From the movie Paper Chase (1973). The film came out two years before I went to college, so I viewed it prior to law school. The “skulls full of mush” scene was an accurate summary of the first year of law school, at least as I experienced it in 79-80. John Houseman’s, collaborator with Orson Welles, and a notable Hollywood director, was so devastatingly accurate, that many viewers of the film assumed that he was a law school professor hired for the role. He reprised the role in a television series of the same name that ran from 1978-1979 and from 1983-1986. Houseman started out his career as a successful grain merchant, but the stock market crash of 1929 left him destitute and hence his career in theater began.
The film itself isn’t bad, but had too many soap opera elements for my taste. Houseman however was mesmerizing, and dominated every scene in which he appeared. Looked at from a certain angle, it might be viewed as a potent warning to steer clear of law school, a warning that I did not heed! With time its impact has lessened, but for the remainder of the last century, it fixed in the mind of the public what the law school experience was.
Bonus:
I saw the film for the first time about a month before I headed off to my personal “1-L” experience. I agree, the soap opera stuff was a distraction. But its portrayal of the pressures of the first year was pretty accurate, if somewhat overdone for cinematic purposes.
Never seen the inside of a law school. I’ve seen the Socratic method attempted by professors, which persuaded me it was usually a waste of time. I’ve also known professors who treated people with contempt. Contrary to their pretentions, they weren’t great professors. Where you get your money’s worth from faculty is when you land one who is (a) conscientious, (b) knows how to explain things, and (c) is not unpleasant but not seeking to please. And what Gilbert Meilander said a generation ago applies: a professor needs to be willing to put himself in circumstances where he is not the smartest man in the room; that means publication now and again (though not necessarily large quantities of it).
I’ve seen the Socratic method attempted by professors, which persuaded me it was usually a waste of time.
Most aren’t very good at it. It takes thought, careful planning and talent to carry it off.
I’ve also known professors who treated people with contempt.
Being mean for the sake of being mean is always a bad error. Being mean to simulate the stress practicing attorneys are frequently under can be a plus, although most law professors have little actual practice in their background, at least at the trial level.
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As one of the victims, cowering in the back of the classroom, I can say that it had a very bad influence on law professors, most of them considerably less talented than Houseman!
I always thought that Romanian John Houseman would have been an epic Montenegran Nero Wolfe, complete with gravitas, girth, and delivery.