Thursday, May 1, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor: Alice Bullitt, M.A., BMFI Board Member
Something is rotten in the high school of Westerburg. Veronica (Winona Ryder) is a member of the most powerful clique of girls at her school, collectively referred to as “the Heathers.” Disillusioned with the moral emptiness and fascist underpinnings of the teenage social hierarchy, she is captivated by J.D. (Christian Slater, resplendent in his trench coat and channeling a young Jack Nicholson), a misanthropic outsider promising a solution to the social ills that plague their society. When J.D.’s hypothetical solutions start to become reality, Veronica is forced to confront existential questions about morality and power. Did we mention that this is a comedy?
Drawing from his own observations of his sisters’ teenage social lives—as well as the pages of Sassy Magazine, the films of Stanley Kubrick, and the novels of Simone de Beauvoir—screenwriter Daniel Waters paints a caustic view of high school in which the ruling class of “popular kids” presides with equal measures of cruelty and condescension, flawlessly accessorized with Swatches and scrunchies. As one critic observes, “[it’s] as if the angst-ridden teenage pranksters of John Hughes’ films had been kidnapped by David Lynch.”
Bring a slushy and a meaningfully marked up copy of Moby Dick to watch this eminently quotable and genre-defying cult classic for the first or fiftieth time.
Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.
Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.
Please contact BMFI Programs and Education Coordinator Jill Malcolm with any questions.
