Scott and his aggregate of bigots provide Remy with encouragement. Abuse at the hands of his 'survivalist' father made him a sleeper cell for vehemence, which the fear and isolation he felt at Columbus activated. He recruits him into his Aryan Brotherhood faction, giving him the lone thing he was unable to find elsewhere: kinship. When that interest becomes mutual, she warns Kristen, 'Don’t do it just 'cause you’re fascinated.' In her quest to become more worldly and diffuse the tension on campus, she organizes the event which, unfortunately, sets up the film's climax.Īlienation, lack of exposure to diversity, and anger make Remy susceptible to violence, something Scott (Cole Hauser) recognizes.

Kristen’s date rape at a frat house drives her toward Taryn (Jennifer Connelly), a lesbian who heads a women’s group and takes an interest in her. But for all of the world's progress in the 20 years since the film’s release, its statement has failed to resonate on a level powerful enough to breed significant change.

The film opens and closes with shots of the American flag, ultimately ending with the word 'unlearn.' That message, overt and ham-fisted like Higher Learning itself, urges the audience to step away from the lessons they've been taught by life. Singleton’s jarring exploration of a college campus' antagonistic social climate is a study in its own right-an examination of learning. Professor Maurice Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), the lone educator seen in Singleton's film, teaches an introductory political science course to incoming freshmen. Sadly, many of the issues raised by Higher Learning persist after two decades. The film was released mere weeks before the start of the murder trial, which remains one of the most high-profile and racially charged to date.Īs our current decade reaches its midway point, the world is in a similar state of disarray. Simpson was charged for allegedly murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in June 1994. Racial tension was high in America after former NFL great O.J. Nationwide violence erupted at cinemas showing the film during its opening week. Higher Learning was, however, distressingly applicable in early 1995. Higher Learning is far from writer-director John Singleton’s best work-it's not even remotely close to his Oscar-nominated 1991 debut, Boyz n the Hood.

Simpson subliminal messages