Laura Dern was kicked out of school for filming 'Blue Velvet'

[afeelingunacted]

Laura Dern's College Forced Her to Drop Out Over 'Blue Velvet' and Called Her 'Insane' for Giving Up Her Education; Now the School Teaches the Film: 'Pisses Me Off' https://t.co/a2njZxHEBQ
- Variety (@Variety) July 24, 2024

• Laura Dern was attending UCLA when she auditioned for Blue Velvet and landed the role
• She asked the head of the department for a

Comments

[afeelingunacted]

This is only furthering my belief that art degrees are a huge scam.

I forget which director it was but he had attended colombia but not graduated and wanted to see if he could get an honorary degree or something and was excited to be asked back by the dean... who wanted him to produce his script.

Also I would personally disagree with, but understand, if she was asking for a sabbatical to do like... a student film but I'm dying that David Lynch was ALREADY an Oscar nominated director and this dude was like "LOL, no".

[goldenhera]

Art degrees as a whole are not a scam (although some programs are), they are just not immune from the biases and political posturing of all other degrees. I know a woman in biochem whose mentor iced her out because a scientist from another field became interested in her potential. LOL, petty transcends industry.

[irajaxon]

i can confirm that some people with rigid ideas of what "real science" is will completely ice you out and stall your career if they can. my graduate school PI (i ended up leaving without my phd) told me i was wasting his time when i expressed interest in going into cultural heritage conservation science after i returned from an *analytical chemistry conference* full of *actual chemists* presenting their work in that area. he also ghosted and withheld a recommendation letter from a graduate - someone who got their phd with him as an advisor, published papers, wrote a thesis, graduated on time, literally a model student - because she was applying to work in finance because academia actually pays post-docs shit money.

this is someone who has tenure, health insurance, a house, a stable life intentionally fucking with the career prospects of students under his guidance. shitty professors like that are absolutely a thing, and schools do nothing about it. it's maddening out there.

[goldenhera]

God, I'm sorry that happened to you. Some people should never have any authority over others. It's also wild to see which people are protected within institutions. Way too many abusive dickheads stay on staff because they know how to kiss ass and/or the Dean sees them as their protege.

[flyingpigs_live]

I'm glad she's saying this, UCLA has always come across as so elitist to me.

[theactualworst]

The self importance that some academics have will always make me roll my fucking eyes.

I’m still mad my generation grew up believing that if you didn’t go to college you were going to fail at life. So many of my friends are drowning in student debt for no fucking reason.

[my_moloko]

Then when we all graduated and couldn't get jobs we should have known better and gone to trade school. After being told our whole lives that university was the golden ticket to a good life.

[akillarian]

Me, a geriatric Millennium, who went back to school and currently struggle to juggle both Full-Time work and school at the same time because I still have that belief.

I have been working in the field I dream of and I still feel that I haven't check off all that I'm supposed to do until I get that University degree in my hand.

[richyrich909]

Good for her. A good teacher would be encouraging you, especially if it’s in the same wheelhouse as the profession you’re trying to get into. He was probably jealous tbh.

[pin_stripe]

LOL egg all over that dudes face