Dark Academia Media (Movies and Books)
The Secret History
Now that you’ve read, heard, and seen how the students interpreted the book, are you ready to read it yourself? Buy a copy today!
“The Secret History.” Goodreads, Goodreads,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29044.The_Secret_History.
Dead Poets Society
Movie Synopsis:
“A new English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), is introduced to an all-boys preparatory school that is known for its ancient traditions and high standards. He uses unorthodox methods to reach out to his students, who face enormous pressures from their parents and the school. With Keating’s help, students Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) and others learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.”
“If We Were Villains.” Goodreads, Goodreads,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30319086-if-we-were-villains#CommunityReviews.
If We Were Villains
Book Synopsis:
“Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago. As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.”
“Dead Poets Society.” IMDb, IMDb.com,
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/reviews.
Riot Club
Movie Synopsis:
“Two first-year students (Sam Claflin, Max Irons) at Oxford University join a secret society and learn that their reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of one evening.”
“The Riot Club.” IMDb, IMDb.com,
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2717860/reviews.
The Magic Circle
Book Synopsis:
“Three smart young women—the scholarly Ruth, her poet roommate Lucy, and their exotic, provocative neighbor Anna—are obsessed with games of all kinds. They’ve devoted themselves to both the academic study of play and the design of games based on the secret history of the neighborhood around Columbia University, from Grant’s Tomb to the former insane asylum that once stood where the campus is now. When Anna’s mysterious brother Anders gets involved and introduces live-action role-playing based on classic Greek tragedy, theory goes into practice and the stakes are raised. Told in a variety of formats—including Gchat and blog posts—that bring the fraught drama of Euripides screaming into the 21st century, The Magic Circle is an intellectual thriller like no other.”
“The Magic Circle.” Goodreads, Goodreads,
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/15815608.
Dark Academia Articles
Dark Academia: A Complete Aesthetic & Lifestyle Guide
Lara (2023) Dark academia: A Complete Aesthetic & Lifestyle Guide, The Mood Guide. Available at: https://themoodguide.com/dark-academia-aesthetic/.
This article lists attributes for the common Dark Academia aesthetic including room atmosphere, personality identifiers, activities/hobbies, and TV characters/shows.
Opinion | The Season of Dark Academia
Paul, P. (2022) The season of dark academia, The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/opinion/dark-academia-halloween.html.
This article talks about the rise of Dark Academia starting with the Social Media aesthetic and talks about some problems that have arisen with it.
r/Darkacademia
“r/Darkacademia.” Reddit, 26 Dec. 2018, https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkAcademia/.
This is a Reddit thread that focuses on the aesthetic and ideology behind Dark Academia. If you want to meet people that are interested in similar things, this is a good place to look.
The Dark Side of Academia
“The Dark Side of Academia: Common Negative Experiences No One Talks About.” Association for Psychological Science – APS, APS, 29 June 2020, https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-dark-side-of-academia-common-negative-experiences-no-one-talks-about.
This article talks about some of the common negative sides of working or being in an academic setting. Although this is more general for the academic space, since Dark Academia is typically in this setting, some of these items are valid.
Types, Tropes, and Themes of Dark Academia
Rodgers, C. (2023) Types, tropes, and themes of Dark Academia, BOOK RIOT. Available at:
https://bookriot.com/dark-academia-tropes-and-themes/.
This article states some common themes and tropes seen in Dark Academic literature today, showing some examples including our class book The Secret History.
The Secret History Articles and Podcasts
A Morbid Longing: Dark Academia and The Secret History
Melvin, Meg. “‘A Morbid Longing’: Dark Academia and The Secret History.” TN2 Magazine, 2 Dec. 2021, https://www.tn2magazine.ie/a-morbid-longing-dark-academia-and-the-secret-history/.
This article talks about The Secret History and relates it to Dark Academia as a whole. It also talks about other sources, some of which stated above, that you can use to research and get into Dark Academia.
Debunking Dark Academia: from Dead Poets Society to The Secret History
Zubeen, Ambrisha. “Debunking Dark Academia: From Dead Poets Society to The Secret History.” The Jamia Review, 14 June 2022, https://www.thejamiareview.com/debunking-dark-academia-from-dead-poets-society-to-the-secret-history/.
This article talks about some more negative sides of Dark Academia, specifically related to diversity of the people interested in this aesthetic. It uses The Secret History as an example of this idea.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt – Book Review
Atterson, Liv. “The Secret History by Donna Tartt – Book Review.” Geeks, Vocal Media, 2020, https://vocal.media/geeks/the-secret-history-by-donna-tartt-book-review.
This review talks about some of the interesting aspects about The Secret History that are cool to talk about and discuss.
Its Been a Minute: Dark Academia’s deadly allure
Podcast Synopsis:
“Donna Tartt’s The Secret History turned 30 this year. Since the book’s release, the novel has sold millions of copies and become a classic – the blueprint for a cluster of aesthetic and literary works under the label “dark academia.” Host Brittany Luse and culture writer Alice Vincent examine the novel’s long shelf life and why it’s still relevent to young people today.”
Luse, B., Girdwood, B., Williams, A., Mendoza, J., McBain, L., Rose, C. A., & Placzek, J. (2022, December 16). Its Been a Minute: Dark Academia’s deadly allure and the timeless appeal of prep style. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2022/12/14/1142788023/dark-academias-deadly-allure-and-the-timeless-appeal-of-prep-style.
Once Upon a Time at Bennington College
Podcast Synopsis:
“This is a tale of money, murder, madness, and—of course—genius. This is, too, a multi-dimensional expose: the secret history of The Secret History revealed; the secret history of three of the greatest writers of Generation X revealed; and the secret history of Generation X itself revealed. This follows Season One of the franchise, Once Upon a Time…in the Valley, a real-life psychological thriller about underage adult star Traci Lords.”
Anolik, L. (2021, December 8). Once upon a time… at Bennington College on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts. Retrieved from https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/once-upon-a-time-at-bennington-college/id1521731236
WOVEN Multimodality Articles and Examples
Articles:
WOVEN Curriculum Design
ykong2. (2018, January 29). Report #3: Curriculum design. Georgia Tech Writing and Communication Program. Retrieved from https://wpa2018kong.wordpress.ncsu.edu/2018/01/29/report-3-curriculum-design/.
This report is done by North Carolina State University and goes over how WOVEN is used in the classroom. A bit more in-depth and from an outside perspective.
WOVEN technique
Writing and Communication Program. (n.d.). Writing and communication – woven. Writing and Communication – WOVEN. Retrieved from https://wcprogram.lmc.gatech.edu/guiding-principles/woven.
This article explains what WOVEN (Written, Oral, Visual, Electronic, and Nonverbal communication) means and how you can use it to give a deeper meaning to any of your works.
Examples:
La Mélancolie
This artwork is a great example of combining visual and nonverbal communication. Despite the lack of words describing her emotions, just by visually seeing her posture and facial expressions, you know what she is feeling.
Lagrenée, L.-J.-F. (1785). La Mélancolie found at the Louvre, Paris, France. Retrieved from https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010059286.
We Can Do It!
This artwork combines most forms of the WOVEN communication. It has written motivational text, visual of a strong woman, nonverbal expressions, and being displayed digitally on a website is electronic communication. All of these forms of communication combined can help create a successful motivational message.
Miller, J. H. (1942). We Can Do It! National Museum of American History. Retrieved from https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_538122.