Service: Peacock
Show Title: “National Lampoon’s Animal House”
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The media would like the world to think college life is one non-stop party. “National Lampoon’s Animal House” captures this idea and brings it to life. Set in the 1960s, this film follows the antics of the prestigious Omegas and the rowdy Deltas in their constant struggle to one-up each other. “Animal House” takes every negative stereotype surrounding college students and throws them together to create an exaggerated yet engaging story on just how wild college life can be.
The characters and scenarios in “Animal House” attempt to make one point clear: in the right environment, humans will behave like animals. While the institution of Greek life is considered prestigious and respectable by many, the stereotypes shown in the film are the opposite. The movie portrays fraternity life as riotous, violent and disrespectful. The execution of the plot is humorous and lighthearted, but the underlying message is less flattering and hopefully untrue.
According to “Animal House,” college students will quickly stoop to low levels and engage in behaviors they never would under normal circumstances. The Deltas and Omegas constantly resort to violence and revenge to assert their dominance over the other, and the central characters begin to forsake their initial morals and decency to be a part of this riotous lifestyle. The film follows this plot in an entertaining and engaging way but finding these behaviors on one’s own college campus would be less than ideal.
“Animal House” glamorizes an outrageous and exaggerated view on college life. The movie is crass and disrespectful, yet undeniably entertaining. Its characters are backstabbing and immoral, but one cannot help root for the underdog Deltas in their conquests. The film fixates only on the most extreme and unflattering stereotypes surrounding college students. In reality, this is only a niche lifestyle not found as often in real life. College is more than partying, homecoming floats and a ridiculously low grade point average. All things considered, “National Lampoon’s Animal House” does an excellent job at turning all the negative tropes surrounding college and Greek life into a very entertaining film. Hopefully, most of these extreme aspects remain fictional.