User reviews

I have read a lot of reviews for this movie where people accuse the film of promoting stereotypes, and that it portrays whites in a negative light. I really think that those who wrote those reviews missed the point.

1) There ARE stereotypes in this movie. It's intentional. Not every white character in this movie is portrayed as a skinhead, as some reviewers may have lead you to believe. Not every black character in this movie is portrayed as a victim either. In order for people to overcome racial stereotypes, we have to at least take a good look at what other races see when they look at us, and this movie does a good job of that. There are also characters (both black and white) who try to persuade Omar Epps' character to not use his race as an excuse to "play the victim," so I really don't see this movie as "one sided".

2) The rape scene, where some reviewers complain that Kristy Swanson's character gave consent, wasn't supposed to be a clear cut, "awful drunk bad-guy" rape. In order for people to understand the causes and effects of date rape, we need to take a closer look at where the line is between right and wrong, and this movie does a good job of asking the viewer where that line is.

There are other situations where characters choose violence and revenge rather than thinking of a better solution. But - some of these situations seem justified, and others do not. Once again, you as the viewer have to decide if what you're seeing is right or wrong.

I must admit that I was troubled by the portrayal of the campus security as being overly suspicious of blacks, and overly sympathetic towards whites. But this movie is meant to ask questions; not suggest that ALL white security guards are this way. The fact that I am troubled by this portrayal means that I was forced to think about what suspicions are justified, and which are not. This movie is full of things that make you take a stand one way or another. It's not meant to make you feel comfortable, or to decide for you...

If you like movies that overtly tell you what you're supposed to think, you may misinterpret this movie. But if you want to see thought-provoking film that will make you ask yourself a lot of questions on where you stand, I recommend seeing this film. Great performances by Epps, Swanson, and Michael Rappaport. I was even pleasantly surprised by Tyra Banks performance. 8 out of 10 stars.

The film's design seems to be the alpha and omega of some of the major issues in this country (U.S.). We see relationships all over at the university setting for the film. Befittingly, the obvious of student v.s. teacher is present. But what the film adds to its value is its other relationships: male v.s. female, white v.s. black, and the individual v.s. society. But most important of all and in direct relation to all of the other relationships is the individual v.s. himself.

I was amazed at how bilateral a point of view the director gave to showing the race relations on campus. Most films typically show the injustices of one side while showing the suffering of the other. This film showed the injustices and suffering of both sides. It did not attempt to show how either was right, although I would say the skin heads were shown a much crueler and vindictive (quite obvious towards the end). The film also discusses sex and rape. It is ironically this injustice that in some ways brings the two races together, for a time. Lawrence Fishburne does an over-the-top performance as the sagacious Profesor Phipps. He crumbles the idea of race favortism and instead shows the parallelism of the lazy and down-trodden with the industrious and positive. Other stars that make this film are Omar Epps, Ice Cube, and Jennifer Connelly. Michael Rapaport gives an excellent portrayal of a confused youth with misplaced anger who is looking for acceptance. Tyra Banks make her film debut and proves supermodels can act.

Higher Learning gets its name in showing college as more than going to class and getting a piece of paper. In fact, I would say the film is almost a satire in showing students interactions with each other, rather than some dry book, as the real education at a university. It is a life-learning process, not a textual one. I think you'll find "Higher Learning" is apropos to the important issues at many universities and even life in general. 8/10

The irony of having rage against the machine playing during rowdy neo nazi scenes for white supremacy characters is hilarious. Do they understand what that band stands for?

I must have been watching a different movie to most of the people adding comments. I didn't see it as a film portraying African Americans as good and whites as bad but as a film in which all the factions were shown to have good and bad sides. Even the guy who becomes the Nazi skinhead was portrayed sympathetically in as much as he is clearly out of his depth in a social situation and becomes a recruit because only the skinheads will accept him when no-one else will. Overall, the African Americans come out as the most sympathetic but not by much.

I agree there are some fairly silly stereotypes, especially Fishburne's character, but they work in the context of the movie. Most refreshing was the fact that an American college is portrayed as a place with real issues like racism and date rape and drunken behaviour. It's refreshing because colleges are usually shown as places where nice middle-class kids never have any problem bigger than being dumped by their boyfriends before everything is resolved in the last reel.

