Higher Learning

This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (Omar Epps) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking ...more

Though it's overwrought and unrealistic, this ensemble drama from John Singleton was the first, and perhaps only, film to treat the identity politics of fin-de-siècle American universities as a subject for exploration rather than critique (Oleanna) or sophomoric parody (P.C.U.). Despite the heavy-handedness of Singleton's script, Higher Learning actually presents a pretty good cross section of the average state school, which often serves as the first taste for isolated teens of the melting pot ...more