Need to replenish your vigor and passion? Here are several study movies to watch when you’re too drained to be inspired
There’s nothing more depressing than receiving our grades only to think that we could have done better. It places us in a rabbit hole of miseries and insecurities where we sometimes can’t urge ourselves to bring back our dying sparks for studying to life. On days we feel like rotting in bed, it’s best to slow down and think of nothing else but what movies to watch to feel motivated. Here are eight study movies that will revive our spark for studying and inspire us to enjoy learning without dreading it:
READ: November art hop: 11 exhibitions to see in Manila this month
“Dead Poets Society” (1989)
Right off the bat, “Dead Poets Society,” directed by Peter Weir, touches our inner romanticist and poet. It’s an inspirational movie that leaves us with thought-provoking excerpts on life, art, culture, and romance.
Set in 1959, the film follows the new English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), of a highly traditional all-boys preparatory school. In the face of parental and school pressure, Keating inspires his students to rebel against rigid traditions and high standards using unorthodox methods. With the use of poetry and literature, the movie reflects the true embodiment of the Latin phrase carpe diem—to seize the day.
READ: Learning then and now
“Mona Lisa Smile” (2003)
This star-studded film directed by Mike Newell is like the sister version of “Dead Poets Society” but with a twist.
Set in 1953, “Mona Lisa Smile” follows fresh UCLA graduate Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) who teaches art history at a prestigious all-women school in Massachusetts. Eager to challenge antiquated social norms and institutions, she enlightens her conventional students Betty (Kirsten Dunst) and Joan (Julia Stiles) to question the lives they are believed to follow.
“Legally Blonde” (2001)
Nothing beats a good old chick flick movie that captures women’s empowerment and good character development.
Despite her love for pink and glitz, everything is not so rose-tinted for Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon). The fashionable sorority queen enrolls in Harvard Law to win back her ex-boyfriend. While her reason to get into law school is ill-fitting with her strong independent woman persona, Elle navigates the chaotic life of being a law student while still managing to have mani-pedi and hair appointments.
“3 Idiots” (2009)
This coming-of-age Bollywood movie focuses on two friends, Farhan (R. Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi), and their quest to find their long-lost friend Rancho (Aamir Khan) over an old bet. On their journey, Farhan reminisces on his fond memories of Rancho and how the latter altered the course of his and Raju’s lives. The trio’s whimsical ways of life rekindle a dying flame of what makes studying fun, quirky, and realistic, even though people refer to them as “idiots.”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012)
Like “3 Idiots,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” tells us that we cannot survive a draining school life without good company. Not only do they help us slow down but they also teach us that there’s more to life than classrooms and books.
Bearing the same book title it’s originally from, the film imparts numerous lessons on friendship, mental health, and self-discovery. It follows introverted freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) who befriends two outgoing senior students, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Erxa Miller). Charlie depicts the mental turmoil of enjoying the present while also coping with a troubled past. It’s a heartwrenching film that remains grounded in real-life scenarios.
“20th Century Girl” (2022)
“20th Century Girl” transports us to what it is like to have a crush that encourages us to go to school every waking day.
Set in a dreamy backdrop of spring-like high school life in 1999, 17-year-old Na Bora (Kim Yoojung) promises to keep tabs on her best friend’s crush whose name she knows as Baek Hyunjin (Park Jungwoo), while her best friend Yeondu (Roh Yoonseo) goes to the US for heart surgery. After learning that Hyunjin and his best friend Poong Woonho (Byeon Wooseok) will audition for the broadcasting club, Bora successfully joins the club and approaches Woonho to observe Hyunjin.
It’s a heartwarming yet heartbreaking movie that illustrates the beauty of young love and how it becomes our inspiration to do better in school and life.
“First Day High” (2006)
“First Day High” is a “Mean Girls”-like movie that pretty much sums up the overall school experience full of drama and comedy.
It’s a nostalgic, campy film that centers on five freshmen who become suspects in a controversial incident after a basketball game. Despite their different personalities—honor student Indi (Kim Chui), sports jock MJ2 (Gerald Anderson, nice guy Nathan (Jason Abalos), chic IT girl Precious (Maja Salavador), and rebel Gael (Geoff Eigenmann), the five students come to learn more than they ever expected about life, love, and identity.
“Monsters University” (2013)
Everything we want to be and have in life takes blood, sweat, and tears, and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) is a symbol of perseverance amid adversity.
Ever since he was a kid monster, Mike had always wanted to become a Scarer. To realize that dream, he enrolls in Monsters University, where he meets a natural-born Scarer, James Sullivan (John Goodman). Though an intense rivalry initially brews between the two, their chaotic dynamics and juxtaposing characters show us that dreams do come true, even if we don’t follow long-established ways to achieve them.