An overly maligned movie. Not perfect but better than a million other college movies. Loved the ending too.

Hard to believe the extremes of the reviews of this film. It's either genius or crap. I found it somewhere in between, and I have to say I enjoyed it, owing mostly to Omar Epps. I believe he's one of the best actors in America right now, and his performance in this movie really made it watchable as far as I'm concerned. Many of the characters were not developed well, and were two-dimensional at best. Rappaport's character, and in fact all the white supremacists, were mere cut-outs and actually painful to watch. I didn't get the good guy/bad guy (name your race -- I think it depends on who's reviewing) theme at all. I think Epps was the protagonist and naturally he was shown in a better light than most of the other characters, black or white. There was some intelligent dialog and some inane dialog. However, it was overall an interesting film and I'm glad I saw it. Not perfect by any means, and with its share of clichés, but a good film nonetheless.

The movie defentily has its problems but its shows you authentic things That people are to are afraid to address but really the highlight of the film is ice cubes performance he does amazing job with being real understated and to over the top he also made a little funny so props to the brother for giving a great performance

"Higher Learning" is a predictable and contrived handful of college campus stereotypes all involved in worst case scenarios on the same campus at the same time with little purpose. The film explores such issues as partying and date rape, tuition and academic problems, social problems, gangs, frats, etc. all with the usual Hollywood phony excesses. Not a thinking person's movie, this film will appeal to the couch potatoe's appetite for sensationalism.

John Singleton's finest film, before blockbuster wannabees like the Shaft remake, this is a thought-provoking movie with overall great acting and superb balance between the stories 3 main characters, each with identifiable youngster problems.

What I liked about it most is that it also covers the problem of selfpity among young blacks, a problem mostly ignored by the media and other films who mostly focus on social-economical problems and racism by whites. This movie shows that blacks can be equally ignorant and racist.

The masterful thing about this film is that it deals with so many topics without getting shallow. It's not just about racism, but about how hard it can be to adopt to a new world (college), date rape, discovering sexuality and isolation. Omar Epps, Michael Rapaport and Kristy Swanson each deliver fine performances, and the supporting cast is equally interesting with Jennifer Connelly as a lez (yay) and with Ice Cube and Busta Rhymes as college bums causing little riots.

The only negative is the caricature of a professor by Laurence Fishburne ("Peppermint?"). Surely, plenty of professors are nutty. But they're not as flat. The skinheads are also a bit of a caricature, but I guess they are like that too in real life.

Overall a great underrated piece of filmwork, if you liked American History X you'll love this one.

8,5 out of 10

I am not going to comment on the racial issues, many people have already done that. I am just going to write a bit about the "date-rape".

Kristy Swanson's character got drunk and went to the guy's room. They were all very hot and it was obvious that they were going to have sex. When the guy, Billy, has almost finished taking off her clothes, she doesn't say "don't", she says "use a condom". But he doesn't listen to her and keeps on doing her business. The girl freaks out not because she doesn't want to have sex, but because she might get pregnant or catch something.

Something makes me think that this is a very common situation. Should it be considered as rape? Well yes, of course, it could have have been avoided if the guy had gotten out of bed, put a condom and returned to the girl. And the girl had all the right to change her mind, after realizing the dangers this particular sex act would cause.

As for Kirstin's role in the feminist group. I don't see her as the "poor weak girl that was raped buy the big strong drunk guy she trusted". I see her as a woman being declined her right to have safe sex buy the horny drunk guy she trusted.

I thought this movie was ridiculous. I really think this is to college what Boston Public and Saved by the Bell are to high school--that is, anyone who sees this before they get to college thinks college is actually like this.

Now, I understand that Singleton wanted to turn this movie into a microcosm of colleges in general, but for all this stuff to happen at one school in one week I find a hard pill to swallow. Some of the stuff does happen on a disturbingly regular basis (ie, drunken rapes), but the rest of it is so rare that putting it in the movie is useless, other than to provide filler.

