Celebrities and Education

[talkbox]

I thought we could chat here about entertainers and their education levels. Some are now going to univeristy as a regular matter of course and some aren't.

[alpierce]

James Franco is getting his PHD in english lit. Personally I don't understand why except that it feeds a vanity of some sort. While I am not against anyone furthering their education, Why a PHD, and why english lit? What do you do with something like that? But I believe Julia Stiles also has a similar degree at the bachelors level. I just don't understand how this would be useful to these people unless they were going to use it somehow in authoring their own books or screenplays.

[divasahm]

Feb 7, 2011 16:47:02 GMT -4 alpierce said:

James Franco is getting his PHD in english lit. Personally I don't understand why except that it feeds a vanity of some sort. While I am not against anyone furthering their education, Why a PHD, and why english lit? What do you do with something like that? But I believe Julia Stiles also has a similar degree at the bachelors level. I just don't understand how this would be useful to these people unless they were going to use it somehow in authoring their own books or screenplays.

I can see how actors and directors could use the kind of plot and character analysis and development found in literature and writing classes useful in their work. I don't know if it's necessary to have a degree in that field to do that particular type of work well, though.

[chonies]

Feb 7, 2011 16:47:02 GMT -4 alpierce said:

James Franco is getting his PHD in english lit. Personally I don't understand why except that it feeds a vanity of some sort. While I am not against anyone furthering their education, Why a PHD, and why english lit? What do you do with something like that? But I believe Julia Stiles also has a similar degree at the bachelors level. I just don't understand how this would be useful to these people unless they were going to use it somehow in authoring their own books or screenplays.

It could also be for the mental stimulus of being engaged in a non-professional way, or maybe it's the social aspect. It could be vanity--it looked like he was simultaneously enrolled in several schools but received a degree from only one of them. Also, it was an MFA program, which usually push production (for lack of a better word) rather than content, so if he was interested in writing professionally, maybe being in the program was a way of giving him structure and feedback that he would not necessarily get from his colleagues.

It will be interesting to see if he takes his comps and produces a dissertation, or if he goes the ABD route.

[Deleted]

I just get the impression that he's just has a lot of interests he wants to explore, and he can well afford it so why not? I'd love to get my PhD in English lit if I had the money and the time.

[discoprincess]

Feb 7, 2011 17:51:40 GMT -4 @roisin54 said:

I just get the impression that he's just has a lot of interests he wants to explore, and he can well afford it so why not? I'd love to get my PhD in English lit if I had the money and the time.

Word. He can (probably) afford the tuition out of pocket without going into several years' worth of debt, and he doesn't have to worry about facing an abysmal academic job market (especially for liberal arts degrees). Win-win for him!

[incognito]

Feb 7, 2011 16:47:02 GMT -4 alpierce said:

James Franco is getting his PHD in english lit. Personally I don't understand why except that it feeds a vanity of some sort. While I am not against anyone furthering their education, Why a PHD, and why english lit? What do you do with something like that? But I believe Julia Stiles also has a similar degree at the bachelors level. I just don't understand how this would be useful to these people unless they were going to use it somehow in authoring their own books or screenplays.

Hey. I got my BA in English! Perhaps not the most practical of majors, but at the very least I don't think it's on the list of top 10 most useless majors out there. Well, maybe it is.

James Franco is just...weird. I think he's truly interested in intellectual pursuits - however, his writing is that of a tryhard wannabe's. Then again, I think that's the sort of shit that fits right in with a lot of creative writing programs these days. But I could just be overly cynical, speaking from personal experience.

As long as we're talking about celebs and education, can we talk about Willow Smith? There have been interviews where Willow has admitted that she's behind her schoolmates in certain subjects, such as math. I think that's such a shame. Willow is only 9 years old right now - if she's already behind, how the heck will she ever catch up? Yes, she's a Smith so chances are she won't ever need to use math because she'll be rich and/or have a career in showbiz...but I just think that children should have the option, at least. I mean, I'm not in a science- or math-related career, but at least I had that choice.

[Peggy Lane]

If I had the money and the time, I'd collect PhDs like baseball cards. Or at least I'd finish my history degree.

Back when I did theatre a lot of people actually suggested English Lit as a good major, because it taught you critical thinking skills and required you to become familiar with the canon.

Also, yes, I think Willow Smith is sort of a sad case. But with her parents ties to Scientology, I doubt she had much of a chance.

[talkbox]

I think getting a degree for them is also excellent PR. They brag about having brains. How many times over has Natalie POrtman described as "the Harvard educated actress..." and spouted all sorts of idiocy? Now Emma Watson is going to Brown Univeristy and I think a lot of it is just hype.

I just have to wonder, what on EARTH are their credentials to get into those prestigious schools? You sincerely cannot tell me that all these actresses are really brainy as most who get accepted.

[Mutagen]

Feb 7, 2011 19:33:55 GMT -4 Peggy Lane said:

If I had the money and the time, I'd collect PhDs like baseball cards. Or at least I'd finish my history degree.

Me too! Although in my case, I would start a history degree

My two favorite intersections of celebrity and education are Peter Weller, who played Robocop AND teaches classes on Roman/Italian art, and John Cho, who was an English teacher to seventh and tenth graders before he got famous.