| | Myths in Popular Culture
Public Opinion, Political Participation, and PC on College Campus
In 1994, when 20th Century Fox released the movie PCU, starring Jeromy Piven, the film's message couldn't have been clearer - it was a comical assault on political correctness on our university and college campuses. Under the brief 24-hour mentoring of college students Droz, Gutter, Raji, Deege, Katy, Pigman, and Cecilia - all living in "The Pit," a quasi-fraternity/sorority at Port Chester University - prospective college freshman Tom Lawrence learns about the evils of political activism on campus from both the left and the right of the political spectrum.
Droz advises Tom not to take classes before 11:00 A.M., that beer is his best friend, and to make friends with someone who owns a car. While this advice may be questionable, the primary purpose of the movie is to stereotype politics and political correctness. For PCU, the typical college student whom we described in this chapter as likely to be a moderate on political issues doesn't exist. Liberals and conservatives are depicted as outlandish. Liberals are portrayed as extreme feminists, dogmatic animal-rights activists, or intolerant environmentalists. Conservatives, on the other hand, are simply regarded as neo-Nazis - both with agendas that repudiate good clean fun and eccentric behavior as a preferred goal of campus life. According to Droz, "Try and have a party and the PC shock troops shut you down."
As a form of popular culture, movies often attempt to reflect or influence public opinion or even stimulate political activism and participation. PCU, however, fuels the public's distorted stereotype of political thought on college campuses. No doubt, some of the activities filmed in PCU accurately reflect some parts of campus life and the campus political environment. But the myth - the distortion this movie creates - also feeds and reinforces the stereotype of the opinions that much of the public holds of political activism and participation on the college campus.
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