Sorry to all you high schoolers who see this movie, but college is NOTHING LIKE THIS.

I saw this movie in the theatre when it came out. I couldn't stop thinking about it after seeing it. I cried while watching it. It really affected me. Being a youth during this time is something that the youth of today can't understand. Just as I will never understand what it was like to be a young person living in the 60s, for example. So I'm not surprised about all the bad reviews on here that have been posted from the current decade. Sure, the characters could've been written better. They could've focused more on rainbows and lollipops, too. But this movie is something that mirrored the INTENSE feeling of the times and what people like myself experienced. So if you're someone who can look past the typical "movie critic complaining" and allow yourself to FEEL what this movie is intended to make you feel, then I believe you can enjoy it and appreciate it for all its worth.

This film wasn't that bad as people make it to be. I will say I was presently surprised by all the performances especially Busta Rhymes. He's not the best "rapper that turn into an actor" in the world but that was great. Also Ice Cube and Laurence Fishburne were great as well. They even both got nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Laurence Fishburne ended up winning though so I guess I can say Ice Cube got nominated for the award and lost so yeah.

Although Im genuinely surprised by all the bad reviews, I won't be biased on this movie myself. There were a lot of problems with this movie. For example, the movie can be a little melodramatic and cliché sometimes. Also the white girls scenes were boring as hell and kinda pointless but I'm pretty sure John Singleton tried his best with that. Writing a character like that can be hard but I commend him for his efforts.

But for the most part, John is basically telling a story about these 3 college kids who has the potential to do what they want and he succeeds. Again although I like the movie, I'm definitely not biased. A 7/10 for me.

Columbus University is one of the finest in America. Into this place of higher learning comes a mix of students to join the already multicultural pot. Malik is a black track star who feels he is disadvantaged as he has to run and study, while others only have to run. Remy is a white teenager who is forced out of his dorm by his black roommate and finds friendship in an extreme group. Kristen is a young female who struggles to make friends and is assaulted by a man before falling in with a women's group. Their experiences intertwine in the small campus.

If anyone wonders why director John Singleton (he of Boyz n' the Hood) is now making things like 2Fast2Furious, this is as good a place to start looking as anywhere. After an assured start with Boyz, the director made a couple of films that had potential but just came out muddled or lacking something to make them work. Poetic Justice was one of them and this was another. Higher Learning had potential and you can see that it's heart is in the right place but it doesn't come off at all. The plot tries to be a mix of experiences but, because there are three or so characters up front, there is no time to develop them so their experiences are broad cultural brush strokes - the white kid sucked into extremism, the raped girl taken into lesbianism, the black man who has to work harder for everything.

As a result the plot never really engages and it all just goes where you expect it to go - and is less impacting as a result of it's plodding nature. This spills over into the characters too - they are all pretty much stereotypes that fit into their scenario rather than real characters. Singleton shows is bias in his direction and character selection. My wife said something about me watching a lot of `black' films in the past week and I said Higher Learning was not dominated by any one race - but I think I was wrong. Singleton clearly likes the characters played by Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube and Epps - they are cool and put upon where other characters (races) have fewer kind touches placed on them. Personally I thought every character had huge chips on their shoulders about their identity - but the African American characters are the only ones that are held up for praise in relation to their chips!

Having said that I did think Epps did OK - he made a lifeless character a little more interesting. Banks however is as one dimensional as I have grown to expect from her. Rapaport looks very young indeed but he does well. His character is lazily drawn and developed, but he manages to make him a little human - which took work looking at the film as a finished product. Swanson is too dippy and light - but then all the lesbian characters seem to be painted in a weird sort of light. Ice Cube and Busta Rhymes give extended cameos which require them to deliver their rap personas of thugz - they are laughably clichéd! Fishburne adds gravitas as he always does, but he has little to do and is given not only a poor accent, but also some `deep' dialogue that just sounds pretentious or like a fortune cookie.

Overall I saw what this film was trying to do but it didn't manage it. It was ambitious, but the wide spread meant that none of the plots or characters were allowed to develop and instead were left as hollow, broad stereotypes and scenarios. The film tries to go all deep and the final shot of the word `unlearn' against an American flag just feels like Singleton must have thought that he had been making incredibly profound points the whole time - instead it felt that his original idea had had a deeper point, but it was totally lost in delivery.

