals the first on-screen character as a Vassar alumna.
Dorothy MacGuire plays a member of New York’s elite social class
(partly illustrated by her enrollment at Vassar) who grapples with
unconscious anti-Semitism. "Although the film works hard to redeem her,
she is linked to anti-Semitism [and] upper class snobbery," said Sarah
Kozloff, professor of film.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Rated the number-one comedy by the American Film Institute, Some Like
it Hot features Marilyn Monroe, who became one of the most widely
remembered Vassar Girls in film — cementing the connection between
Vassar and upper crust society. Monroe’s working-class character
masquerades as a Vassar alumna to impress Tony Curtis’ character, who
in turn is pretending to be a millionaire. Hiding her working-class
background, she explains that she and her bandmates are society girls,
hailing from "Bryn Mawr, Vassar — we’re just doing this for a lark."
"[Monroe’s character] ironically and innocently, becomes the first to
express class difference and its resulting female competition, via
Vassar," said Bensman.
Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964) Barbara Rush plays a femme fatale mob daughter who seduces Frank Sinatra in this Rat Pack mobster musical. They all fall for her beauty and elegance, stemming from her past full of "Vassar, the Sorbonne — private schools like that." Before long, however, she steals Sinatra’s business and moves on to find new criminal partners. Bensman calls the independent, gutsy gal, "a man’s nightmare of the educated female at bay."
The Group (1966)
Although this film version of the best-selling novel by Mary McCarthy
’33 never explicitly mentions Vassar, the book was so widely (and
controversially) known as a story about Vassar women that most
movie-goers probably connected the eccentric characters to Vassar. And
any Vassar grads in the audience surely picked up on the film’s
not-so-subtle symbols of Vassar tradition and practice, such as the
omnipresent daisies, Art 105-106, the Main House towers, and Class
Notes columns. In their research, Bensman and Ezer found that most
1960s depictions of Vassar escalated the issues of social and economic
division highlighted in Some Like It Hot. The Group is a prime example of this Vassar theme that continues today.
The Simpsons (1989-present) The Simpsons is the longest-running, primetime animated series in television history — it cleverly tells the wacky stories of a never-aging, dysfunctional family living in generic Springfield, USA. Lisa Simpson, the family’s brainiac daughter, mentions wanting to attend Vassar in several episodes. In one of these, "Lisa Gets an ‘A’," Lisa is upset after her entire school finds out that she cheated on an exam. Her rarely tactful father, Homer, responds with, "Aw, don’t worry about the test... Maybe Vassar will still take you." Although The Simpsons is primarily written in a collaborative manner, with each writer adding to the script, the principal writer of "Lisa Gets an ‘A’" was Ian Maxtone-Graham, the son of Vassar alumna Katrina Kanzler Maxtone-Graham ’56. Most of the Vassar references on The Simpsons are positive; however in an episode called "The PTA Disbands," Lisa is upset that her school is on strike. She says she won’t be able to get into an Ivy League school, and adds, "At this rate, I probably won’t even get into Vassar." But Homer, a true fan of the Brewers, responds, "I’ve had just about enough of your Vassar-bashing, young lady."
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991)
This early-’90s teen comedy left an entire generation with the
impression that Vassar is a fashion school. The lead character,
17-year-old Swell (played by Christina Applegate) adds Vassar to her
fictitious résumé with the hopes of getting a summer job in the fashion
industry. Her new boss quips, "You’re so overqualified it’s ridiculous.
For God’s sake, you’re a Vassar gal!" At the end of the film, Swell
decides she wants to go to fashion/design school, and again, Vassar is
mentioned as a possibility. One of the film’s writers, Neil Landau,
said that they chose Vassar because it is "considered the Ivy League
for powerful women who tend to stick together and help their alums."
Dolores Claiborne (1995) In this feature film based on Stephen King’s novel, Dolores’ (Kathy Bates) daughter, Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is an all-black wearing, chain-smoking, sullen, screwed-up Vassar alumna. She left small-town Maine for New York City after attending VC. Despite Selena’s mental problems, Bensman believes that her Vassar status designates her as "highly intelligent." King’s sons (Joe ’95 and Owen ’99) both attended Vassar.
This article highlights only a few Vassar mentions. Check out the online additions section for Bensman’s and Ezer’s current list. If you know of any Vassar mentions missing from their list, please contact Ezer at ezer@peoplepc.com or call 212.787.9184.
Pictures Top to Bottom: Some Like it Hot; The Simpsons; Ed; Dolores Claiborne; Law and Order; A Day at the Races; Gentleman's Agreement; Robin and the Seven Hoods; The Group; Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; Friends
By Veronika Ruff ’01
With Extensive Research by Sara Bensman ‘95 and David Ezer ’95
All photos courtesy of Photofest; The Simpsons, TM & 20th Century Fox Film Corp. 1993