My guess is that Singleton might be generally quite pleased about the amount of discussion this film has provoked, here if nowhere else. Indeed he deals with issues that are both divisive and very complex. Charges of oversimplification are inevitable, and many people are going to hate it no matter what the message.

I'm a white guy, but I know from friends and acquaintances that it often seems that whites just do not get what it is like to be non-white in our society. I also think that the discussion may be more open and honest in the US at present than nearly anywhere else. So if this movie seems biased against whites, at least it expresses how many African Americans really feel, especially if you realize that for some, they are much more of a minority when they arrive at college than they ever were at home.

I would like to note that the movie actually did take a couple of pretty heavy swipes against the Black Panther crowd. First was the scene where Fudge orders one of the girls to go shopping. The other was when Deja and Malik are watching the boys rehearse their battle with the skinheads. Deja's open-mouthed shock underlines how primitive and violent their behavior has become.

So I like this movie because it is provocative and real, expressing a point of view that we should at least know about, even if we don't totally agree with it.

This was a good movie. I don't understand the reviews that it was skewed in its portrayals of whites as the villains and the blacks as the downtrodden victims who just won't take anymore. I personally think that it was very balanced in that area. There were stupid white people and stupid black people. What I would think is the most skewed is it's portrayal of the men as the villains and the women as the angelic do gooders. I think it ignored the fact that women can be just as awful, but tend not to be as outwardly violent, but I guess you can't have it all in one movie or else it would have been like 5 hours long. It showed Remmy's decent in a sympathetic light and in Fudge we saw that entitlement thinking in the black mentality is just as harmful as it is in the white mentality. Ultimately the only difference I saw in the white supremacist group and in Fudge's group was their skin color. Black or white, they were ALL red- blooded, self-entitled, American idiots. I thought that point was brilliantly made in the movie.

What a great effort by John Singleton! "Higher Learning", while not as good or focused as his earlier "Boyz N the Hood", certainly deserves a screening and is even more worthy of a subsequent debate, whether internal or not, as to how realistic and meaningful the story related is.

Synopsis (at least at first glance): Several students of varying background come to large, diverse university but find themselves more segmented than ever.

Outcome: Singleton does a good job of making the viewer understand the backstories of the characters he focuses on, especially Omar Epps and Michael Rapaport. Indeed, Epps' story is certainly the best and most worthwhile. However, Rapaport is convincing as an outsider in search of an identity--a role that many college students find themselves in, at least at the beginning of school. Fishburne is terrific (especially in light of his "Matrix" character, which is quite a departure--but not totally--from the stately professor he plays here.)

Since anything else I am going to say is going to be derivative of Roger Ebert's review, which really hit the mark, I can summarize quickly. This is a good movie, but it is in no way realistic. It exaggerates and highlights and twists some realities of the college experience. The movie asks you to "unlearn" at its finale; I ask you to decide why it comes to this conclusion.

Even though the characters and story are over-drawn, this is one good movie. Racial conflicts aren't usually this entire, but it's a good dramatization of how they could be. Because it depicts racial relationships in such a manner, it better shows what can, and often does happen. No one is right, that's certain, and we're more than the color of our skin. Still, most of us let that divide us..... We have many lessons to learn.

He is fine with an all black cast............but when he has to use white people......he loses all touch with reality.

As a white male, I have never been more disrespected and the way he treats gangstas as somewhat "good guys". I am amazed by this film, every storyline was pathetic and the racism is laughable.

Every character was pompous and annoying. You wouldn't root for anyone in this mess, well maybe Banks. Omar Epps is terrible, Ice Cube and Busta, lol. The muscular nazi is terrible. Fishburne's overacting makes his performance bad. Ahhhh, this whole film is bad.

Connely's performance was creepy and annoying as well.

This movie is not only powerful but amazing. The cast is perfect, the best part is the fact that it is a college film also the neo-nazis make a great preformance in the storyline, this film is really acruate to, 10/10.